Friday, March 20th, Santa Rosa, USA

Greetings!

A very long day. It's Friday just before 10pm, and we started this day in Mumbai, India. Flying from there to San Francisco just ahead of the world closing down consumed 20 hours of flying time, and 12 hours of time zones. Getting through customs, health screenings, and bus to home took four more hours (one bag is still in Singapore), and the last ten hours have been at home surrounded by the food and re-connecting virtual support from our friends. Two hours left. We're ready for this shelter in place and time.

Wednesday, Mar 18th, Mumbai, India

Greetings!

Today, we flew to Mumbai, Maharashtra from Baga, Goa.   The flight was only 90 minutes, but getting to and from the airports consumed the day.  We were impressed by the many large billboards in Mumbai on the way from the airport to the hotel which promoted Coronavirus protection techniques.  Our driver (Roy) said they had been up about ten days, and it's certainly a serious public health messaging.

So while we're talking about the virus, we have some news.  It has closed down virtually all of the places we have left to see on our tour, and is threatening to close the airports.  So we've decided to cut the trip short by nine days and go home.  There is one flight tomorrow night near midnight that will take us back through Singapore and on the San Francisco on Friday morning.  Assuming not too long a delay getting through the U.S. Customs and Immigration system, we should be home by 1pm.

I do want to throw one more photograph in for my friends at Coastwalk.  Mumbai is built on a series of islands that were connected via infill.  In order to protect access to the coast, the city is building a coastal road to insure a pedestrian trail.  It's just begun, but the locals are excited.

This evening, we went out to walk the neighborhood around the hotel.  We'll do it again tomorrow while we wait for the flight. There were quite a few locals sitting out on the waterfront near the Gates of India.  I suspect they, like us, may be enjoying what may be the last of the tourist days for a while.

To see the photos we took today, click on: Wednesday, Mar 18th, Mumbai, India.

Tuesday, Mar 17th, Baga, India

Greetings!

The uncertainty beyond hotel occupation continues.  In question are daily visits to docks, and city walks.  Also, homestays with cooking demonstrations, flying kites, and NGOs.  Probably not possible are museums, jungle safari's with elephants, Taj Mahal, national parks, Parliament, forts, tombs, and temples.  Today has been fixing the MacAir (a security code needed to be deleted by a teenage consultant brought to the hotel), and a Netflix movie (Ann of Green Gables).  Meals are iffy and somewhat boring unless we choose a local restaurant.  Tomorrow, we fly to Mumbai (Bombay) in the afternoon, and hang out at the hotel.  Two days later, fly to Jaipur.  Then drive to Ranthambore National Park for two days.  Then, we might have a change in design as the Taj Mahal is now closed.  Finally, drive to Delhi for two days until flight home on Friday, March 27th.

Indebo Tours is trying their best to adapt our itinerary to both our interests and conditions.  This doesn't seem the most opportune time for tourism unless it's to have experiences alone or where there aren't many others.  Driving is an easy answer, just getting out of the car at public places that may be hard. 

We're prepared for much lower expectations for the next ten days.  It appears all of you are going through the same thing at home.  See you soon.

Monday, Mar 16th, Baga, India

Greetings!

(From Pat, she wrote this to some friends while I have been struggling to get my Mac Air to work.  No new photos until I find a way to fix it, or get my cell phone to do the work the MacAir has been doing)

We are in Goa for 4 days of beachside relaxation.  The last bit has been full of 5th to 15th century temples, lots of climbing to see them, so we are happy to be lazy for a while.  The corona virus response is starting to catch up with us.  We left our last hotel in Badami to learn it was closing the next day as was our previous hotel in Hampi. We are filling out forms to enter all the national sites and some are taking our temps.  

The fact that we have been in India for more than the incubation period has helped I think, but other Indian tourists are starting to cover their noses and mouths as they come near us. Weird. 

We just bid farewell to our driver for the last 24 days (Bijou, a Christian from Cochin/Kochi.  He was a great companion. Driving in India is a whole other skill. It calls for copious use of a horn every time when one passes a car, truck or motorbike which is continual. They pass everything they come across. Also speed bumps (three to 11 in a row) are very frequent but we are totally blasé about it by now.

