I'm home!
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
17
Trip End
Ongoing
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Vancouver, BC
First off, I guess I should mention the fact that I never ended up buying the property in Turkey, as I forgot to mention that little detail in my last update. By the time I got all the financing in place, we went back to the owner, and he had sold it to someone else! Apparently that is quite common in Turkey. Oh well, since then, I have bought something much better than property in Turkey, but I'll talk about that later.
After I left Turkey, I went to Dubai to visit Mike and Suzanne, two foreign teachers who had taught at Bond the same time as me. They are now teaching English in Dubai. I got in quite early and took a taxi out to their apartment in Umm Al Quwain, about an hour out of Dubai. It was great to see them again, and we spent the first few hours catching up with what had been happening over the last 8 months. That night, their supervisor, Margaret came over for a drink. We got to talking and I commented on how when I first started thinking about teaching English, Dubai was at the top of my list, but because I didn't have a degree, I wasn't able to get a job there. She said that they really needed kindergarten teachers, and next thing I knew, she had set up an interview for me for the next morning! Apparently in some circumstances, they are able to waive the degree requirements, but unfortunately, not in my case.
I spent the last couple of nights in a hotel right in Dubai doing some shopping. It was pretty hard to do anything outside of going to the malls, as it was extremely hot. Being a Muslim country, they were also observing Ramadan, but it was much more strict there than it was in Turkey. Eating, drinking (any kind of beverage), smoking, chewing gum, etc., were all forbidden until after sunset. In fact, no restaurants or coffee shops were even open until after sunset. How people were able to go without water all day in that heat, I'll never know!
I arrived in Mumbai on a Wednesday, and stayed at a hotel close to the airport. Once I got checked in, I made arrangements to get a sim card, then called everyone I knew, to let them know I was back in India. When I talked to Sunil, we decided that I would spend the next day in Mumbai, then I would head to Ahmednagar on Friday. Early the next morning, Sunil called me to say that he thought I should go there that day instead of the next day. I had no idea what time it was, but my room was still dark. When I looked at my watch, it was 4:45 am(!!!!) Later that morning I went downstairs to the travel desk to make arrangements for a private car to take me to Ahmednagar. I ended up with a small compact car that would take me to Pune, then I would catch a bus from there, or hire another car. On our way to Ahmednagar, Sunil phoned and spoke to the driver and made a deal with him to drive me the entire way. Between Pune and Ahmednagar, we ended up in a car accident. I had been sleeping, but I could feel the driver slamming on the brakes, and it woke me up. The first thing I saw was him grasping the steering wheel and holidng on for dear life. I looked up and saw a huge truck heading straight for us. I figured it was game over for me. My number was up. I've heard so many people who have been in accidents say that it happened so fast, but for me, it seemed like a long time before impact. What a strange feeling - I wondered what the outcome was going to be, and whether or not I would come out alive. How relieved I was to just have been thrown around a bit, and come through it with minor bruises and scrapes. It looked like the truck veered off to the left just before he hit us, so he just clipped the front drivers side of the car. If he hadn't veered off, I would have been a goner. The driver asked if I was okay, then got out of the car to assess the damage, and to see if everyone from the truck was okay. By the time I finally had my wits about me to gather my backpack and get out of the car, a crowd had gathered around me and were just standing there, staring at me. I almost felt like I should have done a song and dance for them! A handful of people who could speak English came over and asked me if I was okay. A man who was traveling on his motor bike with his wife and daughter stopped and asked me if I was okay. He wouldn't leave until he was convinced that I was okay and that I didn't need anything. During this time, I had called Sunil to tell him that I had been in an accident. He called me back shortly after that and told me that he had made arrangements for a car, and Sarita would come and meet me. Apparently I was almost two hours away from their home. I'm not sure what to call it, by the grace of God, good luck, whatever, but a guy came over to me and said that he was on his way back to Ahmednagar after having done a drop at the Mumbai airport. He said he was going back empty and he would be more than happy to take me with him. I called Sunil and got him to speak to the guy, and Sunil assured me that it was okay to go with him. At this point in time, I was a little nervous about getting back in to a car, but I was happy to see that there were three of them in the vehicle, and it was a 4x4 instead of a compact car. It was a much more comfortable ride, and the guy who rode shotgun in the front, assisted the driver. I felt safe. We finally arrived in Ahmednagar, and I was surprised to see that both Sunil and Sarita were waiting for me at the corner to the turnoff for their home, instead of at their home. Boy, was I happy to see them! I stayed in the vehicle, and they followed us to their home on their motorbikes. Although I was off to a bad start, it was great to see them again. I just don't know what I would have done if I had not had my mobile phone with me, or Sunil to contact. Someone surely was looking after me that day when I think of all the things that could have happened.
