Home, sweet home / Com a casa enlloc ?

A month has passed since our return home …. how time flies! During these four weeks we have tried to re-establish our lives where we left off ten months ago, but actually it has not been easy. Indeed, more difficult for some than for others, but for all of us a change that we predicted but didn’t give much thought to. Some of our friends commented that we mustn’t get the post-partum blues – nine months with a clear objective that has now passed – well, maybe we are feeling them.
After days, weeks and months travelling more than 100,000km, over 800 hours on the road in more than 10 distinct forms of transport, using more than 20 currencies, sleeping in over 100 new locations, in five different continents, reading more than 30 books, writing over 100 posts in two blogs plus a mountain of emails and hand-written letters , getting to know hundreds of people and taking thousands photographs whilst visiting new locations, villages and cities that we didn’t know and had previously never visited, picking up where we left off is proving impossible!
We have returned to our home, family, friends, neighbours and surroundings , but it is not the same, it is now different, we are different. Neither better nor worse, just different. We now know each other so much better, indeed we know ourselves much better. Taking off the pressure, the lack of expectations and the new experiences of each day, made it possible to take in everything that was happening both outside us and within. And tomorrow, if circumstances allowed, we would all do it again, without doubt, but as we have already done it once, the next time, if there is a next time, the experience will surely be something else.

I should have liked each of us to have written our point of view now that we have returned, as I tend to idealize everything and always see the glass half full, but part of our return has been returning to our old ways. Diana has started work and the girls, as they have no commitments whilst waiting to restart their education after the summer and meanwhile are looking for temporary work, have caught up with friends as much as possible and have enjoyed themselves, especially their nocturnal selves. Thus a month has passed without us writing any posts for either blog, for which we apologize.
This post will appear on both our blogs, so don’t bother checking the other one for a different welcome note. Yes, a welcome note, as this is not a farewell but our return to the life we thought was our reality, although now we wonder if this is the case.
With our love,
Manel, Diana, Ella and Blanche
family@carreras-david.com

Ja ha passat un mes des de la nostra arribada a casa... com passa el temps! Aquestes quatre setmanes hem intentat reprendre les nostres vides on les vam deixar fa ara deu mesos i, la veritat, no ha estat fàcil. Per a uns més difícil que per a altres, però per a tots, un canvi amb què comptàvem però al qual potser mai dediquem gaires pensaments. Algun amic ens ha dit "que no us agafi una depre postpart" -per allò dels nou mesos i viure'ls amb un objectiu molt clar, que ara ja no hi és... Doncs gairebé ens agafa.
Després de dies, setmanes i mesos recorrent més de 100.000 quilòmetres, durant més de 800 hores de viatge, en més de 10 mitjans de transport diferents, a través de cinc continents diferents, usant més de 20 divises, dormint en més de 100 llocs nous, llegint més de 30 llibres, escrivint més de 100 posts en dos blocs i un munt de correus electrònics i cartes manuscrites, coneixent centenars de persones i fent milers de fotografies mentre visitàvem llocs, pobles i ciutats que no coneixíem i on no havíem estat mai, tornar on ho havíem deixat tot no és possible. Tornar a casa, amb la família, amics, veïns i entorn sí, però ja no és el mateix, ara és diferent, nosaltres som diferents. Ni millors ni pitjors, diferents. Entre nosaltres ens coneixem moltíssim més, així com cada un a ell mateix, perquè aquest temps també ha estat un viatge cap a nosaltres mateixos, on la falta de pressió, la falta d'expectatives i la novetat diària ens ha permès absorbir-ho tot, el de fora i el de dins. I demà, si poguéssim i les circumstàncies es tornessin a donar, ho repetiríem, sens dubte, tots i cada un de nosaltres, però com que ja ho hem fet, doncs la pròxima vegada, si hi és, l'experiència ben segur que serà una altra.
M'hauria agradat que cada un de nosaltres escrivís sobre la seva visió ara que ja hem tornat, perquè jo tendeixo a idealitzar-ho tot i sempre que hi ha un got el veig mig ple, però part del retorn ha estat tornar a rutines anteriors. La Diana s'ha reincorporat a la seva escola i les noies, com que no tenen "obligacions" mentre esperen reprendre els estudis al setembre i busquen feina per a aquests mesos, han recuperat tot el "temps perdut": han vist les seves amistats tant com els ha estat possible i han disfrutat de la vida, sobretot la nocturna. Així, hem passat un mes sense escriure cap post nou per als blocs, de manera que us demano mil disculpes; a més aquest serà compartit entre les dues "https", o sigui que no fa falta que busqueu si en l'altre bloc surt una altra versió de la nostra benvinguda, perquè és la mateixa. Dic benvinguda, ja que això no és cap comiat de res, sinó el nostre retorn a la vida que pensàvem era la real, i evidentment ara en tenim molts dubtes.
Amb afecte,
Manel, Diana, Ella i Blanche
family@carreras-david.com