I hope you peek at the blog to get an idea of the beauty of this country. We have been well this digestively. Greg's infected foot cut is just about healed thanks to four RXs he was given. I hope you are managing this virus response. Do send a note, we miss you. Namaste.

Pat

Update - Somehow this didn't get sent yesterday. We learned today that we will be restricted to our room in Bombay Mumbai for 2 days on the day we arrive the day after tomorrow, then fly on to Jaipur which is as of now not restricted but I think it could catch up with us and we may be housebound for the rest of our trip (Bombay, Jaipur, Agra and Delhi) well I've stocked up on eBooks.

To see all the photos taken today, click on: Monday, Mar 16th, Baga, India.

Sunday, Mar 15th, Baga, India

Greetings!

As Shakespeare wrote, "Beware the Ides of March".  India is many hours ahead of America in time.  But there is a feeling here of foreboding, that doesn't respect time or space.  I hate to think that our hanging out this morning in our empty hotel has nothing to do with this international social distancing, but we’ll see what America’s Saturday has done to our Sunday.

Saturday, Mar 14th, Baga, India

Greetings!

Today, Bijou drove us from Badami to Baga (6.5 hours), over a serious mountain road.  Our fingers are recovering from gripping tightly while he refused to let narrow winding roads, oncoming traffic, or large busses and trucks get in our way.  He's a consummate driver, and we love him, and you'd be honored to have him ensuring your safety and pleasure.

For the next three and a half days, we'll be here.  There aren't many of us here, and I hope it's just the corona virus.  The staff tells us they've been sold to a chain to try to increase the number of guests.  We waited for forty minutes for sandwiches, and twenty for ice tea and lime juice.  But it was a late lunch, and the only other guests were a couple in the pool.

No photos today, but we're taking a tuk-tuk to the beach tomorrow.  Maybe a sunset photo.

Friday, Mar 13th, Badami, India

Greetings!

Today, we completed the triple crown of temple complexes in the Badami area (Aihole, Badami, and Pattadakal).  Together, they span at least five centuries (4th to 8th centuries AD), and contain examples of southern (Dravida) and northern (Nagara) temple architectural styles.  They contain mostly Hindu temples dedicated to Vishna and Shiva, a Buddhist and several Jain at Aihole, and an early Jain temple at Badami which produced 500-years earlier the model for the 57-foot tall statue at Shravanabelagola.

Our guide (Basavaraj) described what we were viewing at Aihole and Pattadakal as "experimental", in that many of the architectural designs underwent slight changes over time.  Southern temples were stacked, flat-roof structures which gained height and size.  Northern temples tended to be conical-shaped, and gained internal detail in painting and carving.

These two sites contain what he called "addition" designs, in that they were built by adding layers and sculptures of rock.  Badami, on the otherhand, features core "subtraction" temples - carved out of solid rock - surrounded by later "addition" southern temples.

While we know the temples were built to celebrate coronations and military victories, and that they generally were sequenced during the 4th and 5th, 5th and 6th, and 7th and 8th centuries when dynastic kings and queens were becoming architectural story-tellers for Hindu mythology, we don't have much information about how long they took, and what it took to accomplish them.  We do know they used local materials (sandstone and granite), and in one case took 12 years to construct.

It's important to understand that these temples highlight an important world history lesson.  Most westerners view the period they were built through a European timeframe.  In the same period, the Vikings invaded Great Britain's coast, the Moors swept north into Spain, the Visigoths and Gauls  took Italy and eastern France.  We call this period the Dark ages when Europe lost a quarter of its population, and it took five hundred years to recover.  In the meantime, the lands from the Taurus Mountains to the Indus Valley and to Southern India continued to flower.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Friday, Mar 13th, Badami, India.

Thursday, Mar 12th, Badami, India

Greetings!

We started the day with a visit to the Krsma Estates Winery, located in the arid rolling hills north of Hampi.  We invite you to read the owner's story on their website linked above.  We were thoroughly impressed with the presentation by their staff, and are bringing the remainder of our tasting bottle (2017 Cabernet Sauvignon) with us to dinner tonight.