I arrived in Ahmednagar at the tail end of the Ganpati Festival, a festival honoring Lord Ganesh. The night I got there, we all went in to town to see all the displays that had been set up. They were pretty cheesy, but Indians are crazy about their festivals and their Gods, and there were lots of people out celebrating. Everywhere we went, we were given prasad (sweets), and there were booths set up everywhere selling everything from noise makers to food. It had an almost PNE-like atmosphere.
One night I went to the local temple with Sarita, along with many others in the colony. It was a fairly small group, and after everyone had prayed and received prasad, they wanted me to tell them my history! They were excited to hear that I loved India, and when I finished, they all wanted to ask me questions. I felt like a celebrity!
On the last day of the festival, I went to the temple where Mugda et al, were making final preparations for the Ganesh procession. Mugda described what would happen throughout the night of celebrations. She said that once the temple was finished being cleaned, people from around the colony would slowly gather, and they would parade Ganesh around the colony while people beat on drums, danced and doused everyone with orange powder. She finished off with saying 'it is the best time of people's lives because it brings everyone together'. She also said 'this year's celebrations will have a different energy this year because you will be here taking videos and snaps and participating in the festivities'.
It wasn't long before people of all ages started coming out of their homes to gather at the temple. A handful of the local boys got their drums out and started beating out their rhythm and continued to play the entire time. Lord Ganesh was placed on a wooden trolley, and the procession started with the drummers leading the way. Men danced with men, and women danced with women. Although I couldn't dance anywhere near as good as everyone else, they were thrilled that I joined in. Kids also joined in the dancing, but they were more interested in making sure that no one was left out from being covered in orange powder. One kid kept coming up to me and throwing it at me, but this one time, he came towards me with his hands in the air palms facing towards me, as if he was calling a truce. I raised my hands as well and showed him I had no powder in my hands. He then shook his hand through his hair, ended up with a handful of orange powder, then threw it at me and ran away. Little bugger! It took approximately 2.5 hours for the procession to go a distance that would take less than five minutes to walk. The music played and people danced the entire time. There were times that I would just stand back and watch it all in awe. I sometimes get jealous and wish that as a culture, we would celebrate life like the Indians do.
After the procession was finished, all the statutes of Ganesh were loaded in to a van and driven to the river where they would be thrown in. Imagine all the Ganesh statues at the bottom of the rivers in India!
After the procession, people went home to bathe and get cleaned up from all the orange powder. Mugda told me to make sure that I didn't wash my head, as it is only done after someone dies, and Hindus believe that God is not dead. Shortly after Sujata, Shubhada and I got back from the procession to clean up, Sunil and Sarita got home after being at the funeral of Sunil's friend's mother. They both had a bath washing all over, including their heads. After we got cleaned up, we went back to the temple where there were prizes awarded. They asked me to hand out the prizes and gave me a tapestry bag as a gift.
While I was in Turkey, I received an e-mail from Sunil and Sarita saying that they were planning a trip to coastal Maharashtra, but seeing as I was going back to India, they would postpone it until I got back so I could join them. I remember feeling really touched that they wanted to include me in their family vacation. When I got to Ahmednagar, we didn't really do much of anything, and I was a little disappointed to find out that Sunil had to go to Pune for training. That meant that our trip to coastal Maharashtra would be delayed until he had finished his training. I was pretty anxious to get to Jaisalmer, but the family had postponed their vacation to the coast for me, so I couldn't not go.
