Yes despite taking all the precautions recommended by doctors, travel guide books, natural remedy information etc, I succumbed to The Bangalore Belly Bug (thankfully on the final three days of the month-long visit to India). It serves me right too. People had warned me that few escape this. But I had just been smugly thinking of how impressed people will be when they learn of my success in getting away with that!
Sweats, shivers, headache, nausea and exhaustion were just the warm-up! Then Stage 2 came out to play – bed to bathroom to bed. I was so grateful for the lovely en suite room at my friend’s Bangalore home. I bet they were also glad not to be sharing a bathroom with ME!
So two and a half days with no appetite is something we sometimes long for when desiring to lose that couple of extra kilos. Right? But this was not a pleasant way to do so. Especially when the taxi arrives to take me the 75 minute ride to the airport and I’m STILL on the throne having already taken two anti diarrhoea tablets an hour before!! And feeling weak, worried and wobbly from not eating much for two days, how on earth was I going to manage the stressful 24 hour, taxi- plane-plane-taxi-train-bus-train-car journey home to Spain!?
I bid farewell to my concerned hosts who had the quietest of houseguests over these few days. Babu, their regular and friendly driver stopped at a tiny roadside druggist for me. Little English was spoken but THE one important symptom repeated a few times, together with my white and anxious face, must have given enough clues to my desperate needs. A few yellow capsules were handed over. No packet or instructions but I was panicked and past being picky. I asked, “How many should I take?” “One.” he replied. “One per hour?” I queried. He looked puzzled at my question. I repeated it. “One”, he confirmed, still looking bemused. So “one” was taken. And….it did indeed work!!!
So my dear travelling friend. The name is Eldoper, (Loperamide Hydrochloride), otherwise known as a bowel paralizer.
NB This is NOT an advert or recommendation
domingo, 12 de febrero de 2012
BACK TO BANGALORE – THE LAST LEG OF THE JOURNEY
Sue and I left , the heavenly oasis of Quiet, the Healing Centre, Auroville for a 3 hour taxi ride to Tiruvannamalai (famous sacred hill and temple town). She checked in to the Singing Heart ashram then we went in to town for a delicious thali lunch (around 2.30 euros for two!)…..little did I know that I wouldn´t eat again for 41 hours.
Super Saviour Sue from Sheffield shoved to secure me a seat on the crowded Bangalore bus. BUS?!!....An ancient, dusty, rusty green tin can on wheels, .no luggage rack so 6 hours with a bag on my knee, wedged in between 2 Indian ladies who nodded off on my shoulder. And the “road”? The driver zigzagged and juddered over crater sized holes. There was one toilet stop in 6 hours (yes yet another Indian toilet experience).
I had asked if the bus we went the central bus station…it didn´t. I ended up getting off with no idea where I was, with luggage. Thankful for the plentiful autorickshaws and after a bumpy 1 hour ride, I was back at the haven of Alistair and Amarjits home.
A 12 hour journey in total and I felt so ill I was in bed for 33 hours and broke a 41 hour fast with a slice of toast.
But the bug wasn´t finished with me yet. No Sir. The second stage began…….. see next exciting episode!!
Super Saviour Sue from Sheffield shoved to secure me a seat on the crowded Bangalore bus. BUS?!!....An ancient, dusty, rusty green tin can on wheels, .no luggage rack so 6 hours with a bag on my knee, wedged in between 2 Indian ladies who nodded off on my shoulder. And the “road”? The driver zigzagged and juddered over crater sized holes. There was one toilet stop in 6 hours (yes yet another Indian toilet experience).
I had asked if the bus we went the central bus station…it didn´t. I ended up getting off with no idea where I was, with luggage. Thankful for the plentiful autorickshaws and after a bumpy 1 hour ride, I was back at the haven of Alistair and Amarjits home.
A 12 hour journey in total and I felt so ill I was in bed for 33 hours and broke a 41 hour fast with a slice of toast.
But the bug wasn´t finished with me yet. No Sir. The second stage began…….. see next exciting episode!!
martes, 7 de febrero de 2012
WIMP IN INDIA…BUT I SURVIVED!
I should change the name of this blog to reflect how I perceive myself here!
What I envisaged was a calming, fulfilling spiritual pilgrimage, understanding Hinduism better and gaining insight into the Indian people.
However I now realise I wanted all that but at my exacting western standards. And THAT was just NOT going to happen!!
Yes the temples are amazing. Yes the people are beautiful, patient and smiling. Yes some of the country areas are pretty – so verdant and lush. But what I struggled to accept was the squalor.