There was lots more we saw today, but the internet was down at the resort, so I'll have to publish this quickly before we take off for the third temple complex (Badami).  Photos of the first two (Aihole and Pattadakal) are in today's album.  But I'll write about all three tomorrow.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Thursday, Mar 12th, Badami, India.

Wednesday, Mar 11th, Anegundi, India

Greetings!

Most tourists who visit Hampi will probably stay in the village of Anegundi.  There are several homestays, the best of which is reported to the one we're staying in, Uramma Heritage House.  What those who are here to see the temples and palaces often miss is the village itself, older that Hampi and providing current social narrative and historical continuity as important to understand as the ruins.

Our guide to the village (Ragu) is an amazing resource.  Living across the street from the village council office and the bamboo leaf crafts collective, he's also the social worker/recycling organizer and community education teacher.  Describing his years long strategy of changing the culture of village consumption and waste reduction, we were enormously impressed by how much impact his work has had.

He walked us around the village and nearby riverside, explaining ancient housing construction techniques, monsoon flood protection, religious variation, and community agricultural cooperation.  In addition, his tour-guiding and photography work has made him a valuable asset to the Indian film industry (even as an extra in a recent local movie as a journalist photographer).

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Wednesday, Mar 11t, Anegundi, India.

Tuesday, Mar 10th, Hampi, India

Greetings!

Yesterday, we took the train from Mysore to Hampi.  The last stop was an hour away from our homestay, but our driver met us, and got us home.  It was a long ride, with no chance of photos, and ended at 7am this morning.  I won't go into details except to say that I don't recommend it.

So let's talk about today.  It's Holi day, a festival of spring, love, and colors.  For some, it's the start of a long set of festival holidays.  For others, life is becoming uncertain because the Corona virus is closing schools and businesses, and people are not showing up even if they're supposed to.

But one thing is certain.  If you were around some teenagers today, you probably got some very colorful powder thrown at your face and hair.  It was that kind of day.

Hampi is a recently-discovered (1986) treasure of India.  With a huge complex of temples, gates, palaces, marketplaces (some two stories high), roads, elephant garages, stone chariots, and house foundations that supported over a half-million residents five centuries ago, it is a bit overwhelming.  Add to its magic that it was built almost entirely out of single pieces of solid rock, and you will get how mind-blowing it is.

The fitting together of the stones on the walls, the details in the carvings on the columns, and the way they used the landscape to integrate the experience into nature  just spectacular.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Tuesday, Mar 10th, Hampi, India.

Sunday, Mar 8th, Mysore, India

Greetings!

The world's media moguls could learn something from India's Rajas.  Directing religious and social values for a thousand years when hardly anyone could read by building structures which told the important life stories was pretty brilliant.  By enlisting the support of military and populace to construct them, empowering religious leaders to insure consistency with current dogma, and using the results to appear in control, kingdoms gained and maintained legitimacy.

The Palace has the French palaces beat for gold and ivory (and certainly great teak doors), though the latter seem to have more specific rooms and are more organized for tours.

Tonight, we're headed back to the Palace to see it lit up in 100,000 lights.  Should be an interesting photo or two.


To see all of the photos taken today, click on:  Sunday, Mar 8th, Mysore, India.

Saturday, Mar 7th, Mysore, India

Greetings!

The Gommteshwara Bahuball Statue sits at the top of a mountain reached by climbing 650 stairs.  The stairs start off gently, and then it gets harder.  Especially in socks.

Built in 981AD by Chavundaraya, an Indian military commander in the Western Ganga Dynasty, it is carved from a single fine-grain white granite rock.  The largest monolithic statue in the world, it is dedicated to the founder of Jainism.

Of all the major Indian religions, Jainism has the strongest austerity-driven ascetic tradition, and  is an essential part of the mendicant's spiritual pursuits.  Ascetic life may include nakedness symbolizing non-possession of clothes, fasting, body mortification, penance, and other austerities.

Jainists take vows of: non-violence to any living being; a belief in a many-sided reality; and non-attachment to worldly possessions.