On our way to Pune, we had a tire blowout. When it happened, I thought we were going to be in another accident, and I was ready to turn back and never get in a car again. Thankfully, the driver handled the car really well, and was able to safely pull over to the side of the road and change the tire. When we got in to Pune, we met up with Sunil, then went and stayed with some relatives for the night before heading off for an early morning start. We left Pune at 7am, and didn't get to where we were going until 2am. It is only about a six hour drive, but we continually stopped to visit their friends and family members. Unfortunately, when we got to our destination, I got a little upset with Sunil. I told him that if I had known it was going to be all about visiting, then I would have gracefully bowed out from the trip. Sunil explained that the reason that it took so long to get where we were going was because we really needed to get to where we were for the next morning, as they were going to be performing a puja ceremony for their Goddess. Apparently every family in India has a goddess, and they go to perform a puja cermoney for her. After my little outburst, I felt really bad when I went to bed, and wondered what the hell I had done. I had no idea how it was going to affect the rest of our trip. The next day, they perfomred their puja ceremony, and I felt privileged to be able to observe this ritual that every family performs. When the ceremony was over, the Guruji (person who leads the ceremony) asked Sunil who I was. Sunil replied that I was as good as his sister. After making a comment like that, I felt so bad about my outburst the night before. I really didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but whenever I am in Ahmednagar, I am constantly being taken from one place to another to be introduced to people. I guess they don't see a lot of foregeiners, so it is a big deal for them to have one in their home. Although I didn't mind visiting people when I first got to Ahmednagar, after a while, it got really boring for me because after I had been introduced, I would just sit there like an idiot, because I couldn't understand what anyone was saying. Besides, this trip was sold to me by Sunil as seeing 'coastal Maharashtra', and so far, we had only stopped in to visit people on the way to our destination. As much as I love Indian food, it got a bit much after a while, because every time we stopped for a visit, we would get fed. Five full meals in one day was too much for me, especially when we were having a nap afterwards, or sitting in a car for hours on end. I would try to politely decline, but Sunil kept telling me that it was disrespectful not to eat something that had been offered. I think I was also on edge because of the car accident. I was now feeling very nervous about being in a car, and it seemed like we spent most of the day (and the remainder of the trip) in the car. Not to mention the fact that our driver had been working since 7am, and unlike us, he wasn't able to just take a nap when he felt tired. Spending four days in a car is not my idea of a vacation, regardless of whether or not I've been in a car accident. As for visiting 'coastal Maharashtra', we didn't make it to the coast until the next day at 7pm when it was dark.
The day that we were leaving, I was invited by the principal of a makeshift school, to talk to the children. There is a guest house at the temple for the goddess, and a couple of the rooms at the guesthouse are being used for classes. The kids sit on the floor, and use their book bags as their desk. After the principal introduced me, they all said good morning to me, then they sang 'Row, row, row your boat' for me. After that, we were invited to go upstairs to a larger classroom where I gave a speech to the kids, and was then presented with flowers.
After four days of spending pretty much most of the day in the car, I was happy to be dropped off at the train station in Pune to start my journey to Jaisalmer. As nice as it was to visit with Sunil and his family again, I was anxious to get back to traveling on my own.
I booked a ticket for second class, and I was the only girl, and only foreigner in a car of 8 men. The longest part of the trip was overnight to Ahmedabad. Once we arrived in Ahhmedabad, all the men got off the train, and I had the compartment to myself. During the rest of my journey, I met a young boy by the name of Oncar. His English was very good, and we passed much of the time batting a balloon around the compartment. He got lots of exercise chasing after it, and I'll bet he slept good that night. Traveling by train in India is not bad, however, I saw quite a few mice over the course of the journey. I'm not sure if it was the same one running back and forth, but it made an appearance several times. It's funny, because it doesn't phase Indians at all - it's just a part of living in India. The nice thing about traveling by train is that you don't have to worry about crazy car drivers!
