Saturday, June 11, 2011
Chivalry
I think chivalry has been abused, and often good intentions are misunderstood. Today I held a door open at the library for three ladies and a gentleman as I exited. The first lady must have thought I was going to walk straight through and pushed the door further open crushing my thumb between the glass and concrete--painful yes, and funny as well, however more then that I believe it speaks to this idea; the lady assumed I was going to be an ass and not hold the door, and as such my good intention ended up with a throbbing digit.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
March 6-10
Mar. 6
Up earlier today, well relatively, we had many places to visit prior to our 2:20pm flight and from the start we are behind.
The seat belt sign was still a glow and the plane still climbing into the pollution above Delhi when the first passengers began roaming the cabin. For the life of me I cannot understand the rush. Once we level off there will be ample time to get into bagged stowed overhead. There is a sticker on the baggage claim conveyor belt that keeps getting my hopes up for my luggage's safe arrival. Angus and Hamid's suitcases arrived promptly yet for some unknown reason mine took longer; the crowd waiting had thinned however not to a point where distress kicked in. It was silly as I could have simply taken mine on as a carry on. Nevertheless, we all arrived safely with our luggage in hand. In Varanasi we load our luggage into one of the school Van's and head towards Hamid's warehouse where my selections from places around Bhadohi and other outer lying regions are to be waiting. Even before we reach there however I know some has not arrived.
Mar.7
The joy of shopping in India. Bright and early which in Varanasi time means 45 minutes after we were suppose to arrive we leave. While shopping the staff first tries to show everything except what was previously inspected or what we ask or. Then while friendly showing one quality they try to slip in the higher quality and have it selected and after the fact. The other stalling/selling tactic is pleading with you to just show one more thing until they run out of new things or you leave. Today Angus just made them reduce the price of 4-5 of the sneaked in carpets.
Without fail whenever I turn down food that is when I get hungry; when we finished at Ideal I was offered fruit which I turned down. Too much effort and I would have preferred to eat at the next place anyways--keep moving. The day was successful and the evening included a BBQ feast with the Moghbelpour family.
Mar. 8
Yesterday may have been too productive as Angus decided to attempt to search out the elusive chain stitched pillows and nick knack shopping. I would find my mothers overpriced birthday present today. As she will probably read this prior to her birthday I will not mention what it is except to say by tradition you can only give it as a gift--it is bad luck if you buy it for yourself.
After shopping Vargha and I headed back towards the Ghat's to watch a fire ceremony. The main performance was nothing special; I was more taken by all of the spectators on land and in boats. We found a less crowded spot overlooking the ceremony to watch. We were actually going to leave early utnil a man dressed up as a Moneky God appeared with a huge mace and started walking through the crowd with a kind of swagger only a Monkey God can pull off, ocassionally posing for picture before disappearing as suddenly as he appeared.
We headed back to the rooftop cafe to say goodbye to some of the guys I had met over the course of my time here, share in double apple hookah, milkshakes and watch an impromptu Indian inspired jam session. A nice end to my time here in Varanasi. Except it was not the end, we were late for dinner and the motorcycle was acting strange which made for the another white knuckled ride with Vargha through traffic, it was up there with my first bike ride for nerves--oh Vargha had misplaced his glasses too. Oh India, how do you function.
Mar. 9
For all intents and purposes today is my last day in India at least for this year. Technically Angus and I fly out at 3am on the 10th however all of that time will be spent in the Delhi airport and on the tarmac--today is my last day. My India cell phone gets me again, if at any point in the night I groggily check the time on it without resetting the alarm it will not go off. This happened a lot--I know better, yet in that woozy land between wake and slumber errors in judgment run rampant.
Packed, ready to go and ate my last breakfast at Hamid's house, Vargha started a fast today between sunlight hours and just hoovered around us while we ate. I made an appearance at the morning assembly however it was brief as soon after prayer and the national anthem I was told we were leaving. Into one of the school buses packed full of the three of ours luggage we headed onto the roads and Hamid's warehouse to tidy up a few loose ends. Hamid would once again be making the trek back to Delhi with us to do a final inspection of the selected rugs prior to their packing and being sent to Bombay/Mumbai. At the moment we are sitting in the airport and Hamid nearly left his laptop with security save a caring employee and a thought I had earlier.
Angus and his business class just loaded. The waiting area is eerily empty--too many people boarded when they called the elderly and young. Goodbye India, when I awake in Germany the world will make sense again.
Before that can happen the country manages to throw another curve ball. The waiting room empty--the jet walk/sky walk--whatever you call the thing is jammed. I have found my long lost travel companions. Their attempt to beat a system by rushing has managed to slow everyone down.
It is far earlier now then it once was, 9:30am in India which puts me on a plane for 6 1/2 hours at this point. I am awake now only because someone turned on the cabin lights. My back aches, my chair did not recline well and pillow was of little help. In an hour and half the plane will begin its' final decent and in 2 hours I will be in Frankfurt at a little after 7am local time with 8 hours to kill. Angus had a cold last time I saw him and I cannot imagine the plane journey would have made him feel better--that said he is above in the plush 1st class and I way back in 45k.
My companions besides me are from California with a 12 1/2 hour flight ahead of them from Frankfurt and a surprisingly well behaved daughter switching between their laps. It must be trying to travel with small children. If I have kids I guess they will just miss out on flying until they are older. Someone needs to invent the transporter although I would have my reservations about being dematerialized.
I never met anyone in Delhi last night. I had dinner with members of Kashmir Arts, Angus and Hamid again. This time at Q'BA Bar(pronounced Cuba), good meal and awkward conversations.
Mar. 10
The sun is about to rise in spite of our best efforts to flee from it. A look outside and I know it is cold; I do not know where I am at the moment however it is snow covered. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. Take warning.
We are now beginning our final decent into Ottawa. Nearly 24 hours ago I boarded a plane in Delhi 3am March 10th, now it is 5pm at 24 hours have passed. How silly is math? I am a little worried I will not make it home early enough to watch the Volleyball game and that my roommate Sean will have forgotten to leave my keys with security thus locking me out of my home. My hair is quite oily right now too. I guess given I have been traveling since the evening of 8th eastern time that is to be expected.
Odd way to end...
Just flew over Hull/Gatineau.
Up earlier today, well relatively, we had many places to visit prior to our 2:20pm flight and from the start we are behind.
The seat belt sign was still a glow and the plane still climbing into the pollution above Delhi when the first passengers began roaming the cabin. For the life of me I cannot understand the rush. Once we level off there will be ample time to get into bagged stowed overhead. There is a sticker on the baggage claim conveyor belt that keeps getting my hopes up for my luggage's safe arrival. Angus and Hamid's suitcases arrived promptly yet for some unknown reason mine took longer; the crowd waiting had thinned however not to a point where distress kicked in. It was silly as I could have simply taken mine on as a carry on. Nevertheless, we all arrived safely with our luggage in hand. In Varanasi we load our luggage into one of the school Van's and head towards Hamid's warehouse where my selections from places around Bhadohi and other outer lying regions are to be waiting. Even before we reach there however I know some has not arrived.
Mar.7
The joy of shopping in India. Bright and early which in Varanasi time means 45 minutes after we were suppose to arrive we leave. While shopping the staff first tries to show everything except what was previously inspected or what we ask or. Then while friendly showing one quality they try to slip in the higher quality and have it selected and after the fact. The other stalling/selling tactic is pleading with you to just show one more thing until they run out of new things or you leave. Today Angus just made them reduce the price of 4-5 of the sneaked in carpets.
Without fail whenever I turn down food that is when I get hungry; when we finished at Ideal I was offered fruit which I turned down. Too much effort and I would have preferred to eat at the next place anyways--keep moving. The day was successful and the evening included a BBQ feast with the Moghbelpour family.
Mar. 8
Yesterday may have been too productive as Angus decided to attempt to search out the elusive chain stitched pillows and nick knack shopping. I would find my mothers overpriced birthday present today. As she will probably read this prior to her birthday I will not mention what it is except to say by tradition you can only give it as a gift--it is bad luck if you buy it for yourself.
After shopping Vargha and I headed back towards the Ghat's to watch a fire ceremony. The main performance was nothing special; I was more taken by all of the spectators on land and in boats. We found a less crowded spot overlooking the ceremony to watch. We were actually going to leave early utnil a man dressed up as a Moneky God appeared with a huge mace and started walking through the crowd with a kind of swagger only a Monkey God can pull off, ocassionally posing for picture before disappearing as suddenly as he appeared.
We headed back to the rooftop cafe to say goodbye to some of the guys I had met over the course of my time here, share in double apple hookah, milkshakes and watch an impromptu Indian inspired jam session. A nice end to my time here in Varanasi. Except it was not the end, we were late for dinner and the motorcycle was acting strange which made for the another white knuckled ride with Vargha through traffic, it was up there with my first bike ride for nerves--oh Vargha had misplaced his glasses too. Oh India, how do you function.
Mar. 9
For all intents and purposes today is my last day in India at least for this year. Technically Angus and I fly out at 3am on the 10th however all of that time will be spent in the Delhi airport and on the tarmac--today is my last day. My India cell phone gets me again, if at any point in the night I groggily check the time on it without resetting the alarm it will not go off. This happened a lot--I know better, yet in that woozy land between wake and slumber errors in judgment run rampant.
Packed, ready to go and ate my last breakfast at Hamid's house, Vargha started a fast today between sunlight hours and just hoovered around us while we ate. I made an appearance at the morning assembly however it was brief as soon after prayer and the national anthem I was told we were leaving. Into one of the school buses packed full of the three of ours luggage we headed onto the roads and Hamid's warehouse to tidy up a few loose ends. Hamid would once again be making the trek back to Delhi with us to do a final inspection of the selected rugs prior to their packing and being sent to Bombay/Mumbai. At the moment we are sitting in the airport and Hamid nearly left his laptop with security save a caring employee and a thought I had earlier.
Angus and his business class just loaded. The waiting area is eerily empty--too many people boarded when they called the elderly and young. Goodbye India, when I awake in Germany the world will make sense again.
Before that can happen the country manages to throw another curve ball. The waiting room empty--the jet walk/sky walk--whatever you call the thing is jammed. I have found my long lost travel companions. Their attempt to beat a system by rushing has managed to slow everyone down.
It is far earlier now then it once was, 9:30am in India which puts me on a plane for 6 1/2 hours at this point. I am awake now only because someone turned on the cabin lights. My back aches, my chair did not recline well and pillow was of little help. In an hour and half the plane will begin its' final decent and in 2 hours I will be in Frankfurt at a little after 7am local time with 8 hours to kill. Angus had a cold last time I saw him and I cannot imagine the plane journey would have made him feel better--that said he is above in the plush 1st class and I way back in 45k.
My companions besides me are from California with a 12 1/2 hour flight ahead of them from Frankfurt and a surprisingly well behaved daughter switching between their laps. It must be trying to travel with small children. If I have kids I guess they will just miss out on flying until they are older. Someone needs to invent the transporter although I would have my reservations about being dematerialized.
I never met anyone in Delhi last night. I had dinner with members of Kashmir Arts, Angus and Hamid again. This time at Q'BA Bar(pronounced Cuba), good meal and awkward conversations.
Mar. 10
The sun is about to rise in spite of our best efforts to flee from it. A look outside and I know it is cold; I do not know where I am at the moment however it is snow covered. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. Take warning.
We are now beginning our final decent into Ottawa. Nearly 24 hours ago I boarded a plane in Delhi 3am March 10th, now it is 5pm at 24 hours have passed. How silly is math? I am a little worried I will not make it home early enough to watch the Volleyball game and that my roommate Sean will have forgotten to leave my keys with security thus locking me out of my home. My hair is quite oily right now too. I guess given I have been traveling since the evening of 8th eastern time that is to be expected.
Odd way to end...
Just flew over Hull/Gatineau.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
March 1-5
Mar.1
One month, albeit the shortest month of the year, nevertheless I left Canada a month ago; I remember it being cold.
Waking up today was welcomed by the sun shining and happy screams of a playground filled with excited children, meaning I overslept. There would be not time this morning to join in any school functions if I intended to get to Vinod's at a reasonable time; in hopes of finishing with time to meet up with Shruti and do part of my long delayed souvenir shopping. Despite my best efforts by noon Hamid had been sucked back into his office.
First stop for the day is not Vinod's, it is a company for one of Hamid's other clients and is a shag carpet store. I hate this style and am well aware of Angus' dislike for all things modern, well most things modern. There is no way that these styles would fit into our store; possibly a separate affiliated modern only store, and that is quite the long shot. We head onto Vinod'[s 29 days after I first tried to go there.
We spend a few hours at Vinod's going throughv his carpets and like Ideal Carpets I recognize a lot of patterns from stock in the store over the year which is good and bad. Good in that it makes it easy to select and bad in that it limits the variety in choice. Plus in the back of my mind I think "Angus probably saw this exact same carpet before and skipped on it, he will think me the fool for selecting it this time." Then again, maybe he could use the second opinion to convince him to try them, who knows--Angus I suppose; it is always nice to have that sober second thought. That said, Canada should abolish the Senate--oh politics how confusing you are.
From Vinod's I head to PDR mall to meet up with Shruti for some gift hunting before her train back to Delhi. You are all getting tacky Indian things if I manage to find them--enjoy.
Mar.2
It is basically too dark right now to see what I am writing. The day is over although I am not entirely sure that it began. I am about 15 minutes away from leaving for the train station to catch another overnight and still yet to write about my day. I tried starting a few times and ran into a block or simply stopped because I found distractions to entertain myself with. Plus overall the day was unexciting; at least to write about. I slept in a bit (9am), read in the sunshine 6 1/2 stories up away from everything, watched a movie and T.V. shows, caught up on emails and sat through another Hindi dominated dinner. This all I suspect comes across a bit jaded, I enjoyed it all I just have already written about days like today extensively. When I was a top that roof nobody in the world knew where I was--no strangers, friends or family. When I jumped down I managed to give two carpenters quite the fright.
I wait at the train station for another overnight to Delhi, the same train I took nearly two weeks ago. I did the math on the ride over and I will have spent 50 hours on trains when all is said and done. Whether or not this is a long time I do not know. I know I like overnight traveling; when I am able to get a good night sleep in, it saves the days from being lost in transit. The train however is late, no surprise there, the only question that remains is how late will it be, and how eaten while I be in the meantime.
Mar.3
Starts off where March 2nd left me; waiting for a 90 minute delayed train being eaten by bugs wanting to get on the train while I am still groggy enough to quickly hit REM sleep; ideally before my fellow passengers begin snoring. A hopeful yet realistic goal; although one I would fail at which ends up making for one long day.
Breakfast on the train: a two egg omelet, ten peas, three french fries, two pieces of slightly toasted bread, a mango juice box and the three tea bag half cup of tea I drank. It does tide one over until the next time you smell food, so it has that going for it.
I made my morning tea nearly more tea bags then water in hopes that doing so may solve all of my sleep related ideas until my next glass later on; a daring move I realize. Four or five cups of tea later I end up on a patio with two Indians and a German man watching Canada give Pakistan a bit of a scare at the world cup before they eventually lose.
Mar.4
Angus arrives today after his day and a bit of traveling and I will get a chance to see his approach to everything here in India. More then that I am curious to see if the exporters treat him differently from me; I suspect that they will,. His flight gets in at 10:40am and just after 10 we head towards the airport to meet him there. From there I believe we will head directly to suppliers and start the whirlwind that will be the last six days.
Ever delayed, Angus this time, his flight is 45 minutes delayed which strikes me as a fitting start to his sojourn in India this year. we find Angus and stop by two of the suppliers that I had put carpets aside at while there is still daylight.
The majority of what I put aside was passed over by Angus however he did pick some and more from the companies within the same styles. It all comes as a bit of a relief as now I get to sit back and observe mainly--interjecting when things truly fascinate me. Now that I think about it I could have done more of that all along. Dinner was at Eggspectations which, as tends to be the case with western companies in Asia, is far nicer then back home. For myself it amounted to endless salad bar, endless desert and endless Tandoori Chicken Tikka.
Mar.5
The first full day with Angus here in India and another beautiful day. We returned to two of the companies I had been to weeks ago as well as a warehouse and a quick stop at ICE (International Carpet Expo) simply to meet a silk carpet supplier. Once there around each corner Hamid and Angus were running into exporters they knew; by this point I have met enough to run into a handful that recognized me as well,.
The group we went to see at ICE, as I mentioned, was a silk carpet exporter that Angus had discovered while at a trade show in Germany. The funny thing is of course Angus met a German wholesaler of the silk carpets who was foolish enough to leave the Indian exporter tag on. As much as possible he skips the middle man to keep the prices the lowest possible and this is simply one of those times.
While at the silk exporter I also got to pick out my very own silk carpet. A gift from Angus; my very own hand picked silk carpet which is quite the memento. There are truly some amazing pieces out there although they may not fit into the style of stock carried by CRT. One of the handy things about having me gone aroudn to the places first is I have the starting prices and maybe a slightly discounted one; then Angus can work his magic and lower it a bit more to an Angus price.
For dinner it was a five star hotel with one of the best chef's in the world, who happens to get paid $2500 a day. A few years back the restaurant was rated in the top 10 in the world, I am unsure if they still hold that rating although the food was amazing. On of the suppliers treated us as well in an attempt to coheres our return to their shop tomorrow morning. They have been quite kind to me however the product I was mistaken on and should not have listened to their story. It looked the same yet they claimed things were different now.
One month, albeit the shortest month of the year, nevertheless I left Canada a month ago; I remember it being cold.
