Vijayawada
Trip Start
Dec 28, 2010
1
7
32
Trip End
Ongoing
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Thursday, January 20, 2011
We arrived at Vijayawada Railway Station shortly after 4:50pm and were immediately greeted off the platform by a man called Krishna and his lovely wife Jhansi, very close friends of Emma's parents. Before we had met them, we didn't have any idea of the fantastic weekend that they had so kindly planned for us.
Emma's dad had generously booked us into a hotel for our stay in Vijayawada so we were chauffeured to the hotel, the lovely DV Manor.
The DV Manor is one of a few luxury hotels in Vijayawada and luxury it was. The hotel stood on seven floors and had its own 24hr restaurant, bar and shop. The room itself was something that we had not been used to. The king size bed stood opposite a desk with chairs with 8ft lamps. The bathroom was also kitted out with goodies, soap, moisturizer, TOILET ROLL and a comb, which were all nestled in a welcoming basket. We also benefited from fresh linen and hot running water, which had not always been present in previous accommodation.
After thanking Krishna and Jhansi over coffee, we didn't not expect what they had planned for us the following day. He told us that he would be picking us up in the morning with a driver and we would be taken close to the village of Guntur (90mins away) to visit some of the religious attractions around Vijayawada.
The following morning after taking advantage of the complimentary breakfast (consisting of omelet, toast, fresh fruit, cereal, croissants and fruit juice) and enjoying the best nights sleep in a month, we were ready and excited for the day ahead! We visited many interesting sights around Guntur including a 2000 year old Hindu temple, a Buddhist monument sight which was destroyed by the Hindus 500 years ago and a cliff face which had been carved into a Hindu temple in the 5th Century with various statues and carvings, amazing. En route to the village we passed row upon row of cotton fields, tobacco fields, coconut and banana trees and men climbing up telegraph poles to fix the electrical wiring...never would you see this in the UK!
After a long, hot but brilliant day, Krishna again came up with an exciting proposition for the following day, if we were will to change our travel plans and extend our stay in Vijayawada, to go and visit a school.
Every Saturday Krishna volunteers at a local school and hoped that me and Emma would accompany him and spend the day with the children, talking about our travel through India and life in England. Within the drop of a hat we eagerly agreed to the proposition and were very much excited about the whole experience.
After another complimentary breakfast, we were again driven to the school, a few kilometers away, just over the river Krishna. The school was ran by Buddhist Monks who give up there lives to teach and care for the children. Everything was very professional, very calm and relaxing and very well organized. After having a chat with the Monk who ran the school over a cup of chai and a couple of digestives, we were both told that we would have to stand up in front of the whole class and talk about our experiences to date. Upon hearing the news we were both very nervous, not knowing what to say and wish we had had time to plan. Not only were we representing Krishna, but we were representing Britain...we were in for a scary few hours...At first I was scared whilst talking to the children but soon got into the swing of things, describing the culture of England and my travels through India. My speech was cut short after a Q and A session, when a young boy told me not only was Spanish football better than that of England but India would win the Cricket World Cup! Not impressed, I called my time at the podium to a very abrupt end. Emma however,somewhat crumbled...the class had now got over their nerves and the 'getting to know us' barrier and hurled questions about politics, religion and discrimination at her...
Shortly after leaving the classroom, we were ambushed by the whole class as the boys came to me and the girls all went to Emma wanting pictures, autographs, stories and I think there was even a mention of our mobile numbers! After offering us various snacks and sweets it was lunchtime, something that i was dreading...
We had our lunch, a typical Andrha meal with the monks in the main dining hall. Still not feeling up to scratch and not yet finding my appetite, I had been dreading lunchtime as I knew I would waste more than I ate. Time after time different items were added to our plates. Rice, vegetable curry, roti's, popadoms, curry powder, sweet and savory snacks, curd (curdled milk...a yoghurt consistency) vegetable soup and rice pudding, all of which had to be consumed with our right hand...as you can imagine it was a struggle but I tried a little of everything. As for Emma, there was no need to wash her plate as everything was fully DEVOURED! We said our goodbyes and gave thanks and we were on our way back.
When it was time to say our goodbyes and give thanks to Krishna and Jhansi, we felt a great deal of sadness as they had given us so much and put of time into planning and making our time in Vijayawada the best possible and it truly was!
Comments
The most beautiful entry so far. Sounds perfect. That's what it's all about hey! Xf