There were moments when I tried to see the beauty within the filth and accept it, if not love it. However the spiritual philosophy of accepting what is and my social and environmental consciousness remained in conflict. There must be literally millions of plastic bags and containers poisoning this land.
How can India be one of the planet’s fastest growing economies yet be unable (or unwilling) to provide the most basic public service of sanitation. Forgive me dear reader if I have failed to see evidence of this. I am merely stating my own perceptions.
What I envisaged was a calming, fulfilling spiritual pilgrimage, understanding Hinduism better and gaining insight into the Indian people.
However I now realise I wanted all that but at my exacting western standards. And THAT was just NOT going to happen!!
Yes the temples are amazing. Yes the people are beautiful, patient and smiling. Yes some of the country areas are pretty – so verdant and lush. But what I struggled to accept was the squalor.
There were moments when I tried to see the beauty within the filth and accept it, if not love it. However the spiritual philosophy of accepting what is and my social and environmental consciousness remained in conflict. There must be literally millions of plastic bags and containers poisoning this land.
How can India be one of the planet’s fastest growing economies yet be unable (or unwilling) to provide the most basic public service of sanitation. Forgive me dear reader if I have failed to see evidence of this. I am merely stating my own perceptions.
LEAVING AUROVILLE BEHIND AND RETURNING TO BANGALORE
Sue and I have to change rooms this morning but only to the room above. We´ve been in “Uranus” and now, the last night, we´ll be in “Pluto.” You can guess what the other rooms are called. We have a balcony overlooking the ocean.
Tomorrow Sue heads off to Tiruvannamalai and its famous ashram for a few days before returning to “Quiet” Healing Centre, Auroville for her final 2 nights. Lucky Sue! To get back to Bangalore with luggage and the busyness of Indian transport seems daunting. However a kindly travel agent advises me that buses go every half hour from Tiru (you can understand why it´s shortened to this). This means that I can share taxi costs with Sue for the 2 hour plus journey thereby seeing another spiritual town and then catch a bus to Bangalore another 4 hours journey.
Tomorrow Sue heads off to Tiruvannamalai and its famous ashram for a few days before returning to “Quiet” Healing Centre, Auroville for her final 2 nights. Lucky Sue! To get back to Bangalore with luggage and the busyness of Indian transport seems daunting. However a kindly travel agent advises me that buses go every half hour from Tiru (you can understand why it´s shortened to this). This means that I can share taxi costs with Sue for the 2 hour plus journey thereby seeing another spiritual town and then catch a bus to Bangalore another 4 hours journey.
OH NOW I AM A VERY HAPPY LADY AT “QUIET”, THE HEALING CENTRE, AUROVILLE.
After a few nights roughing it in basic accommodation, and thanks to Sue being willing to split her room costs with me, I now have 3 glorious nights at the beach. Quiet is the name but the pounding ocean and birds make an enchanting sound.
The room we are sharing is so spacious and comfortable, one minute from the sand and set within lush gardens. The food is the best I’ve had in India. Prepared by an Indian chef, three nutritious veggie meals are served up daily.
There´s a pool at blood temperature where water treatments (and swimming) take place. There’s a library, quiet spaces, hammocks in the gardens between palm trees and a large healing centre with many rooms offering varied treatments at around 16 – 25 euros. (expensive perhaps for Indians but good value for the many Europeans here).
And best of all are the guests….fascinating spiritual people and every conversation is a delight.
This luxury is excellent value at 3100 or 3400 rupees (around 47 euros) for a double room and full board.
This is like heaven on earth…and it´s SPOTLESSLY CLEAN!!!!
The room we are sharing is so spacious and comfortable, one minute from the sand and set within lush gardens. The food is the best I’ve had in India. Prepared by an Indian chef, three nutritious veggie meals are served up daily.
There´s a pool at blood temperature where water treatments (and swimming) take place. There’s a library, quiet spaces, hammocks in the gardens between palm trees and a large healing centre with many rooms offering varied treatments at around 16 – 25 euros. (expensive perhaps for Indians but good value for the many Europeans here).
And best of all are the guests….fascinating spiritual people and every conversation is a delight.
This luxury is excellent value at 3100 or 3400 rupees (around 47 euros) for a double room and full board.
This is like heaven on earth…and it´s SPOTLESSLY CLEAN!!!!
AUROVILLE – INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY PROMOTING HUMAN UNITY
I first heard of Auroville while attending another well known spiritual community – Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. The lady who told me about it said I should go there when visiting that area in India (it’s 14 kilometres north of Pondicherry).