Waking up today was welcomed by the sun shining and happy screams of a playground filled with excited children, meaning I overslept. There would be not time this morning to join in any school functions if I intended to get to Vinod's at a reasonable time; in hopes of finishing with time to meet up with Shruti and do part of my long delayed souvenir shopping. Despite my best efforts by noon Hamid had been sucked back into his office.
First stop for the day is not Vinod's, it is a company for one of Hamid's other clients and is a shag carpet store. I hate this style and am well aware of Angus' dislike for all things modern, well most things modern. There is no way that these styles would fit into our store; possibly a separate affiliated modern only store, and that is quite the long shot. We head onto Vinod'[s 29 days after I first tried to go there.
We spend a few hours at Vinod's going throughv his carpets and like Ideal Carpets I recognize a lot of patterns from stock in the store over the year which is good and bad. Good in that it makes it easy to select and bad in that it limits the variety in choice. Plus in the back of my mind I think "Angus probably saw this exact same carpet before and skipped on it, he will think me the fool for selecting it this time." Then again, maybe he could use the second opinion to convince him to try them, who knows--Angus I suppose; it is always nice to have that sober second thought. That said, Canada should abolish the Senate--oh politics how confusing you are.
From Vinod's I head to PDR mall to meet up with Shruti for some gift hunting before her train back to Delhi. You are all getting tacky Indian things if I manage to find them--enjoy.
Mar.2
It is basically too dark right now to see what I am writing. The day is over although I am not entirely sure that it began. I am about 15 minutes away from leaving for the train station to catch another overnight and still yet to write about my day. I tried starting a few times and ran into a block or simply stopped because I found distractions to entertain myself with. Plus overall the day was unexciting; at least to write about. I slept in a bit (9am), read in the sunshine 6 1/2 stories up away from everything, watched a movie and T.V. shows, caught up on emails and sat through another Hindi dominated dinner. This all I suspect comes across a bit jaded, I enjoyed it all I just have already written about days like today extensively. When I was a top that roof nobody in the world knew where I was--no strangers, friends or family. When I jumped down I managed to give two carpenters quite the fright.
I wait at the train station for another overnight to Delhi, the same train I took nearly two weeks ago. I did the math on the ride over and I will have spent 50 hours on trains when all is said and done. Whether or not this is a long time I do not know. I know I like overnight traveling; when I am able to get a good night sleep in, it saves the days from being lost in transit. The train however is late, no surprise there, the only question that remains is how late will it be, and how eaten while I be in the meantime.
Mar.3
Starts off where March 2nd left me; waiting for a 90 minute delayed train being eaten by bugs wanting to get on the train while I am still groggy enough to quickly hit REM sleep; ideally before my fellow passengers begin snoring. A hopeful yet realistic goal; although one I would fail at which ends up making for one long day.
Breakfast on the train: a two egg omelet, ten peas, three french fries, two pieces of slightly toasted bread, a mango juice box and the three tea bag half cup of tea I drank. It does tide one over until the next time you smell food, so it has that going for it.
I made my morning tea nearly more tea bags then water in hopes that doing so may solve all of my sleep related ideas until my next glass later on; a daring move I realize. Four or five cups of tea later I end up on a patio with two Indians and a German man watching Canada give Pakistan a bit of a scare at the world cup before they eventually lose.
Mar.4
Angus arrives today after his day and a bit of traveling and I will get a chance to see his approach to everything here in India. More then that I am curious to see if the exporters treat him differently from me; I suspect that they will,. His flight gets in at 10:40am and just after 10 we head towards the airport to meet him there. From there I believe we will head directly to suppliers and start the whirlwind that will be the last six days.
Ever delayed, Angus this time, his flight is 45 minutes delayed which strikes me as a fitting start to his sojourn in India this year. we find Angus and stop by two of the suppliers that I had put carpets aside at while there is still daylight.
The majority of what I put aside was passed over by Angus however he did pick some and more from the companies within the same styles. It all comes as a bit of a relief as now I get to sit back and observe mainly--interjecting when things truly fascinate me. Now that I think about it I could have done more of that all along. Dinner was at Eggspectations which, as tends to be the case with western companies in Asia, is far nicer then back home. For myself it amounted to endless salad bar, endless desert and endless Tandoori Chicken Tikka.
Mar.5
The first full day with Angus here in India and another beautiful day. We returned to two of the companies I had been to weeks ago as well as a warehouse and a quick stop at ICE (International Carpet Expo) simply to meet a silk carpet supplier. Once there around each corner Hamid and Angus were running into exporters they knew; by this point I have met enough to run into a handful that recognized me as well,.
The group we went to see at ICE, as I mentioned, was a silk carpet exporter that Angus had discovered while at a trade show in Germany. The funny thing is of course Angus met a German wholesaler of the silk carpets who was foolish enough to leave the Indian exporter tag on. As much as possible he skips the middle man to keep the prices the lowest possible and this is simply one of those times.
While at the silk exporter I also got to pick out my very own silk carpet. A gift from Angus; my very own hand picked silk carpet which is quite the memento. There are truly some amazing pieces out there although they may not fit into the style of stock carried by CRT. One of the handy things about having me gone aroudn to the places first is I have the starting prices and maybe a slightly discounted one; then Angus can work his magic and lower it a bit more to an Angus price.
For dinner it was a five star hotel with one of the best chef's in the world, who happens to get paid $2500 a day. A few years back the restaurant was rated in the top 10 in the world, I am unsure if they still hold that rating although the food was amazing. On of the suppliers treated us as well in an attempt to coheres our return to their shop tomorrow morning. They have been quite kind to me however the product I was mistaken on and should not have listened to their story. It looked the same yet they claimed things were different now.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Yes and No
Fun fact, Nay in Korean means yes and Nae in Hindi means no. This would rarely be a problem except I had become quite accustom to elongating my Nay's while in Korea as I tried to emulate, speak, and occasionally mock Koreans. I realize it has been over a year since my last time in Korea and I rarely use my limited Korean however you become use to it to the point that you do it without thinking, and being in an Asian country I keep slipping and using Nay in the wrong context. Right now I have to make a conscious effort to use Nae in the correct fashion and avoid confusion.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Varanasi--Feb.28
Damn you Varanasi food!
It had been sometime since I had hugged my toilet so I guess we were due for a acquaintance. It serves me right for accepting food from youth group members. They are just so damn good at guilting people into a snack and everything tastes so good.
The morning was not off to a good start and I had promised Ruby that I would join in her second period class so I laboured to get prepared. Despite my bodies wishes I managed to join in for the first two assemblies of the day before crawling back to my bed in defeat. A few restless hours later I searched out Hamid to get our days work started, which was visiting a few more suppliers in Bhadohi. That of course meant a long and bumpy car ride was ahead of us and my unsettled stomach was not looking forward to it. Still we pressed on visiting two of the four places we had intended, neither of which were the place I had most wanted to visit. The place I wanted to visit is strangely enough the only place I knew about prior to coming to India. We missed it because I feel asleep and Hamid was constantly distracted by phone calls. It all was probably for the best given my stomach and the fact that tomorrow is another day, I will skip going to Ruby's village with Vargha and instead hit up the last couple suppliers I can see before Hamid and I return to Delhi to meet Angus.
It had been sometime since I had hugged my toilet so I guess we were due for a acquaintance. It serves me right for accepting food from youth group members. They are just so damn good at guilting people into a snack and everything tastes so good.
The morning was not off to a good start and I had promised Ruby that I would join in her second period class so I laboured to get prepared. Despite my bodies wishes I managed to join in for the first two assemblies of the day before crawling back to my bed in defeat. A few restless hours later I searched out Hamid to get our days work started, which was visiting a few more suppliers in Bhadohi. That of course meant a long and bumpy car ride was ahead of us and my unsettled stomach was not looking forward to it. Still we pressed on visiting two of the four places we had intended, neither of which were the place I had most wanted to visit. The place I wanted to visit is strangely enough the only place I knew about prior to coming to India. We missed it because I feel asleep and Hamid was constantly distracted by phone calls. It all was probably for the best given my stomach and the fact that tomorrow is another day, I will skip going to Ruby's village with Vargha and instead hit up the last couple suppliers I can see before Hamid and I return to Delhi to meet Angus.
Varanasi--Feb.27
Any plans to see carpets today went out the window when my phone rang; it was Hamid trying to figure out where I was. Nobody actually looks for you in this house, if you are not in their direct walking route then you get a phone call. Only if they are truly looking for you mind you; if whatever they want to tell you can wait then it will. I am invited to breakfast with the Baha'i instructors again and upon my arrival learn today I am to visit an orphanage with the group of Baha'i members including a youth group. It all kind of reminds me of a youth group Seb convinced me to go to in high school although these kids were doing a lot more then we did. There are 17 kids at the orphanage, 8 of which live there and the others just come during the day for a kind of daycare their parents would otherwise be unable to put them in. I mainly spent the afternoon playing games and singing songs with the kids while the grown up discussed what was happening there, what could be improved and what they could do to help.
In the evening Vargha and I zipped around town on a motorcycle visiting people and participating in a Baha'i devotion group. It is basically a prayer circle where each person said their daily prayer aloud with the occasional song. I basically sat quietly head lowered listening to the whole thing. At the devotion group I recieved the third food I ate that night that I regret eating, the previous two places I had also been given something to eat and I am not entirely sure which or what combination of the three did me in however later that night I would come to regret all of their generosity. I would have said no however when Vargha attempted to lave without eating they yelled at him--I did not want to get yelled at. We then met up with Shruit and another of Vargha's friends for board games at Farsal's cafe once again overlooking the Ganges. Nice end to the evening, although my night of Delhi belly was just beginning.
In the evening Vargha and I zipped around town on a motorcycle visiting people and participating in a Baha'i devotion group. It is basically a prayer circle where each person said their daily prayer aloud with the occasional song. I basically sat quietly head lowered listening to the whole thing. At the devotion group I recieved the third food I ate that night that I regret eating, the previous two places I had also been given something to eat and I am not entirely sure which or what combination of the three did me in however later that night I would come to regret all of their generosity. I would have said no however when Vargha attempted to lave without eating they yelled at him--I did not want to get yelled at. We then met up with Shruit and another of Vargha's friends for board games at Farsal's cafe once again overlooking the Ganges. Nice end to the evening, although my night of Delhi belly was just beginning.
Varanasi--Feb.26
Up surprisingly early today which is good, my time here is coming to an end and it would be a shame to waste it sleeping. In the morning the kids had a musical assembly which I was invited to participate in. I still cannot quite understand the excitement the children have for school on Saturday; to each their own I guess. It was fun to join in Guitar class and play along with them offering tips and showing the class how to play a few songs. Their teacher had only been teaching them gospel songs so I tried to stay in that spirit with "In the sun" and "Save tonight". I think more then anything they enjoyed my struggles to keep a tune.
I had breakfast with Hamid, Vargha and two other men who are both from the Baha'i institute so religion was the main topic of breakfast. I always enjoy the topic however it seems to upset many people again for reasons I cannot understand although I suspect reason actually has very little to do with it. Hamid had told me the day before that we would be going back to Bhadohi today, what he failed to mention was when. Having learned that if he does not see me then he will get lost in office work I settled in the living room with a book and waited.
Every time he passed assuring me that soon we will go. The forth time he claims to be ready so the lunches are packed, his computer bag as well and both brought down to the car, I follow them down and wait knowing that I still have 20+ minutes before he will be down. I end up chatting in the sun with a cute teacher/university student who is on her spare period.
The spiced milk tea is strange in many ways: the spices are always different it seems and soon after pouring your glass a thin skin develops that never quite goes away managing to stick to the glass at the end. Good taste just odd and it takes some getting use to.
I tried to get onto the roof of Hamid's warehouse today and was confronted by the largest beehive that I have ever seen in person. I would wager it is four feet deep and about a three foot diamond in the rest of directions. I do not like bees although I am rarely one to avoid doing something because of their presence--this however was one of those times. There were also numerous smaller hives spotting the four staircases I would have to climb to reach the larger one and that was too much of a task just to take in the sight from his roof, plus I would have to return by descending that same staircase.
Just one supplier today who, as is becoming common place, misrepresented what they had in an effort to waste everyones time. It is like they except to be able to convince me when i give them specific requirements that I in fact do not know what I want and should buy something completely different. There was no wine and board games this night instead the evening was filled with a meeting for the Baha'i instructors which occupied everyone for the majority of the night.
I had breakfast with Hamid, Vargha and two other men who are both from the Baha'i institute so religion was the main topic of breakfast. I always enjoy the topic however it seems to upset many people again for reasons I cannot understand although I suspect reason actually has very little to do with it. Hamid had told me the day before that we would be going back to Bhadohi today, what he failed to mention was when. Having learned that if he does not see me then he will get lost in office work I settled in the living room with a book and waited.
Every time he passed assuring me that soon we will go. The forth time he claims to be ready so the lunches are packed, his computer bag as well and both brought down to the car, I follow them down and wait knowing that I still have 20+ minutes before he will be down. I end up chatting in the sun with a cute teacher/university student who is on her spare period.
The spiced milk tea is strange in many ways: the spices are always different it seems and soon after pouring your glass a thin skin develops that never quite goes away managing to stick to the glass at the end. Good taste just odd and it takes some getting use to.
I tried to get onto the roof of Hamid's warehouse today and was confronted by the largest beehive that I have ever seen in person. I would wager it is four feet deep and about a three foot diamond in the rest of directions. I do not like bees although I am rarely one to avoid doing something because of their presence--this however was one of those times. There were also numerous smaller hives spotting the four staircases I would have to climb to reach the larger one and that was too much of a task just to take in the sight from his roof, plus I would have to return by descending that same staircase.
Just one supplier today who, as is becoming common place, misrepresented what they had in an effort to waste everyones time. It is like they except to be able to convince me when i give them specific requirements that I in fact do not know what I want and should buy something completely different. There was no wine and board games this night instead the evening was filled with a meeting for the Baha'i instructors which occupied everyone for the majority of the night.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Varanasi--Feb.25
I have managed to write something daily thus far even if I do not manage to post it until a few days later, for the 25th although I have not a lot to say I will keep the trend.
Hamid and I got into Varanasi a bit after 2am and had a short auto-rickshaw trip to his house. Having hardly slept on the train I was all too happy to see my bed. I had forgotten about the mosquitoes they, however, remember me all too well. It was like my first days in Varanasi all over again waking up with bite marks on my neck, face and hands--do not scratch.
The day was overcast and threatening to do worse; later living up to this threat with a brief thunderstorm around 6. Vargha had returned the day before with members of the Baha'i institute for development, of what I cannot remember--I only met them at dinner. They were here to decide if they will be able to have their next national meeting here in the summer. As Hamid was also entertaining these guests most of my day was spent catching up on things I had been putting off.
Dinner was a feast, dinner here is usually a feast and today was even more so' and as I believe I have mentioned in the past, saying you are full is not reason to stop eating. After dinner I went with Vargha to drop his guests at the train station and meet up with his friends to see where the night would take us.
Hamid and I got into Varanasi a bit after 2am and had a short auto-rickshaw trip to his house. Having hardly slept on the train I was all too happy to see my bed. I had forgotten about the mosquitoes they, however, remember me all too well. It was like my first days in Varanasi all over again waking up with bite marks on my neck, face and hands--do not scratch.
The day was overcast and threatening to do worse; later living up to this threat with a brief thunderstorm around 6. Vargha had returned the day before with members of the Baha'i institute for development, of what I cannot remember--I only met them at dinner. They were here to decide if they will be able to have their next national meeting here in the summer. As Hamid was also entertaining these guests most of my day was spent catching up on things I had been putting off.
Dinner was a feast, dinner here is usually a feast and today was even more so' and as I believe I have mentioned in the past, saying you are full is not reason to stop eating. After dinner I went with Vargha to drop his guests at the train station and meet up with his friends to see where the night would take us.
Delhi/Varanasi--Feb. 24
Feb. 24th
The trip to Delhi is coming to a close, one more exporter to check out before a 13 hour train ride back to Varanasi. It was a good company to visit, actually the younger brother of Varun from Kashmir Arts. The quality was not quite up to his brother’s production h however the selection was entirely different at a better price so I spent my last 90 minutes in Delhi going through his stock. From there we head through traffic hang ups towards the train station. The past two days the shipping industry, I think, has been on strike. Yesterday 30,000 were walking the streets tying up traffic more than usual. We get to our train without the frantic run of Agra and settle in for our long journey.
The day’s story should end there as not a lot happens while traveling with a 60 year old on a train—this is not Before Sunrise or Sunset for that matter. We did accidentally sit in a first class cabin which eerily makes me feel like I am in a 3rd class cabin on the Titanic—just the ambiance right now; a rickety rocking bunk-bed filled cabin. It all feels from an age long before my time: the paint, fans, even the reading light I currently write by to the displeasure of the other occupants. I cannot and do not want to sleep right now it is around 11:30 and I have been on this train since before 1 with 2+ hours left. If I sleep I may screw up my sleep pattern again.
Back to the end of the story, we had setup in the empty first class cabin thinking we were in the proper place and only realizing the mistake when the ticket man came by. He gave Hamid two choices either we move or give him a bribe—you know which option we chose. So that is today’s story; where I am at listening to music writing and rocking back and forth on a train somewhere closer to Varanasi then Delhi. I still have much traveling to do, 12 days of work, three cities and multiple villages to visit.
