Medellin – City of Eternal Spring

Medellin – City of Eternal Spring

Medellin (5^th June to 8^th June, 2015)
Medellin – A beautiful city set in picturesque valley of Andes mountains with fun loving and helpful people, stunningly beautiful women, vibrant, rich Colombian culture & interesting history! Visiting this second largest city in Republic of Colombia & one of the best cities to live in South America was a dream come true for me as this was my first entry in the South American continent.
On Friday (5^th June) evening I boarded a flight from Panama Pacifico airport (A very small beautiful airport) on a cheap VivaColombia direct flight to Medellin. It was just a one hour flight that cost me about $140/- round trip fare.
As the flight started descending, I marveled at the first glimpses of this vast city spread in the lush green valley surrounded by extensive Andes ranges.

The airport is in another town Rionegro about 35kms from Medellin and there are buses that run between airport and Medellin every 15 mins or so. The bus costs just 9000 Colombian pesos per person and takes about 40 mins to reach Medellin, passing through the mountain ranges with scenic views of the city lights. I was reminded of the Pune-Mumbai travels by old road with the view of Khopoli, only Medellin must be about ten times bigger than Khopoli in size. (~$2500 Colombian peso = $1 USD)
We (Darshan & I) met a very helpful woman on the bus who guided us where to get off from the bus and also instructed us to take the taxi from an official line outside a mall. This is safer as a photo is captured of the taxi with the passengers.
After checking into our hostel ‘The Wandering Paisa’ (Medellin people are called Paisas) we went out to get the feel of the city and some dinner. We spent the evening sitting in an open restaurant, sipping on our drinks, enjoying Colombian local cuisine & hospitality of the waiters while soaking in the party atmosphere of Friday evening, people all dressed up hurrying to various pubs and open loud bars with people singing & dancing. We ordered a popular dish from Medellin called ‘Bandeja Paisa’, bandeja means mix or platter, this dish contains various commonly consumed food items in the region. It consists of arepas (similar to rice bhakri), red beans, rice, pork belly, carne molida (grounded meat), sausage, fried egg, salad & avocado. Excellent food coupled with the energetic atmosphere made me immediately fall in love with the city. However, it was a long day with work and then travel so we decided to call it a day & start early next morning to explore the city.

Medellin has almost perfect weather throughout the year with average temperature ~22 degree Celsius in day time and ~15 at night. The fresh air from surrounding mountains is very refreshing and there is abundance of parks and green patches in the city. It has a very extensive Metro system which is both cheap and convenient and commonly used by everyone.
Unfortunately, even now Medellin is most known to the outside world due to the escapades of Pablo Escobar – the drug lord who controlled about 80% of US drug business at one time. Escobar was a native of Medellin who along with the so called Medellin-cartel almost took over the city. Crime was rife during that time and many Paisas suffered in the violence. He was killed by the police in 1993 and the city has totally transformed after that. The crime rate has been declining ever since and the wealthier areas of ‘El Pablado’ and ‘Laureles’ (our hostel was here) are absolutely safe at any time of day or night.

Death of Pablo Escobar

Medellin also has a rich history of art & culture and the city boasts of many museums, libraries, theaters and public plazas. We visited Museum of Antioquia (Medellin is in Antioquia department – department is something similar to District) and Plaza Botero first. Fernando Botero is a famous Colombian artist (painter & sculptor) with a signature style of art. Plaza Botero is in the heart of the city and the area was crowded. It’s a typical tourist place with many roadside vendors, people offering to click photos & also a lot homeless people.

Next, we visited a botanical garden in afternoon to beat the sun. I was pleasantly surprised to see a few huge iguanas absolutely used to being photographed, crawling around lazily. We also visited an aquarium with many superb fishes, frogs & snakes. I think the highlight for me was anaconda here. I am kind of scared of snakes and watching them inside the glass boxes always reminds me of Harry Potter and I wonder if one of them will just burst out of the box, which makes me quite jittery!

Our final plan for the day was going uphill using metro cable. Medellin is a thriving city and is spread uphill from almost all sides. These are poor neighbourhoods with simple brick houses sheltered by metal sheets. The metro cable system is super fast, cheap and an adventure in itself as the slope of the ropeway is pretty steep. One can take the cable up to the top of the mountain which has ‘Park Arvi’ – a thick rainforest, offering amazing view of the city & surrounding mountain ranges. I was highly impressed by the efficiency of this cable system.


