They Should’ve called it Agra Can’t

Hi from Delhi! We made it…so far and India has been pretty great. We’re not sick yet at all and we’ve been eating all sorts of weird things off the street, ok mostly curry and these deep fried battery honey things that have me all hyped right now. Delhi is a crazy city though not as…well, not as anything as I had expected. After living in Sri Lanka for a year we have a pretty good understanding of some of the idiosyncrasies of the Indian subcontinent and we had been told that Delhi is like Colombo on steroids. But, it’s not as crowded or noisy or dirty as I expected (though it is all those things…;)

We are staying in the craziest place, it's called the Main Bazaar and it's a muddled collection of narrow streets packed with colourful textile shops, curry booths, coconut vendors, chai stalls, mobile phone shops and cows...and cycle rickshaws and motorbikes and hashbrown stalls and more cows and incense and henna tattooist that want to henna my hands everytime I walk by and I keep saying no to that…everytime I walk by! Oh, and more cows and dogs and cow @#$$*!

But…on to the theme of the day…Agra CAN’T. It’s supposed to be Agra Cantt, no idea what it means but it’s the name of the train station near the Taj Mahal. Three hours from Delhi. When we were planning our trip to Nepal we decided to come through India, mostly to see the Taj so we were quite excited to go and arranged our schedule around when we could get train tickets and…(Jamie, can you feel it coming?)…it was CLOSED! So VIP UN delegation was in town so they closed it so those guys could have a private tour. BOO! So, we had the most delicious butter chicken on a rooftop restaurant looking at the Taj Mahal and then decided we’d try to go to the Agra Fort (also an ancient Moghul building). However…it was also closed! Same important people. So…we decided to try the “Baby Taj Mahal” which is a smaller tomb built for the grandparents of the Taj builder ( I think) and the first marble tomb in the area. It’s really cool, though still not the Taj Mahal.

Anyways, then we started to make our way back to our train station, being foiled at all turns by closed roads FOR THE VIPS! I was starting to get a little tired of it by then, but we waited somewhat patiently and eventually got through. We were in a trishaw amongst a crowd of bikes, rickshaws, truck, motorbikes and all facing a rope across the road. There were probably a hundred or more people there and many were out of their vehicles in the shade. Then…when the crowd sensed the rope was about to come down it was pandemonium. Like dropping some sugar near an ant hill, or the scene from the movie “Hidalgo” when the famous race starts. Everyone starting sprinting to their vehicles and revving the engines and generally trying to be first. Then…it we hit the traffic circle 50 metres ahead and it was like being one of the ants. Like everyone knew what to do and where to go so no one would be run over. It was laugh out loud amazing.

So, Agra…can’t. Can’t go to the Taj Mahal, Can’t go to the fort, can’t get to the railway station!!

Anyways., tomorrow we’ll hang around Delhi, try to see some of the city and then grab the overnight train to Gorakhpur, near Nepal. Then…a 3 hour bus, then a 10 hour bus, and hopefully a pre-midnite arrival in Kathmandu! Wish us luck.

PS, believe it or not, we’re the cleanest, preppiest looking backpackers in town!

Well, we're off. Today is our flight to Delhi so we're just finishing off the final touches on the packing, and the final errands, and the final blogging. We had really nice farewells with staff both here in Colombo and in Batti last week. It's always hard to say goodbye but we shared lots of laughs and not a few tears!

We're excited to India and Nepal and a little apprehensive. Well, I think it's just all the details swimming around in our heads and thinking...'what was that one last thing I said I HAD to do today?' ;) I'm sure once we get on the ground and it's too late anyways my brain will settle down!

So wish us luck and pray for safety and that we don't lose too much stuff!


Yes, this picture is supposed to look like this. It's the 'ghost shot'...
aka, Alanna being stupid with the camera. Look how you can see right through Scott's head though. Cool...

Coffee and Tea snobs

A couple of weeks ago ( See Saturday Sept 8th post ) Alanna posted a blog concerning our trip to tea country In that particular blog she made many a disparaging comment about my being a tea snob. Like most times in our marriage she is completely wrong and I just thought I should take it upon myself to set the record straight. "My name is Scott Thompson and I am not a beverage snob". I am quite happy to drink any kind of coffee swill that is prepared and set before me. I always start my day with a steaming cup of instant coffee. I frequently go to Mcdonald’s for coffee. I prefer gas station coffee to almost anything and will thoroughly enjoy any type of coffee that the Bey’s prepare for us, especially if Tegan helps to make it.

My momma raised a simple boy with simple tastes. However, this common sense is always under pressure from my high brow sophis wife. I am continually being told that “Well in Grande Prairie we certainly wouldn’t drink that swill.” This of course is said with that haughty uptown kind of accent that she has. My mom was right when she acknowledged that any snobbiness or any negative characteristic of any type developed on my part is entirely her fault.