Namaste
The trip to Delhi is coming to a close, one more exporter to check out before a 13 hour train ride back to Varanasi. It was a good company to visit, actually the younger brother of Varun from Kashmir Arts. The quality was not quite up to his brother’s production h however the selection was entirely different at a better price so I spent my last 90 minutes in Delhi going through his stock. From there we head through traffic hang ups towards the train station. The past two days the shipping industry, I think, has been on strike. Yesterday 30,000 were walking the streets tying up traffic more than usual. We get to our train without the frantic run of Agra and settle in for our long journey.
The day’s story should end there as not a lot happens while traveling with a 60 year old on a train—this is not Before Sunrise or Sunset for that matter. We did accidentally sit in a first class cabin which eerily makes me feel like I am in a 3rd class cabin on the Titanic—just the ambiance right now; a rickety rocking bunk-bed filled cabin. It all feels from an age long before my time: the paint, fans, even the reading light I currently write by to the displeasure of the other occupants. I cannot and do not want to sleep right now it is around 11:30 and I have been on this train since before 1 with 2+ hours left. If I sleep I may screw up my sleep pattern again.
Back to the end of the story, we had setup in the empty first class cabin thinking we were in the proper place and only realizing the mistake when the ticket man came by. He gave Hamid two choices either we move or give him a bribe—you know which option we chose. So that is today’s story; where I am at listening to music writing and rocking back and forth on a train somewhere closer to Varanasi then Delhi. I still have much traveling to do, 12 days of work, three cities and multiple villages to visit.
Namaste
Delhi--Feb. 23
Up late and slow to get moving today, in Delhi we do head out into the chaotic traffic. We return to Overseas Carpets Limited for Hamid to finish some paper work—I get to sit in an empty office. I do not understand why Hamid insists on returning to places we have been to before to see a handful of new arrivals. I agreed to return briefly so Hamid could do his two minutes worth of work—we needed to cross town anyways. Once at the office he tries to convince me again to stay for lunch and look at this handful of new carpets. I decline as politely as I can be while still managing to hopefully get my point across. I want to go to as many places as possible, ideally places Angus would not go to or have the time to or have the time to see. At first this slow pace was nice—it let me think, understand and act. Now it is frustrating and I fear this frustration is starting to show. Today is the 23rd and I have been to 25 different warehouses and showrooms. I feel like this number should be a fair bit higher. One the days I have been out to various places I average around 2 ½ suppliers a day. There is a lot of unnecessary downtown.
We head from OCL to a nearby market for what is my breakfast and Hamid’s lunch as I was not prepared to wake up before 9:30 for the Hotel breakfast after yesterday’s late arrival. One of the few Indian meals I have in Indian is at an international sports bar, the same place Vargha, Farsal and myself tried to get a lunch pint at prior to our flight to Varanasi on Feb. 5th—seems like a long time ago.
We go from lunch to the Baha’I Lotus temple so Hamid can see his family one more time, and end up giving them a ride. I hop out at Ferozson Exports to check out their silk carpets stock for Angus and Hamid follows his family back to their hotels using OCL’s driver. I have only half been looking at silk carpets, just keeping an eye out for deals more than anything at this place I was there to see the good stuff. The most expensive piece was going for over $30000 U.S., and this was on the supplier’s end so you can imagine what we would have to sell it at; amazing pieces, some taking 5-6 weavers 2 years to make. I am to look; getting an idea of selections and prices. I will say I like them, whether or not we can do business is another thing; nice people. Too often suppliers are push, talk down to me and lie to my face in an obvious way. Out of the 26 places I have now visited there have been a handful of people I like and the group at Ferozson is amongst this group. The even personally drive me 90 minutes back to my hotel when I had offered to take the metro. Good group in a business filled with the opposite.
We head from OCL to a nearby market for what is my breakfast and Hamid’s lunch as I was not prepared to wake up before 9:30 for the Hotel breakfast after yesterday’s late arrival. One of the few Indian meals I have in Indian is at an international sports bar, the same place Vargha, Farsal and myself tried to get a lunch pint at prior to our flight to Varanasi on Feb. 5th—seems like a long time ago.
We go from lunch to the Baha’I Lotus temple so Hamid can see his family one more time, and end up giving them a ride. I hop out at Ferozson Exports to check out their silk carpets stock for Angus and Hamid follows his family back to their hotels using OCL’s driver. I have only half been looking at silk carpets, just keeping an eye out for deals more than anything at this place I was there to see the good stuff. The most expensive piece was going for over $30000 U.S., and this was on the supplier’s end so you can imagine what we would have to sell it at; amazing pieces, some taking 5-6 weavers 2 years to make. I am to look; getting an idea of selections and prices. I will say I like them, whether or not we can do business is another thing; nice people. Too often suppliers are push, talk down to me and lie to my face in an obvious way. Out of the 26 places I have now visited there have been a handful of people I like and the group at Ferozson is amongst this group. The even personally drive me 90 minutes back to my hotel when I had offered to take the metro. Good group in a business filled with the opposite.
Delhi/Agra--Feb. 22
It was dark when I woke up, no surprise there it was after all 4:45am, I merely point it out to once again affirm my dislike of those small am numbers and waking up before the sun. I just fail at having a shower as the water will not have me and the taxi comes within minutes of my wake-up call I do get to shave with gel this morning. A nice treat that helps ease my lack of shower and the ungodly hours of the day. After those first 7 minutes it is out into the brisk pre-dawn air, a taxi and the train I traveled five days ago. The weather was cold and foggy I even started the day off with a scarf on.
I was woken up by one of the servers on the train asking for tips; well I was not actually asleep. My eyes were closed and sunglasses on so he could not have known and although I had intended to give a few Rupees anyways, it just strikes me as a strange approach. I have also been approached by beggars and asked for money and then given them some and asked for more. Now while I realize sometimes I unknowingly give too little what kind of person ask for more generosity? I was kicked out of a bar for a poorly calculated tip to a bartender who had not been serving me all night and the only service they gave me was taking 20 minutes to the bill for my tab. What goes through peoples’ minds sometimes? How can they possibly believe in instances of generosity if you confront someone about a voluntary donation it will help their cause?
The train stopped unexpectedly, I think someone was lacking a ticket and was thrown off. I cannot remember ever witnessing that before, on buses sure however not on a train and certainly not half an hour away from Agra’s train station at a random tiny station that we should not be stopped at. Turns out it is the fog and not a passenger at all, and because we are so delayed we have to keep stopping for other trains to fly by us. The train ends up being sporadically delayed so we reach Agra close to 11 instead of 8:20.
Ever delayed; once again in Agra I am met by the same driver from Bansal carpets who took me to the rooftop café on Friday. Nice to see him again and he seems glad to see me again. Then again I did give him basically a days’ pay as a trip for all the driving and working late. I felt bad after we talked about wages and his five kids etc. Damn my guilt. The first stop is back to Bansal’s for tea and then onto the Taj Mahal—this time I am going in. I am asked to close my window—too much noise around. I like the noise it adds to the experience, with the window closed and the A.C. on I could be anywhere, well not anywhere, hopefully my point is taken.
Silence, there no light either, it appears Agra too is at the mercy of the power companies and they can turn the power off pretty much whenever they choose. As unexpectedly as the power disappears it returns. Let there be light, and the room clears. The atmosphere is that of a party in which the conversation hinges on everyone being present, throw off that balance and people being to panic. My go to move when I am tired of talking is to bring out my Moleskin journals, of which one has been filled, and try to remember what has all happened. I do not believe anyone quite knows what to do with me or how to treat me, I could make more of an effort to disarm the suppliers although I think it is to my advantage to keep them guessing and this is a business after all.
I should lead with the limited Hindi I know instead of repeating myself.
Pigeons seem to love to attack air conditioners.
One more shot of tea, my 5th glass today, and we head for the Taj. Four hours sleep and a 4 ½ hour train ride on top of the five day delay and I may just make it in. In and out; you can touch it, do not however step on the grass as the gardens are far more important. Even taking photos inside the tomb while prohibited the worst that happens is that they blow a whistle at you which could hurt your ears or worse yet your feelings. I kid, it is an impressive building, its’ history fascinating and the fact that you can touch it is rather amazing. Inside it is falling a bit into disrepair and people throw change onto the actual tomb while taking forbidden photo’s of an imitation one. It all seems backwards to me. Well worth the 750 rupee or about $17 if you prefer to get in, although for Indian’s it is only a dollar. Hamid is convinced that this is so expensive, which in a country where the minimum daily wage is around $2 does make sense. It is a UNESCO heritage sight and one of the most recognizable buildings in the world; I would pay more. The line to enter the Taj has changed directions, I guess the security guards/military police had a shift change and wanted to add their own personal flavour to the line. Not that the queue actually matters, locals will push their way to the front whenever the guards back is turn.
Another monkey wrench has been thrown into today’s plan. Hamid ran into his family on our way out. I am fairly sure that was his hope and one if not his only reason for this entirely unplanned return. He claimed it was to meet up with the supplier I did not see on Friday and so I could view the inside of the Taj Mahal and that is probably how he rationalized it,. I think I am more right and after a few compromises by me, a half hour longer with his family and a few more attempts by Hamid to get me to waste the afternoon we leave. I drew my line in the sand and while I wish I could have gone to the supplier without Hamid as to afford him more time with his family today that is simply impossible. I am a little proud I stood my ground on this.
First stop after I cut out the stalling tactics was Jane’s Carpets. I was there for a record setting 7 minutes. I think I Am better sleep deprived, certainly more to the point. The next stop was Diamond Carpets, which has had the most impressive store thus far. They do it for the tourist clearly and insist on denying it when I asked them about it which was perhaps in poor form on my part. I thought the place was neat, well lit with Greek columns and a few pieces of each part of production as you enter the store and in the office there are pictures of happy families purchasing carpets, it was a simple, harmless and friendly question I thought and then for no reason they lie about it—to my face. That does not start us off on a good footing. They did have a worth returning to selection, nothing I could pick without Angus’ seeing the carpets. Hamid is slow to get moving, he stays behind because the company actually owes him around $20000. The only way I have found is to just start leaving and hope he follows. Hope.
The good thing about dealing daily with the customers is I am with them when they go through the stacks and hear their critiques. As such when I go through stacks of carpets here I hear that criticism in the back of my head. The biggest difference between our sales strategy and the Indian supplier is the do not listen to the clients. No matter what you say or how many times you say no they will keep coming back trying to sell you something new. They assume that they know best and could care less what individual markets will bear—they just want carpets gone. I hate wasting time with the customers on thi8ngs they do not want. The Indian supplier will try to show you anything, and if you let them will show you everything do not let this happen. It is fun at first however if you want to accomplish anything you have to power through it.
Two more suppliers down and I learn our train will be at least 2 ½ hours late. It seems that the morning train and the evening train are the same. 11:10 no train yet, I should be back in my hotel room now instead I wait on a platform in Agra. The days are certainly interesting when I get up early.
I was asked an odd question, well not that odd it was just “are you from Denmark?” Denmark? I have never gotten that one before. I would never jump to assume someone to be Danish.
I was woken up by one of the servers on the train asking for tips; well I was not actually asleep. My eyes were closed and sunglasses on so he could not have known and although I had intended to give a few Rupees anyways, it just strikes me as a strange approach. I have also been approached by beggars and asked for money and then given them some and asked for more. Now while I realize sometimes I unknowingly give too little what kind of person ask for more generosity? I was kicked out of a bar for a poorly calculated tip to a bartender who had not been serving me all night and the only service they gave me was taking 20 minutes to the bill for my tab. What goes through peoples’ minds sometimes? How can they possibly believe in instances of generosity if you confront someone about a voluntary donation it will help their cause?
The train stopped unexpectedly, I think someone was lacking a ticket and was thrown off. I cannot remember ever witnessing that before, on buses sure however not on a train and certainly not half an hour away from Agra’s train station at a random tiny station that we should not be stopped at. Turns out it is the fog and not a passenger at all, and because we are so delayed we have to keep stopping for other trains to fly by us. The train ends up being sporadically delayed so we reach Agra close to 11 instead of 8:20.
Ever delayed; once again in Agra I am met by the same driver from Bansal carpets who took me to the rooftop café on Friday. Nice to see him again and he seems glad to see me again. Then again I did give him basically a days’ pay as a trip for all the driving and working late. I felt bad after we talked about wages and his five kids etc. Damn my guilt. The first stop is back to Bansal’s for tea and then onto the Taj Mahal—this time I am going in. I am asked to close my window—too much noise around. I like the noise it adds to the experience, with the window closed and the A.C. on I could be anywhere, well not anywhere, hopefully my point is taken.
Silence, there no light either, it appears Agra too is at the mercy of the power companies and they can turn the power off pretty much whenever they choose. As unexpectedly as the power disappears it returns. Let there be light, and the room clears. The atmosphere is that of a party in which the conversation hinges on everyone being present, throw off that balance and people being to panic. My go to move when I am tired of talking is to bring out my Moleskin journals, of which one has been filled, and try to remember what has all happened. I do not believe anyone quite knows what to do with me or how to treat me, I could make more of an effort to disarm the suppliers although I think it is to my advantage to keep them guessing and this is a business after all.
I should lead with the limited Hindi I know instead of repeating myself.
Pigeons seem to love to attack air conditioners.
One more shot of tea, my 5th glass today, and we head for the Taj. Four hours sleep and a 4 ½ hour train ride on top of the five day delay and I may just make it in. In and out; you can touch it, do not however step on the grass as the gardens are far more important. Even taking photos inside the tomb while prohibited the worst that happens is that they blow a whistle at you which could hurt your ears or worse yet your feelings. I kid, it is an impressive building, its’ history fascinating and the fact that you can touch it is rather amazing. Inside it is falling a bit into disrepair and people throw change onto the actual tomb while taking forbidden photo’s of an imitation one. It all seems backwards to me. Well worth the 750 rupee or about $17 if you prefer to get in, although for Indian’s it is only a dollar. Hamid is convinced that this is so expensive, which in a country where the minimum daily wage is around $2 does make sense. It is a UNESCO heritage sight and one of the most recognizable buildings in the world; I would pay more. The line to enter the Taj has changed directions, I guess the security guards/military police had a shift change and wanted to add their own personal flavour to the line. Not that the queue actually matters, locals will push their way to the front whenever the guards back is turn.
Another monkey wrench has been thrown into today’s plan. Hamid ran into his family on our way out. I am fairly sure that was his hope and one if not his only reason for this entirely unplanned return. He claimed it was to meet up with the supplier I did not see on Friday and so I could view the inside of the Taj Mahal and that is probably how he rationalized it,. I think I am more right and after a few compromises by me, a half hour longer with his family and a few more attempts by Hamid to get me to waste the afternoon we leave. I drew my line in the sand and while I wish I could have gone to the supplier without Hamid as to afford him more time with his family today that is simply impossible. I am a little proud I stood my ground on this.
First stop after I cut out the stalling tactics was Jane’s Carpets. I was there for a record setting 7 minutes. I think I Am better sleep deprived, certainly more to the point. The next stop was Diamond Carpets, which has had the most impressive store thus far. They do it for the tourist clearly and insist on denying it when I asked them about it which was perhaps in poor form on my part. I thought the place was neat, well lit with Greek columns and a few pieces of each part of production as you enter the store and in the office there are pictures of happy families purchasing carpets, it was a simple, harmless and friendly question I thought and then for no reason they lie about it—to my face. That does not start us off on a good footing. They did have a worth returning to selection, nothing I could pick without Angus’ seeing the carpets. Hamid is slow to get moving, he stays behind because the company actually owes him around $20000. The only way I have found is to just start leaving and hope he follows. Hope.
The good thing about dealing daily with the customers is I am with them when they go through the stacks and hear their critiques. As such when I go through stacks of carpets here I hear that criticism in the back of my head. The biggest difference between our sales strategy and the Indian supplier is the do not listen to the clients. No matter what you say or how many times you say no they will keep coming back trying to sell you something new. They assume that they know best and could care less what individual markets will bear—they just want carpets gone. I hate wasting time with the customers on thi8ngs they do not want. The Indian supplier will try to show you anything, and if you let them will show you everything do not let this happen. It is fun at first however if you want to accomplish anything you have to power through it.
Two more suppliers down and I learn our train will be at least 2 ½ hours late. It seems that the morning train and the evening train are the same. 11:10 no train yet, I should be back in my hotel room now instead I wait on a platform in Agra. The days are certainly interesting when I get up early.
I was asked an odd question, well not that odd it was just “are you from Denmark?” Denmark? I have never gotten that one before. I would never jump to assume someone to be Danish.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Delhi--Feb.21
The wheezing of my unsolicited invited guest prevented my good night sleep so when 7:15am rolled around and it became clear Julian had not set his alarm or be leaving when I had said he needed to be gone by I took matters into my own hands and attempted to get his butt in gear. It took another hour before he leaves with one encore as he forgot all of the important things he would need for his rescheduled train. He misread his ticket and already missed the first train. He reminds me of Gene. Kristine's replacement teacher in Korea, I had much disdain for Gene. We part ways although I half expect another curtain call while I wait for Hamid's return. He was taking the same overnight train we took earlier in the week so I expect to see him between 8:30 and 9.
When 11 rolls around and I cannot reach him I wonder if he decided to remain in Varanasi another day without telling me. My room service does not show either and I am still waiting on my water from the night before. If I had actually received any services I would say it was terrible instead it was completely absent. 12:30 Hamid arrives informing me that we are switching hotels again. The East Inn, where I head been staying was awful anyways and as such this is much welcome news. At this point I still have no idea what is going to happen today and my weekend was almost more tiring then the weekdays have been.
17 days left.