Some describe it as Utopia. Some say it’s a New Age idealistic enclave. Whatever is said about it, there’s no denying the philosophy behind it is well intentioned.
The concept came from The Mother, a spiritual guru and follower of Sri Aurobindo a much revered philosopher and poet. She stated – “There should be somewhere upon earth a place no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all human beings of good will, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world, obeying one single authority, that of the supreme Truth; a place of peace, concord, harmony, where all the fighting instincts of man would be used exclusively to conquer the causes of his suffering and misery, to surmount his weakness and ignorance, to triumph over his limitations and incapacities; a place where the needs of the spirit and the care for progress would get precedence over the satisfaction of desires and passions, the seeking for pleasures and material enjoyment.”
In short it’s about promoting human unity.
Started in 1968 it now is over 2500 acres. There are 2300 Aurovilians from 40 nations and many more who come to experience how this all works. The background and evolution make interesting reading. www.auroville.org
I met up with Betty who now lives within this town and her enthusiasm is catching. The Visitor Centre where we meet up provides an attractive courtyard setting and a good variety of Indian and European vegetarian food. An exhibition area explains the concept and there are a few Auroville shops and boutiques. Auroville has its own branded goods especially clothes manufactured within its boundaries. The nicest shops I´ve yet seen in India are here…and they provide work for local people with ethical ideals…using organic cotton is one example.
It´s a huge township and Sue and I hired a guide and tuktuk (autorickshaw) to take us around. In 3 hours we had only scratched the surface...there is so much to see. Signposts point to sectors such as Courage, Light, Sincerity, Discipline, Acceptance, Bliss etc. There are factories, creative art centres, libraries, education centres, organic farms, guest houses etc. etc.
At the heart of Auroville stands the magnificent Matrimandir, a huge golden sphere containing a white marble chamber in which sunlight pours down upon a crystal globe of 70 cm in diameter. This light beam then passes on down through the building to another large crystal outside in the centre of a water feature of white marble lotus leaved shaped steps.
Entry to Matrimandir is by pass only and there are certain procedures before we can get inside. This makes it impossible for the casually curious to gain easy access. The Mother wanted it to be for serious spiritually minded people.
No photos are allowed (personal belongings are left behind) so I tried to record within my memory what it looks like inside. Surreal. Beautiful. Stunning. All white (we are provided with white socks to protect the marble and white carpet).
Do you recall the part in the film Close Encounters where the volunteer earthlings silently and slowly climb up the ramp, leading in to the spaceship in single file? Well it looked and felt like that. We spiralled up and up till we arrived at the inner chamber….high domed ceiling, round, white cushions placed around the crystal, where around 80 of us sat in silent “concentration” for 15 minutes.
It was an intense and amazing spiritual experience.
The structure took 37 years to complete. Millions of tiny gold leaf (gold from donated jewellery) and glass bricks comprise the huge disks which cover it as a representation of the Sun. Viewing the outside surrounded by lovingly cared for gardens, does not prepare you for the inside. If you saw it in a futuristic SciFi movie you´d think it was done by a special effects team. But the Matrimandir is real. Awesome.
Auroville provides an astonishing array of events and activities to the locals and guests…most are FREE! Sue and I attended a Bollywood dance class (200 rupees). There was a trip to Sadhana Forest to learn about the sustainability and reforestation project there. This with organic vegan meal, film, guided tour around the forest and bus was free and around 100 of us went.
We went to the cinemas to see “In Transition” about sustainability. Of course Auroville featured in this excellent docufilm. We saw “John of God” about the respected Brazilian healer. Then there was the inauguration of a brand new arts and culture hall, Cripa. It has specially designed acoustics and sprung wooden floor. The Auroville Choir sang classical music from around the world for an hour. The organisers had decorated the paths leading to the hall with drawings on the red soil and flowers etc. It is surrounded by the lush greenery typical of Auroville. A magical experience being part of this innovation attended by a few hundred international people.
The following night there was another concert by French pianist, Marc Vella who travels around playing with local musicians and singers wherever he goes. What a talent and a beautiful soul. (he looks like Mr Bean with curly hair!)
Some describe it as Utopia. Some say it’s a New Age idealistic enclave. Whatever is said about it, there’s no denying the philosophy behind it is well intentioned.