I got in to Jodhpur two hours late at 7:45 pm, and there was a car and driver waiting to take me to the Shahi Palace in Jaisalmer. It was only a four hour drive, and not bad because the roads were straight and there was next to no traffic on the roads at that time of the night. We arrived at Shahi around midnight, and it sure felt good to be back at Shahi and in Jaislamer.
When I was in Jaisalmer in February, I met up with Amin, the young boy who won the camel race at the Desert Festival. About two days before I left India in February, he said he wanted to buy another camel. He said he knew of one that was strong like Elton, the camel he rode to his victory. I absolutely love camels, and I got to thinking that if I bought a camel, Amin could look after it. His win at the camel race was his second win, and if he had two camels, then he could train both of them and possibly place first and second at the Desert Festival next year. Not only that, he could use the camel for safaris, and the money he got could go towards feeding him and his family. The seed had been planted. For the next six months all I could think about was buying a camel. I kept in touch with Amin and asked him if he would help me buy a camel and he said he would. The day after I got in to Jaisalmer, I called Amin to tell him I was there, but he was in Manali and wouldn`t be back for a few days. I went in to town to visit people I had met the last time I was there, and after talking to many people and telling them that I wanted to buy a camel and have Amin look after it, it sounded like Amin really didn`t need my help, or another camel. As it turns out, he has an older girlfriend from France who provides a nice lifetsyle for him. Not only that, I discovered that Elton apparently leads the life of Riley. Apparently he doesn't do safaris, and just stays in the village and eats all day. When it gets close to the Desert Festival, then Amin starts training him to race. Here I thought that Amin was hard done by, and got little money from safaris, but it turns out that Elton doesn`t need to do safaris because Amin is already being well looked after. I was a little disappointed, but still wanted to buy a camel. I ran in to a boy I had met last time who worked in one of the shops close to a restaurant where I used to eat. He asked me to come by for chai the next morning. When I told him that I wanted to buy a camel, he said that his uncle had been a camel driver for 18 years, and he would be able to give me some good information on buying a camel.
The next day I met up at the shop where Bhawani works, and he introduced me to Khuba. We started talking about camels, then Khuba offered to take me for a ride on one of his friend`s camels. We went for a short ride, then he took me to the camel house where his friend lives and keeps his camel.
After our camel ride, Khuba took me out to a small camel fair about 7km out of town. There were all kinds of tents set up where people were selling trinkets for camels, chai and food. We wandered towards where most of the camels were, and it was kind of like old home week for Khuba. He saw lots of camels drivers that he used to work with. I felt confident having him with me, as he knew a lot about camels and what to look for. Our first stop was some friends of his who had a camel who sat on his back legs and stretched out his front legs for us. He wasn't for sale, he was just showing off for us! We moved on and met up with a friend of his who was selling a young camel by the name of Johnny B. Goode. He was a nice looking camel, but he was more expensive, and he wasn't trained, which meant that if I bought him, I wouldn't have been able to ride him right away. Apparently it takes a few months to train a camel so that he can be ridden. I moved on, and kind of wandered off on my own. I didn't really know what I was looking for in a camel, but I guess I was just looking for that one that would catch my eye. I came across a fairly large camel that was lying down, and I asked Khuba if he looked okay. He said that he did, but got him to stand up so we could have a better look at him. When he did, he started to poop. Khuba said that it`s bad luck if a camel pees when you are looking at him, but good luck if he poops. Khuba looked at his teeth and determined that he was eight years old. Not a bad age, as some camels live to be around 25 years old. He looked pretty healthy, and had a small hump with soft fur on top. When camels lie down, there is a fairly large oval piece of skin that touches the ground. Khuba said that it's best if this piece of skin doesn't touch either of the camel's front legs, which it didn't. Apparently when it comes to the matter of private parts, size matters. However, in the case of private parts for camels, small is best! Khuba explained that if it is small, then it doesn`t swing back and forth when the camel runs. I`m proud(??) to say that this camel had a small one! Also, he had already been trained, so that meant that I could ride him right away, and he could also be used for safaris right away. So what can I say? I had to buy him - he looked good, and he pooped for me! We told the owner that I was interested in his camel, and he said the price was 21,000 rupees (approximately $465Cdn). I gave the owner 100 rupees as a show of good faith, then we sealed the deal with a cup of chai. Apparently it is tradition when you buy a camel that the previous owner gives the new owner a bunch of food (in this case, branches from some desert bushes) to feed to the camel. I held up the dress part of my outfit, and he placed the branches in it. I then took the branches and fed them to MY camel! He was now mine!