The countdown does not mean I am wanting my trip to end--it is still sub-zero temperatures in Ottawa and I want it to warm-up a bit for me. The past couple days in Delhi have been on the chilly side. From the new hotel I head back to Kashmir Arts and I have no clue why; nobody tells me anything. I should ask. Apparently I am going back to Agra tomorrow as well. I just may get to see the inside of the Taj Mahal after all and visit that supplier who was out of town on Friday. Still no clue about today.
Hamid is figuring out his accounts at Kashmir Arts today, I am sitting there quietly--smiling and drinking coffee. At best I am there for apperances sake which seems silly to me and a waste of time. Please do not misunderstand as I am all for wasting time, not so much while working and even less so while traveling. I am unsure what to do; I did inquire as to my purpose there and did have a few minor questions asked of me that Hamid knew the answers to.
Hurry up and wait.
I started writing three weeks ago in Ottawa's Airport to the same effect and keep coming back to that theme. I was gifted my second diary/day planner today, this one I may keep for back home in an attempt to become more organized--your welcome friends. I will try my best not to double book myself in the future. Everyone has such great ideas and I want to do it all, can I help it if I am easily excited and occasionally forget what I have already said I would do?
Silence.
I will stop calling it awkward silences because for me anyways it is no longer awkward. The gentlemen have been welcoming to me;sure I brought them business yet long before they knew that we would come to an agreement they were gracious. I will call it a comfortable time of reflection although I am not happy wi9th my choice of wording.
I was invited out again by some random Indian guys around my age again; however since I am not feeling like drinks and I am getting up before sunrise tomorrow I will endeavor to convince them to meet me Wednesday for something touristy. My idea involves a historical sound and light show at the Red Fort here in Delhi.
Hamid is coming tomorrow with me to Agra this time--probably a good thing. I wonder how Hamid makes money--my guess is some kind of commission based system coupled with his limited carpet sales and starting next year his school. The man is trying to diversify. He forgot that he was meeting his family today and when they called at 5 wondering where he has been all day he asked if I mind if he disappears off to see them. I am kind of revealed as I will be able to get that night to myself that Sunday was suppose to be back. We part ways with me going for a walk and a hopeful early evening.
When 11 rolls around and I cannot reach him I wonder if he decided to remain in Varanasi another day without telling me. My room service does not show either and I am still waiting on my water from the night before. If I had actually received any services I would say it was terrible instead it was completely absent. 12:30 Hamid arrives informing me that we are switching hotels again. The East Inn, where I head been staying was awful anyways and as such this is much welcome news. At this point I still have no idea what is going to happen today and my weekend was almost more tiring then the weekdays have been.
17 days left.
The countdown does not mean I am wanting my trip to end--it is still sub-zero temperatures in Ottawa and I want it to warm-up a bit for me. The past couple days in Delhi have been on the chilly side. From the new hotel I head back to Kashmir Arts and I have no clue why; nobody tells me anything. I should ask. Apparently I am going back to Agra tomorrow as well. I just may get to see the inside of the Taj Mahal after all and visit that supplier who was out of town on Friday. Still no clue about today.
Hamid is figuring out his accounts at Kashmir Arts today, I am sitting there quietly--smiling and drinking coffee. At best I am there for apperances sake which seems silly to me and a waste of time. Please do not misunderstand as I am all for wasting time, not so much while working and even less so while traveling. I am unsure what to do; I did inquire as to my purpose there and did have a few minor questions asked of me that Hamid knew the answers to.
Hurry up and wait.
I started writing three weeks ago in Ottawa's Airport to the same effect and keep coming back to that theme. I was gifted my second diary/day planner today, this one I may keep for back home in an attempt to become more organized--your welcome friends. I will try my best not to double book myself in the future. Everyone has such great ideas and I want to do it all, can I help it if I am easily excited and occasionally forget what I have already said I would do?
Silence.
I will stop calling it awkward silences because for me anyways it is no longer awkward. The gentlemen have been welcoming to me;sure I brought them business yet long before they knew that we would come to an agreement they were gracious. I will call it a comfortable time of reflection although I am not happy wi9th my choice of wording.
I was invited out again by some random Indian guys around my age again; however since I am not feeling like drinks and I am getting up before sunrise tomorrow I will endeavor to convince them to meet me Wednesday for something touristy. My idea involves a historical sound and light show at the Red Fort here in Delhi.
Hamid is coming tomorrow with me to Agra this time--probably a good thing. I wonder how Hamid makes money--my guess is some kind of commission based system coupled with his limited carpet sales and starting next year his school. The man is trying to diversify. He forgot that he was meeting his family today and when they called at 5 wondering where he has been all day he asked if I mind if he disappears off to see them. I am kind of revealed as I will be able to get that night to myself that Sunday was suppose to be back. We part ways with me going for a walk and a hopeful early evening.
Delhi--Feb.20
Today I went out with Julian and the intention of sightseeing--he is from Mumbai and only in town for a couple days and offered to show me around. When walking around searching for a place to have lunch we befriended an American programmer who had a hour to kill before his flight and knew of a rooftop cafe near by that he had found last night so we headed there. Near the end of our meal a thunderstorm came upon us and instead of touring around we took shelter in a movie theater. I had wanted to catch a Bollywood movie in a packed theater anyways so the rainy day it seemed like a good use of the afternoon without wasting time that could be spent sightseeing. Julian decided instead that he wanted to watch Hollywood, and ended up picking a movie I wanted to see anyways so I went with it. 127 hours worth seeing except Julian enjoys talking and pointing out the obvious parts of films.
After the movie it was still pouring so I headed back to my hotel to grab a bite and Julian had to meet up with a co-worker to get some paper work signed. Back in my hotel room I am rejoined by Julian in time to watch Canada lose to Sri Lanka in cricket in the hotel lobby.
After the movie it was still pouring so I headed back to my hotel to grab a bite and Julian had to meet up with a co-worker to get some paper work signed. Back in my hotel room I am rejoined by Julian in time to watch Canada lose to Sri Lanka in cricket in the hotel lobby.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Delhi--Feb. 19
A new day and a new plan. Hamid is going back to Varanasi tonight and returning Monday morning, which means I theoretically have a chance now to meet some people and go out socially. First I am moving into a hotel in West Delhi because the owner of the condo is having a lot more of his family coming to stay so I have been bumped out. I rather prefer this actually, gives me a break, which I realize is an odd thing to say. I have been living on and off alone for a while now and I need some Jamie time which I have not been getting in India. Plus I have run out of things to say temporarily.
Cricket! The World Cup of Cricket starts today. Canada is in it, any know that? I was going to meet Rana tonight and go out for drinks however he ended up working late and those plans became postponed for tomorrow instead I wandered around the area surrounding my hotel. One of the areas I stumbled upon I felt for certain if it was dark instead of dusk I would probably get stabbed and robbed if not worse. very sketchy slum that had hundreds of drunks drinking cheap spirits incredibly quickly. The rest of my exploration was uneventful aside from running across six lanes of traffic twice; which was once again a little unnerving, I swear Indian drivers just want to hit a foreigner.
Grabbed a pizza and head back to my room around 9 expecting an early night with a movie or two on my laptop. After the long day of yesterday it will be nice to relax with Vargha's extensive movie library, plus without Vargha or Hamid and their snoring around I may just get a good night sleep. This plan lasted about an hour before I received a call from Julian who just so happened to have VIP at a bar across town so I hoped into an auto to meet him and do our own little pub crawl.
Cricket! The World Cup of Cricket starts today. Canada is in it, any know that? I was going to meet Rana tonight and go out for drinks however he ended up working late and those plans became postponed for tomorrow instead I wandered around the area surrounding my hotel. One of the areas I stumbled upon I felt for certain if it was dark instead of dusk I would probably get stabbed and robbed if not worse. very sketchy slum that had hundreds of drunks drinking cheap spirits incredibly quickly. The rest of my exploration was uneventful aside from running across six lanes of traffic twice; which was once again a little unnerving, I swear Indian drivers just want to hit a foreigner.
Grabbed a pizza and head back to my room around 9 expecting an early night with a movie or two on my laptop. After the long day of yesterday it will be nice to relax with Vargha's extensive movie library, plus without Vargha or Hamid and their snoring around I may just get a good night sleep. This plan lasted about an hour before I received a call from Julian who just so happened to have VIP at a bar across town so I hoped into an auto to meet him and do our own little pub crawl.
Delhi/Agra--Feb.18 Part 2
The Agra Fort is quite interesting and I am glad I decided to get a tour guide for the 200 Rupees. I realize in India that is a lot of money however to me $4.00 plus a trip for an hour long one on one tour is an opportunity that must be jumped on.
Being called sir is strange. My tour guide kept calling me sir despite the fact he was 3 years my senior and I asked a few times to call me James. The fort was built by Shan Jahan who also built the Taj Mahal and would end up being imprisoned in one of the miniature palaces inside by his son for eight years, and to add to the punishment he had one tiny mirror that he was able to view the Taj Mahal through. I could get into the details of the whose and whys etc., however I am lazy and if you really care to know google it. I will say that Shan Jahan built the Taj Mahal in honour of his third wife and had started construction of a second one in black before he was deposed. The Fort is surrounded by two moats, the first was a jungle that had tigers living in it and the second alligators and during the rainy season it still fills up.
Aftrer the fort I stopped by a McDonalds, which is a place I rarely eat in Canada and always ends up leaving me feeling unfulfilled however I like to try it once in each country to see what kind of local menu they have. It was odd yet worth trying I guess in the end. While at MD's I struck up a conversation with an American girl who I had convinced to grab a beer with me prior to my train's depature. Also my driver veeoted this decision claiming I had to return and sit awkwardly with Mr. Bansal and his brother for a hour before I could head to the train station and start my journey back to Delhi. Where I was suppose to be greeted by Hamid on the plkatform then head back to the condo and bed around midnight. Long end to a day that started at 4:45am.
Good night...
...or so I thought.
Days drag on when you know all that is going to happen for the rest of that day and have nothing your looking forward to except sleep; this was the case Friday the 18th around 7pm. I had finished my work, saw the sights I could see and was exhausted with an hour to spend in the company of a supplier who has been friendly all day, although by 7 I think everyone was tired and I had another 90 minute train ride ahead of me.
Okay, spicy pepper with my dinner on the train albeit tasty was a bad idea, I can never turn down spice--give me spice over sweet any day. Despite my best efforts to get a few minutes of sleep on the train ride back I ended up befriending a 28 year old travel agent who was going to Delhi for a wild weekend visiting his brother. nice man, even taught me how to write my own name in Hindi, and I will eventually get to sleep so I do not mind the conversation.
Why do Indians love Bryan Adams? He still sells out concerts here and is even performing tomorrow in the World Cup of Cricket opening ceremonies. I like the man as much as the next Canadian and would not pass up on the chance to see him live if the price was right. India however, as my friend V explained once he is huge, V even interviewed him a handful of times for MTV Mumbai(Bombay). I am a little unclear on what name I should use for the cities as they keep changing. Bombay was the old British name as was Banares (Varanasi) and the locals still use the old names however officially now they have switched back to the traditional Indian names. I will try to remain constant.
Hamid is late.
I could have easily taken an auto-rickshaw myself back to the condo however he said that he would meet me on the platform and when I called him he said he was on his way. Sweet man although he does treat me a bit too much with the kiddie gloves. I am fairly adept at this traveling in foreign countries thing and been successful in countries that speak far less English then India. Yet I wait. Oh sleep how sweet you will be.
Nobody bothers to read signs. Everyone goes out the in and people coming in skip the security check. How does this country work? How can India possibly become a superpower when the people intentionally drive the wrong way down the highway into on coming traffic just to save a few rupees on gas?
Hamid's here.
Being called sir is strange. My tour guide kept calling me sir despite the fact he was 3 years my senior and I asked a few times to call me James. The fort was built by Shan Jahan who also built the Taj Mahal and would end up being imprisoned in one of the miniature palaces inside by his son for eight years, and to add to the punishment he had one tiny mirror that he was able to view the Taj Mahal through. I could get into the details of the whose and whys etc., however I am lazy and if you really care to know google it. I will say that Shan Jahan built the Taj Mahal in honour of his third wife and had started construction of a second one in black before he was deposed. The Fort is surrounded by two moats, the first was a jungle that had tigers living in it and the second alligators and during the rainy season it still fills up.
Aftrer the fort I stopped by a McDonalds, which is a place I rarely eat in Canada and always ends up leaving me feeling unfulfilled however I like to try it once in each country to see what kind of local menu they have. It was odd yet worth trying I guess in the end. While at MD's I struck up a conversation with an American girl who I had convinced to grab a beer with me prior to my train's depature. Also my driver veeoted this decision claiming I had to return and sit awkwardly with Mr. Bansal and his brother for a hour before I could head to the train station and start my journey back to Delhi. Where I was suppose to be greeted by Hamid on the plkatform then head back to the condo and bed around midnight. Long end to a day that started at 4:45am.
Good night...
...or so I thought.
Days drag on when you know all that is going to happen for the rest of that day and have nothing your looking forward to except sleep; this was the case Friday the 18th around 7pm. I had finished my work, saw the sights I could see and was exhausted with an hour to spend in the company of a supplier who has been friendly all day, although by 7 I think everyone was tired and I had another 90 minute train ride ahead of me.
Okay, spicy pepper with my dinner on the train albeit tasty was a bad idea, I can never turn down spice--give me spice over sweet any day. Despite my best efforts to get a few minutes of sleep on the train ride back I ended up befriending a 28 year old travel agent who was going to Delhi for a wild weekend visiting his brother. nice man, even taught me how to write my own name in Hindi, and I will eventually get to sleep so I do not mind the conversation.
Why do Indians love Bryan Adams? He still sells out concerts here and is even performing tomorrow in the World Cup of Cricket opening ceremonies. I like the man as much as the next Canadian and would not pass up on the chance to see him live if the price was right. India however, as my friend V explained once he is huge, V even interviewed him a handful of times for MTV Mumbai(Bombay). I am a little unclear on what name I should use for the cities as they keep changing. Bombay was the old British name as was Banares (Varanasi) and the locals still use the old names however officially now they have switched back to the traditional Indian names. I will try to remain constant.
Hamid is late.
I could have easily taken an auto-rickshaw myself back to the condo however he said that he would meet me on the platform and when I called him he said he was on his way. Sweet man although he does treat me a bit too much with the kiddie gloves. I am fairly adept at this traveling in foreign countries thing and been successful in countries that speak far less English then India. Yet I wait. Oh sleep how sweet you will be.
Nobody bothers to read signs. Everyone goes out the in and people coming in skip the security check. How does this country work? How can India possibly become a superpower when the people intentionally drive the wrong way down the highway into on coming traffic just to save a few rupees on gas?
Hamid's here.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Delhi/Agra--Feb. 18 part 1
Up at 4:45am this morning to the tune I can best describe as a cross between Donkey Kong Country and the star power up music from Mario Kart.
6:15am trains suck, way too early, the sun has the good sense to still be asleep oh why can I not? That was a rhetorical question as I bitter however glad to be awake and heading to Agra.
Note to self, remember to lock bathroom doors. I think I gave a small boy quite a fright when he opened the train bathroom door to find me. I had thought that I had locked it however the lock I used can be undone from both sides--always use padlocks.
As luck would have it Friday the 18th is a holiday and as such the Taj Mahal is closed except for Muslim prayers which unless I find the proper head ware I doubt I can convince the guards I am going to pray; so no going inside and looking around the Taj Mahal. Before i can get to sightseeing I must meet with Mr. Bansal and look through his stock. He gives me a tour of his carpet washing area first as I was explaining my curiosity on that aspect of production.
The place is smaller then I expect and does not take long to go around and see each stage from washing to the finishing of the carpets which takes around 8-10 days. Mr. Bansal is a nice enough man who has been in the business for 32 years and seen the good times and the bad, I do get the impression that he is rather tired of it all though and moving towards other things. I am shown through his stock by his younger brother. once again I end up spending more time then I think necessary which cuts into my exploring time however in the end I do find some hard to find sizes. Mr. Bansal is also kind enough to lend me his driver to tour me around Agra and set aside my selections until Angus comes March 5th. Making for a successful carpet shopping day, albeit exhausting as I do not even leave his warehouse until almost 4. There had been a second supplier that I was going to visit on this trip and originally was going to spend the night however they were not in town so my time in Agra was cut short. Given that by the time I leave Bansal's carpets I am basically running on coffee and tea it is probably for the best my time was quickly coming to an end.
I decided to have my third beer in India while I sat atop a hotel looking upon the Taj Mahal. Such an amazing day outside that I spent far too much of it indoors looking at carpets. Rooftop cafes in the sunshine are always welcome additions to any day: especially today. A long day with an awesomely picturesque late afternoon sun. Sadly my hopes for a rooftop pint are dashed as I do not want to drink alone and the driver with me cannot drink while on the job; or so I thought at the last moment when I was about to leave a quart of kingfisher lager appeared. Ahh. Rooftops, sunshine, conversation, and beer are always a good idea--add in the back drop of the Tah Mahal--amazing. The 650ml beer may have gone to my head a little bit bring on the Agra Fort.
6:15am trains suck, way too early, the sun has the good sense to still be asleep oh why can I not? That was a rhetorical question as I bitter however glad to be awake and heading to Agra.
Note to self, remember to lock bathroom doors. I think I gave a small boy quite a fright when he opened the train bathroom door to find me. I had thought that I had locked it however the lock I used can be undone from both sides--always use padlocks.