P.S. We are busily packing and trying to fit in as many kilos of tea into our bags so we don’t have to drink that tea bag garbage

Make it a great day

The proposed itinerary.

I know you are all wanting to be able to track with us and know where we are at all times and also I'm pretty proud of myself for all my internet bookings. (It's so amazing what you can do online!) So...here is where we are for the next week or so. Please keep in mind that we're half way around the world from you so we are also 12 hours ahead (ish...but close enough for my time-zone deficient brain.)

Sept 27 - Flight from Colombo to Delhi, India. Stay at hotel in Delhi (pre-booked on internet!)

Sept 28 - Explore Delhi, try not to get too lost, try out some Indian curries (which are very different from SL curries)

Sept 29 - Take the train (tickets purchased on line) from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and return to Delhi

Sept 30 - more exploring Delhi and then taking a night train (yes, also pre-arranged with my amazing internet skills) to Gorakhpur (near the Nepal border)

Oct 1 - Arrive at Gorakhpur and find a bus to the Nepal border at Sonauli, then from the border to Kathmandu...(we hope...;)

Oct 2 and 3rd - hopefully connect with Samaritan's Purse staff in Kathmandu and check out some projects/catch up on things/review some Sri Lanka project. The last one is mostly for Scott who will be coming back. I'll do my best to be really disruptive during that part.

Oct 3rd evening - go to airport to meet my brother (Scott) and my dad (Dad).

Oct 4 - explore Kathmandu, buy hiking boots that fit my feet wonderfully and don't take any time to break in...;) Plan trekking details.

Oct 5 - do last minute trekking stuff and wear my hiking boots a lot. Put all heavy things in other people's packs...

Oct 6 - leave Kathmandu for the start of the Annapurna circuit trek! Be off the grid for 16-20 days.

Everything after this is completely up in the air except that we have a flight leaving KTM on Nov 2. So we'll have to make it back by then!

Getting excited and not quite so anxious now that I have booked stuff. Good thing I did too as I had to shift all the India plans back by a day to get seats on trains! We'll try to post when we can but obviously we won't have as much internet access as we do now.

One week from today I'll be in Kathmandu...crazy! Those of you who know me well know that I have this thing about how weird travel is. I can leave one place in the morning and be in a totally different context in the evening. And yes I know that's kind of how travel works but it still blows my mind!

Saying Farewell

This is the last night for us on the East Coast together and we are sitting on the roof watching the sun set and thinking about how this particular phase of our time is also setting.

It really has been a tough few days as Alanna says goodbye and I say poitu varum ( I will go and come). Throughout this week though a few things have become very apparent. The first of these is that we have forged some great friendships here and we will deeply miss the staff and they us.

Secondly, their spirit of generosity and gratitude really is remarkable. This week has just been one generous extension after the next. We have luncheons, tea parties, meals, dedication ceremonies and a pile of gifts and clothes. Not sure how they all are going to get home but deeply appreciated all the same. It really has been quite overwhelming. I am convinced that Alanna has received so many new shirts and shalwars that she will not have to shop for clothes for at least a decade. (Ahh dream on).

Today a huge party was hosted at the house to honour us so about 100 Kg of rice aned curry with all the fixins was prepared by one of our small business beneficiaries. Mixed in with the great food was some touching speeches and buckets of tears. I am quite certain Alanna was thoroughly dehydrated by the end of the event. .

I look forward to our break in Nepal but am anxious to complete the work that we have started here.

Make it a great day

Future Plans.

This has been an incredible year for us and it's quickly coming to a close. I know I say this all the time but it really is unbelievable that a year can go by so quickly. Sometimes it feels like we've been here for ages, or been gone for ages. Today we took a drive through Kalmunai, where we used to live and it seemed just the same but as if that part of our experience was two years ago rather than one. However, when I think back a few months ago I remember coming into July and thinking that three months is not very long and the last bit would go by quickly. And it really did. And then, lots has changed in the last few weeks.

Our plan as of a few weeks ago was to leave here on September 27th for a few days in India and then a month in Nepal and then home to Canada. My Dad and my brother are coming to meet us in Nepal and then we'd be heading back to Calgary. However, in this last week, we've switched our plans a little bit.

Now, we'll do all the same things up to the end of the Nepal trip and then Scott will be coming back to Sri Lanka to help out until Christmas and I will be coming home. SP really can use Scott's skills in the next couple of months as they'll be a bit short staffed and he's willing to come and fill that gap. And I have a job to go back to at home starting in November. I'm really excited to be able to go back to Company of Adventurers (where I worked for four years before coming over here.) Also, I am looking forward to catching up with people sooner rather than later.

