There is a new problem Kerala-eans are facing that I witnessed these past few days. People are telling me the weather had been unusually hot and dry for even during the hot season. According to Rana, even when it is hot there will be occasional rains still occurred, but it is only happening few and far.
We went to an Indian Bank and found the building minimally charged with electricity by a single loud generator. According to the desk clerk, city is going through an electricity shortage. He explained that the city is powered by hydro-generators, which produce city's power by churning turbines in nearby running waters. However, due to the lack of rain this season, the river levels has gone down and no longer supports the hydro-generators, thus producing no energy.
We returned home from the bank, (and kid you not) Rana's brother called to inform us their water well has dried up,(Kerala-eans main water source is tapping into underground water tables)meaning their home had no water.
Rana sat down next to me with head shaking. He said in recent past years the climate in his home had progressively gotten hotter and dryer. He feared his tropical country will eventually turn into a desert. In great disappointment, I heard Rana murmured, "..and we still have people driving around in Humvees in America."
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
5/7/09 – Trip onto the Mountain top
India Photos
Rana woke me up claiming he was unable to sleep and that it was 4:30 in the morning and he wanted to take a walk outside before the sun rose. It was actually 3:30 am. It was only after we showered and about to walk out the door that I realized that he had lied to me about the time. We started out walking around the neighborhood and eventually made our way down to the art museum by rickshaw.
Later that morning, still early in the day we met up with Megan and Json at the hotel along with the driver and Rana’s parents. We started with them getting a full body massage and scrub shower at an Ayurvedic facility where and hour session of pampering only cost each person RS 750 (Indian currency) or $7.50 US. We checked the brochure in Json and Megan’s hotel room to compare the prices of a massage. There were several basic massage packages that ranged from min RS 2,000 to RS 5,000 or $50-$100. There was an item for RS 750 which “to assist changing of bridal costumes”. One example of local pricing versus tourist pricing.
Today’s destination was up a mountain to Ponmudi, a mountaintop resort for locals to escape from the summer heat. We made several stops along the way on our way up to the top.
The first place we stopped was at a Botanical Institute or garden. We had paid our tickets and got in, but later when the administrator saw white people coming out of our van, he began to demand higher ticket prices for Json and Megan. According to the administrator the justification for charging Megan and Json more was because they were foreigners. They didn’t charge me the higher fee because they thought I was Nepalese, which didn’t make much sense to me since I would still have been considered a foreigner to the country. We thought the higher pricing for foreigners were unfair and their response was that US dollars could buy more and that we wouldn’t feel the pain of paying higher prices in India. We promptly got our refund for the entire group and decided we had seen enough. Our frustration was mostly in regards the principle than the money. If they had asked us for a donation it would have been a different story.
The second stop, was to a university where Professor Basheer, Rana’s father, had taught for about 25 years. I was introduced to this one teacher as Rana’s wife and Prof. Basheer’s daughter-in-law. Happily to show off his English skills, the man started talking with us and I had trouble understanding him due to his very Indian-English accent. The frustrated man turned to my husband and asked if I knew how to speak English. We were then greeted by the principle and board and had a very enlightening conversation with them about ourselves and their university. To my surprise their English was very good and wished we had more time to chat.
Our final mountain stop was Ponmadi. The ride to the top was long and scary. The roads were narrow and it shared both directions of traffic while we meandered along the edges of steep cliffs all the way to the top. Once we reached the top past the tea plant and rubber tree plantations, it was all worth it. The air was fresh and COOL. Mountain tops were peaceful and the view went as far as the eye could see.
Rana woke me up claiming he was unable to sleep and that it was 4:30 in the morning and he wanted to take a walk outside before the sun rose. It was actually 3:30 am. It was only after we showered and about to walk out the door that I realized that he had lied to me about the time. We started out walking around the neighborhood and eventually made our way down to the art museum by rickshaw.
Later that morning, still early in the day we met up with Megan and Json at the hotel along with the driver and Rana’s parents. We started with them getting a full body massage and scrub shower at an Ayurvedic facility where and hour session of pampering only cost each person RS 750 (Indian currency) or $7.50 US. We checked the brochure in Json and Megan’s hotel room to compare the prices of a massage. There were several basic massage packages that ranged from min RS 2,000 to RS 5,000 or $50-$100. There was an item for RS 750 which “to assist changing of bridal costumes”. One example of local pricing versus tourist pricing.