As luck would have it Friday the 18th is a holiday and as such the Taj Mahal is closed except for Muslim prayers which unless I find the proper head ware I doubt I can convince the guards I am going to pray; so no going inside and looking around the Taj Mahal. Before i can get to sightseeing I must meet with Mr. Bansal and look through his stock. He gives me a tour of his carpet washing area first as I was explaining my curiosity on that aspect of production.
The place is smaller then I expect and does not take long to go around and see each stage from washing to the finishing of the carpets which takes around 8-10 days. Mr. Bansal is a nice enough man who has been in the business for 32 years and seen the good times and the bad, I do get the impression that he is rather tired of it all though and moving towards other things. I am shown through his stock by his younger brother. once again I end up spending more time then I think necessary which cuts into my exploring time however in the end I do find some hard to find sizes. Mr. Bansal is also kind enough to lend me his driver to tour me around Agra and set aside my selections until Angus comes March 5th. Making for a successful carpet shopping day, albeit exhausting as I do not even leave his warehouse until almost 4. There had been a second supplier that I was going to visit on this trip and originally was going to spend the night however they were not in town so my time in Agra was cut short. Given that by the time I leave Bansal's carpets I am basically running on coffee and tea it is probably for the best my time was quickly coming to an end.
I decided to have my third beer in India while I sat atop a hotel looking upon the Taj Mahal. Such an amazing day outside that I spent far too much of it indoors looking at carpets. Rooftop cafes in the sunshine are always welcome additions to any day: especially today. A long day with an awesomely picturesque late afternoon sun. Sadly my hopes for a rooftop pint are dashed as I do not want to drink alone and the driver with me cannot drink while on the job; or so I thought at the last moment when I was about to leave a quart of kingfisher lager appeared. Ahh. Rooftops, sunshine, conversation, and beer are always a good idea--add in the back drop of the Tah Mahal--amazing. The 650ml beer may have gone to my head a little bit bring on the Agra Fort.
Delhi--Feb.17
Morning report today, I would not have thought enough would have happened over night to warrant writing another one yet apparently half of the world is just waking up when I go to bed. India 10 1/2 hours ahead of Ottawa. In Delhi I am once again being spoiled; when I arrived Vargha and I stayed at a 5 star hotel and until the 24th Hamid and myself are staying in the luxury condo of his friend/the boss of Carpet international.
I forgot my sunglasses today, a small thing that means nothing, except I oddly felt more professional taking them off when I arrived at places and liked people being unable to see my eyes while traveling. We head to Noida which 25 years ago use to be jungle now it is a tax free industrial area. The reason it is tax free is the government of Delhi wanted to get the industries out of the city in hopes of cleaning up the air a bit and industries like not paying taxes. Now this area has become terribly polluted, nevertheless it is where Overseas Carpets Limited's main warehouse is and that is our first destination for today.
Why does my water bottle have nutrition facts on it? Unless the water is claiming to be something more then water I believe it lacks nutrition--I do not need proof of this, water is meant to hydrate not nourish.
After a quick stop off back at the condo to grab Hamid's cell and my sunglasses we part ways, Hamid heading to the airport to pick up his family and I head off with a separate driver from a different company. The original plan was for me to return to the first supplier I visited yesterday as they received more of the styles I was looking at yesterday however since I had a few questions for Angus that I needed answered before I returned I was hesitant. I expressed this concern to Hamid who suggested then that either I stay back at the condo and relax or see if the driver will take me around the city a bit. Not wanting to sit around I headed out in hopes of sightseeing.
It is strange that when i am traveling alone I am rarely nervous because I take the time to figure out what I want to do. When others are guiding me around things are out of my control and I do not bother attempting to plan so that I can accommodate their schedules, maybe it is not strange to be nervous when you have little control. Although things being out of my control i end up back at the carpet suppliers anyways. Which in hindsight is the right place to be as I have a good enough idea to continue with Kashmir Arts and more questions to ask. I also wanted to go back and visit the glasses store beside to replace the nose piece I lost on my second day in India.
Just after five I head out with Kashmir Arts driver to tour around town until sunset which is fast approaching. I have never understood why it takes people so long to look at monuments unless you are drawing it. It is for this reason that I do not like going around with tour groups because they have terrible time management. What should take minutes takes an hour or you are provided with an hour and what should take an hour or two ends up taking a day. I like to see things to see them, cool architecture, important buildings, historic places and museums. It just does not take hours to do this.
Fun fact, I have only electrocuted myself once on my power converter.
I forgot my sunglasses today, a small thing that means nothing, except I oddly felt more professional taking them off when I arrived at places and liked people being unable to see my eyes while traveling. We head to Noida which 25 years ago use to be jungle now it is a tax free industrial area. The reason it is tax free is the government of Delhi wanted to get the industries out of the city in hopes of cleaning up the air a bit and industries like not paying taxes. Now this area has become terribly polluted, nevertheless it is where Overseas Carpets Limited's main warehouse is and that is our first destination for today.
Why does my water bottle have nutrition facts on it? Unless the water is claiming to be something more then water I believe it lacks nutrition--I do not need proof of this, water is meant to hydrate not nourish.
After a quick stop off back at the condo to grab Hamid's cell and my sunglasses we part ways, Hamid heading to the airport to pick up his family and I head off with a separate driver from a different company. The original plan was for me to return to the first supplier I visited yesterday as they received more of the styles I was looking at yesterday however since I had a few questions for Angus that I needed answered before I returned I was hesitant. I expressed this concern to Hamid who suggested then that either I stay back at the condo and relax or see if the driver will take me around the city a bit. Not wanting to sit around I headed out in hopes of sightseeing.
It is strange that when i am traveling alone I am rarely nervous because I take the time to figure out what I want to do. When others are guiding me around things are out of my control and I do not bother attempting to plan so that I can accommodate their schedules, maybe it is not strange to be nervous when you have little control. Although things being out of my control i end up back at the carpet suppliers anyways. Which in hindsight is the right place to be as I have a good enough idea to continue with Kashmir Arts and more questions to ask. I also wanted to go back and visit the glasses store beside to replace the nose piece I lost on my second day in India.
Just after five I head out with Kashmir Arts driver to tour around town until sunset which is fast approaching. I have never understood why it takes people so long to look at monuments unless you are drawing it. It is for this reason that I do not like going around with tour groups because they have terrible time management. What should take minutes takes an hour or you are provided with an hour and what should take an hour or two ends up taking a day. I like to see things to see them, cool architecture, important buildings, historic places and museums. It just does not take hours to do this.
Fun fact, I have only electrocuted myself once on my power converter.
Overnight Train and Delhi--Feb.16
As fate would have it I am just a little bit too long for my bed; meaning my feet stuck out just enough that anyone walking by would unexpectedly run into my feet. I also managed to drop a shoe on the lady below me by accident while waking up in the morning.
Second impressions of Delhi after spending nearly two weeks in Varanasi:it is shockingly cleaner and traffic laws seem to somewhat apply. At the very least they have traffic lights and roundabouts are abundant.
From the train station we were picked up by a driver from Kashmir Arts and proceeded to their Delhi warehouse. The selection, price and quality of their products was better then almost all places I had visited around Varanasi and as such I spent 2 1/2 hours going through their stock selecting pieces. Hopefully Angus approves--I think we will anyways otherwise I would not have selected them. Then again i could be way off base. Luckily nothing is set in stone and I will find out in the morning how I did. One company is not enough for today so we head off towards our next destination making it half way there before we are left on the corner of a street with our luggage--we were changing companies and drivers. My family will not like reading this however for better or worse I have given up on seat-belts here. This is partly because in most backseats the seat-belt just does not work and also because I have come to accept if we crash, aside from those daily bumps, it will be in such a glorious fashion that it would not help. I was going to write Delhi is like Busan only dirtier and less hi-tech however in Korea they follow most laws and fear/respect the military and government that is more true here, still it is like no place I have been and each city has such a distinctive personality.
I hate talking about money with people as it is a sore subject of mine, however it did come up one night with Simon and Ananada. It turns out what I make in a month after taxes would take Ananada two years to earn. Another crazy thought is what I was wearing that night would take him 3 months to afford. Of course the cost of living is way lower, in two weeks I have spent about $16. A lot of that has to do with staying with Hamid and hardly having a social life. Even still, one day when I was sightseeing and eating out a lot I only spent $6. I have also only had two beer since arriving in India. Add all of that together and it makes for an inexpensive two weeks. I may owe Angus a bit when I return from all the traveling we have been doing although I am kind of thinking it would potentially all be business expenses. Even on this trip to Delhi we are staying at a friend of Hamid's house. In the end the cost does not matter it is just strange to think about.
Our second stop was Overseas carpets Limited which is the company Vargha and I visited briefly before our flight to Varanasi. Today with Hamid I feel far more comfortable and clear on what I am doing which is in stark contrast to that second day. A far more successful day--at least until Angus gets a look at my choices. I kind of feel like the places I have taken the majority of the photos are places Angus would have visited himself, then again from what I have been told by the suppliers they recognize his name however have not seen him in many years. With that in mind he may not have visited them on his normal trip. Good day in my books anyways 150 pictures of around 90 carpets. Long day though, as I hopped on a train at 1am, arrived in Delhi at 9:30am and worked until nearly 8pm plus another hour labeling photos and struggling with a bad internet connection. I am beginning to feel productive.
Second impressions of Delhi after spending nearly two weeks in Varanasi:it is shockingly cleaner and traffic laws seem to somewhat apply. At the very least they have traffic lights and roundabouts are abundant.
From the train station we were picked up by a driver from Kashmir Arts and proceeded to their Delhi warehouse. The selection, price and quality of their products was better then almost all places I had visited around Varanasi and as such I spent 2 1/2 hours going through their stock selecting pieces. Hopefully Angus approves--I think we will anyways otherwise I would not have selected them. Then again i could be way off base. Luckily nothing is set in stone and I will find out in the morning how I did. One company is not enough for today so we head off towards our next destination making it half way there before we are left on the corner of a street with our luggage--we were changing companies and drivers. My family will not like reading this however for better or worse I have given up on seat-belts here. This is partly because in most backseats the seat-belt just does not work and also because I have come to accept if we crash, aside from those daily bumps, it will be in such a glorious fashion that it would not help. I was going to write Delhi is like Busan only dirtier and less hi-tech however in Korea they follow most laws and fear/respect the military and government that is more true here, still it is like no place I have been and each city has such a distinctive personality.
I hate talking about money with people as it is a sore subject of mine, however it did come up one night with Simon and Ananada. It turns out what I make in a month after taxes would take Ananada two years to earn. Another crazy thought is what I was wearing that night would take him 3 months to afford. Of course the cost of living is way lower, in two weeks I have spent about $16. A lot of that has to do with staying with Hamid and hardly having a social life. Even still, one day when I was sightseeing and eating out a lot I only spent $6. I have also only had two beer since arriving in India. Add all of that together and it makes for an inexpensive two weeks. I may owe Angus a bit when I return from all the traveling we have been doing although I am kind of thinking it would potentially all be business expenses. Even on this trip to Delhi we are staying at a friend of Hamid's house. In the end the cost does not matter it is just strange to think about.
Our second stop was Overseas carpets Limited which is the company Vargha and I visited briefly before our flight to Varanasi. Today with Hamid I feel far more comfortable and clear on what I am doing which is in stark contrast to that second day. A far more successful day--at least until Angus gets a look at my choices. I kind of feel like the places I have taken the majority of the photos are places Angus would have visited himself, then again from what I have been told by the suppliers they recognize his name however have not seen him in many years. With that in mind he may not have visited them on his normal trip. Good day in my books anyways 150 pictures of around 90 carpets. Long day though, as I hopped on a train at 1am, arrived in Delhi at 9:30am and worked until nearly 8pm plus another hour labeling photos and struggling with a bad internet connection. I am beginning to feel productive.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Varanasi--Feb.15
Tuesday I had been invited to coach a class in soccer which was too tempting to pass upo. As an added bonus it meant no long car ride to the carpet producing regions. The best laid plans however...
to start the morning off the man who was to line the field woke up two hours late blaming the driver for not bringing the chalk and things just snowballed from there leading to a huge delay for everything. Eventually the lines and temporary sound system are setup and we go to the field so that the kids have the opportunity to practice where they will be performing. One observation; heat is great to subdue rowdy children; when they are watching the other grades perform the kids sit in the one shady area. I am just a spectator and glad as a forced march in the midday heat is not my idea of a good afternoon. After practice we return to the school in a bus far too crowded as one of the support staff has to hang off the side off the bus--it looked like fun actually and I rather wanted to do it too. Once back I ended up gi8ven some of the 6th graders a brief History, English and Korean lesson in exchange for help with my Hindi. More then anything I think they were curious about me and bored as they had a half period free before our soccer game.
I have to stop assuming things, the soccer was fun however not what I had been expecting. I had thought I would have a full class and be running them through drills, or really anything skill or fundamentals based. It amounted to little more then a 3v4 scrimmage with my occasional interjection of rules and attempts to end the bumble bee inspired style of play. Still, always fun to get out playing with kids who are excited to participate in sports.
The game with the kids went long and after six days in a row of carpet hunting I welcomed the break from patterns, colours and carpet dealers. Tonight is going to be a long one anyways as me and Hamid are taking the overnight train to Delhi. I am excited as I have heard stories and seen pictures of the trains in India although I suspect we will be traveling a little differently then I would be were I going alone. Time to head for the train; I already look tired.
to start the morning off the man who was to line the field woke up two hours late blaming the driver for not bringing the chalk and things just snowballed from there leading to a huge delay for everything. Eventually the lines and temporary sound system are setup and we go to the field so that the kids have the opportunity to practice where they will be performing. One observation; heat is great to subdue rowdy children; when they are watching the other grades perform the kids sit in the one shady area. I am just a spectator and glad as a forced march in the midday heat is not my idea of a good afternoon. After practice we return to the school in a bus far too crowded as one of the support staff has to hang off the side off the bus--it looked like fun actually and I rather wanted to do it too. Once back I ended up gi8ven some of the 6th graders a brief History, English and Korean lesson in exchange for help with my Hindi. More then anything I think they were curious about me and bored as they had a half period free before our soccer game.
I have to stop assuming things, the soccer was fun however not what I had been expecting. I had thought I would have a full class and be running them through drills, or really anything skill or fundamentals based. It amounted to little more then a 3v4 scrimmage with my occasional interjection of rules and attempts to end the bumble bee inspired style of play. Still, always fun to get out playing with kids who are excited to participate in sports.
The game with the kids went long and after six days in a row of carpet hunting I welcomed the break from patterns, colours and carpet dealers. Tonight is going to be a long one anyways as me and Hamid are taking the overnight train to Delhi. I am excited as I have heard stories and seen pictures of the trains in India although I suspect we will be traveling a little differently then I would be were I going alone. Time to head for the train; I already look tired.
Varanasi--Feb.14
The weekend is over and as such my routine has changed back to a teacher meeting at 7:45am, gym class until 10 and then on the road with Hamid.
At the teacher meeting they are still planning for this coming Sunday's Sports Day. They are trying to think of activities for parents and children to participate in; separately mind you. I suggested some of the games we played back at Brentwood Elementary school however a lot of them do not work on dirt fields. I am still unsure if I will be back in time or not. On Wednesdays Hamid and I are going to Delhi, Thursday Agra and Friday I believe that we are going to Jaipur then back to Delhi and returning to Varanasi on Saturday or Sunday. While we are away we will be searching for carpets as well as attending a wedding and a little bit of sightseeing for myself--Taj Mahal here I come!
During the morning gym class a few of the teachers decided to analyze my writing and from it decided that those I trust I trust a lot and those I do not well I distrust a lot; they also came to the conclusion that I would marry someone whose name begins with a G or H based on my cursive capitals. What is this obsession with marriage? Next they gave me a homework assignment to practice 10 Hindi letters and the kids gave me a few more words to work on: please, which is pronounced Cre-pie-a, was one of the words however they had to ask their teachers what it was in Hindi as it is rarely used.
A quick breakfast and we headed to Hamid's warehouse for a 'short' stop as a few more carpets arrived and he had a gas tank to drop off.
The first supplier was nice and helpful although had absolutely nothing of use to me so we head off with a slight detour as a grain truck was being unloaded and blocking the road we came in on. When we hit the highway traffic was light so our driver floored it; which in this car meant around 160km in a 50km zone. The maximum speed limit I have seen since I got here is 50km, the fastest I have been in a car since arriving is 170km. I am ever tense when in the car as my body has been trained to be aware when I hear a horn and they seem to always be sounding.
Back at the house I skip out on the youth training meeting in favour of a little time for myself listening to music and practicing my Hindi Abc's. After all I was given 10 Hindi letters to remember for homework.
At the teacher meeting they are still planning for this coming Sunday's Sports Day. They are trying to think of activities for parents and children to participate in; separately mind you. I suggested some of the games we played back at Brentwood Elementary school however a lot of them do not work on dirt fields. I am still unsure if I will be back in time or not. On Wednesdays Hamid and I are going to Delhi, Thursday Agra and Friday I believe that we are going to Jaipur then back to Delhi and returning to Varanasi on Saturday or Sunday. While we are away we will be searching for carpets as well as attending a wedding and a little bit of sightseeing for myself--Taj Mahal here I come!
During the morning gym class a few of the teachers decided to analyze my writing and from it decided that those I trust I trust a lot and those I do not well I distrust a lot; they also came to the conclusion that I would marry someone whose name begins with a G or H based on my cursive capitals. What is this obsession with marriage? Next they gave me a homework assignment to practice 10 Hindi letters and the kids gave me a few more words to work on: please, which is pronounced Cre-pie-a, was one of the words however they had to ask their teachers what it was in Hindi as it is rarely used.
