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!

Merry Christmas i Bon Nadal

Merry Christmas and Happy 2008

Bon Nadal i Felic Any Nou

Felices Fiestas y Prospero 2008

Diana, Manel, Ella i Blanche XXX

Tana

Amb les motxiles buides i la roba a l'armari pensavem que estariem com a casa i la veritat es que els dies que portem a Tana ens sentim gairebe com a casa. O sigui que l'Ella i la Blanche tenen ocasio de barallar-se de tant en tant i nosaltres de fer de pares ignorant les seves disputes. Barallar-se de fet es una exageracio, alguna petita discussio sobre qui deixa que a qui i es clar, com que el que voldrien portar esta brut... Em penso que als 4 ens agradaria poder portar alguna cosa que no tenim aqui ja que malgrat haver fet alguna compra tant a l'Argentina com a Xile, Australia i a la Mumbai, la roba que portem comenca a estar aburrida i gastada. A mes des que varem deixar America del Sud, fa molta calor i no cal posar-se gaire coses... la mateixa samarreta o l'altra i uns shorts o uns altres (qui en te dos parells) es repeteixen. Aqui la terra es molt vermella i hi ha bastanta pols, per tant ja ens hem acostumat a anar un xic empolsegats, encara que mantenim l'habit de fer tantes dutxes com podem -encara que gastant tant poca aigua com ens es possible. Seguint amb la primavera constant, la meva al.lergia es dispara de tant en tant i empipo als altres amb grans dosis d'esternuts, i encara que ens queden algunes anthistaminiques, no sempre sembla que funcionin, i es clar la contaminacio de la ciutat no hi ajuda gens.
Seguim patint de les males conexions a internet i a vegades es un suplici fins enviar un correu i tot, ens ha arribat a caldre fins una hora, per tant de moment no estem penjant fotos i les nostres session es limiten al que podem aconseguir. Des que tenim telefon les noies han rebut alguna trucada, que sempre les alegra i nosaltres un missatge -gracies Carlos!

We thought that emptying our backpacks into the cupboard would help us feel at home and indded it had some effect. The girls immediately had the occasional argument about who wears what and whose is it, as often what they want to wear is either dirty or being washed... As good parents we try to ignore such discussions. In fact I think at times we could all do with different clothes, some that aren't with us, as despite some shopping we did both in Argentina, Chile, Australia and Mumbai, the clothes we have with us have started to get old and we are bored with them. Not to mention that the last few weeks it has been hot and one ends up having to wear the same t-shirt or shorts all too often. The soil here is red and dusty and it doesn't help staying clean, however we still try to have daily showers, even if using as little water as possible. As it seems to be always spring, my allergy is often bothering me and although I still have some pills left, they do not always have much of an effect, so the girls are constantly enduring my sneezing sessions; of course the city pollution contributes a lot to it.
We continue to struggle with internet as access is far from ideal and we have been unable to post pictures for a while, some times a simple email can take an hour! Since we've got the mobile the girls have received some calls which they really enjoyed receiving and we had one text -thanks Carlos!

Mumbai, Mauritius, Madagascar, a 3 day journey

When we left Darwin little did we know how long it would take us to reach our destination in Madagascar. It all seemed to go well until we were ready to board the flight from Mumbai to Mauritius late at night when after some inquiries we realized our flight had been cancelled. Fortunately Air Mauritius had organized an hotel for us and after stopping a local cab outside the terminal, we were on our way to a 5 star hotel. The next day we took off early afternoon hoping to still make a connection in Maurice, however once we reached our first stop there were no more flights to Madagascar until the next day in the afternoon. Again AM had organised a hotel for us and this time even a proper transfer. As Mauritius is a "luxury" holiday place, we ended up in a Hilton on the beach resort where they greet guests with drinks and all the modern comforts one can imagine were at our disposal... no complaints there. Finally we got to Antananarivo on the 3rd day and were welcomed by Yamuna's Manolo at the airport. We have only been here a couple of days and it already feels we have been here a long time thanks to the extraordinary welcome we have received from everyone here.
By the way, as it will soon be Christmas and we will be here for a while we've got ourselves a local mobile number (+261325195728) in case anyone has the urge to call any of us...

Al marxar de Darwin sabiem que el viatge seria llarg pero mai varem inaginar que tant. Tot havia anat be fins a Mumbai, pero al anar a agafar el vol cap a les Maurici ja tard a la nit varem descobrir que l'havien anul.lat. Afortunadament Air Mauritus ens havia reservat un bon hotel i despres de trobar un taxi varem poder dormir comodament. L'endema el vol va sortir finalment a primera hora de la tarda pero al arribibar a les Maurici ja no hi havia vols cap a Madagascar. De nou AM s'havia ocuptat de buscar-nos hotel, aquest cop ens portaren a un Hilton a la platja on reben els hostes amb begudes i fent sonar el gong i posen totes les comoditats possibles al teu servei. Despres de disfrutar de l'estada i els serveis l'endema a mitja tarda varem marxar cap a Antananarivo, on ens esperava el Manolo de Yamuna a l'aeroport. Encara que nomes portem dos dies aqui, gracies a la benvinguda que ens estan donant sembla que ja faci molt mes que hi som.
Per cert, com que s'acosta Nadal i serem aqui un temps hem adauirit un mobil local (+261325195728) per si algu vol contactar amb nosaltres.

Salam Mumbai

Pels que seguiu la nostra ruta, ahir a migdia varem marxar de Darwin cami de Madagascar. El primer vol en va portar a l'India, a Mumbai, on varem arribar ja tard al vespre. El viatge en taxi cap a l'hostal va ser al.lucinant, un paseig per barris molt diversos veient com vibrava la ciutat, focs d'articifi, claxons de cotxes i motos, olors ben variades i tantes altres sensacions ens varen rebre agradablement. Aquest mati hem descobert una mica d'aquesta metropolis superpoblada, i fins hem trobat un bon restaurant local on degustar les especialitats a l'hora del migdia a la vegada que ho feien els treballadors del barri. Aquest vespre seguim el nostra cami cap a Antananarivo, on esperem arribar a mig mati de dimecres. D'entrada ens costara marxar tan rapidament despres del primer contacte amb l'India, pero ens consola saber que a finals de Gener tornarem per passar-hi unes quantes setmanes...

For those of you who are following our route, yesterday we left Darwin en route for Madagascar. The first leg took us as far as Mumbai where we arrived last night. The journey to the hostel by taxi was incredible; a journey through various, different districts where we saw the city alive at night, fireworks, horns, motorbikes, many smells and other sensations .... This morning we've been discovering this metropolis a little more and we even found a great local restaurant to eat where the local workers were enjoying their lunch. Tonight we continue on to Madagascar where we arrive tomorrow mid-morning. It's a shame to be leaving here so quickly but we'll be back at the end of January and we'll be able to spend a few weeks here ....