We spent some time near ‘Santo Domingo’ metro station watching the crowd and sun set. It is a highly populated area. There was an atmosphere of a fair with children running around, playing and many people just chatting and roaming around enjoying the view and ice cream or cotton candy sold by the street. We met one Colombian family also just visiting there and chatted with them. He mentioned how this area was extremely dangerous earlier and no one could even think of roaming around there 10 years back.
      
The Saturday night party began with a beer pong in the hostel followed by some club hopping dancing and learning salsa. Colombians are excellent salsa dancers and absolutely crazy party people. I had super fun meeting Alejandra and Harold (both Paisas), showing me around the Colombian way of partying.
Next day, Darshan planned to visit a nearby town (~2 hrs bus journey) called Guatape. This is a weekend gate away for city dwellers, a quaint old Spanish town. There a huge monolith near Guatape called ‘La Piedra del Peñol’ (meaning the rock of Guatape) which has an elevation of ~7000ft. Climbing to the top of this piedra (about 650 steps) is absolutely worth due to the amazing 360 degree view it offers.
              
We spent the day just taking in the view, exploring the Guatape town & walking around the Malecon (stretch by the bank of river). Observing Colombians roaming around was fun. There was a couple who offered me a shot of rum (which I politely declined) on the top of the rock for clicking their picture. They had climbed up carrying a carton of rum like our milk cartons and a shot glass. As the sun went down, people flocked to the roadside vendors offering all kinds of fried food, desserts and even shots. We had some excellent Argentinean chimichurri here and I was ecstatic to have ‘butta’ (roasted corn)!
           

The bus journey back to hostel was comfortable. I felt tired but extremely happy and satisfied by the day. However, the thought of leaving Medellin next day dampened my spirit.
The next day was quite uneventful. We visited another park in the morning and then left for the airport. I was already sad for returning and to top it, irritating airport security people did not let me take my new, pretty umbrella by cabin luggage and I had to leave it there.
All in all it was a great experience. I did struggle a bit (quite a lot actually) with the concept of carrying and paying thousands of pesos. I was mostly lost at understanding the currency and the calculations every time I had to pay! (I suspect this is why I found everything very cheap as mostly I didn’t understand how much exactly it was costing! :p) I found Paisas helpful, flamboyant and also cautious people. I totally agreed with the popular view that anyone who goes there, falls in love with the city and it’s very difficult to leave it. There is a sort of rivalry in Paisas and Rolos (people from Bogota – Capital of Colombia) where they openly dislike each other. Something like – Mumbaikars & Delhi-ites, but I guess quite stronger. However, when we were deciding whether to visit Medellin or Bogota, every person had voted for Medellin. I was glad about the decision and decided I have to go back to Medellin once again at some point.

Posted on June 14, 2015Categories TravelTags Colombia, Medellin, South America1 Comment on Medellin – City of Eternal Spring

Viva Cuba libre..

Another adventure in the Americas! Visiting the land of Castro, with its unique political situation, exceptionally interesting history and abundance of natural beauty along with the charm of Spanish colonial cities felt like a dream come true!
The revolution, Cuba’s involvement in cold war, different approach to communism and most importantly survival after US trade embargo and financial sanction, especially as, in effect Cuba is far from the effects of westernization (compared to other countries) and consumerism, all together makes Cuba a really unique country. Since I finished the last of book of Ken Follett’s Century trilogy, ‘Edge of Eternity’, I was really curios about Cuba and I pounced on the opportunity of ‘holyweek’ in Panama (Four day long Easter holiday) to visit this time warped land.
The first look of Havana
There was a lot of hustle bustle on the airport due to high number of tourists from various nationalities. We were greeted on the airport by enthusiastic Meme (taxi driver, a fan of SRK) who helped us get our money exchanged faster and drove us to our casa in Havana vieja (Old Havana) while showing us some monuments and famous attractions on the way.
Cuba has two currencies CUP or Cuban Peso for the locals (very cheap at about 26 peso = $1), where as tourists are required to pay in CUC (slang cucu, like a sound of cuckoo) which is pegged to $ with 1:1 ratio. However, there is penalty of 13% in converting USDs directly to CUCs and so effectively, CUC is more expensive than dollars. We did think of buying Euros in Panama and converting them but the rates offered at airport were ridiculous and we realized it will not be a profitable affair to exchange currency twice after all.
At the first look, Havana seemed very similar to some small, less developed town in Konkan. Bougainville, mangoes, coconut and other usual trees along the road along with some litter made me feel quite at home. The advertisements along the road (billboards/signage etc) were conspicuous by their absence and really refreshing. I was amused by the constant presence of Castro, Jose Marti, Che & the revolution through the billboards that took their place.
 