A quick breakfast and we headed to Hamid's warehouse for a 'short' stop as a few more carpets arrived and he had a gas tank to drop off.
The first supplier was nice and helpful although had absolutely nothing of use to me so we head off with a slight detour as a grain truck was being unloaded and blocking the road we came in on. When we hit the highway traffic was light so our driver floored it; which in this car meant around 160km in a 50km zone. The maximum speed limit I have seen since I got here is 50km, the fastest I have been in a car since arriving is 170km. I am ever tense when in the car as my body has been trained to be aware when I hear a horn and they seem to always be sounding.
Back at the house I skip out on the youth training meeting in favour of a little time for myself listening to music and practicing my Hindi Abc's. After all I was given 10 Hindi letters to remember for homework.
Varanasi--Feb.13
Last night was the first bad night sleep that I have had; although that first night in Delhi I was quite jet legged. Last night the teachers had a potluck and a few brought dishes especially for me to try--so I do. This was a bad idea in retrospective as since dinner my stomach has been bothering me. If that was not bad enough a few houses away there was a wedding with a loud speaker system blaring music until nearly 4am. Still, one bad night in 12 days seems fair. Anyways onto the day...
...Our first stop today was once again Hamid's warehouse. He had received 20 floral patterned carpets and wanted me to take a quick look which in India seems to mean spend an hour trying to explain a few simple directions to his staff. I did end up picking a few of the carpets.
The next stop was U.N. Carpets again, not a lot was accomplished there as the sizes were still incomplete meaning I must return in a week to see the finished products.
Then it was onto U.N.'s Nain supplier. I walked out of my first company there. They mislead me about their product and would not listen at all to what I was saying or looking for so I threw my hands up and said "this is a waste of time, your not listening to me" and headed back to the car. I immediately felt bad as my lack of sleep and upset stomach had tested my patience and the supplier brought me past my breaking point. Back in the car I apologized to Hamid however he seemed supportive as they had mislead us and were wasting our time so we head off. I ended up visiting another four suppliers over the remainder of the day before our hour and a half car ride back.
I get back to Hamid's, write my daily report and head to bed in hopes of catching up on sleep although the big band playing a cross the way has a different plan for me.
...Our first stop today was once again Hamid's warehouse. He had received 20 floral patterned carpets and wanted me to take a quick look which in India seems to mean spend an hour trying to explain a few simple directions to his staff. I did end up picking a few of the carpets.
The next stop was U.N. Carpets again, not a lot was accomplished there as the sizes were still incomplete meaning I must return in a week to see the finished products.
Then it was onto U.N.'s Nain supplier. I walked out of my first company there. They mislead me about their product and would not listen at all to what I was saying or looking for so I threw my hands up and said "this is a waste of time, your not listening to me" and headed back to the car. I immediately felt bad as my lack of sleep and upset stomach had tested my patience and the supplier brought me past my breaking point. Back in the car I apologized to Hamid however he seemed supportive as they had mislead us and were wasting our time so we head off. I ended up visiting another four suppliers over the remainder of the day before our hour and a half car ride back.
I get back to Hamid's, write my daily report and head to bed in hopes of catching up on sleep although the big band playing a cross the way has a different plan for me.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Varanasi--Feb.12
Saturday arrives and it means little. I go back to my prior to helping out at the school routine only to find out that the kids I have been helping prepare for sports day are here practicing and wondering where I am. Tempted as I am to go join them Hamid suggests we head out earlier today in search of carpets and although I am sceptical I know if I head out to the kids it will be a certainty that we will not get going until the afternoon. 11 we get down to the car and 11:15 we get going; heading back towards Bhadohi. We enter Morti Lal around noon and end up being coaxed into staying for far too long. When we get back into the car I have a talk with Hamid about the amount of time we are taking at places as it does not take 2+ hours to select 24 carpets. Yes I want to see as much stock as I can however when the suppliers continue to show me the same colours and patterns I have told them I am not interested in we should just move on.
Mobility should be my strength yet it has been to my detriment thus far. I should be assertive; I am working on it, after all I am the client and here. I want to be respectful which leads to too little being accomplished. 2+ hours in one place and having to sit silently while Hamid eats and talks with suppliers is an unproductive day, although Hamid was having stomach problems and soldiering through the day.
From Morti Lal and brothers we head to Ideal Carpets who are another huge supplier; one of the four hotels beside Hamid’s house is called Ideal Hotel, or Hotel Ideal I cannot remember the order at the moment—they have a pool. I spend another hour and a half searching through their stock before we make our way back to the car and hit the road for an hour and a half car ride back. I am beginning to realize that I still have much to learn although those initial nerves have diminished.
Fun fact, in January India had 21 Billion in exports.
Mobility should be my strength yet it has been to my detriment thus far. I should be assertive; I am working on it, after all I am the client and here. I want to be respectful which leads to too little being accomplished. 2+ hours in one place and having to sit silently while Hamid eats and talks with suppliers is an unproductive day, although Hamid was having stomach problems and soldiering through the day.
From Morti Lal and brothers we head to Ideal Carpets who are another huge supplier; one of the four hotels beside Hamid’s house is called Ideal Hotel, or Hotel Ideal I cannot remember the order at the moment—they have a pool. I spend another hour and a half searching through their stock before we make our way back to the car and hit the road for an hour and a half car ride back. I am beginning to realize that I still have much to learn although those initial nerves have diminished.
Fun fact, in January India had 21 Billion in exports.
Varanasi--Feb. 11
We are ever delayed; welcome to India, nobody is in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything. I was up at 6:30 this morning yet with the extra time I took longer; still somehow I managed to be early although I thought I was late. I had been under the impression that the morning discussions began at 7, turns out it is 7:45, knowing the actual time I can manage my morning accordingly and get out in the sun to start the day. The morning group today discussed prayer, heaven and hell from a Baha’i inspired perspective-ish. From what I have read which is only 3 books to this point they are slightly off the message—rarely in an important way. The morning chats with the teachers are a nice way to wake up and get to better know those people you work with.
From that chat it was on to an outdoor prayer with the older students and the singing of the national anthem—we should sing O’Canada more. Next I headed on to a packed school bus to head to the ‘field’ which is more like a packed dirt with a few lines hastily drawn on it. For the next hour the kids match, exercise and practice a choreographed dance in preparation for sports day. I join in marching as I figured out how to do it the day before and try to help the youngest groups with their timing and spacing. Out-to means left Cee-to means right (although later in the day Hamid would tell me this is wrong)—I thought it important to know when instructing wee-ones. After gym class we head back to the school, the kids are onto their next class and I go in search of Hamid to see if his morning work is done. He says it is which I am learning means another 45-60 minutes before we will actually be on the road.
When we finally move from his office half an hour has passed and we head everywhere besides towards the car. We ended up moving around 11 instead of 10 which had been the original goal although 11 was quite the improvement on yesterday when we did not leave Hamid’s until 1:30. As getting anywhere is a headache the fact that Hamid had a few tasks to do around the city mean it would be sometime before we actually headed towards the villages. We would eventually start at the first supplier of the day around 1.I am toured through Taj Mahal Carpets by what is an ever changing 3 or 4 men proceed to show me through their stock. *side note, we should do our best to keep the same people with our customers when possible even if that means delayed/switching lunches. It ads unneeded confusion and we should be simplifying things for our customers.* I ended up selecting a handful of carpets here mainly because I felt like I had to show Angus something; I am now realizing that is not my puporse. I am here to be strict and find the deals Angus does not have the time to find. Out of the 14 I picked Angus only agreed with one. Truth be told I kind of knew it was the only one he was going to want. I am glad I picked the others however to narrow in on the price, style and quality I should be looking for.
From Taj Mahal we headed to Girdish International a place where I spent the next hour and a half looking through hundreds of 8x5’6 and 6x4 Gabbeh’s before narrowing it down to 65 I liked, less 4 which they ‘fixed’ the colour of for me. When Girdish offered to fix the colour I was unsure how he would accomplish that in minutes and naively I allowed him to. I watched as his staff proceeded to go over the parts of the carpet that I wanted the colour fixed with pastels. I realize that there is no way I can sell these 4 fixed carpets so I note which ones they are so when Angus arrives we can exclude them from the final selection. I did learn a good lesson—do not ask to have the colour fixed just move on.
After Girdish we move to Hamid’s own stock of Gabbeh Carpets and I go through the same steps as before. At times I feel like I am being overly critical because most of the minor wiggles in lines or odd bits of colour change I actually prefer—it shows the human factor. What I have to keep telling myself is those little bits that I think add character customers see as faults; reasons to pass on it. They want perfection in a handmade product which makes absolutely no sense. If the structure is sound then why worry, those little errors in judgement are stories and proof of the handmade nature of the carpet. I am not the customer, so I pass.
After Hamid’s and more tea; yes I drink tea now, coffee too, my hot beverage rule has been abolished. After that we start heading back into Varanasi and the approaching evening; a white knuckled return drive that takes nearly two hours. I will end of that however to save the driving details for the Art of Driving post whenever I get around to finishing it.
Some random observations from the day:
- People seem to be afraid to question authority or even ask questions; it is either that or they do not want to learn. There is a definitely lack of aspiration existing in India.
- Movie posters have pictures of every character in the movie
- Companies offer to cement people’s walls to the size of their advertisements. It gives poor people a chance to have a better wall in exchange for having words that they probably do not understand as they will be in English most of the time on their house. Sometimes the entire outside is blanketed in one big advertisement, and each year the company returns to clean and repaint the wall. Apparently this is highly sought after by the locals and a source of pride.
From that chat it was on to an outdoor prayer with the older students and the singing of the national anthem—we should sing O’Canada more. Next I headed on to a packed school bus to head to the ‘field’ which is more like a packed dirt with a few lines hastily drawn on it. For the next hour the kids match, exercise and practice a choreographed dance in preparation for sports day. I join in marching as I figured out how to do it the day before and try to help the youngest groups with their timing and spacing. Out-to means left Cee-to means right (although later in the day Hamid would tell me this is wrong)—I thought it important to know when instructing wee-ones. After gym class we head back to the school, the kids are onto their next class and I go in search of Hamid to see if his morning work is done. He says it is which I am learning means another 45-60 minutes before we will actually be on the road.
When we finally move from his office half an hour has passed and we head everywhere besides towards the car. We ended up moving around 11 instead of 10 which had been the original goal although 11 was quite the improvement on yesterday when we did not leave Hamid’s until 1:30. As getting anywhere is a headache the fact that Hamid had a few tasks to do around the city mean it would be sometime before we actually headed towards the villages. We would eventually start at the first supplier of the day around 1.I am toured through Taj Mahal Carpets by what is an ever changing 3 or 4 men proceed to show me through their stock. *side note, we should do our best to keep the same people with our customers when possible even if that means delayed/switching lunches. It ads unneeded confusion and we should be simplifying things for our customers.* I ended up selecting a handful of carpets here mainly because I felt like I had to show Angus something; I am now realizing that is not my puporse. I am here to be strict and find the deals Angus does not have the time to find. Out of the 14 I picked Angus only agreed with one. Truth be told I kind of knew it was the only one he was going to want. I am glad I picked the others however to narrow in on the price, style and quality I should be looking for.
From Taj Mahal we headed to Girdish International a place where I spent the next hour and a half looking through hundreds of 8x5’6 and 6x4 Gabbeh’s before narrowing it down to 65 I liked, less 4 which they ‘fixed’ the colour of for me. When Girdish offered to fix the colour I was unsure how he would accomplish that in minutes and naively I allowed him to. I watched as his staff proceeded to go over the parts of the carpet that I wanted the colour fixed with pastels. I realize that there is no way I can sell these 4 fixed carpets so I note which ones they are so when Angus arrives we can exclude them from the final selection. I did learn a good lesson—do not ask to have the colour fixed just move on.
After Girdish we move to Hamid’s own stock of Gabbeh Carpets and I go through the same steps as before. At times I feel like I am being overly critical because most of the minor wiggles in lines or odd bits of colour change I actually prefer—it shows the human factor. What I have to keep telling myself is those little bits that I think add character customers see as faults; reasons to pass on it. They want perfection in a handmade product which makes absolutely no sense. If the structure is sound then why worry, those little errors in judgement are stories and proof of the handmade nature of the carpet. I am not the customer, so I pass.
After Hamid’s and more tea; yes I drink tea now, coffee too, my hot beverage rule has been abolished. After that we start heading back into Varanasi and the approaching evening; a white knuckled return drive that takes nearly two hours. I will end of that however to save the driving details for the Art of Driving post whenever I get around to finishing it.
Some random observations from the day:
- People seem to be afraid to question authority or even ask questions; it is either that or they do not want to learn. There is a definitely lack of aspiration existing in India.
- Movie posters have pictures of every character in the movie
- Companies offer to cement people’s walls to the size of their advertisements. It gives poor people a chance to have a better wall in exchange for having words that they probably do not understand as they will be in English most of the time on their house. Sometimes the entire outside is blanketed in one big advertisement, and each year the company returns to clean and repaint the wall. Apparently this is highly sought after by the locals and a source of pride.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Varanasi Feb 10
I learned how to march today, a huge improvement from yesterday. The trick was to stop thinking and just listen. Easy right? Just turn your head off for a bit and react to the beat of the drum and react to the instructions of the leader. There is a simplicity to it that troubles me a little. Marching fosters conformity and stifles independent thought. It does create discipline so as long as the kids know once they are done marching they are free to think, question and act differently then it can be a good activity. I learned how to march anyways.
Lunch/brunch and finally we are on our way, 2 hours after we had originally planned. We head off to Hamid's warehouse and my first impressions are of a run down building whereas in reality it is quite nice just outwardly dirty from the pollution of the city,. The building is almost entirely empty however, less a few handfuls of samples. I am unsure as to why he has taken me here. Angus could look at these himself and really there is hardly a thing worth looking at. This seems more like a chance for Hamid to check in at his empty warehouse. Oh, there is also a dog here that I can see far too many ribs of.
From Hamid's warehouse we went to one of the surrounding villages to finally look at carpets, 10 days into my trip and I am finally starting my job, not bad. The first and last places we went to appeared so unassuring from the outside--nothing more then holes in the wall at best. Once I venutre into the buildings it becomes evident that these are large opperations with thousands of carpet. Typically of the same handful of patterns. I had kind of assumed every place would have a wide selection of styles and colours. Even at carpets international which employs over 1000 people they have a set of styles and colours that come in all sorts of sizes. It makes sense then why Angus wants me to go around to as many places as possible--for our store variety is crucial. On top of seeing the final product I was able to see first hand most of the steps in production from dying the wools in boiling water to the finishing and all the stages in between; the amount of work that goes into making one carpet is enormous.
The day is filled with nervous first steps into the carpet buying world unsure exactly what to buy, who to listen to or which words to say. I stumble through the day without actually selecting a single carpet. I took pictures and notes which I sent back to Canada in hopes of a better idea of what to do tomorrow.
Lunch/brunch and finally we are on our way, 2 hours after we had originally planned. We head off to Hamid's warehouse and my first impressions are of a run down building whereas in reality it is quite nice just outwardly dirty from the pollution of the city,. The building is almost entirely empty however, less a few handfuls of samples. I am unsure as to why he has taken me here. Angus could look at these himself and really there is hardly a thing worth looking at. This seems more like a chance for Hamid to check in at his empty warehouse. Oh, there is also a dog here that I can see far too many ribs of.
From Hamid's warehouse we went to one of the surrounding villages to finally look at carpets, 10 days into my trip and I am finally starting my job, not bad. The first and last places we went to appeared so unassuring from the outside--nothing more then holes in the wall at best. Once I venutre into the buildings it becomes evident that these are large opperations with thousands of carpet. Typically of the same handful of patterns. I had kind of assumed every place would have a wide selection of styles and colours. Even at carpets international which employs over 1000 people they have a set of styles and colours that come in all sorts of sizes. It makes sense then why Angus wants me to go around to as many places as possible--for our store variety is crucial. On top of seeing the final product I was able to see first hand most of the steps in production from dying the wools in boiling water to the finishing and all the stages in between; the amount of work that goes into making one carpet is enormous.
The day is filled with nervous first steps into the carpet buying world unsure exactly what to buy, who to listen to or which words to say. I stumble through the day without actually selecting a single carpet. I took pictures and notes which I sent back to Canada in hopes of a better idea of what to do tomorrow.
At your service
Being waited on is strange. I know the staff is paid well for India and I am a client/guest/friend thus there is not much I should be doing--I should just simply embrace it. I am having a hard time thinking of myself as someone who is waited on. They have a job which they agree to do for a wage, as long as I show respect and do not abuse their hospitality...I just need to stop worrying, enjoy, relax and make the best of my fortuitous situation. Dhanya Vad (thank you in Hindi)
Varanasi- Feb 9
The kids are gone, so is most of the staff, even Hamid has disappeared for the moment and I sit alone in his office. I cannot fully explain the difference an hour makes here yet I will try.
An hour ago the school was filled with 100+ students, 10-12 teachers, another 10 house/support staff, Hamid, his business staff of 2-4 depending on the day, a representative of a transportation company, two drivers, gardeners, gate staff and me. Think of an ant colony, everyone having a specific task and busy doing it once they check in with Hamid or his wife Ghodsia. Now it is practically silent, off in another distant world I can hear horns and a few birds chirping. The house goes from the extreme of miniature city to still sanctuary effortlessly. I want to be doing something yet a part of me does not want to beak the stillness. Time top find Hamid; time to work.