Obviously being apart for 7 weeks is not the best of plans and I'm sure Scott will miss me desperately...ok, the feeling will be mutual! But for a short time and the way things are shaping up, it'll be fine. So I'll be couch surfing and free loading off family and friends, trying to get in some long overdue visiting and really hoping for some early skiing so I won't be jealous if Scott manages to get out surfing! I'll also be trying to put together a slide show of our year so you don't have to sit through all 1600 photos we took!

Tsunami Part 2

Well, certainly not your typical evening here on the East Coasts . As Alanna blogged about yesterday there was wide spread reports and emergency alerts that a second tsunami was about to strike Sri Lanka.

As the news spread there was wide scale panic for the people here. The roads were clogged with people trying to flee to higher ground. There were thousands of people carrying little bundles of belongings as they raced off. It was incredible to see people scurrying along and crying and screaming in fear and all of the memories from the 2004 tsunami came flooding back.

We have a two story house with a flat top roof so a pile of the neighbours came and asked if they could seek refuge at our house. It was a little like Noah’s Ark, Hotel Rwanda, or the fall of Hanoi photos. Needless to say it was quite the hopping place as I hosted, fed, watered and generally entertained. Kind of entertaining to see me pantomiming in English/Tamil.

You would not get over the deep sense of appreciation and the prayers of thanks that were lifted up by Hindus and Muslims alike for our hospitality. It really was incredible to have these people seek us out in a time of need. Its almost like that is what we are supposed to be about. We are supposed to be the light on the hill, the strong tower. We are supposed to be the place where people come when they are in need and that is what our faith is really about.

Okay I need to go and do some more cleaning.

Having an adventure

Scott

Tsunami alert and Indian visa update.

Well, if you've been watching the news at 7:00 AM this morning, you may have heard that there's a tsunami alert out for Sri Lanka (as well as Indonesia and parts of India and Malaysia). There's been a huge under ocean quake near Sumatra today and they've issued the alert saying we may see a small tsunami at 7:30 pm. Don't worry, we are both ok, I'm on the 7th floor of an apartment tower and Scott is on the second floor of our house (which was a safe zone last time and that was a much huger wave). I just talked to Scott and he says that its like a scene from a movie out in Batti. People are all fleeing the ocean and the roads are all blocked and he's harbouring half the neighboorhood on our roof. The memories of the 2004 Tsunami are fresh and people who lost their homes, and members of their families and many many friends are obviously not going to forget that soon. Indonesia has now lifted their Tsunami alert so it seems as if this will be a small wave if we see anything at all. It's supposed to hit here in 12 minutes now. Check out the news tonight and see what happens. Reuters Alertnet will have updates for sure. The warning systems here seems to be working as by the time I heard about it and called Scott, he had been warned by at least 6 of our staff already!

As for the Indian visa saga. I am now the proud holder of an Indian tourist visa. And the process was surprisingly smooth this morning, orderly quiet lines and I got my visa today, the same day I submitted my passport. I have since found out that if you hold a Sri Lankan residence visa, you get the Indian visa on the same day, but if you are Sri Lanka it takes 2 days and if you are a tourist, 5 days! Crazy. I went back at 4:00 to get my passport back with the visa in it, and though I was successful, it was not very smooth. And not everyone was as lucky as I. One French girl had been told this morning that she would receive her visa this aft, so she booked and paid for a ticket tomorrow and they then refused her visa telling her to come back on Monday. She and I tried everything and by the time I had to leave, I had fetched her friends that work for the French embassy so hopefully it'll work out.

Anyways, I'll post an update when I hear what happens tonight. Take care and pray for Sri Lanka today.

Sometimes the question “Is this really worth it” just begs to be asked…

I asked it this morning at 5:45 when my alarm went off, again as I joined the “Q” at 6:15, again when 2 hours later I was told I was in the wrong line, and once more as I waited in the correct line with a feeling of dread settling slowly, but surely upon me. Is this really worth it? Is all this worth going to India for 3 days? The process in question is applying for a tourist visa to visit India. First of all, you have to get one even to land in the country and in Sri Lanka, where literally hundreds of people every day apply for visas, the process is arduous and not at all for the faint of heart or the wimpy of feet.

This post is for 2 audiences…for those of you who enjoy laughing at my misery/empathizing with my situation and those potential people for whom this blog entry comes up when they Google “getting an Indian visa in Sri Lanka” or “the most poorly thought out system on the planet” or maybe… “the 7^th level of hell.” I did my own internet research before starting out and pulled up a few blog entries. Which taught me many useful things like; don’t forget an umbrella for shade/rain, bring water and a book as it’s a long wait; but did not teach me important things like WHICH LINE TO STAND IN!!!