Cami de casa / Going home

Dimecres varem marxar de Singapore despres de passar-hi uns dies, coneixer en Max, el fill de la Patricia i en Mahesh, visitar els Lothgren i veure la Chloe. De fet les noies varen estar a casa la Chloe mentre nosaltres dos ens varem quedar a casa els Lothgren. Despres de mesos de dormir principalment en hostals ve molt de gust quedar-se a casa els amics, sobretot quan aquests et tracten tant be com ho han fet amb nosaltres. A Singapore hem vist moltes botigues i fins fet alguna compra, tambe hem anat al cinema a veure "L'altra Bolena" i hem passejat molt, malgrat la calor i l'humitat que hi fa; el jardi botanic, el del gingebre i el de les orquidies son una mostra extraordinaria de la flora tropical i un lloc molt agradable per passar l'estona. La ciutat combina els edificis moderns, seu de bancs i grans empreses, amb barris com la petita India o el Xines, on trobes una replica simpatica d'aquests llocs que inclou temples, botiguetes i restaurants. Es una ciutat plena de forasters que hi treballen, altres forasters que treballen pels forasters que hi treballen, i uns quants descendents dels seus primers habitants, que sovint no tenen acces a les mateixes possibilitats que els forasters (que hi treballen). Tot sembla funcionar molt be, encara que com que la critica no es permesa, no se sap gaire que es el que va be de debo i el que no.
Ahir varem arribar a un Londres assoleiat pero bastant fred, a les cinc del mati nomes hi feia 6 graus, i es clar, venint del tropic ens va xocar una mica, encara que a Londres, si hi fa sol, tant li fa el fred ja que es quan la ciutat es mes bonica. Despres d'un bon esmorzar a un cafe tipic del centre i de deixar la majoria de les bosses a casa uns amics varem anar cap a Cardiff en autobus, un viatge d'un xic mes de tres hores que ens varen passar volant, al cap i a la fi anavem a veure la familia, i a mes el sol ens va acompanyar tot el cami. Diumenge tornem a la capital i dimecres havent dinat, cap Barcelona! Si tot va be arribarem la tarda de Sant Jordi, com haviem previst. Deixarem enrere molts llocs nous, molta nous coneguts, molts amics, molts llits i moltes hores de viatge, i esperem emportar-nos els records, els bons moments que hem passat, tot el que hem vist i apres durant aquests mesos. Tornarem a casa coneixent-nos bastant mes que quan varem marxar, amb ganes i energia per emprendre una nova etapa, cada un de nosaltres la seva nova etapa, amb un record comu que nomes nosaltres quatre compartim. A partir d'ara, en les nostres vides, sempre hi haura un abans i un despres d'aquest meravellos, unic i especial, i tambe privilegiat, molt privilegiat viatge.

On Wednesday we left Singapore after having spent some days there getting to know Max, Patricia and Mahesh's son, and visiting the Lothgrens and Chloe. In fact the girls stayed at Chloe's whilst we stayed at the Lothgrens'. After so many months of mostly sleeping in hostels, we have really appreciated staying at friends' homes, especially as they have all treated us so well. We visited lots of shops in Singapore and even did some shopping, we also went to the cinema to see 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and walked a lot, despite the heat and humidity. The Botanical Gardens, which include the Ginger Garden and the Orchid Garden, are home to an extraordinary collection of tropical flowers and plants and it is a really pleasant place to spend some time. The city combines modern buildings, its banks and large corporations, with neighbourhoods like Chinatown and Little India where you find replicas of those places including temples, small shops and restaurants. It's a city full of foreigners who work there, other foreigners who work for the foreigners who work there and a number of descendents of the original population who often don't have access to the same opportunities as the foreigners (who work there). It all seems to work very well, although criticism is not permitted and so it's difficult to know what really functions well and what doesn't.
Yesterday we arrived in sunny London, although it was cold. At five o'clock in the morning it was only 6 degrees and obviously, coming from the tropics, it was a bit of a shock although when the sun is out in London, even if it's cold, it's at its most beautiful. After a hearty breakfast in a typical cafe in the centre, we dropped some bags at a friend's house and headed to Cardiff by coach, a sunny journey of just over three hours which sped by, to see the family.
On Sunday we return to London and on Wednesday afternoon we head to Barcelona. If everything goes according to plan, we'll arrive in the afternoon of St Jordi. We'll be leaving behind many new locations, new acquaintances, new friends, many beds and hours of travel and will be taking with us many memories, goods times we've had, everything we've experienced and learnt over the last nine months. Arriving home, we'll know so much more than we did when we left, with an enthusiasm and energy to start the next phase, each one our own, but with a common experience we four have lived together. From now on there will always be a 'before and after' in our lives marked by our marvellous, unique, special and also privileged, very privileged journey.

Now is Tibet, tomorrow it could be Taiwan / Ara es el Tibet, un dia potser sera Formosa

Haver visitat fa poc durant 3 dies una ciutat de la Xina no em dona cap autoritat sobre el Tibet i els afers relacionats amb els JJOO, pero haver seguit les noticies i la premsa especialitzada, i haver mantingut orelles i ulls ben oberts mentre erem a la regio, m'ha permes formar una opinio personal sobre la realitat xinesa. En la nostra visita a Chauzhou el primer que varem notar va ser una gran inversio en infraestructures, principalment carreteres; tambe varem notar una constant agressio a l'entorn al llarg de les carreteres per on varem viatjar en forma d'abocaments indiscriminats. Mentre que algunes zones del centre de les ciutats, tant a Shenzhen com a Chauzhou, semblaven haver estat desenvolupades recentment, aquesta expansio nomes consistia en edificacions gegants sense deixar lloc a arees de lleure. Els nous enclavaments per a habitatge eren purament funcionals sense deixar arribar la llum natural als pisos que s'amuntegaven en blocs els uns massa prop dels altres. Dels espais interiors no en puc dir res ja que no els varem visitar. Passejant per la part vella de la ciutat varem constatar que els negocis individuals amb prou feines generen el suficient per sobreviure i, observant la vida quotidiana de la gent, semblava que la vida era ben senzilla. El transport en tricicle comparteix els carrers amb cotxes de luxe i molts i molts autobusos La meva primera impressio va ser d'estar en un estat capitalista en gran desenvolupament, sense pero, les llibertats i els dretss a que estem acostumats a l'oest. Jutjant pels resultats economics de la Xina un nomes pot pensar en un estat capitalista molt agressiu amb dos tipus de normes, una cara a fora de lliure competencia i un altre d'estricte control de la produccio i els seus mitjants cara a la seva poblacio. El nombre de vehicles de luxe em fa sospitar que la corrupcio es un sistema ben establert per aconseguir favors o drets especials. L'exit economic de la Xina es d'els xinesos, pero tambe en part es el resultat de les aspiracions de les empreses occidentals-i els seus accionistes-, i a la llarga poden costar car a les nostres economies; potser caldria que pensessim on volem que es fabriquin els nostres bens. Pels seus preus favorables, massa sovint hem mirat cap a l'altra banda, i ara amb els JJOO a sobre, una vegada mes ens taparem els ulls, mentre ens serveixin els seus productes a bon preu... Pero, es acceptable aquest preu? Els abusos de la Xina no es limiten a l'ocupacio i les massacres portades a terme al Tibet des de 1950, tambe impliquen el desplacament constant de la seva poblacio, enviant gent Han a viure-hi per "diluir" la causa tibetana, obligant a qualsevol ciutada xines a canviar la seva residencia quan el govern ho ha volgut, menyspreant els mes basics drets. A la Xina res ha canviat des que els estudiants varen prendre Tiananmen, amb la diferencia que com que l'economia creix rapidament el govern ara pot -si ho vol- comprar tots i cada un dels ciutadans a mes d'utilitzar l'arengada nacionalista per guanyar-se el seu recolzament en grans causes internacionals, sovint fent de victima. Fa ben poc varem escoltar al president xines dir que esta disposat a "parlar del que sigui amb el Dalai Lama, sempre que aquest no questioni la integritat de la Xina, ja que tant en el Tibet com Formosa en son parts indiscutibles".