I have half succeeded in this, I found Hamid and we have further thought out and booked our days. Today remains a day for planning and lacks any real work. It seems like he enjoys my time here as it is giving a bit of a break for his daily grind and someone to talk to. He is ever the gracious host albeit a bit mysterious and all over the place. His wife is in stark contrast she brings in the structure and urgency that lacks in Hamid; they balance each other out. My new goal for today is to have a set plan for the coming days that way I will be able to budget my time. The focus is of course carpets so all other things I have the opportunity to do are contingent on my job which relies on me and Hamid coming to an understanding.
On the flip side I was told to take a week off while I am here. I had not intended to using the time at the beginning of my trip however it has been a nice break so I am okay with that. It has given me a chance to get comfortable and when Vargha was around it was a lot easier to explore. I also do not really have weekends or weekdays for that matter; the school seems almost always in session and Hamid could take me out at a moments notice. In the end I am confident everything will work out; after all it is India the land where nothing seems to work yet somehow, someway it does.
An hour ago the school was filled with 100+ students, 10-12 teachers, another 10 house/support staff, Hamid, his business staff of 2-4 depending on the day, a representative of a transportation company, two drivers, gardeners, gate staff and me. Think of an ant colony, everyone having a specific task and busy doing it once they check in with Hamid or his wife Ghodsia. Now it is practically silent, off in another distant world I can hear horns and a few birds chirping. The house goes from the extreme of miniature city to still sanctuary effortlessly. I want to be doing something yet a part of me does not want to beak the stillness. Time top find Hamid; time to work.
I have half succeeded in this, I found Hamid and we have further thought out and booked our days. Today remains a day for planning and lacks any real work. It seems like he enjoys my time here as it is giving a bit of a break for his daily grind and someone to talk to. He is ever the gracious host albeit a bit mysterious and all over the place. His wife is in stark contrast she brings in the structure and urgency that lacks in Hamid; they balance each other out. My new goal for today is to have a set plan for the coming days that way I will be able to budget my time. The focus is of course carpets so all other things I have the opportunity to do are contingent on my job which relies on me and Hamid coming to an understanding.
On the flip side I was told to take a week off while I am here. I had not intended to using the time at the beginning of my trip however it has been a nice break so I am okay with that. It has given me a chance to get comfortable and when Vargha was around it was a lot easier to explore. I also do not really have weekends or weekdays for that matter; the school seems almost always in session and Hamid could take me out at a moments notice. In the end I am confident everything will work out; after all it is India the land where nothing seems to work yet somehow, someway it does.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Varanasi--Day 4 & 5
I decided to take advantage of waking up early before the heat and go for a run today. After a few minutes and a phone call to Hamid the gate guard let me out onto the streets. It ended up being a short run, and in the direction I went there was not a lot to see. I went that way because traffic was minimal and I am doing my best not to get run over. I did venture to a near by temple and share friendly hellos with a military convoy before returning to the school/house. In the morning sun I decided to make up a morning excise, read a book and half of another after breakfast while I waited for Hamid to take me to his warehouse.b The day seemed t have gotten away from Hamid and we never would make it to his warehouse on either day instead I ended up taking part in a Youth training session.
The youth training session is two 15 year old boys a 20 year old girl and two of the teachers, Hamid and his wife. They sit around and discuss morals, virtues, and how to help kids going through adolescence adjust to the the oncoming maturity. I have taken part in two of these groups now and they are lively debates over what is good and bad and how to help bridge the gap between parent and child. Early night for me as tomorrow I am going to start joining in with the teacher discussions in the mornings as well as help out in gym classes and then hopefully head off with Hamid to his warehouse and other carpet suppliers.
I must apologize; I know I have been lagging in my posts. This one was simply a short blurb that I wrote days ago and had not gotten around to posting. I have been actually working the past couple days and have not had time to sit and write. I am working on something I think everyone will enjoy "The art of driving in India: The passengers perspective", there are also video's to come and I have more in depth updates I just need to get this one out of the way before I can start posting those. I have also added most of my photo's thus far from the trip to facebook, so if you get a chance I suggest you stumble over there.
The youth training session is two 15 year old boys a 20 year old girl and two of the teachers, Hamid and his wife. They sit around and discuss morals, virtues, and how to help kids going through adolescence adjust to the the oncoming maturity. I have taken part in two of these groups now and they are lively debates over what is good and bad and how to help bridge the gap between parent and child. Early night for me as tomorrow I am going to start joining in with the teacher discussions in the mornings as well as help out in gym classes and then hopefully head off with Hamid to his warehouse and other carpet suppliers.
I must apologize; I know I have been lagging in my posts. This one was simply a short blurb that I wrote days ago and had not gotten around to posting. I have been actually working the past couple days and have not had time to sit and write. I am working on something I think everyone will enjoy "The art of driving in India: The passengers perspective", there are also video's to come and I have more in depth updates I just need to get this one out of the way before I can start posting those. I have also added most of my photo's thus far from the trip to facebook, so if you get a chance I suggest you stumble over there.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Varanasi--Day 3
Day three begins much like day two, Vargha over slept the plans we had in the morning so I spent a fair amount of time in the sunshine reading followed by breakfast with Vargha and Hamid. After breakfast I accompanied Vargha to the airport to see him off; he was heading to Calcutta for a Baha'i seminar which will last 10 days. He offered me the chance to drive him to the airport which I declined for so very many reasons.
With Vargha gone I met up with Simon, Ananda, Goria and one other girl whose name escapes me. Hamid recommended going to the ruins of a Buddhist monastery which was beside a monument that houses a relic of Buddha. As my friends and guides would inform me Buddha walked 300km from the tree he sat under to this place and here he gave his first lecture. For its' historic significance I was less then impressed. Thew whole place felt more like a re-creation then a preserved historic sight Tour groups from various Buddhaist communities spotted the grounds and everything looked too perfect for being something that should be old in a country where even the new buildings look prematurely aged. Still it was a beautiful day and my guides were very informative.
Dinner was at a Pizzaria that overlooked the last steps down to the Ganges. They decided to take me to the place with the best Apple Pie in India. Whether or not this is true it was a nice enough place to enjoy a meal. It is amazing how quiet the city can be in one place and hectic less then a block away. On our car ride back through unlit streets filled with every kind of traffic you could imagine. Simon and Ananada joked that someone was going to get hurt as our driver seemed to be irritated and in a hurry, his arm rarely leaving the horn and countless close encounters with on coming traffic.
With Vargha gone I met up with Simon, Ananda, Goria and one other girl whose name escapes me. Hamid recommended going to the ruins of a Buddhist monastery which was beside a monument that houses a relic of Buddha. As my friends and guides would inform me Buddha walked 300km from the tree he sat under to this place and here he gave his first lecture. For its' historic significance I was less then impressed. Thew whole place felt more like a re-creation then a preserved historic sight Tour groups from various Buddhaist communities spotted the grounds and everything looked too perfect for being something that should be old in a country where even the new buildings look prematurely aged. Still it was a beautiful day and my guides were very informative.
Dinner was at a Pizzaria that overlooked the last steps down to the Ganges. They decided to take me to the place with the best Apple Pie in India. Whether or not this is true it was a nice enough place to enjoy a meal. It is amazing how quiet the city can be in one place and hectic less then a block away. On our car ride back through unlit streets filled with every kind of traffic you could imagine. Simon and Ananada joked that someone was going to get hurt as our driver seemed to be irritated and in a hurry, his arm rarely leaving the horn and countless close encounters with on coming traffic.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Varanasi--Day 2
I want to set the scene before I get into today mainly to make everyone jealous.
I am currently lounging in Vargha's beanbag chair on the 5th story balcony lawn surrounded by flowers in the sun. I can hear the yells of happy school children enjoying their recess down below.
Okay, stage set.
This morning I awoke at 6 as Vargha had asked me to wake him then so we could meet a few of his friends and take a sunrise boat out on the Ganges. This did not happen, man Vargha is a heavy sleeper--next time I throw water on him. I woke him up and then he realized we had changed our meeting time to 8:30 and at my advising returned to sleep. I took the time to relax and catch everyone up. When 9:30 rolled around Hamid greeted me and solved my water water issue so I was able to shower without hating the world--still bitter about that week of cold showers Korea. I ended up eating breakfast with Hamid and chatting with him for the next hour and a half or so between his phone calls; he is a popular man. Much of that stems from the lack of initiative from his staff as they do not do anything without his explicit directions. I can tell this is a source of much frustration for him. Even simply daily tasks he must remind them to do repeatedly.
I have more free time until 3:30 now, it is weird to just relax; I will figure out how to do it eventually. At 3:30 the school has a seminar for the parents of the students. These seminars take place once a month and are an attempt to help foster a more positive learning environment at home and to help both the kids and parents alike, with what I am not completel sure, I am participating in it tonight and hopefully next months as well. Tonight's topics are Idealism, Forgiveness and Trustworthiness. I wish more schools spent time discussing those topics or any virtues.
It is getting rather warm to be sitting in a beanbag chair now so I will take a break from my writing break.
I ended up having an nap, one of those awesome dark snoozes where everything is gone and it is nearly impossible to wake you. Guess I was more exhausted then I thought.
The group session was interesting, there was 70+ parents in two circles who attempted to discuss the topics. My group only managed to make it part way through forgiveness. Our group focused on how goals and determination is important to achieve success in life and how the parents can help their kids understand this. The group was fairly quiet with six people holding up the majority of the conversation and from those six vocal parents there was a split between how to best instill these in their children. Some where stead fast in the idea that since they have put the effort to lay the ground work their children should follow in their footsteps to be successful. One particular example springs to mind of a doctor who worked very hard to establish his practice here in Varanasi and his son wants to be DJ. While he wanted his son to be happy he was not prepared to embrace the occupation of a DJ as the main career of his son. I am probably not explaining this well, the topic was a strange one and the group lacked direction in their discussion which coupled with a lack of English made for an interesting experience. For the second topic they decided to switch predominately to Hindi which left me at a loss.
When the groups ended their children came and did various performances--mainly songs however their was a dance. Everything you would expect to see at an elementary school assembly including numerous sound issues that the children powered through like champions. The parents were however unaware that their children were going to perform, or at least the parents I spoke to. After the assembly I was speaking to a few of the parents, one of their mothers family owns four schools and she teachers at one herself. She was telling me how her six year old son had been at a Catholic school and hated it; after coming home crying on numerous occasions they switched to this school recently and now he is always excited to learn. On a few occasions asking to come on Saturday when the school is not open. I still have ye tot participate in the actual classes however I do get the impression that they are doing something right.
Vargha, Hamid and I had a snack with two of the teachers and then Vargha and I headed out. This time we traveled by car to visit a few German friends of his. We ended up having a few beer on his friend Simon's rooftop with a bonfire which they refused to accepted was simply a campfire and a friendly game of Charades. Vargha and his friends are far too good at Charades. When we parted ways with everyone after midnight Vargha and I headed back to his house and sat on the floor discussing religion and philosophy. Certainly now how I thought the day would shape up.
Vargha and his father alike are Baha'i which is a fairly new religion I believe it started around 1844. Given my free time I have started reading on the subject so I will be better informed when more discussions arise. I have already managed to finish the two books I brought with me and Vargha graciously offered up his library for me to explore. I will try to explain the faith a bit when I am better versed on the subject.
I am currently lounging in Vargha's beanbag chair on the 5th story balcony lawn surrounded by flowers in the sun. I can hear the yells of happy school children enjoying their recess down below.
Okay, stage set.
This morning I awoke at 6 as Vargha had asked me to wake him then so we could meet a few of his friends and take a sunrise boat out on the Ganges. This did not happen, man Vargha is a heavy sleeper--next time I throw water on him. I woke him up and then he realized we had changed our meeting time to 8:30 and at my advising returned to sleep. I took the time to relax and catch everyone up. When 9:30 rolled around Hamid greeted me and solved my water water issue so I was able to shower without hating the world--still bitter about that week of cold showers Korea. I ended up eating breakfast with Hamid and chatting with him for the next hour and a half or so between his phone calls; he is a popular man. Much of that stems from the lack of initiative from his staff as they do not do anything without his explicit directions. I can tell this is a source of much frustration for him. Even simply daily tasks he must remind them to do repeatedly.
I have more free time until 3:30 now, it is weird to just relax; I will figure out how to do it eventually. At 3:30 the school has a seminar for the parents of the students. These seminars take place once a month and are an attempt to help foster a more positive learning environment at home and to help both the kids and parents alike, with what I am not completel sure, I am participating in it tonight and hopefully next months as well. Tonight's topics are Idealism, Forgiveness and Trustworthiness. I wish more schools spent time discussing those topics or any virtues.
It is getting rather warm to be sitting in a beanbag chair now so I will take a break from my writing break.
I ended up having an nap, one of those awesome dark snoozes where everything is gone and it is nearly impossible to wake you. Guess I was more exhausted then I thought.
The group session was interesting, there was 70+ parents in two circles who attempted to discuss the topics. My group only managed to make it part way through forgiveness. Our group focused on how goals and determination is important to achieve success in life and how the parents can help their kids understand this. The group was fairly quiet with six people holding up the majority of the conversation and from those six vocal parents there was a split between how to best instill these in their children. Some where stead fast in the idea that since they have put the effort to lay the ground work their children should follow in their footsteps to be successful. One particular example springs to mind of a doctor who worked very hard to establish his practice here in Varanasi and his son wants to be DJ. While he wanted his son to be happy he was not prepared to embrace the occupation of a DJ as the main career of his son. I am probably not explaining this well, the topic was a strange one and the group lacked direction in their discussion which coupled with a lack of English made for an interesting experience. For the second topic they decided to switch predominately to Hindi which left me at a loss.
When the groups ended their children came and did various performances--mainly songs however their was a dance. Everything you would expect to see at an elementary school assembly including numerous sound issues that the children powered through like champions. The parents were however unaware that their children were going to perform, or at least the parents I spoke to. After the assembly I was speaking to a few of the parents, one of their mothers family owns four schools and she teachers at one herself. She was telling me how her six year old son had been at a Catholic school and hated it; after coming home crying on numerous occasions they switched to this school recently and now he is always excited to learn. On a few occasions asking to come on Saturday when the school is not open. I still have ye tot participate in the actual classes however I do get the impression that they are doing something right.
Vargha, Hamid and I had a snack with two of the teachers and then Vargha and I headed out. This time we traveled by car to visit a few German friends of his. We ended up having a few beer on his friend Simon's rooftop with a bonfire which they refused to accepted was simply a campfire and a friendly game of Charades. Vargha and his friends are far too good at Charades. When we parted ways with everyone after midnight Vargha and I headed back to his house and sat on the floor discussing religion and philosophy. Certainly now how I thought the day would shape up.
Vargha and his father alike are Baha'i which is a fairly new religion I believe it started around 1844. Given my free time I have started reading on the subject so I will be better informed when more discussions arise. I have already managed to finish the two books I brought with me and Vargha graciously offered up his library for me to explore. I will try to explain the faith a bit when I am better versed on the subject.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Varanasi--Day 1
Another day, another city. Varanasi has a brand new airport. It opened three months ago and is surprisingly diminutive. You would expect the international airport of a city of over 2.5million people would be larger than Nanaimo’s; I assure you this is not the case. From what I can see the old airport was little more than a few concrete portables thrown together. I am told that it is a source of pride so when I voiced my shock at the size I was a tad bit offensive to the locals. We ended up waiting for half an hour until the new driver for Hamid realized that we were waiting in the parking lot and not going to walk up the street to where he was parked, the flight was an hour early and the driver had never met Vargha and as such had no clue what either of us looked like. After throwing out backpacks in the trunk Vargha decided to give me a taste of real Indian driving and hopped into the driver’s seat.
I have been on some adventurous car rides before, and later in the evening I would be on a far more traumatic bike ride which I have a short video from and may end up posting if I can figure out how. This first car ride however was nothing like what I had experienced before and I also never realized how important a horn was to a car. The horn acts almost like sonar, you have to constantly use it to let other vehicles and pedestrians know where you are on the road and that you are speeding pass them at all too close a distance. On what was theoretically a two lane road we flew between 50 and 120 km’s an hour narrowly evading the luxury buses and auto-rickshaws coming in the opposite direction. I have no clue how this is common place to travel in such a way down roads, it makes my excessive speeding seem tame when compared to the speed, volume of traffic, swerving through traffic and different types of vehicles; at one point there was a horse drawn carriage alongside a cyclist, crunched between a couple motorcycles and two cars on our side of the two lane road.
When we eventually reached Hamid’s home I was a little surprised to see the size of their home, 5 stories and mansion looking of which the bottom three floors have been converted into a school for about 140 students. In the coming weeks I should get many opportunities to help out at this school which I look forward to. I am not sure quite what I expected; I think I had no clue what or where I would be living and feel rather spoiled once more to be staying in such a nice place.
After dropping off our bags we hopped onto his motorcycle and headed into the city as Vargha wanted to give me a bit of a tour since at the time he was only going to be around for the one night and fly off to Calcutta for a couple weeks. We headed through the main core of the city which is absolutely bursting with people. It reminds me of a cross between Mexico and Korea, Mexico for the sheer filth and poverty that you see once you step outside of the hotels and Korea for the people and sporadic driving, however after writing that I do not think it gives a clear enough picture as to the population, pollution and conflicted nature of the city. The old and new are butting heads, Vargha even spoke to the fact he wished they blended the traditional Indian style better, the new buildings seem so very out of place. I think the hope is that one day everything will have that new look. Yet it seems so very out of place to have a couple retail stores and a mall that are uber modern next to shacks, dirt roads and seemingly wild animals strolling along.