The concept came from The Mother, a spiritual guru and follower of Sri Aurobindo a much revered philosopher and poet. She stated – “There should be somewhere upon earth a place no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all human beings of good will, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world, obeying one single authority, that of the supreme Truth; a place of peace, concord, harmony, where all the fighting instincts of man would be used exclusively to conquer the causes of his suffering and misery, to surmount his weakness and ignorance, to triumph over his limitations and incapacities; a place where the needs of the spirit and the care for progress would get precedence over the satisfaction of desires and passions, the seeking for pleasures and material enjoyment.”
In short it’s about promoting human unity.
Started in 1968 it now is over 2500 acres. There are 2300 Aurovilians from 40 nations and many more who come to experience how this all works. The background and evolution make interesting reading. www.auroville.org
I met up with Betty who now lives within this town and her enthusiasm is catching. The Visitor Centre where we meet up provides an attractive courtyard setting and a good variety of Indian and European vegetarian food. An exhibition area explains the concept and there are a few Auroville shops and boutiques. Auroville has its own branded goods especially clothes manufactured within its boundaries. The nicest shops I´ve yet seen in India are here…and they provide work for local people with ethical ideals…using organic cotton is one example.
It´s a huge township and Sue and I hired a guide and tuktuk (autorickshaw) to take us around. In 3 hours we had only scratched the surface...there is so much to see. Signposts point to sectors such as Courage, Light, Sincerity, Discipline, Acceptance, Bliss etc. There are factories, creative art centres, libraries, education centres, organic farms, guest houses etc. etc.
At the heart of Auroville stands the magnificent Matrimandir, a huge golden sphere containing a white marble chamber in which sunlight pours down upon a crystal globe of 70 cm in diameter. This light beam then passes on down through the building to another large crystal outside in the centre of a water feature of white marble lotus leaved shaped steps.
Entry to Matrimandir is by pass only and there are certain procedures before we can get inside. This makes it impossible for the casually curious to gain easy access. The Mother wanted it to be for serious spiritually minded people.
No photos are allowed (personal belongings are left behind) so I tried to record within my memory what it looks like inside. Surreal. Beautiful. Stunning. All white (we are provided with white socks to protect the marble and white carpet).
Do you recall the part in the film Close Encounters where the volunteer earthlings silently and slowly climb up the ramp, leading in to the spaceship in single file? Well it looked and felt like that. We spiralled up and up till we arrived at the inner chamber….high domed ceiling, round, white cushions placed around the crystal, where around 80 of us sat in silent “concentration” for 15 minutes.
It was an intense and amazing spiritual experience.
The structure took 37 years to complete. Millions of tiny gold leaf (gold from donated jewellery) and glass bricks comprise the huge disks which cover it as a representation of the Sun. Viewing the outside surrounded by lovingly cared for gardens, does not prepare you for the inside. If you saw it in a futuristic SciFi movie you´d think it was done by a special effects team. But the Matrimandir is real. Awesome.
Auroville provides an astonishing array of events and activities to the locals and guests…most are FREE! Sue and I attended a Bollywood dance class (200 rupees). There was a trip to Sadhana Forest to learn about the sustainability and reforestation project there. This with organic vegan meal, film, guided tour around the forest and bus was free and around 100 of us went.
We went to the cinemas to see “In Transition” about sustainability. Of course Auroville featured in this excellent docufilm. We saw “John of God” about the respected Brazilian healer. Then there was the inauguration of a brand new arts and culture hall, Cripa. It has specially designed acoustics and sprung wooden floor. The Auroville Choir sang classical music from around the world for an hour. The organisers had decorated the paths leading to the hall with drawings on the red soil and flowers etc. It is surrounded by the lush greenery typical of Auroville. A magical experience being part of this innovation attended by a few hundred international people.
The following night there was another concert by French pianist, Marc Vella who travels around playing with local musicians and singers wherever he goes. What a talent and a beautiful soul. (he looks like Mr Bean with curly hair!)
MORE INDIAN HOTEL HIGHLIGHTS!
Accommodation is hard to come by at Auroville in high season. After three nights at the Tenderness Guest House (not part of Auroville community but within the area), Mr Ganesh announces he needs the room for other guests. He then asks me to follow him to another building (he owns a few places) and directs me to a Swedish woman’s room. Why? So I could ask this stranger (we had spoken only briefly) if I could share her twin bedded room!!! Can you imagine booking a hotel room and a stranger knocks at your door and asks if he/she can share it with you?!
Fortunately Sue, who´s in a lovely Auroville accommodation within the sector known as New Creation, says I can share her twin room for her last night there.