Having recently spent 3 days in a city in China does not give me any authority on the Tibet and related Games' issues. However, having been following the news and reading specialized press as well as keeping my ears and eyes well open whilst in the region, allows me to have formed a strong personal opinion on China's reality. On our visit to Chauzhou the first thing we noticed was lots of investment in infrastructures, mainly on roads; we also noticed a constant agression to the environment on both sides of the roads we traveled along, consisting of several dumping sites and rubbish landfills. Whilst some city centre areas, both in Shenzhen and Chauzhou, seem to have been recently developed, this has been done on a large scale, with only buildings of gigantic proportions, leaving no space for leasure areas. New housing developments seemed to lack any "luxurious" access to natural light and buildings were piled one next to the other, becoming just functional. As we did not visit any inside, I cannot coment on their living spaces. Walking the old town we saw how individual businesses struggle to generate a sizeable income and from seeing the population's daily activity, I suspect they live a very basic way of life. Cycle richshaws share the road with new luxury cars and many, many buses. My first impression was that of a fast developing capitalist state without any of the freedom or rights we enjoy in the west. Judging by China's economic results, I can only think of a very agressive capitalist system using two sets of rules: free competition towards the outside and strict state control of production and its means towards their people. On account of the luxury vehicles we saw, I can only suspect corruption as a well established system to obtain special rights or privileges. China's economic success is their own doing, but also the result of western companies -and their share holders- greed, and eventually could cost our economies dearly; perhaps it is time we reconsider where we want our goods produced. Because of their favourable prices we have become complacent and often turn a blind eye, and now, with the Olympic Games around the corner, we are once more prepared to close both eyes, as long as we can buy their goods cheaply. But, are they so cheap? China's abuses aren't limited to the occupation and continued masscre of Tibet since 1950, they also involve the constant displacement of their population, sending Han people into the region in order to dilute the Tibetan feeling, forcing anyone the government wants, to move to other regions, in a clear show of disregard for people's basic rights. Nothing has changed for the Chinese since the students took Tiananmen, except perhaps that their economy is growing at such rate that the government can, when they want, buy each and everyone of its citizens, often stirring nationalistic feelings to gain support for big international issues and playing victim. We have recently heard the Chinese president say he is "prepared to discuss anything with the Dalai Lama, as long as he does not question China's integrity, as both Tibet and Taiwan are inseparable parts of it".

Ara, cap a l'est /Eastbound

Dema, ben aviat, agafarem l'avio cap a Hong Kong, en certa manera tornant enrera enlloc de seguir viatjant cap a l'oest. Quan deixem l'India decididament haurem comencat el retorn, encara que aparentment ens allunyem d'Europa. El nostre viatge s'acaba, ja fa dies que ho diem, ara, abans de fer cap a casa volem tastar la Xina -malgrat totes les discrepancies i la seva actitud envers alguns Tibetans- i visitar amics a Toquio i Singapur. Les setmanes que hem passat aqui han estat plenes de sabors ben diferents i darrerament de molts colors. Abans d'arribar teniem moltes ganes de descobrir una mica aquest continent (sense el mal usat sub) tant diferent i intrigant. Ara en coneixem alguns llocs, algunes tradicions i costums i hem pogut iniciar-nos en les seves religions. A voltes han estat dies durs, conviure constantment amb una pobresa 'acceptada' no sempre es facil, alguns dels costums locals ens han continuat sorprenent i no ens hi hem acostumat, encara que si adaptat -ajustat com diuen aqui- per tolerar-los (les escopinades , quin remei!), d'altres els hem abracat i ens els emportarem a casa. Molts dies han estat meravellosos, acompanyats de gent generosa acabada de coneixer i regats per rius venerats, mars molt especials, sortides i postes de sol increibles i muntanyes espectaculars. Potser de tots els llocs on hem viatjat durant aquets mesos, l'India sera el primer on tornarem -qui sap; enrera hem deixat les noies de Moolamatton, les impressions de Bombai, la vida rural del sud del pais i, mes recentment, les altes muntanyes d'Utranchal; a mes, ens queda pendent la visita al Nepal, i qui sap, quan les coses s'arreglin, potser un dia fins podem visitar el Tibet i tot.
Per ara, avui hem enviat mes de 30 quilos d'equipatge cap a casa en un intent de viatjar un xic mes lleugers (ara nomes portarem dues motxilles!), i dema, ben aviat, canviarem de decorat i, amb sort, portarem el bon temps cap al sud de la Xina... ja us ho explicarem.