Later in the day after lunch at the Cafe Garage (great spring rolls and sweet corn soup), we drove to Somanathapura, and the Keshava Temple.   The temple, built in 1258AD by another general, is surrounded by a large courtyard which frames 64 shrines, two entrances, and the main temple complex.   He also built four other temples in the area, three of which have were destroyed in the wars between the Hindu kingdoms and the Muslim Sultantates in the 15th century.

A platform circles the temple, and the carvings and reliefs are to be read in a clockwise direction (follow the elephants at the bottom).  The elephants are not an exact copy of each other, rather show different natural expressions and playfulness.  Some show elephants in war, throwing enemies, while others show them teasing the riders in front.

Inside are columns depicting lotus stems and flowers, which were completed on site using elephants and horses to turn the stones on lathe-like wheels at the base.

Returning home, our hostess (Yamuna) gave us a cooking demonstration, which led to a wonderful dinner afterward and a walk through her garden.  Clearly, her mother, husband, and staff complete the team which presents this homestay.  The Gitanjali Homestay is not to be missed, and we will miss it dearly when we leave on Monday.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Saturday, Mar 7th, Mysore, India.

Friday, Mar 6th, Mysore, India

Greetings!

After breakfast this morning, we drove to Mysore where we will stay until Monday.  The family home which is hosting us is in the Kodagu district, within the Western Ghats of the southwestern state of Karnataka.  After its merger with neighboring Mysore district, it is about the size of Sonoma County, with a little more population.

We are staying in a home which has ancestry from the Kodavas (formerly referred to as Coorgs), land-owning agriculturalists with martial customs (a warrior community), whose dynasties ruled the area from 1600 to 1834.  Among other accomplishments, the group claims partial responsibility for the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, where we were recently. 

The crescent necklace on the woman in the picture is called a Kokkethathi, worn by married women.

Sorry, the palaces we went to had prohibitions on cameras today, but I'm told there will be no restrictions on tomorrow's locations.

Thursday, Mar 5th, Kabini, India

Greetings!

Here's an easy way to track a Bengal Tiger.  Drive along a reserve road until you find one waiting for you up ahead.  Stop and let her show herself off to you very regally (check out the many album photos).

We're going out again after lunch today by boat, so there will be more to this post later.

It's 7:45pm, and we're back from the lake.  No tigers drinking from it, but elephants, a crocodile, and lots of birds.  Time for dinner.


To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Thursday, Mar 5th, Kabini, India.

Wednesday, Mar 4th, Kabini. India

Greetings!

This morning, we were driven down the worst mountain resort road by the best driver on staff in the best jeep they had (what a relief).  It's really a shame the impression you take away from a spectacular stay is such a bad road to it.

Our great personal driver (Bijou) drove us three hours up further into the Western Ghat to the Nagerhole Tiger Reserve for our stay for the next two days at Kaav Safari Lodge.  On the way, we passed an elephant being taken to a temple festival, and another being given a bath in a stream.

We arrived at the Lodge, had lunch, and boarded a large safari rover.  Our guides gave us binoculars, told us to turn our phones and voices off while on the tour, and to keep our arms inside the large open-air windows (the trees are close, and the driver will be chasing things).  That seemed funny to me because there were quite a few cameras on board that had three foot long 400-600mm lens which I was sure were going to hit tree limbs.  I was glad I was bringing a cell phone camera.

Pat's hope for the trip to India was that she would be able to see a tiger.  Today, we saw a large male leopard, a pack of wild dogs and their cubs, lots of spotted deer, wild boar, several Gar, many colorful bird species, and a Bengal Tiger.  We were so fortunate to see all of the large predator animals in one outing, and are going out again tomorrow morning early by rover, and again by boat in the afternoon.  We are so having fun!

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Wednesday, Mar 4th, Kabini, India.

Tuesday, Mar 3rd, Wayanad, India

Greetings!

Today's agenda included a bamboo craft cooperative, forest farm, kindergarten, home cooking demonstration and lunch, tribal music village, and a temple.  I'm still trying to delete extra photos.  At the Uravu Indigenous Science and Technology Study Center.  A nonprofit which has assisted a hundred family artisans to train 5,000 others in products using 50 bamboos species.  Mats from looms to cell phone sound amplifiers, these villagers are finding every possible use for a resource they have plenty.  They have fewer, and our luggage is a little heavier.