Sue, had made a reservation for another sector of Auroville for her last few nights and the whole complex is booked as are other sectors. I ask Ravi one of the auto rickshaw drivers we’ve been hiring if he knows of anywhere down at the beach near where Sue will be. He says his friend has a “wonderful guest house” at the beach and he bumps me along three kilometres to what is described on the hoarding as Nature Loft – a Serenity Beach Boutique Hotel.
The room is clean and has a western loo and ceiling fan. The décor and “furniture” are abysmal and the entrance area tiny and with bare earth where tiles were missing. But I am pretty desperate so I negotiate the price and manage to get 200 rupees shaved off. …that’s about 3 euros but haggling is expected and anyone who pays the asked for 1000 is being ripped off anyway.
I walk along the grainy sand narrow beach to where Sue is now settling in. Now this place, in the Auroville sector named Quiet- The Healing Centre, is about as far away as you can get from the so called “boutique” hotel I was going to spend the next few nights in! Situated a minute’s walk from the Bay of Bengal, fresh, clean, stylish, beautiful gardens, an open air café area, super attentive staff taking bookings for luxury therapies…..need I continue?! Sue invites me to share her room and I am delighted to do so.
.My Saviour Sue describes the mouth watering veggie lunch she’s enjoyed (I had a fried egg and toast in an open air thatched roof café near my ‘boutique hotel’). Three nutritious meals, unlimited drinks (no alcohol) free internet and even a laundry service is included in the rate. I’ll stick to my dump for one night as agreed and join Sue the following morning. Sue heads off to have a massage (this Garden of Eden offers just about every treatment I had heard of and a few unknown ones).
I decide to walk back along the main road. It’s the usual – rubbish lined hovels for houses, dead rat, no pavement, dirty streams and fast flowing traffic skimming past me so close that I can feel the heat from the exhaust pipes. Phew I make it back in one piece.
Later on I shower (no hot water) in the dark as can´t find light switch and head out to the lunch time visited café for food. The streets are dark, empty, stray dogs eye me hungrily and the one and only eating place is …..closed.
There is the tiniest hut (more like a narrow cupboard) where a young lad, around 10, is selling snacks. I buy 2 bananas and a packet of crisps and shuffle back to my inhospitable room to have ´dinner´.
Fortunately Sue, who´s in a lovely Auroville accommodation within the sector known as New Creation, says I can share her twin room for her last night there.
Sue, had made a reservation for another sector of Auroville for her last few nights and the whole complex is booked as are other sectors. I ask Ravi one of the auto rickshaw drivers we’ve been hiring if he knows of anywhere down at the beach near where Sue will be. He says his friend has a “wonderful guest house” at the beach and he bumps me along three kilometres to what is described on the hoarding as Nature Loft – a Serenity Beach Boutique Hotel.
The room is clean and has a western loo and ceiling fan. The décor and “furniture” are abysmal and the entrance area tiny and with bare earth where tiles were missing. But I am pretty desperate so I negotiate the price and manage to get 200 rupees shaved off. …that’s about 3 euros but haggling is expected and anyone who pays the asked for 1000 is being ripped off anyway.
I walk along the grainy sand narrow beach to where Sue is now settling in. Now this place, in the Auroville sector named Quiet- The Healing Centre, is about as far away as you can get from the so called “boutique” hotel I was going to spend the next few nights in! Situated a minute’s walk from the Bay of Bengal, fresh, clean, stylish, beautiful gardens, an open air café area, super attentive staff taking bookings for luxury therapies…..need I continue?! Sue invites me to share her room and I am delighted to do so.
.My Saviour Sue describes the mouth watering veggie lunch she’s enjoyed (I had a fried egg and toast in an open air thatched roof café near my ‘boutique hotel’). Three nutritious meals, unlimited drinks (no alcohol) free internet and even a laundry service is included in the rate. I’ll stick to my dump for one night as agreed and join Sue the following morning. Sue heads off to have a massage (this Garden of Eden offers just about every treatment I had heard of and a few unknown ones).
I decide to walk back along the main road. It’s the usual – rubbish lined hovels for houses, dead rat, no pavement, dirty streams and fast flowing traffic skimming past me so close that I can feel the heat from the exhaust pipes. Phew I make it back in one piece.
Later on I shower (no hot water) in the dark as can´t find light switch and head out to the lunch time visited café for food. The streets are dark, empty, stray dogs eye me hungrily and the one and only eating place is …..closed.
There is the tiniest hut (more like a narrow cupboard) where a young lad, around 10, is selling snacks. I buy 2 bananas and a packet of crisps and shuffle back to my inhospitable room to have ´dinner´.
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