Tomorrow we'll catch an early plane to Hong Kong, and although it may seem we are moving away, we'll have started our return. Once we have left India we'll certainly be on our way home, even if we'll be traveling east for a while. Our journey starts to end, we have been saying it for a while, but before going home we would like a taste of China - despite their attitude towards Tibetans and our contradictions - and to visit some friends both in Tokyo and Singapore. The weeks we've spent here have been full of different flavours and lately many colours. Before our arrival we really wanted to discover bits of this intriguing and different (and mistakenly belittled) continent. Now we know some of its places, traditions and even had an introduction to its religions. Occasionally some days have been hard, to live among "accepted poverty" has not been easy, and some of the local habits continue to surprise us (spitting being one of them) and we have not grown used to them (although we have had to "adjust" as they say), other ones we'll take home and make them our own. Many days have been great, meeting very generous people and surrounded by venerated rivers, very special seas, amazing dawns and sunsets and dramatic mountains. Perhaps of all the places we have visited these last months, India is the first one we'll come back to, who knows. We have left behind the girls from Moolamatton, the impressions from Bombay, the rural life of the south and more recently the extraordinary Himalayas. We have also a visit to Nepal pending, and maybe, one day, we'll even make it to Tibet. For the time being, today we have shipped 30kg of things back home, trying to travel a little lighter, with only two rucksacks, and tomorrow, early in the morning we'll change scenery and maybe even manage to take the weather with us, to the south of China... we shall see.

Animals salvatges i paranys de ciutat / Wild life and traps in the city

Des que varem escriure el darrer blog entre altres coses hem tingut la sort de veure tres cadells de tigre en el seu entorn natural, lliures i salvatges, des d'una torre d'observacio a pocs metres! Va ser un mati extraordinari que recordarem durant molt de temps; era el tercer dia al Parc Nacional de Dudhwa i encara que el dia abans haviem vist rinoceronts de ben aprop (a tres o quatre metres!) des de dalt d'un elefant, hi haviem anat esperant tenir la sort de veure un tigre... aixi que tres el darrer mati que hi erem va ser molt afortunat i ens va deixar molt contents i satisfets. A mes del parc de Dudhwa, hem visitat Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Orchha i el famos temple de Khajuraho (conegut per les talles erotiques, encara que n'hi ha moltes mes que no ho son, tant o mes impressionants), i ara som a Agra. Era evident que hi haviem de passar, per veure el Taj i el Red Fort, i encara que ens feia mandra viure la part mes turistica i comercialitzada de l'India, les visites a tots dos monuments no ens han decepcionat. El Taj fins que no el veus no t'adones de lo bonic i gran que es, i encara que ahir hi havia forca gent que tambe el visitaven, ens va impressionar. Es clar que darrera hi ha una historia entre romantica i trista, la d'un senyor amb molts diners que sempre que viatjava volia que la seva dona preferida l'acompanyes, i en una ocasio en que anava a fer la guerra i va fer que tambe l'acompanyes, ella es va posar de part (del seu 14e fill!) i s'hi va quedar... aleshores al tornar ell va dir que abans de morir li havia demanat que contruis un monument per fer saber a tothom com de gran havia estat el seu amor... qui vulgui que s'ho cregui! En la construccio d'aquest monument hi varen participar 22000 treballadors durant una pila d'anys, i ben segur que mes d'un hi va deixar la pell; les incrustacions en el marbre son de pedres de colors portades de diversos paisos llunyans i el mateix marbre el varen transportar 2000 elefants des de mes de 300 quilometres de distancia. Aqui a Agra t'atabalen tota l'estona intentant vendre't tot tipus de reproduccions i bagateles relacionades d'alguna manera amb el Taj. Avui hem (de fet he sigut jo el que hi ha caigut) caigut en el conegut parany que en ciutats com Agra et posen els conductors de rickshaws: et proposen de portar-te on tu vols per un preu raonable i aixi que has acordat el desti et convencen - i un cop dalt del vehicle i en una zona allunyada no tens gaires opcions- que acceptis de visitar una zona de botigues on ells rebran una comissio encara que tu no compris res i aixi els ajudes a guanyar algun diner mentre tu veus la ciutat i algunes botigues; el que no t'expliquen es que despres de visitar el lloc on volies anar et passaras dues o tres hores anant d'una botiga a una altra en una zona gens interessant de la ciutat, ja que cal anar almenys a 5 llocs per rebre ells una quantitat acceptable de comissions, i el que havia de ser un dia de passeig tranquil es converteix en una empipadora i llarga processo de visites a botigues on venen coses que no vols a preus infalts per als turistes, i a sobre al acabar el recorregut, com que ha fet tants quilometres i saps que es realment una feina molt dura, especialment pels ciclistes de mes de 60 anys que ens portaven, els acabes pagant el doble del que havies acordat i ben segur, mes del que t'hauria costat anar on volies i tornar en un dels molts tricicles motoritzats que fan el servei de taxi.

Since our last blog, amongst other things we've been lucky enough to see three tiger cubs in their natural habitat, free and wild, from an observation tower a few metres away. It was an extraordinary morning which we'll remember for a long time; it was out third day in Dudhwa National Park and even though we'd seen rhinos the day before from the back of an elephant (about 3 or 4m away!), we were hoping we'd see a tiger .... and so three the following morning means we were very lucky and we were thrilled. As well as Dudhwa, we've visited Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Orchha, the famous temple at Khajuraho (known for its erotic carvings, although there are many more that are of other subjects that are as or more impressive) and now we are in Agra. Obviously we had to come here, to visit the Taj and the Red Fort, although we were worried about visiting one of India's most touristy and commercialised places, however the two monuments didn't fail to impress. Until you see the Taj, you can't appreciate its beauty and size, and even though there were lots of visitors yesterday, it was impressive.
There is, of course, a sad and romantic story behind it of a man who had lots of money and who, when travelling, liked his favourite wife to accompany him and who had her accompany him to war where she went into labour (their 14th child!) and died .... and so, on his return he said that before she passed away she asked him to build a monument to show the greatness of their love ... and whoever saw it would know. Twenty-two thousand workers participated in the construction of this monument over a period of many years, and many must have died. The coloured stones set into the marble were brought from far and wide and the marble itself was brought by 2,000 elephants from over 300km away.
Here in Agra they hassle you to buy all sorts of reproductions and junk somehow related to the Taj all the time. Today we fell (actually it was Manel who fell) for a known scam by local rickshaw drivers in cities like this. They agreed to take us where we wanted for a reasonable price and once we were near where we wanted to be, they convinced us to go to another area and visit some shops where they would receive a commission even if we didn't buy anything, thus helping them earn some extra money. What they didn't warn us was that this would turn out to be a three hour tour of uninteresting parts of the city as they need to take you to at least 5 shops to get reasonable commissions. What was going to be a relaxed day wandering in the old town had by then become a long and annoying succession of visits to shops where they sell things you don't want at inflated, tourist prices. At the end of the journey, as they had cycled many kilometres and as it is a very tough job, especially for the elderly drivers we had, we ended up paying double what we had agreed and obviously more than we should have paid to go to where we had originally wanted and back, even in a motorised rickshaw!