Today’s destination was up a mountain to Ponmudi, a mountaintop resort for locals to escape from the summer heat. We made several stops along the way on our way up to the top.
The first place we stopped was at a Botanical Institute or garden. We had paid our tickets and got in, but later when the administrator saw white people coming out of our van, he began to demand higher ticket prices for Json and Megan. According to the administrator the justification for charging Megan and Json more was because they were foreigners. They didn’t charge me the higher fee because they thought I was Nepalese, which didn’t make much sense to me since I would still have been considered a foreigner to the country. We thought the higher pricing for foreigners were unfair and their response was that US dollars could buy more and that we wouldn’t feel the pain of paying higher prices in India. We promptly got our refund for the entire group and decided we had seen enough. Our frustration was mostly in regards the principle than the money. If they had asked us for a donation it would have been a different story.
The second stop, was to a university where Professor Basheer, Rana’s father, had taught for about 25 years. I was introduced to this one teacher as Rana’s wife and Prof. Basheer’s daughter-in-law. Happily to show off his English skills, the man started talking with us and I had trouble understanding him due to his very Indian-English accent. The frustrated man turned to my husband and asked if I knew how to speak English. We were then greeted by the principle and board and had a very enlightening conversation with them about ourselves and their university. To my surprise their English was very good and wished we had more time to chat.
Our final mountain stop was Ponmadi. The ride to the top was long and scary. The roads were narrow and it shared both directions of traffic while we meandered along the edges of steep cliffs all the way to the top. Once we reached the top past the tea plant and rubber tree plantations, it was all worth it. The air was fresh and COOL. Mountain tops were peaceful and the view went as far as the eye could see.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
5/6/09 – Arrived at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
India Photos
We arrived in Kerala safe and sound and surprisingly comfortable and well-rested. We were all amazed and impressed with our international airline service, Emirates. Megan, Json, Rana, and I were sold on this airline company and will strive to make our future international travels with Emirates. The flight attendants were extremely polite and clean cut. They kept feeding us and we each had our own entertainment center at each seat. I watched lots of episodes of “Two and Half Men”, “Family Guy”, and a couple of movies. Of course, I had my trusty Sudoku book. Our traveling adventure began on 5/5/09, Tues. at 2pm in Kansas City, Mo. We first landed into Houston, Texas and from there connected to our international flight to Dubai. We arrived at the night so we were not welcomed with a blast of smothering humidity. We exited the plane outdoors in the cool night breeze, bussed to the airport, where we were crammed in a crowded, sweaty, musty, humid room waiting to cross customs. Fishing out our luggage was the most unimpressive part. The place was filled with people pushing and hustling around us trying to do the same thing as us. It was horrible and we were finally happy to get out of this place.
At 3 am, we were greeted with crowded people holding up signs and cab drivers constantly asking if were looking for a cab. After emerging from the chaotic crowds, packed traffic and constant honking vehicles, we found our host and quickly threw our luggage into the cars and jumped in before the police could come by and force our vehicles to move out of traffic. Turns out, a public transportation strike was scheduled to start 3 hours after our arrival, which will shut down local businesses for the entire day. People were gathering to the state capital for the strike and protest demonstrations. We had originally planned to go shopping for saris, however with area businesses closed for the day, we decided to forego sleep and walk the town and perhaps find a cozy spot and draw.
The weather got hot and humid fast. We walked around his neighborhood but due to the strike the stores were all closed. We visited Rana’s elementary school and we crammed ourselves into a rickshaw on the way back. Megan was having a blast on the thing and I was freaked out by numerous honking vehicles, on-coming traffic, and way-to-close-chaotic traffic arrangement. The ride home on the rickshaw cost for all four of us was 12 cents. Rana felt generous and paid the driver 40 cents. Once we got home we all vacated to the single air-conditioned room to recoup from the heat.
Serious jet-lag now sets in and all I can think now is sleep!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Katie Trail Bike Trip - Jeff City to Sedalia
We finally found sometime to edit our Katie Trail movie. Started our trip early in the morning in Lee's Summit, MO with a train ride to Jefferson City. This video dairy covers us riding along the river from state capital into Rocheport, where we stayed overnight at a bed and breakfast. We did continue riding from Rocheport into Sedalia the next day, however, we still need to edit that portion of the video. Stayed tune for the second Katie Trail adventure!
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