It would seem that most camel owners name their camels after songwriters or songs. I had no idea what I was going to name mine, but going with the theme, I decided to go with Prince. Now I am not a big fan of Prince, but I think the name suits him. He is a very handsome camel, medium brown in colour, and has big, dark eyes with long eyelashes. Apparently, camels represent love. Finally, I have met my handsome Prince!
Khuba made arrangements for Kishor to ride Prince back in to town for me, then we would meet up with them later. We went out and did a bit of sightseeing, then around dinner time, went to meet up with Kishor and Prince. He was just as handsome as I had remembered, and I couldn`t believe that he was mine. Prince was now going to be living at Kewal`s house, and would be looked after by Kewal and Kishor. After spending a fair amount of time with the two of them, I know that Prince will be happy in his new home. The two of them speak enough English that we can understand each other, however, their English has been learned by being around tourists and certainly is not perfect. I'm amazed at how much English many of these camel drivers can speak. Most of them are from villages and have never been educated in Hindi, let alone English. I'm ashamed that I have all kinds of opportunities to learn any language I want, and yet I still only speak one, and here are uneducated people who often speak three or four languages! One day, Kewal showed me that he is learning how to read and write. He brought out his books and showed me his printing (probably a grade one or two level), then he would read the words for me that he had written. I bought him some books and a Hindi/English dictionary so he could brush up on his English for doing safaris. Kewal and Kishor will use Prince for camel safaris, and any money made will go towards feeding Prince, as well as themselves.
That night, Khuba and I went back out to the camel fair to buy some ropes and colourful beads to put around Prince's neck to make him even more handsome!
The next day, I went to meet up with Prince, Kewal and Kishor, and we rode back out to the camel fair so I could pay for Prince. It took us a couple of hours to get out there with me riding Prince and Kewal and Kishor riding Kewal's camel. Khuba rode out on his motorbike, and we met up with him when we got there. Shortly after that, we met up with Prince's previous (previous!!) owner, then we went over to a tent across the street where I got an official receipt saying that Prince was now mine. Of course I was the only foreigner there, and everyone else in the tent just stood there staring at me. Once the exchange of money had been made, the previous owner gave me back 50 rupees (approx. $1.10Cdn) for 'pleasure'. Prince was now 'officially' mine!
Every day that I was in Jaisalmer after I bought Prince, Khuba would come and pick me up, we'd stop for chai, pick up some fruit for Kishor and Kewal then go and see Prince. We would ride for anywhere from two to five hours, then come back and feed and water him. I would also go back in the early evening to water him as well. Most of the time we started our ride going through the lake area. One of the boys would usually lead me to the lake until we got out of traffic. Prince is not used to traffic, and it used to scare him. They told me that it would take approximately ten days before he would feel comfortable walking through traffic. Once we got past the traffic, my feet would come out of the stirrups, and I would take the lead. I was okay at leading him left or right, but Prince seemed to have a problem with my usage of the command for him to get down - 'je'. I guess I need to brush up on my Hindi! Many times we would go for a run, (no run, no fun), but I had a really hard time with bouncing in the saddle. Kishor kept telling me 'lose your body', but somehow, I would always find it, and I felt bad that it would be uncomfortable for Prince. I would watch Kishor and Kewal when we started running, and they always made it look so easy. I guess I just need some more practice. Before turning around to head back home, we would usually stop for a rest (rest is best), and have some of the fruit I had picked up earlier on. During our rides, Kewal and Kishor would serenade me with the only two songs they knew in English, Cecilia, or Country Roads, or entertain me with such sayings as 'no wife, no cry, no chapati, no chai. I loved going out on our rides, just sauntering along through the desert on my Prince! A lot of times we would go the whole ride and not see anyone else, just other animals. It was so relaxing. Whenever we came back from a ride, kids seemed to come from everywhere to welcome us back. One day we got back just as school was getting out. There were kids everywhere waving and shouting hello. I couldn't stop laughing to myself and thought that these are the types of experiences that make traveling so amazing. Whenever I was over visiting Prince, there always seemed to be a crowd of kids gathered either peeking over the fence, or standing on a wall looking in.