North of Varanasi, mes cap al nord

Com heu notat anem alternant entre aquest espai i el blog que fem a http://elperiodico.com/blogs/blogs/rutafamiliar/default.aspx per mantenir-vos informats, o sigui que ja sabeu que hem canviat un xic els plans i no visitarem el Nepal, com teniem previst. Les darreres dues setmanes hi ha hagut una vaga generalitzada i s'els va comencar a acabar el fuel i a fallar la distribucio del menjar, en algunes ciutats hi havia toc de queda establert i bastantes manifestacions. Abans d'ahir el govern i l'oposicio varen arribar a un acord i van acabar la vaga, i encara que la situacio ja s'esta normalitzant, ens va semblar raonable postposar la nostra visita fins a la propera vegada que siguem per la regio (esperem que hi hagi una propera vegada), tant per seguretat com per respecte vers els Nepalesos, ja que com extrangers segur hauriem tingut (el seu) menjar i (la seva) gasolina. Malgrat aquest canvi encara esperem avistar les muntanyes dels Himalaies i fins algun pic important, si podem visitar el park de Dudhwa, al nord de Lucknow, on ens dirigirem aquesta nit, com ve sent habitual, en tren.



Avui hem anat a Kushinagar, una ciutat a 50 quilometres (o dues hores en bus) a l'est de Gorakhpur a visitar temples budistes, ja que n'hi ha mes d'un, doncs es la ciutat on va morir "el Buddha" i sembla que encara s'hi conserven algunes cendres (que no hem vist). El trajecte, com sempre que et mous per carretera a l'India, ens ha aixecat els cabells , encara que com que el cami es tot en linia recta, aquest cop els adelantaments mentre venen cotxes i (pobres) motos de cara i la circulacio de tres vehicles en paral.lel per una via de dos carrils, no han estat tant esgarrifosos, i aixo que hem fet tota la tornada drets ja que l'autobus anava ple - en algun moment fins hi havia un parell de passatgers al sostre i tot!



Des que hem arribat al nord del pais s'ens fa mes dificil trobar llocs per menjar seguint la dieta vegetariana que portem fent els darrers mesos, ja que sembla la poblacio es mes mixta i no hi ha la majoria vegetariana que haviem trobat als estats del sud. Com que intentem menjar en llocs on facin nomes cuina vegetariana, ara hem de buscar-los durant mes estona, i com que les poblacions estan escampades al llarg de forca quilometres, a vegades porta mes estona, i com que des que varem deixar Madagascar no hem provat ni el vi ni la cervesa - ni altres alcohols- tampoc podem parar a fer una birra i reposar un xic quan no trobem un lloc per menjar. No es que haguem fet cap vot especial ni ens haguem convertit a cap religio, simplement ens va semblar que era una oportunitat massa facil per "fer vida sana" per deixar-la passar.



Avui a l'estacio ens hem pesat i seguim en el mateix pes que quan varem marxar, o sigui que l'alimentacio esta funcionant, encara que aquests dies a vegades ens hem sorpres conversant sobre el menu ideal per un apat per a cada u, o intentant debatre quines coses -de menjar- son les que cadascu troba o ha trobat mes a faltar en aquests mesos de viatge... poster com que la tornada es va acostant s'ens fa inevitable comencar a pensar en com seran els primers dies despres de retorn i sobretot, que menjarem!





You will have realised that we try to keep you up-to-date with our movements alternating our news via this blog and our other one at http://elperiodico.com/blogs/blogs/rutafamiliar/default.aspx and so you will know that our plans have changed a little and we are not visiting Nepal. In the last two weeks there has been a general strike there , fuel is running short and food distribution is becoming difficult, in some cities curfews have been imposed and there have been demonstrations. The day before yesterday, the government arrived at an agreement with the opposition and the strike ended and stability is being restored but we thought we'd postpone our visit until our next trip (if there is a next trip) both for our own safety and out of respect to the Nepalese because as foreigners we would be sure to get (their) food and (their) fuel. Despite this change, we should still be able to see the Himalayas if we visit Dudhwa Park to the north of Lucknow, where we are headed tonight by train ... as always.


Today we visited Kushinagar, a city about 50 km away (2 hours by bus), to the east of Gorakhpur to visit Buddhist temples - there is more than one. It is the city where " Buddha" died and it seems his ashes are still there (although we didn't see them). The journey, as always when travelling on Indian roads, was hair-raising although this time as the road was straight overtaking, creating three lanes of parallel traffic on a road designed for two, wasn't so scary when cars and (poor) motorcyclists were hurtling towards us. We had to stand for the whole of the return journey as the bus was packed with even a couple of passengers travelling on the roof.


Since our arrival in the north, we have been finding it difficult to find places serving the vegetarian diet we have been following for the last couple of months, as the population here is more mixed and the majority are not vegetarian as they are in the south. As we try to eat in places that only produce vegetarian food, our search is taking longer every time, and as these towns are really spread out over several kilometres, sometimes we walk a long way, and as we haven't drunk wine or beer (or any other alcohol) since leaving Madagascar, we can't even stop for a beer and rest a while when we can't find anywhere to eat. It's not that we've converted to any religion, it just seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up to live "a healthy lifestyle".


We weighed ourselves at the station today and we are all the same weight as when we left last year and so this diet is working although over the past few days we have surprised ourselves by discussing our ideal menu and which food items each one of us has missed most on the trip ... maybe it's because the end is in sight and inevitably we are thinking about our first days back and above all what we are going to eat!