The farm family we visited are an example of many in Kerala.  Educated professionals, as many are in the state, they have chosen to make self-sufficiency and wholesale distribution of their farm products a complement to their application of other professional skills.  The variety of cooking and medicinal herbs, seeds, fruit, and nuts grown on their three acres astounded us.  We even got were able to see their large koi and other tropical fish they were raising, just before one of our hosts left to teach fish hatchery practices.

Kerala is well known for having one of the  highest literacy rates in the world, and a centerpiece is their decision long ago to support a school system starting at three years of age, with breakfast, lunch, and health care included.  We stopped by just as most of the staff were fetching lunch, and they really weren't prepared to host two foreigners.

Our next stop was a family who shared their home to provide their garden ingredients, hospitality, instruction, and a great meal with us.  Be sure to watch this mother and son team create a deeply inspiring set of dishes that were one of the best lunches we've had.

Next, we visited a Paniyar village   Brought by a 3rd century AD Malabar king from the mountainous region to the north east, this hunter-gatherer tribe has remained outside of the greater Indian society until recently.  We were treated to several musical ceremonies on drums and flutes they had made.

Finally, we visited the Maniyan Kottappan Temple in Kalpetta during a break in a festival being held there.  The temple design illustrated clearly the blending of Buddhist and Hindu designs into a unique Kerala style.


To see all 198 of the photos taken today, click on: Tuesday, Mar 3rd, Wayanad, India.

Monday, Mar 2nd, Wayanad, India

Greetings!

Heading northeast from the coast, into the mountains of the Western Ghat, we met up with a guide for the day (Suresh Kumar) who honored our request to pass on another tea plantation in favor of the Pookode Lake.   In the course of helping us identify and gaze in wonder at lots of plant and animal life which thrive in and around the lake, Suresh also gave us much to consider about the social, religious, and political aspects of Indian life.

Arriving at the bottom of the road to Wayanad Wild, our hosts transferred our luggage to a rugged jeep for the drive up the mountain to our lodgings for the night.

Once again, hats off to the tour drivers of this country.  The road to this resort is among the most memorable we've been on.  Do not attempt to drive here by yourself.  But do come here.  This property is owned and managed by a company who has built its reputation on providing the highest quality, environmentally-supportive experiences possible.  There are several good videos on their website and on YouTube.  Watch them, and you'll see why this is a good fit for us.

To see the few other photos taken today, click on Monday, Mar 2nd, Wayanad, India.

Sunday, Mar 1st, Calicut, India

Greetings!

In 1498, Vasco de Gama landed three ships full of soldiers near here intent on routing the existing Arab, Chinese, and Jewish settlements, and securing the sole authority to buy fabrics which he would trade in Indonesia for spices grown there.  Eighty years earlier, Portuguese ships had sailed around the coast of Africa establishing trading rights for gold, ivory and pepper.  Extending their control during the time when Europe was devastated by the Black Plague, they added slaves, tobacco, and tea to their cargo.

India proved to be Vasco's last journey, and he died on his third voyage here in 1524.  But the Portuguese occupation lasted 150 more years, and Portugal provided the formula for the Dutch East India Company in 1663, and the British East India Company in 1814, to spin local materials into what the world knows now as Calico.

But though we saw textile-making (Tasara Weaving Center), and boats and ships today, our journey led us north along the Kerala coast by train.  Calicut is Kerala's second largest city, and is its economic engine.  After being supported by our wonderful set of drivers in Kochi, we reunited with Bijou at the Calicut train station, and picked up Nirmesh Kumar as our guide for the day.  His knowledge of Calicut helped us grasp the complexities of its multi-cultural/religious/linguistic communities, and he and Bijou navigated quickly through the crowded Sunday traffic and shopping districts.

We just finished dinner at The Raviz Hotel, and saw some of the many beautiful eagles from our 11th story window (a little too dark), but will try again tomorrow morning before we leave.

To see the rest of the photos taken today, click on Sunday, Mar 1st, Calicut, India.