As we entered the main city, traffic increased and we were transported back in time by at least a couple of decades! This is mainly due to the vintage cars everywhere and the old, dilapidated buildings. I felt if anything in South Mumbai was never renovated; it would be very similar to Old Havana. Especially because of the long sea face just like Marine drive called Malecon. There are some really beautiful buildings though – Teatro de nacional, Museo de revolucion, Main Cathedral etc.
Our casa was an apartment in a really old, dilapidated building in front of Museo de revolucion in Old Havana. I have to admit that if not for the reassuring smile and warmth of Casa owner Luly, patiently waiting for us below the building, I would have felt scared to enter that building at night. The house was beautifully decorated with lots of pictures and Luly lives there with her mom (a sweet ajji) and her Chihuahua called Cara (Cara means ‘expensive’ in Spanish). She did not speak any English and I am still amused at how much we conversed given my excellent Spanish skills. J She helped us a lot in everything, right from instructing us what to see, where to eat, what should things cost to finding an excellent Casa particular for us to stay in Trinidad. I think our whole trip could not have been so nice if not for this lady!

Luly & her Mama

Luly with ‘Cara’ & me!

View from Casa, ‘Museo de la Revolucion’

Contact between locals and tourists was made legal in 1997 in Cuba after which slowly the system of Casa particulares boomed as the locals were searching for new avenues of earning income. Today, Government recognizes and encourages these Casas and there is a sign put up outside the house that marks it as a Casa Particular (like a home stay).
Havana Viaje
We spent the next day wandering around the Old Havana, doing usual site seeing, marveling at the history of revolution and the variety of vintage cars on the road and enjoying mojitos & cuba libres at various restaurants.
                       

Teatro de Nacional

We met many characters on the road. Havana is a typical tourist place full of people inviting you to particular restaurants or trying to sell you illegal cigars or playing a mouth organ or other instruments expecting you to pay. Even old men sitting on the side of roads, smoking cigar are well aware that they are in demand for photographs and expect to be given something after you click them. One guy (inviting us to a restaurant) upon learning we were headed for a famous restaurant in the area, requested us to bring leftovers which will feed his children. And he was actually still there when we returned after two hours and happily accepted our ‘to go’ boxes. Despite the poverty, the notable thing is, no one is ever aggressive and a polite no will keep them at their bay. Also, they are enthusiastic to help you even after you decline whatever offer they are making. Another character was an old uncle, driving a car older than himself who took us to ‘Viazul’ office to book bus journey to Trinidad. He kept turning 180 degrees to behind to talk to us, making us skip our heart beat each time. Somehow (without any English), this guy made sure he understood our complete itinerary and was present to drop us to bus stop to go to Trinidad and also to pick us up two days later when we returned to Havana. He kept showing Darshan every time we saw a girl on the road, repeating ‘Cubano chica loca!’ (Cuban girls are crazy!).

Overly talkative uncle

Next day, we booked a stylish, exotic vintage car ‘Oldsmobile’ (1951 model) to go around the city. We suspected that this tour was the driving test for the driver! He was really slow and our guide kept on instructing him. We chatted a lot with the guide, who showed us around the beautiful Hemingway casa and John Lennon Park – A park with a sitting statue of John Lennon on one of the benches! I really felt this place was overhyped.. Well, maybe not for the true fans!
       
Hemingway Casa was a beautiful American style huge house on a hill with a spectacular view of the lush green city. I imagined Hemingway sitting at his desk writing the ‘Old man and the sea’, going fishing with his kids and tending to his cats in the adjacent tower.

Hemingway Study

View from Backyard

Talking to the guide, I realized that, even if the visitors enjoy the old world feel of Cuba, the Cubans are definitely awaiting the change and excited about everything that the modern world has to offer, from latest, high speed cars to modern architecture and junk food chain restaurants.
The first thing our guide spoke about upon learning we are from India was ‘Gandhi’.  He seemed like a well informed man as he knew about Indira and Rajiv Gandhis and the fact that they all shared the fate of being assassinated at some point. However, the best part is, he naturally believed that all the Gandhi’s are related to each other. The power of surname seems to have worked across the globe in associating the whole of Gandhi clan and helped to en cash the fame of Mahatma Gandhi for others.