Indian Railways

We have invested in the Indian Railways Timetable (Trains at a Glance - 30/- = 50c), a tome of 300 pages which not only gives you information on all the trains run by Indian Railways, but also what is the content, quantity and cost of each meal served on their trains, who is liable for discounts on their tickets, how much tickets cost, where to find wildlife in India and lots of other interesting information. Manel has read and inwardly digested all this book has to offer and so discovered that if you plan to travel further than 500km, you can break your journey en route for 48 hours. Hence our stop here, Rajahmundry, a medium-sized town halfway up the east coast. We arrived here on Monday having travelled overnight. It is not a town that receives many (if any) tourists and so most people stare at us unashamedly. Yesterday we visited the Iskcon temple, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a pastel extravaganza, and then wandered around the busy market and a really very exclusive jewellers just because it was there. Such exquisite things! There are a lot of people in this region, including many women, with shaved heads, which is surprising to see after the long, long hair and plaits of Kerala. In Tirupathi, a town near here, pilgrims sacrifice their hair at the Venkataswara Temple. Their hair later ends up in American and Japanese wigs.

We're all moving at a slower pace. This morning we've left the girls in their room watching cable TV, something they haven't done since before Madagascar. Poor Ella is recovering from a bit of a fright this morning ... a small cockroach was lurking in her straw and ended up in her mouth .... nasty!

Tonight we move on again. This time to Bhubaneswar, 'the city of temples', in Orissa where there are over 500 of the original 7000 temples still standing. The girls are thrilled.

Varem comprar l'Indian Railways Timetable (Trains at a Glance - 30/- = 50c), un volum d'unes 300 pagines que no tan sols t'informa dels horaris de tots els trens a l'India, si no que a mes detalla el contingut, les cantitats i els preus dels menjars que serveixen als trens indis, qui te dret a descomptes, el preu de cada tipus de bitllet per a cada distancia, on trobar animals salvatges i santuaris per animals al pais i molta mes informacio interessant. En Manel la va estudiar tota i va descobrir que en viatges de mes de 500 quilometres es pot fer una parada de dos dies i per aixo ara som a Rajah Mundry, una ciutat petita a mig cami de la costa est. Hi varem arribar el dilluns despres de viatjar tota la nit. Com que no reben gaires, o cap, visitants occidentals, la gent s'ens queda mirant descaradament. Ahir varem visitar el temple d'Iskon de la Societat Internacional per a la Consciencia de Krishna, un lloc peculiar, i despres varem passejar per un mercat molt concorregut i una joieria molt exclusiva, ja que ens varen convidar a entrar-hi. Quines joies! en aquesta regio hi ha moltagent, incloent dones, que porten el cap afeitat, cosa que ens va sorprendre despres de disfrutar dels cabells llarguissims i llargues trenes, que porten a Kerala. A Tirupathi, un poble proper, els peregrins ofereixen el seus cabells en sacrifici al temple de Venkataswara. Els cabells acaben a America i el Japo en forma de perruques...

Avui anem mes a poc a poc. Aquest mati hem deixat les noies a la seva habitacio mirant la tele, cosa que no havien fet des d'abans d'anar a Madagascar, i a mes tenien satel.lit! Pobra Ella, aquest mati s'ha endut un bon ensurt quan ha trobat una petita cuca(ratxa) que hi havia en la palleta de la seva beguda dins la boca... ecs!

Aquest vespre agafem el tren de nou, anirem a Bhubaneswar, la ciutat dels temples, a Orissa, on queden 500 dels 7000 temples que hi havia. "les noies estan encantades".

Moolamattom, Kerala

Yesterday we visited Munnar, a town in the centre of the tea producing area of Kerala. We left early in order to avoid the heat and drove for about two and a half hours up into the mountains where the air was fresher and cooler. On the way we experienced, once again, Indian driving at its scariest ... passing the aftermath of a nasty head-on crash between two buses.

You know you have arrived at the tea plantations because the landscape changes and the hills are suddenly covered in a neat patchwork of bright green bushes as far as the eye can see. We stopped at the smartest hotel in town, as the woman we are staying with knows the owner, and had a buffet breakfast of curries, puris and, for the first time in a while, toast and jam. We then continued our tour and visited a dam and Echo Point where there are stalls selling tea (surprise, surprise), essential oils, cheap plastic toys, wooden trays and home-made chocolate. You could also have a ride on an elephant. On the road we had seen a working elephant dragging trees up a hillside. Mercy, our hostess, told us that in December the area is packed with tourists and the vendors do a roaring trade, but yesterday there were just a few "palid people" like us about. Back in town we tried masala tea (tea with spices) and wandered around the market. Another interesting day.

Our stay here in Moolamattom is coming to an end. On Sunday we move on and from then on will be almost constantly on the road until we get back home. Yet again we've met some lovely children whose company we really have enjoyed and yet again we have been shown enormous generosity and kindness by everybody living and working at the home.

Ahir varem visitar Munar, un poble de la zona on es produeix te a Kerala. Varem sortir aviat per evitar la calor i varem conduir durant dues hores i mitja cap a les muntanyes, on l'aire era mes fresc. Durant el viatge varem tornar a experimentar la perillosa manera de conduir de l'India i fins varem veure dos autobusos que havien tingut un greu xoc frontal.

Quan el paissatge canvia i tots els camps semblen ordenadament tapissats d'arbustos d'un verd brillant, saps que has arribat a la plantacio.Varem aturarnos al millor hotel del poble, ja que la dona que ens hi acompanyava coneix l'amo, i varem disfrutar d'un esmorzar amb curris, puris i per primera vegada en molt de temps, torrades amb mermelada. Despres varem seguri fins a "Echo Point" on hi havia paradetes venent te, olis essencials, joguines barates de plastic, plates de fusta i xocolata feta a casa. Tambe es podia pujar als elefants. Pel cami haviem vist n'haviem vist un treballant, arrossegant troncs. La nostra hosta, la Mercy, ens va dir que pel Desembre aquesta zona es plena de turistes i els venedors fan l'Agost, pero ahir nomes hi havia algunes persones "palides" com nosaltres. De tornada al poble varem provar el te massla (amb especies) i varem visitar el mercat local. Un altre dia interessant.