From out brief speed through the city we ended up at the steps leading down to the Ganges. Varanasi is one of the most holy cities in all of India and this river is one of the reasons. The river was traditionally bodies would be burnt after a person died, and I was told that by bathing in the river all your sins are washed clean. I will probably refrain from this given the filth of the river, nevertheless it is nice to know such a place exists so that if I ever truly screw up and I wash it all away. The area surrounding the river is in stark contrast to the bustling streets a few blocks away. It is quiet, unnervingly so, yet at the same time peaceful and tranquil. People just sit and think, or share quiet conversations, I probably should mention that in Varanasi Marijuana is also legal and as such a lot of this peace and tranquility stems from the fact that the people who are here in a nearly meditative state are probably high. There are also numerous palaces that almost litter the shoreline. Although Varanasi itself never had a royal family because of it’s importance as a holy city the Princes from the surrounding states all built their own palaces along the waterfront.
Vargha received a call from his friend’s Farsal’s sister (I am probably butchering the spelling of names so I do apologize), her name escapes me at the moment, and as it happens she and a few friends are half a block away a top a hostel-esque building in this café owned by Farsal so we head over to meet them. The café is a top 60 year old 6 story building cement building very nearly on the waterfront. The view would be of the whole city if not for the pollution. It is a shame; because the air is so polluted it is very difficult to get a grasp on how expansive and beautiful the city is. After all too short a time a top this cool building that I will be undoubtedly returning to we headed back to the school/house as we were late for dinner. Fish Curry, fresh veggies grown on their property, rice and basically an omelet.
I will stop there and cut things short from that first day as I should probably get ready to head out for my second day here, the sun is up, morning prayers have stopped, Vargha is awake for the second time this morning. He asked me to wake him up at 6 then remembered that our plans changed and we are not heading out until 8:30.
I have been on some adventurous car rides before, and later in the evening I would be on a far more traumatic bike ride which I have a short video from and may end up posting if I can figure out how. This first car ride however was nothing like what I had experienced before and I also never realized how important a horn was to a car. The horn acts almost like sonar, you have to constantly use it to let other vehicles and pedestrians know where you are on the road and that you are speeding pass them at all too close a distance. On what was theoretically a two lane road we flew between 50 and 120 km’s an hour narrowly evading the luxury buses and auto-rickshaws coming in the opposite direction. I have no clue how this is common place to travel in such a way down roads, it makes my excessive speeding seem tame when compared to the speed, volume of traffic, swerving through traffic and different types of vehicles; at one point there was a horse drawn carriage alongside a cyclist, crunched between a couple motorcycles and two cars on our side of the two lane road.
When we eventually reached Hamid’s home I was a little surprised to see the size of their home, 5 stories and mansion looking of which the bottom three floors have been converted into a school for about 140 students. In the coming weeks I should get many opportunities to help out at this school which I look forward to. I am not sure quite what I expected; I think I had no clue what or where I would be living and feel rather spoiled once more to be staying in such a nice place.
After dropping off our bags we hopped onto his motorcycle and headed into the city as Vargha wanted to give me a bit of a tour since at the time he was only going to be around for the one night and fly off to Calcutta for a couple weeks. We headed through the main core of the city which is absolutely bursting with people. It reminds me of a cross between Mexico and Korea, Mexico for the sheer filth and poverty that you see once you step outside of the hotels and Korea for the people and sporadic driving, however after writing that I do not think it gives a clear enough picture as to the population, pollution and conflicted nature of the city. The old and new are butting heads, Vargha even spoke to the fact he wished they blended the traditional Indian style better, the new buildings seem so very out of place. I think the hope is that one day everything will have that new look. Yet it seems so very out of place to have a couple retail stores and a mall that are uber modern next to shacks, dirt roads and seemingly wild animals strolling along.
From out brief speed through the city we ended up at the steps leading down to the Ganges. Varanasi is one of the most holy cities in all of India and this river is one of the reasons. The river was traditionally bodies would be burnt after a person died, and I was told that by bathing in the river all your sins are washed clean. I will probably refrain from this given the filth of the river, nevertheless it is nice to know such a place exists so that if I ever truly screw up and I wash it all away. The area surrounding the river is in stark contrast to the bustling streets a few blocks away. It is quiet, unnervingly so, yet at the same time peaceful and tranquil. People just sit and think, or share quiet conversations, I probably should mention that in Varanasi Marijuana is also legal and as such a lot of this peace and tranquility stems from the fact that the people who are here in a nearly meditative state are probably high. There are also numerous palaces that almost litter the shoreline. Although Varanasi itself never had a royal family because of it’s importance as a holy city the Princes from the surrounding states all built their own palaces along the waterfront.
Vargha received a call from his friend’s Farsal’s sister (I am probably butchering the spelling of names so I do apologize), her name escapes me at the moment, and as it happens she and a few friends are half a block away a top a hostel-esque building in this café owned by Farsal so we head over to meet them. The café is a top 60 year old 6 story building cement building very nearly on the waterfront. The view would be of the whole city if not for the pollution. It is a shame; because the air is so polluted it is very difficult to get a grasp on how expansive and beautiful the city is. After all too short a time a top this cool building that I will be undoubtedly returning to we headed back to the school/house as we were late for dinner. Fish Curry, fresh veggies grown on their property, rice and basically an omelet.
I will stop there and cut things short from that first day as I should probably get ready to head out for my second day here, the sun is up, morning prayers have stopped, Vargha is awake for the second time this morning. He asked me to wake him up at 6 then remembered that our plans changed and we are not heading out until 8:30.
Delhi Day 2
I am awake now; I was for a fair portion of the evening if memory serves. It is approaching 7am and the day is just starting to lighten up. I had hoped to see the sunrise however with all the pollution in the air I doubt I could see it even if I was not overcast. The pollution is something that I am ever aware of; I cannot take flash pictures with my camera unless I want to catch millions of little specks of poor air quality. Hopefully Varanasi will be a little different otherwise my idea of running most days will end up being more challenging than originally thought.
Today’s plan includes enjoying the complimentary brunch buffet at the hotel, the dinner was $30’s extra and while it was a great feast I could have just as easily grabbed a bite on the street, although Vargha does seem think that I should ease my stomach into the cuisine of Indian street venders. After breakfast we are going to meet one of Vargha’s friends from Varanasi who is in Delhi for a couple days and runs a hostel/café in Varanasi so that I will know some people my age in Varanasi and perhaps have a bit of a social life. I appreciate the efforts he is going to make me feel welcome although it truly is not necessary. I realize that this is a business trip and the social side of things is far from a priority. Next he had mentioned going to temple this morning for half an hour or so in an effort for me to see a bit of culture as opposed to crowded streets and 5 star hotels. Afterwards we will hopefully stop by the carpet suppliers who sent us the driving/van and I will have my first taste of what carpet buying is like. Finally in the early afternoon I think we are hopping on a plane and flying to Varanasi which will be the main city I visit while I am here.
Who knows if all of this will actually happen, it is 7 now and Vargha had wanted to be up at 6:30 with the sun, although both he and the sun were not up at 6:30 and when his alarm went off he turned it off and went back to sleep. I do not mind, I kind of like watching the day brighten up and the streets fill with life from up high. If only the air was clear I could see for miles. Time for a shower.
Today’s plan includes enjoying the complimentary brunch buffet at the hotel, the dinner was $30’s extra and while it was a great feast I could have just as easily grabbed a bite on the street, although Vargha does seem think that I should ease my stomach into the cuisine of Indian street venders. After breakfast we are going to meet one of Vargha’s friends from Varanasi who is in Delhi for a couple days and runs a hostel/café in Varanasi so that I will know some people my age in Varanasi and perhaps have a bit of a social life. I appreciate the efforts he is going to make me feel welcome although it truly is not necessary. I realize that this is a business trip and the social side of things is far from a priority. Next he had mentioned going to temple this morning for half an hour or so in an effort for me to see a bit of culture as opposed to crowded streets and 5 star hotels. Afterwards we will hopefully stop by the carpet suppliers who sent us the driving/van and I will have my first taste of what carpet buying is like. Finally in the early afternoon I think we are hopping on a plane and flying to Varanasi which will be the main city I visit while I am here.
Who knows if all of this will actually happen, it is 7 now and Vargha had wanted to be up at 6:30 with the sun, although both he and the sun were not up at 6:30 and when his alarm went off he turned it off and went back to sleep. I do not mind, I kind of like watching the day brighten up and the streets fill with life from up high. If only the air was clear I could see for miles. Time for a shower.
Delhi
Enough of that dribble from Heathrow. Now I am in India, or rather Delhi’s international airport; Gandhi. Everything is Gandhi, thus far anyways. Forgive my grammar, at the best of times I lack proper sentence structure and spelling, today I have no hope. Surprisingly easy to enter the country, now I am waiting to be found by Hamid. I say waiting to be found since I do not know what else to do. I guess I could call him. I should probably do that, it would make sense.
After calling Hamid I learned that it would in fact be his son Vargha I would meet in Delhi. Vargha is my age, an 85 kid, born in India despite his family being from Iran and is basically backpacking across his own country at the moment. He takes time off to help out in small villages and then picks up and heads off on random adventures. He spent a day with a friend wandering around Bombay in boxers, I have seen the pictures, looked fun.
There is not much on the plate for this first day and I am rather thankful, I keep telling Vargha that I do not want to go to sleep because if I sleep too early then I will end up being jet legged for days. A supplier in Delhi was nice enough to send a driver and a van for us at the airport and take us to our hotel, in exchange they hope I will stop by tomorrow and look at carpets. This first night I am also to be pampered, we are booked into the Crown Plaza a five star hotel that is quite new and rather unoccupied. I am sure that it will be nice however I cannot help wishing that we were not splurging on a pricey hotel on my account since I have limited funds for this trip and the first day is not when I want to go crazy.
We end up meeting his cousin Carmel for dinner at the hotel’s buffet and feast until we cannot eat anymore on all sorts of curries: curry mutton, chicken, vegetarian curry, water and basically anything else you could ever want or think to put curry in and a few things that you would not. I also end up having a tarot card reading during a break in the eating. It turns out that I will always have money and two loves of my life, and only one marriage. He would not tell me if I pick the right one. His parrot also picks up a card for me filled with more of my future, it is in Hindi so I have no clue what the parrot tarot card said. We end up finishing dinner around 10:30 and hop in an auto-rickshaws as it is not the safest idea for Carmel to take one home by herself at this hour. After having traffic swerving all around us at great speeds we drop off Carmel and head back towards the hotel, Vargha suggests a bar and I decline since he does not drink and well I have no idea how much money I will have and kind of like the idea of doing my best not to drink while here.
After calling Hamid I learned that it would in fact be his son Vargha I would meet in Delhi. Vargha is my age, an 85 kid, born in India despite his family being from Iran and is basically backpacking across his own country at the moment. He takes time off to help out in small villages and then picks up and heads off on random adventures. He spent a day with a friend wandering around Bombay in boxers, I have seen the pictures, looked fun.
There is not much on the plate for this first day and I am rather thankful, I keep telling Vargha that I do not want to go to sleep because if I sleep too early then I will end up being jet legged for days. A supplier in Delhi was nice enough to send a driver and a van for us at the airport and take us to our hotel, in exchange they hope I will stop by tomorrow and look at carpets. This first night I am also to be pampered, we are booked into the Crown Plaza a five star hotel that is quite new and rather unoccupied. I am sure that it will be nice however I cannot help wishing that we were not splurging on a pricey hotel on my account since I have limited funds for this trip and the first day is not when I want to go crazy.
We end up meeting his cousin Carmel for dinner at the hotel’s buffet and feast until we cannot eat anymore on all sorts of curries: curry mutton, chicken, vegetarian curry, water and basically anything else you could ever want or think to put curry in and a few things that you would not. I also end up having a tarot card reading during a break in the eating. It turns out that I will always have money and two loves of my life, and only one marriage. He would not tell me if I pick the right one. His parrot also picks up a card for me filled with more of my future, it is in Hindi so I have no clue what the parrot tarot card said. We end up finishing dinner around 10:30 and hop in an auto-rickshaws as it is not the safest idea for Carmel to take one home by herself at this hour. After having traffic swerving all around us at great speeds we drop off Carmel and head back towards the hotel, Vargha suggests a bar and I decline since he does not drink and well I have no idea how much money I will have and kind of like the idea of doing my best not to drink while here.
London
It took me a grand total of ten minutes to walk from my seat on the plane to the express train into London; a stark contrast from the previous entrance into the country. I wondering if I am better prepared this time, less threatening or is security simply unconcerned with Canadians who are planning a day trip into town. Not much to write about when things go so smoothly. The real question is will anyone be awake at this hour—it is not even 10am and they are University students after all.
The hunt for free wifi is surprisingly challenging. At least I thought it would more prevalent. Scratch that, free wifi is easy—free internet access is the issue. On the upside my long lost friend Jon seems to be in favour of ditching work for a bit. So I wait in Paddington station for his arrival. Man my cell phone bill is going to be huge from today alone.
Drinks; somehow life always leads to the social lubricant that is alcohol. Here I am at the North end of Hyde Park on my third pint of the afternoon.
My new Korean Friend Songeon Mo and I just parted ways at Paddington Station. A random day in London comes to a close… or so I hope. I do not mean to leave things on a cliff hanger however I have hopped on an express train in hopes of making my flight. I believe it is 5:40pm—I know it has been at least 74 pounds and 9 pints to this point, and I wait impatiently after an interesting day with Canadians, Germans and Koreans.
Tick tock.
Back in Heathrow at this point; another pint in hand. Why does the internet cost money. For all the good ideas in this damp isle I would have thought that they would give us a little. I should not be surprised—any chance to make an extra buck, pound rather. I do not even want this drink. I think that it is approaching 7pm now which means my first pint was 7 hours ago. A trooper I know. My math is rarely right however I feel that it is 2pm body time. Unimpressive I realize compared to what is ahead of me yet I feel the need to share. With the bustle of terminal 4 I cannot help feeling alone once more I a crowded room—airport. I am torn between wanting to be social and make friends(always easy to do with an accent, interesting story and a pint in hand), and the urge to stare blankly at an episode of a show I have watched too many times.
Germans are opposed to my wearing Aviators. Picking my music is never a good sign, music is meant to be experienced which rarely happens when I am in control. I have an idea—yet lack the conviction or energy to make it work. Translation—fail.
At the beginning you are worried about saying too much and then at the end there is not enough time to say it all.
Challenge—leave an unfinished beer. I do believe I did that enough last Friday however at Erin’s 26th.
Time to board.
The hunt for free wifi is surprisingly challenging. At least I thought it would more prevalent. Scratch that, free wifi is easy—free internet access is the issue. On the upside my long lost friend Jon seems to be in favour of ditching work for a bit. So I wait in Paddington station for his arrival. Man my cell phone bill is going to be huge from today alone.
Drinks; somehow life always leads to the social lubricant that is alcohol. Here I am at the North end of Hyde Park on my third pint of the afternoon.
My new Korean Friend Songeon Mo and I just parted ways at Paddington Station. A random day in London comes to a close… or so I hope. I do not mean to leave things on a cliff hanger however I have hopped on an express train in hopes of making my flight. I believe it is 5:40pm—I know it has been at least 74 pounds and 9 pints to this point, and I wait impatiently after an interesting day with Canadians, Germans and Koreans.
Tick tock.
Back in Heathrow at this point; another pint in hand. Why does the internet cost money. For all the good ideas in this damp isle I would have thought that they would give us a little. I should not be surprised—any chance to make an extra buck, pound rather. I do not even want this drink. I think that it is approaching 7pm now which means my first pint was 7 hours ago. A trooper I know. My math is rarely right however I feel that it is 2pm body time. Unimpressive I realize compared to what is ahead of me yet I feel the need to share. With the bustle of terminal 4 I cannot help feeling alone once more I a crowded room—airport. I am torn between wanting to be social and make friends(always easy to do with an accent, interesting story and a pint in hand), and the urge to stare blankly at an episode of a show I have watched too many times.
Germans are opposed to my wearing Aviators. Picking my music is never a good sign, music is meant to be experienced which rarely happens when I am in control. I have an idea—yet lack the conviction or energy to make it work. Translation—fail.
At the beginning you are worried about saying too much and then at the end there is not enough time to say it all.
Challenge—leave an unfinished beer. I do believe I did that enough last Friday however at Erin’s 26th.
Time to board.
Ottawa
Let us begin at the beginning. I am in Ottawa’s International Airport which is unexciting or interesting in itself; the reason I am here are what you care to hear about and my thoughts and feelings at present about the journey are where I will be able to be descript as they relate to me at this very second. I am flying to London and ultimately Varanasi in North Eastern India. Between my frigid origin and the sweltering destination there will be time to explain the steps. Currently I am being told to have my passport ready for boarding my flight to London which has occurred twice. Although the second time in French they refrained from passport awareness, it seems the French are wise enough to realize when boarding a flight you should have your passport ready.
I use to hate flying—I like to think I hid this distain as a child however my parents would probably speak to the contrary. My first time on an airplane I was 6 years old and we were flying to Disney Land I do believe. What do you expect from me, it was a long time ago, nearly 20 years. I can remember being given hard candies before takeoff and landings in hopes of preventing my ears from popping or at the very least associating candy with flying as opposed to those painful ear pops. My parents used this same trick for my car sickness as a child during long road trips.
Time to line up I always seem to have to hurrying to wait.
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