Trinidad (A small town in Cuba – Spanish colonial town & UNESCO World Heritage Site)
We left for Trinidad in the afternoon. The ‘Viazul’ bus was comfortable and on-time. It took us about 5 hours to reach including the short loo break on the way. Toilet is one big problem in Cuba. Toilet seat seemed like an alien concept and mostly there was no water or tissues in any of the public toilets. I really hope this will improve once the Americans start pouring in.
Trinidad was refreshingly different than Havana. It has a dreamy landscape with mountains on three sides and sea on the fourth (Although, the actual coast is about 10kms from Trinidad town). The town itself reminded me of konkan with abundance of mango/cashew/guava trees and sloped tiled roof houses; however it is exponentially beautiful due to the Spanish colonial architecture and the labyrinth of cobbled lanes. This day being the Easter evening the main town square was full of people and the cathedral was decorated. Trinidad had a calming effect on me unlike Havana as the weather was amazing with nice breeze and there was an atmosphere of enthusiasm with the mix of travelers and the locals gathered for the Easter eve procession.

The central park of Trinidad was packed with locals in their Sunday best clothes and I was shocked to see the casual abundance of tobacco. The number of teenagers/adults alike irrespective of their gender smoke all the time. The rate of smoking is really low in Latinos overall, so this came as a surprise.
The Casa was really pretty with a terrace surrounded by mangoes. Our host was nice and the breakfast she served was heavenly. All the Casas serve a more or less standard menu of fresh fruits (Bananas, guava, watermelon, papaya), juice, Cheese and ham sandwich, Eggs and bread butter with delicious Cuban Coffee. However, Lezemenia (Our host) took it to another level by serving fresh bread coupled with homemade fresh mango juice on the terrace.
              
Next day, we spent the first half just walking around the town, visiting few art galleries, old colonial house turned into museum and other site seeing places.
                            
Darshan proposed an excellent idea to rent bicycles and go to the beach. The famous beach nearby is ‘Playa Ancon’, about 14kms from the town. We made this ambitious plan of going to the beach and left in the scorching heat (without any water) at about 3PM. After losing our way to take a small detour, about an hour later we were really drained. At this point, Darshan realized the seat of the cycle was too small for him and decided to just walk and I on the other hand was determined not to stop till I find water. Luckily, after another half an hour, (when I saw the board of Playa Ancon, 2kms) I saw a small structure at the other side of the road and a woman smiling and waving to me. Barbarita seemed like an angel who gave me cold water (Not bottled!) to drink first and also offered me a mango which I happily hogged on. She was very talkative and like a typical woman told me about all her children and asked about my age and marital status etc details. After about 15-20 mins when I still couldn’t see the sign of Darshan, her son Yocel, readily volunteered to check on my amigo and soon got back with Darshan trailing him panting with the bicycle.
Yocel and Barbarita told us the actual beach is about 4 kms far and suggested showing us another place where one can swim. He took us to a spot popular in locals, away from the tourist crowd of Playa ancon, where one could take a dip in the huge Caribbean swimming pool. As we reached there, it started raining and the sea became somewhat turbulent losing its usual tranquility. As usual, I immediately jumped in the water while Darshan decided to just rest outside and observe the chicas!
I felt rejuvenated by the swim and the rain. As we rode through the countryside the smell of earth after rain along with the background of sunset crafted a magical happiness in the air.
                                                 
That night sitting on the terrace having cigar, I felt really peaceful after the long, tiring but thoroughly satisfying day.
Back to Havana
The last day we traveled back to Havana in the Viazul bus. The only issue I had with Viazul is, they made sure every traveler memorizes the Spanish songs they play. They literally played the same 3 songs on repeat for 5 hours!
We spent the afternoon having daiquiris at famous bar called ‘La Floridita’ in Old Havana. This bar was frequented by Hemingway and was his favourite. So they have a statue of Hemingway having a drink in one corner. The drinks and music here was nice but definitely very expensive for Cuba.
                
With a heavy heart we bid adieu to the land of Castro wondering how much everything we saw will change in the coming few months once the financial sanctions are lifted. I thought of what communism has achieved here and how will they continue to control certain things if they have to economically survive and prosper in the world of consumerism.

Posted on May 8, 2015Categories TravelTags Americas, Caribbean Islands, CubaLeave a comment on Viva Cuba libre..

Just ‘Belize’d it

I got on the flight to Panama from Mumbai thinking it’s time to make the most of last few months in Panama. I started making a mental note of all the holidays that I can get and all the places that I want o to visit. I think spending time planning trips is the best possible use of the mind numbing long hours on the flight.
I calculated the first opportunity will be Carnival in Panama and I decided to go to Belize based on three things- internet said Indian passport holders with US visa can enter without separate visa, it’s the only English speaking country in Central America (As it was the only British colony and it still has the Queen as head of state!) and third, it’s exceptionally beautiful!!