When we would take the camels to water, we would walk a few hundred meters from the camel house. I would lead Prince by the rope, and always thought it was so funny to look back and see this huge camel sauntering along behind me. And to think that he was mine! Another command I have to work on is the command for Prince to drink. It is a really weird sound, and I could never seem to get it right. I actually took a video of the boys doing it so I could practice for the next time I go back!
The day before I left Jaisalmer, I was a little concerned, as Prince was not peeing as much as he usually did. Khuba reassured me that it was nothing serious, and nothing that a little medicine couldn't cure. Kewal told me that he would feed him black tea, and that would help things along as well. A couple of days after I left Jaisalmer, I called Kewal to see how Prince was doing, and he told me 'Prince pissing and eating too much' (translated: he is doing just fine as he is eating lots and peeing lots).
The day I left Jaisalmer, I went to visit Prince once last time. I was feeling pretty sad, as I wasn't sure when I would see him again. I didn't go riding that day, but just went to give him one last hug before I headed to Jodhpur. I spent three nights in Jodhpur before heading to Udaipur to visit Sampat Lal. A couple of days before I got to Jodhpur, there had been over a hundred deaths of people being trampled while they were praying at a temple. There had been a huge sign erected with pictures of all the people who had died. How sad, most of them were so young.
When I was in Jodhpur, the car that I had hired to take me to Udaipur drove up with bald tires and dents all over the car. I told them there was no way I was getting in that car, and wanted a new car and driver. Just looking at the car made me feel unsafe. Within half an hour, I had a new car and driver and was on my way. The drive to Udaipur was awful, and I was glad that it was finally going to be my last long distance road trip in India. When I got to Udaipur and called Sampat Lal, he said he was going to Chittogargh the next day with his friends and wanted me to join them. I told him that I didn't feel comfortable being on the roads in India anymore and that I wouldn't be joining him.
One thing I loved about Udaipur this time is that I saw so many elephants on the streets. Whenever I saw them, I would just watch them, and wander along beside them. One time, one of the elephant drivers asked me if I wanted a ride. Of course I said yes! The elephant knelt down, then I climbed up his tail and on to the seat. Just after he got up, he discovered a well of water, and started spraying himself with it - I almost got soaked by it! The ride was short, but I took more pictures of the elephant and his driver. I love elephants almost as much as I love camels. Not to worry though, I'm not going to buy an elephant . . . . at this point in time.
After Udaipur, I was going to head back to Ahmednagar one more time to pick up a bag I had left there and to say goodbye to everyone. However, the thought of making the journey back there, then having to head back to Mumbai certainly did not appeal to me. I called Sunil to see if he would be able to meet me in Mumbai, and bless his heart, he didn't miss a beat and said he would be more than happy to meet with me there. Sarita and Sunil both took an overnight bus from Ahemendagar to Mumbai, and we spent my last day in India together. Before they left, Sunil said to me, 'On behalf of all Indians, we would like to welcome you back to India'. Late in the evening, I flew out of Mumbai.
After 9.5 of months of traveling, I am finally home. I have had many wonderful experiences, met some wonderful people, and have had some disppointments as well. I'm looking forward to being back and visting with family and friends, moving in to my apartment (I bought it brand new but have never actually lived in it), getting back in to a regular fitness routine, and actually getting a job (I can't believe I just said that!). As much as I love to travel, wherever I roam, there's no place like home! I met many people throughout my travels who can only dream about what I am doing, and not a day goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am that I have my health and the means to be able to do what I love to do.
See you soon,
Gaye