As you may be able to guess, my internet ranting is therapeutic but hopefully this will also help someone in the future.

So, the best laid plans of Scott and Alanna are quickly going awry. We had this great trip planned upon leaving SL. A quick flight to Nepal, a month of trekking and then home. So 4 months ago, I started checking out flights and prices, then 3 months ago, started trying to make bookings. After being turned down many times for various full flights into Kathmandu, and hours of back and forthing with expedia.ca and the heroic efforts of my parents, we managed to secure flights from Colombo to Delhi, and the from Kathmandu home. Getting into Kathmandu seemed to be a problem until we found out we can take the train and then the bus…how fun! And adventurous! So we decided that’s what we would do (after considerable internet research and primary source accounts, i.e. friends who’ve done it). Then, I discovered that there are general strikes going on in Nepal in one particular area…which will affect things like transportation, and of course, we need to go right through there. Oh yes, and there’s the little matter of an Indian visa. Why on earth India makes you apply in advance I don’t know. So began my joint quest, an Indian visa and potentially a plane ticket. Both almost impossible.

So here’s the process as it is in reality, not as I was told by the people (from the embassy) I talked to on the phone. You go down to the embassy really early in the morning and stand in line for (no kidding) at least 3 hours. You have to stand in the left hand line, not the right hand line as the right hand line is for people who already have an appointment. (Like a few signs would kill them) So, after you stand in line for 3 hours (4 for me because I was in the wrong line) you talk to the guy for 30 seconds, he glances at your paperwork, gives you an extra form to fill and tells you to come back, in person on the appointed day. My appointed day is the 12^th. On your appointed day, you come really early again, and stand in line for 3 hours to get in and stand in another line and then take a number and sit for several hours until they call your number. If, perchance, you don’t come early enough and are at the back of the line and they don’t get to you that day, you have to go back to the first line to make a new appointment! How ridiculous is that?!?

Ok, so now after you go the second time and do all that waiting, you have an “interview” and they take your passport for 5 days, and then…you guessed it, line up for hours again to collect your passport. Oh, and you can’t pick your appointment day either (even if that’s what you were told on the phone, and even if you live on the east coast and you have to go back to work, etc etc) So, the whole process requires at least 7 business days and some parts of it can be done by someone else I think, but I haven’t figured out which parts yet.

So, needless to say, I was not overly impressed this morning and am not looking forward to my next long appointment at the Indian High Commission so, if the travel agent manages to get us on a flight through Bangkok in the next 36 hours, I could be saved and forget the Taj Mahal. Who wants to see one of the 7 wonders of the world anyway? India better be worth it!

And all for a cup of tea…

A 8 hour drive, through the hills, windy roads, stopping to let buses pass us at each tight corner, arriving at a hotel at 9pm, wondering if they still have a booking, can we get some food, and why is it so so cold here. Sounds like a relaxing weekend. We actually had a really nice weekend but we spent a bit too much time driving there, and then of course a bit too much time driving home. Funny how that works…

Anyways…we headed up to Nuwara Eliya for the weekend. It’s tea country, so different from the rest of the county. It’s really beautiful up there and we learned a LOT about tea and drank even more. I think on Saturday we had 7 or 8 cups. And, we have turned into even bigger tea snobs than we used to be. I really can only drink Ceylon B.O.P.F. that was picked and processed less than 3 days ago and is brewed with fresh mountain water heated to only 98.6 C. Really, nothing else will do!

The hotel is really cool, it’s an old tea factory that’s been converted into a hotel and still has some of the old equipment in place. It has won a UNESCO award for its heritage and uniqueness. It’s pretty hard to take photos that reflect it but I tried...but I can't find them at the current moment so you don't get to see them.

And did I mention its freezing? Well, by freezing I mean about 12 degrees and windy and raining but it felt really, really cold. Needless to say I’m starting to get a little worried about arriving in Canada in November! Ahhh, what a great time in Calgary, my favourite! Anyways, here’s some photos of the area, the last time we were up there.

Scott has this thing for tea picking women I think, he was squishing himself through the tea bushes trying to get the perfect shot. The women thought he was crazy…of course, I set them straight immediately and enthusiastically encouraged his photo taking. Actually it was pretty funny, we went and bought them a big bag of candy after that and as you can see, Scott got some great photos.

We’re trying to take advantage of our last few weeks in county to see some parts of the island again, next weekend we’re heading down to do some surfing, it’ll be the last time while we’re here. We’ll be heading to Nepal in a few weeks, I can’t believe how fast this year has gone. I am really looking forward to being home but I’m also getting pretty sad about leaving. It’s kind of a weird feeling. But...we're looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Cheers!