13^th February – Caught an early morning flight and after a brief stopover at El Salvador, reached Belize City at 10AM. As the flight descended at Belize City, I searched for some sign of city and could only see sparkling blue water and lush green trees. This was very intriguing since Belize City is the most important City in Belize (Although capital is another city called Belmopan).
As I entered the immigration officer counter, she looked at my passport and inquired with a smile, “where is the Belize visa?” I replied with full confidence (mainly because I was ecstatic that she understood and spoke perfect English!) showed her US visa and said I know I am allowed to enter based on it. She politely asked me to step aside and the whole drama started. A very stern and rude immigration officer told us, we need to go back as we don’t have Belize visa! She refused to explain any further or to return our passport and pretended to forget we are there. After spending an hour in trying to talk to her she came back with a copy of some visa form which we duly filled and told her we needed a multiple entry visa since we had planned to go to Guatemala and come back to Belize. She refused us outright and said I am not here to promote going to Guatemala! We finally entered the country after spending ~2 hours in the airport and paid $50 each for on arrival single entry visa.
Caye Caulker
After a short water taxi ride (about an hour), we reached Caye Caulker (Pronounced as Key Caulker) and checked into the Yuma’s house. The first look of blue/green waters and a Belikin beer pint (National beer of Belize) made us completely forget the hassles on airport. The hostel is well managed, clean and is right on the shore. We shared the dorm with two Australian girls, both excellent divers who were on their for a 3 month long Latin America backpacking trip.
  
It’s a beautiful small island (5 miles by 1 mile) with white sand, mostly wooden houses and a lot of restaurants/hotels/tour company offices. No cars are allowed on the island and there were more tourists than locals. After having a sumptuous meal (blackened barracuda with pasta J) with Caribbean rum punch and exploring the village, I decided it was time for a dip in the water. The shades of blue & green are soothing to the eyes and all the stress was relieved by that one swim followed by a nap on a hammock.

14^th Feb: Next day somehow I woke up really early and witnessed one of the best sunrises of my life. It was majestic. The peace and happiness I felt cannot be put into words.

That whole day seemed magical. We were four of us for the tour (a couple from France, Mahogan and her boyfriend), Darshan and I. The tour included three snorkeling spots. The first was ‘Hol Chan Marine Reserve’. We spent some time getting acquainted with our snorkeling gear and before I could take in the beauty of underwater world with corals and colorful fishes our guide indicated us to follow and I spotted a huge turtle flapping towards me. There were 3-4 different turtles and we kept following them as they swam up to breathe and again swam down to the bottom (~10 feet deep). Suddenly, Mahogan tapped me and pointed her finger in opposite direction and there was a huge sting ray quietly perched on the sea bed. After spending about an hour here we moved on.
As we reached our second spot (Shark Ray alley) for snorkeling, our guide started throwing small fishes that he had got and we were surprised by the flock of huge fishes swarming for scrap. These were nurse sharks about 4 to 6 feet in length. Nurse sharks are docile version of sharks and they do not attack. However, our guide cautioned us not touch them as they might bite. It was thrilling to get into the water to get a closer look of sharks and we found out that there were several sting rays here. I was a little afraid of swimming around sharks and sting rays and I felt a dread when I heard Mahogan shrieking as a sting ray approached her flapping.

The third and last spot for the day was a peaceful coral garden. I was totally accustomed to using my snorkeling apparatus by then and it was mesmerizing to immerse in the beauty of various forms of colorful corals and so many different types of fishes. I fell in love with one tiny shiny black fish with sparkling blue spots. That night I dreamt of being a girl who lived under water! (yes, like a mermaid.. :p)
San Ignacio
We bid adieu to the slow paced, peaceful island with a heavy heart and set out for the next destinations after the long snorkeling day. Caught a local bus from Belize City and after traveling through the capital ‘Belmopan’ reached San Ignacio, another important town (due to tourist influx) at around 8PM. We were surprised when we arrived in Belize City to see so little ‘development’ in the city. Situation was no different in Belmopan. San Ignacio is even smaller town with just one newly built park as city center with fountains and restaurants around. Rest of the town is spread around the hilly region with most wooden houses built on stilts. Belize astonished me with its ethnic diversity as well. Most Belizeans are multiracial descents with mixture of Maya and European origin. There is a huge population of Afro-Amerindians called Garifuna (blacks), especially in countryside. I was surprised to come across many Indians/Bangladeshis/Pakistanis who have settled in Belize and run many shops and restaurants.
We checked in our hostel Bella’s Backpackers and were welcomed by the helpful manager Natasha. We stayed here for rest of our time in Belize as we had to change our original plans of visiting Guatemala. Bella’s was not a well managed hostel and we bed bugs found on the last day gave me a big scare. However, to make up for it, Natasha was very helpful and we met some amazing travelers from all over the world here.
15^th Feb: This hostel was more like a house with a tiny terrace equipped with hammock, sofa etc to gather around and chat with others. We decided to tag along Steve (an uptight Welsh man, retired after working for 20 years and travelling for last 13 months across Americas) who planned to visit ‘Cahal Pech’, Mayan ruins site that day.
Some information about Maya Civilization: The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for Maya script, the only known fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to AD 250), according to the Mesoamerican chronology, many Maya cities reached their highest state of development during the Classic period (c. AD 250 to 900), and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish.
Cahal Pech is a relatively small site which is right inside the city and we reached there after a small walk (~30 mins).
Wiki Info of Cahal Pech: The site was a palatial, hilltop home for an elite Maya family, and though most major construction dates to the Classic period, evidence of continuous habitation has been dated to as far back as 1200 BCE during the Early Middle Formative period (Early Middle Preclassic), making Cahal Pech one of the oldest recognizably Maya sites in Western Belize
    