La nostra estada a Moolamattom ja s'acaba. El diumenge tornarem a viatjar i a partir d'aleshores, gairebe cada dia ens mourem de lloc, fins a la tornada a casa. Un altre cop hem tornat a coneixer canalla encantadora i hem disfrutat de la seva companyia, i un cop mes ens han acollit amb gran generositat i tothom que treballa i o viu a la llar ens ha tractat molt be.

Mumbai to Cochin

After almost a week in Mumbai, we have now moved south to Cochin in Kerala. The journey here by train was overnight and took 27 hours. Despite the length of the journey there was always plenty of activity going on around us. At each stop vendors got on selling delicious hot battered snacks, tea, newspapers, maps and there was a constant flow of staff from the ‘pantry’ carriage also carrying through similar things to eat. The carriage was divided into sections with acres of curtaining and velcro each containing two tier bunks, we travelled 2^nd class, with another bunk across the aisle. There was a very elegant 71-year old lady dressed in a sari sharing our section who chatted to us. It turned out that she was a former plastic surgeon who had studied in Edinburgh and who was on her way to Cochin to go scuba diving and snorkeling off a protected island with the Natural History Society of Bombay. I must admit that was not what I expected her to be doing.

When we awoke the landscape and vegetation had changed. We were now traveling through palm plantations and crossing picturesque, early morning river estuaries. The temperature had also gone up.

The train arrives in Ernakulam and from here we got a ferry across to Cochin– a lovely way to arrive in any city. After the energy of Mumbai, Cochin is a surprisingly slow–paced city. Yesterday we wandered through Jew Town where there are hundreds of antique shops aimed at the many tourists who visit here and then on down Bazaar Road which was busy with local people and where there are dozens of warehouses filled with sacks of spices and pulses and small shops selling essential oils.

Today we took a 'backwaters' tour. This involved driving, at breakneck speed, to a small jetty about 30km south where we boarded a houseboat. We then sailed along waterways, across a lake and around a group of islands, stopping off on one where we shown how they collect 'natural juice' from the flower of the coconut palm in ceramic bowls and where we were also shown some of the many spices that grow in this region such as cardamom, arrowroot and all spice, which is a plant not a mixture of spices as I'd always thought. After a really delicious lunch, we then set off in narrow boats through the backwaters, getting stuck on various occasions as the water level was so low, and this time we stopped in a village to see how they make coir string from coconut fibre. We saw a number of kingfishers as we travelled through this beautiful place.

Despres de gairebe una setmana a Mumbai, ara hem viatjat cap al sud, a Cochin (Kerala). El viatge en tren va durar mes d'un dia, 27 hores. Malgrat que fos llarg, al nostre voltat sempre hi havia molta activitat amb que distreure's.A cada parada colles de venedors pujaven al tren oferint-nos delicioses pastes acabades de fregir, te, mapes i diaris, i a mes sempre teniem el personal del vago restaurant "fent passadis" i constantment oferint-nos coses similars per menjar. El vago estava dividit en seccions amb kilometres de cortines i velcro i a cada seccio hi havia 4 llits disposats en dos nivells. Nosaltres viatjavem en segona classe hi hi havia una tercera "llitera" de costat al passadis. En aquesta part de la nostra seccio, hi havia una elegant senyora de 71 anys que vestia un sari i que va xerrar amb nosaltres. Mai hauriem endevinat que era una cirujana plastica retirada que havia estudiat a Edinburg i ara anava a a Cochin a bussejar en una illa protejida amb un grup de la Societat d'Historia Natural de Bombai.

Varem despertar en un nou paisatge amb vegetacio diferent de quan havien anat a dormir. Estavem travessant plantacions de palmeres i estuaris pintorescs i la temperatura havia pujat molts graus.

El tren arriba a Ernakulam i d'alla varem anar fins a Cochin en un ferry, una manera molt agradable d'arribar a la ciutat. Despres de tota l'activitat de Mumbai, Cochin es una ciutat sorprenentment lenta. Ahir varem passejar pel barri jueu on hi ha centenars d'anticuaris especialment dirigits al tots els turistes que hi passen, i despres per Bazaar Road, on hi ha molta gent de la zona i dotzenes de magatzems plens de sacs d'especies i llegums i petites botigues venent olis essencials.

Avui hem anat a fer una passejada en barca per les"backwaters". Aixo ha implicat anar en un autobus, a una velocitat exagerada, fins a un petit "amarre" uns 30km al sud de la ciutat, on hem pujat una casa-barca. D'alli hem anat per canals, travessant un llac i voltant varies illes, desembarcant en una d'elles on ens han ensenyat com recullen el "suc natural" de la flor de les palmeres cocoteres en unes olles de ceramica penjades de l'arbre, i tambe ens han mostrat varies de les especies que creixen a la regio, com el cardamo, l'"arrowroot" i el "allspice", que es una planta i no una barrejad'especies comhavia pensat sempre. Despres d'un delicios dinar, hem cntinuat la passejada en una barca estreta pels canals mes petits, quedant-nos encallats a la sorra varies vegades, ja que la marea era baixa, i aquest cophem desembarcat en un llogaret on fan corda amb les fibres del coco. Mentre descobriem aquest precios llloc hem vist diversos martins pescadors.

Marxem de Tana / We're leaving Tana

Dema marxem de Madagascar, be si els vols no s'endarrereixen, es clar. Hem passat mes de sis setmanes en aquesta illa, primer convivint amb la canalla de la llar que Yamuna hi te organitzada i despres visitant un xic altres parts del Pais. Ha estat una experiencia extraordinaria, especialment al tenir el privilegi de coneixer tota aquesta canalla i la gent que hi treballa cada dia, veure com viuen i acostar-nos al seu mon. .Visitar els parcs que hem vist i descobrir la fauna i la flora de l'illa tambe ha estat increible; feia anys que teniem Madagascar al cap i per una rao o altra mai hi haviem arribat, ara sabem que hi volem tornar! Habitar a la ciutat ens ha ensenyat com sobreviu molta gent, com tiren endavant dia rere dia, entre el fum dels cotxes, la manca de serveis per nosaltres basics, l'olor de les escombraries descomposant-se i les plujes torrencials que varen arribar amb el Nadal i que ben segur continuaran al llarg de tot el mes. Ens hem acostumat a comprar al mercat local i a veure les mateixes cares que et saluden al sortir de casa cada mati, a agafar els busos del barri i trobar-hi la mateixa gent, a fer i tornar a fer el cami envoltat dels familiars venedors, de veure els camps d'arros que ha crescut i ja han començat a segar, de trobar durant setmanes el terra sempre ple de peles de "lixi", per ara ja no veure'n doncs la temporada s'ha acabat. Han arribat les prunes i amb elles nosaltres ens n'anem. Veloma Madagascar!