We headed for a better known tourist attraction and an archeological Mayan site ‘Xunantinich’ from here. ‘Xunantinich’ means ‘stone lady’ in the Maya language and the name is given due to the legend of a ghost of a woman inhabiting the site who appears below the main pyramid and disappears in the stone wall according to many villagers. This site was a civic ceremonial center and its importance is apparent as when the region was at its peak, nearly 200,000 people lived in Belize.
      
One needs to cross a small river on a ferry and walk up a hill (~30 mins) to reach the site. The site contains various plazas surrounded by temples and palaces. The view from the highest pyramid known as ‘El Castillo’ (~130 feet, Castillo means Castle) is breathtaking. ‘Xunantinich’ is almost at the border of Guatemala and one can see the Guatemalan border and town from the top at one side and just forests and mountains of the other. I couldn’t help thinking if someone erected glass/concrete towers anywhere in the view, how badly it would ruin the whole beauty.
 
16^th Feb: We booked a full day tour with PACZ tours (a reputed company) to Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) caves. To visit the caves, one has to go with a certified guide (and it’s expensive – ~$95pp) however, it turned out to be a one of a kind experience due to the uniqueness of this cave. The tour company warned us to get dressed for an adventure and be prepared to get wet. The tour starts with ~45 mins hike in a tropical Jungle. On the way, we had to cross the river three times and at one occasion, the water was up to my waist. Till then, it was too easy and I started thinking all the talk of adventure and getting wet was just a fuss.  After crossing the river third time, there comes a turn and suddenly I saw a huge hourglass shaped entrance of the cave. What is more shocking is, the entrance is blocked by blue water that’s flowing outside from the cave. Equipped with helmet and headlight, I prepared to start the actual adventure, realizing how I was to judge too soon. A small swim we reached the rock shelf and started our march inside by following the instructions of our expert guide and getting our eyesight adjusted to the only light of our headlamp inside the completely dark, wet cave. The journey to reach the main core of the cave where Mayan artifacts and remains are found takes about an hour and includes many sharp & slippery edges, water depth alternates from just covering your toes to portions where only the tallest won’t need to swim. On the way, we came across beautiful formations of stalagmites & stalactites and learned about Mayan beliefs and culture. Our guide was very informative and passionate about the Maya history and stories. I imagined how they would enter this cave all those years back with large pots of food and other things as offerings equipped with only fire torches, prepared for a sacred journey to offer sacrifices, call upon their Gods and connect with spirits of their ancestors. Occasionally our guide would ask us to shut all the lights and feel the complete darkness. He would move the torch to replicate the effect of fire torch that creates frightening play of shadows. The stalagmites/stalactites take millions of years to grow (about 100 years to grow by 1 inch) and so it’s amazing to think that the cave looked almost exactly same when the Mayans entered it. In some places the cave formations are modified by Mayans to project shadows of their deities or create a silhouette of faces or animals.
Then starts ascend above the river surface and we had to remove our shoes from there on as there are many Mayan artifacts, mainly parts of ceramic vessels are calcified in the cave floor. We heard more stories and different theories behind designs and positions etc of the artifacts as we reached the first human skull. It is believed as Mayans used to perform human sacrifices inside the cave and there are total 14 different individuals identified here that includes very young children to adults. Ascend consists of a few rock patches with the final climb of aluminum ladder mounted on a sheer rock face. At the top is a single complete skeleton of a young girl that is calcified to the cave floor.
The journey back to sunshine was equally thrilling with our guide choosing different paths. All in all, it was a most memorable experience.
Unfortunately, sometime back some stupid guy dropped his camera to break one of the skulls in the cave and hence no cameras are allowed on this tour.  Here are some Google images:


17^th Feb: Caught an early morning bus to Belize City and took a flight to San Salvador where we had a stopover of about 7 hours. Booking a taxi to go around the city to visit most popular destinations is very common in San Salvador and we found that cabs hired from airport are very expensive. Luckily we met a guy and girl (also just friends!) both from Panama and we all set out together. San Salvador is a pretty city set out in a hilly region. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant with excellent location on the hill overlooking the city on our way to Boqueron volcano crater. We had a mouthwatering local dish ‘Pupusa’ along with some machilada beer (Some mix of salt and lemon and spices added to the beer).

The volcano crater is about 6000 feet above sea level. The view from the top is remarkable especially due to the perfect round shape of the valley and the small crater at the center.

On our way back we entered a crowded old city (supposedly dangerous) and reached ‘Iglesia del Rosario’. This church looks just like a cement arch from outside and is unimpressive. However the church is very unique and beautiful from inside. It’s a very rare non-colonial modern structure with rainbow of colored glass across the arch. The statues and other metal figures inside the church are also non-traditional.

On the way back home, I kept thinking about Belize, the beautiful landscape and simple, straightforward people without any hurry in life. I feel highly inspired to travel the globe and started thinking seriously of taking a long break just to travel!

Posted on March 4, 2015Categories TravelTags Belize, Central America Trips, TravelLeave a comment on Just ‘Belize’d it

Kafka on the shore

I feel totally at a loss. This book grips you, your mind, brain everything gets lost in the deep forests that breathe in their own world. It’s an enthralling page turner cluttered with tons of riddles. It’s absurd, full of weird situations and unbelievable turn of events. All the characters are somewhat unusual with very complex relationship with each other, one that you never really understand. However, what stood out most and gripped my mind completely was his words. He talks about sandstorms, memories, shrines, love, music, sound of silence, books, half shadows and blood. About the storm that’s inside you, about giving in and emerging as a changed person. And about the responsibilities that begin in dreams. But behind these unfathomable concepts lies a commentary on life and almost everything that it can mean to a person. It questions the idea of self and at the same time it also talks about what happens after death.  He comments on the widespread societal issues at the same time he deals with the delicate internal struggles we go through every day.
It is all encompassing and hence deeply unsettling. Everything about the book is about understanding there is no one way to salvation, there is no one thing that every person seeks. Ultimately, the only thing that you achieve after going through all that is you think. You think till your head hurts. But you feel glad about it. I feel like I have stepped up in some way. It’s like being evolved.
Some of my most favourite quotes:
“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.
And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You’ll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.
And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
 “Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.” 
“Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems. Those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutely fear and loathe.” 
“If you think God’s there, He is. If you don’t, He isn’t. And if that’s what God’s like, I wouldn’t worry about it.”
 “I’m free, I think. I shut my eyes and think hard and deep about how free I am, but I can’t really understand what it means. All I know is I’m totally alone. All alone in an unfamiliar place, like some solitary explorer who’s lost his compass and his map. Is this what it means to be free? I don’t know, and I give up thinking about it.”
“Perhaps most people in the world aren’t trying to be free, Kafka. They just think they are. It’s all an illusion. If they really were set free, most people would be in a real pickle. You’d better remember that. People actually prefer not being free”
“As long as there’s such a thing as time, everybody’s damaged in the end, changed into something else. It always happens, sooner or later.” 
“You’re afraid of imagination and even more afraid of dreams. Afraid of the responsibility that begins in dreams. But you have to sleep and dreams are a part of sleep. When you’re awake you can suppress imagination but you can’t suppress dreams.”
“He felt as if his heart had dried up. I needed her he thought. I needed someone like her to fill the void inside me. But I wasn’t able to fill the void inside her. Until the bitter end, the emptiness inside her was hers alone.” 