Tomorrow, unless the flight is delayed, we'll be leaving Madagascar. We have enjoyed more than six weeks on the island; first sharing our time with the children Yamuna houses in their home and later traveling to other places. It has been an extraordinary journey and we have been very fortunate to meet all these kids and their carers and to get to know a little how they live. Visiting some of their parks we have discovered new flora and fauna to us. We always wanted to go to Madagascar and now we know we want to come back! Living in the city has taught us how some locals survive, how they fight each day amongst the car fumes, the lack of some basic services, the stench of the decomposing rubbish and the torrential rain they endured after Christmas and that will stay for a while. We have become accostumed to shopping in the neighbourhood market and to seeing the same faces greeting us every morning when leaving home, to catching the local buses and to finding the same people every day doing again and again the same route surrounded by the same vendors, seeing the rice fields growing and being harvested and also seeing the floor constantly covered in lychee peels and stones. Now these have disappeared as their season has ended and the plums have arrived. We are leaving Madagascar too. Veloma!

Lemurs, leeches and chameleons/Lemurs, camaleons i sangoneres

We are back in Tana having spent a week visiting this beautiful island. There are no motorways here and so our journey of approximately 800km south took us Monday afternoon and all of Tuesday to get there…but it was worth it. Our first stop was Isalo National Park where we spent a day first climbing up the huge escarpment having Bara tombs pointed out to us (actually pointing at tombs is fady – taboo- here and so our guide did it with his knuckle) and then crossing a plain towards a natural plunge pool. We walked about 12km and saw plenty of Madagascan wildlife…technicolour grasshoppers, owls, a kingfisher, lizards, a chameleon and a troop of ring-tailed lemurs!
We then moved on to Ranomafana, but on route stopped at Anjà, where Frank, our one-armed guide, showed us more wildlife and took us scrambling over almost vertical granite rock faces.
Ranomafana is in the jungle and so we expected rain but instead had the most brilliant sunshine and again we saw lots of flora and fauna including leeches, two of which managed to attach themselves to Manel and Blanche, who were unaware that their blood was being sucked until we saw the stain on their T-shirts!
After the noise, pollution and dirt of Tana, these few days away were a refreshing change.

Tornem a ser a Tana havent passat una setmana visitant aquesta magnifica illa. No hi ha autopistes aixi que el nostre viatge de 800km cap al sud va durar la tarda de dilluns i tot dimarts per arribar-hi…pero va valdre la pena. La primera parada va ser al Parc Nacional d’Isalo on vam passar el dia, varem escalar un penyassegat mentre ens ensenyaven tombes Bara indicades sense assenyalar (en realitat assenyalar es fady – tabu- i per tant el guia ho va fer amb el puny), i seguidament atravessant una plana en direccio a una piscina natural. Vam caminar 12km i vam veure molts animals de Madagascar…grills que semblaven haver caigut dins un pot de pintura, mussols, un marti pescador, llangardaixos, un camaleo i una tropa de lemurs!
D’aqui ens vam dirigir a Ranomafana, pero de cami parant a Anjà, on en Frank, el nostre guia amb un sol un braç, ens va ensenyar mes animals i ens va pujar a una roca practicament vertical.
Ranomafana es a la jungla per tant ens esperavem pluja, pero sorprenentment vam tenir molt de sol, i de nou vam veure molta flora i fauna incluint sangoneres, dos de les quals van aconseguir enganxar-se a en Manel i a la Blanche, que no s'en van adonar fins que van veure la taca de sang que restava a les seves samarretes!
Despres del soroll, la contaminacio i la bruticia de Tana, aquests dies han sigut un canvi molt agradable.

Heading south from Tana / Cap al sud de Tana

Avui es el primer dia que no hem anat a Tsinjo, el centre d'acollida de canalla, i ens preparem per marxar a descobrir un xic d'aquest extraordinari pais. Anirem cap al sud i despres cap a l'oest. El territori es molt gran i les infraestructures un xic precaries i per tant suposem - i ens ho confirmen- no podrem fer molts quilometres cada dia, o sigui que anirem tant a poc a poc com calgui, disfrutant pero de la rica varietat dels paissatges que anirem trobant.

Avui es el primer dia que no passarem per la casa-camio que hem vist cada dia prop de Fianarivo, tampoc veurem els venedors ambulants que ocupen els dos costats de la carretera que hem seguit gairebe cada dia del darrer mes, pero ben segur que en veurem d'altres, potser fins venent coses diferents i tot. Avui tambe es el primer dia que hem fet la motxila, despres de 30 dies disfrutant de tenir la roba en un armari... ja s'acosta el dia de deixar Madagascar i ens ha anat be la practica!

Today is the first day we haven't been to Tsinjo, the children's home. Instead we are getting ready to travel south first and then west, to see some of this extraordinary country. This is a very large place and the roads are not necessarily in tip-top condition, so we don't expect to travel very far every day, but this will allow us the opportunity to enjoy each and every one of the different landscapes we'll pass.

Today is the first we will not pass the lorry-house which we pass near Fianarivo on our way to the home, nor will we see the many sellers that populate both sides of the road, but we are sure to see many others along our route, maybe even selling different items. Today is also the first day we have had to pack our rucksacks after 30 days of enjoying the use of a wardrobe... we'll soon be leaving Madagascar and so the practice was convinient!