Posted on March 4, 2015Categories UncategorizedTags Book Review, Hakuri Murakami, Kafka on the Shore1 Comment on Kafka on the shore

Death

I try to start my computer. It takes too long. It’s as if it’s a real person I am trying to wake up from sleep. It goes all disoriented. Looking everywhere for clues and not really understanding what I am trying to say. I am in hurry cause I just want to pen down these thoughts.. these feelings.. and I am scared. I guess when you are scared everything seems very urgent. but it is urgent! Its following me.. all the time. It’s everywhere. So uncertain, completely unpredictable. Not that I actually believe in predictions. In my opinion probability is one concept that screws a person the most. What’s the point of it anyway? What you don’t know you don’t know, that’s it. You just have to accept it.
Each and every moment is a threat. Time is a threat. Not the time that clock shows. Just time. Time as an abstract but at the same time the most tangible, the most comprehensible concept. It never stops and it uses that one point in time to strike. Anyone it wants. It’s not so scary in itself but the nothingness that follows is what is scary. That’s what makes you think and question about everything you know. ‘The meaning’ suddenly becomes the most important question.  There are no answers. You think about why? Who? How? When? And there are just no answers. It’s all a game of wait and watch. Just hang on there till you can (and even when you can’t) and wait for it. Just wait for it to choose you. You cry, you try to reason it, blame it on someone, something. But deep inside you know, you know it too well that any analysis is useless. You know that there are no answers and there never will be. You just have to accept this and wait. Wait for your time to come..

Posted on February 26, 2015Categories UncategorizedLeave a comment on Death

A mosaic of memories

I was sleeping
Rather I was trying to sleep
Dwelling upon the way out of the maze
I am not inside it
But I can see her there..
Clueless, direction less, struggling..
At the centre of the maze
Sometimes walking, sometimes running..falling occasionally
Trying to find the way hopelessly in the labyrinth
I pity her
I say
Look at me
All sorted
Peaceful
And free
She smiles
I can’t tolerate that smile
I try to escape her gaze
A blackout
The world rotates and I can feel myself pulled inside her
She is roaring with laughter now
I feel foolish
And betrayed
Clueless, direction less and struggling..
Inside the maze, a puzzle, a trap..

Posted on September 16, 2012Categories MemoriesTags Love, MemoriesLeave a comment on A mosaic of memories

Bangkok- Cambodia- Vietnam, A legendary trip!

Travelling is exciting, liberating, educating and most importantly, it offers redemption. To quote one of a tourist we met, “I believe that if you travel enough, there is no need of education!”
This trip was full of unexpected events. Right from the moment we saw Shailesh on the Bangkok airport (he gave us a surprise!) on 30^th June’2012, till the last moment when I collapsed on the flight and we had to un-board the flight on 15^th July.
Here are some of the best experiences of this trip (both good and bad!)
Euro league final (1^st July, Bangkok – Khao San Road)
Ecstasy, a word that defines the feelings of the day. We spent the evening on a roadside pub (open air, on the street) listening to live melodious songs accompanied by guitar along with a beer. As we sat there singing, a lot of people from different countries joined us on the table (to name a few, one dutch girl Marloes, a dutch guy Nick, an old Scottish man and an NRI gujju girl from London Rajvi). Having lived in Mumbai throughout my life I was quite amazed at the diversity of the group.
The atmosphere was already thrilled in anticipation of the match with loads of España fans wearing jerseys and carrying their flags were wandering in the lanes. As the time for match (1.40AM) neared, one could feel the elevated spirits (as blood: alcohol ratio started to drop down.. :p) and the excitement mounting. We watched a group of street dancers performing mind boggling stunts in the middle of the road, awe-struck by their ease and expertise (I had always watched such a dance in movies like ‘Step up’ and had never thought I will see them performing live so unexpectedly). People slowly gathered in various roadside bars where match was displayed on big screens. The adrenaline rush during the match and the jubilant procession that followed the victory of Spain cannot be put into words. If I have to give an analogy, atmosphere was similar to that in Shivaji Park on the eve India won the Cricket world cup.

Nick and Shailesh with the crowd watching match at Khao San Road (Bangkok)

Angkor Wat (2^nd and 3^rd July – Cambodia, Siem Reap)
An UNESCO World Heritage Site, the largest Khmer temple complex in the world. ‘Angkor’ means ‘rajdhani/nagar’ and Wat means temple complex. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations. Bayon temple is unique with its huge carved faces. This place is a treat for photographers with huge stone structures on the background of clear, pretty skyline and dense green, tropical forest. The play of light and shadows created in various spaces is mesmerizing. The stories of Ramayana and of other historical events (like war against thai people etc.) are carved on the walls of temples. The massive trees grown on top of the old temple of a Ta Prohm that was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider (thus now known as ‘Tomb Raider temple’) are truly magnificent.

Angkor wat

Bayon temple

Tomb Raider temple (Ta Prohm)

However beautiful the place is, what we experience always depends on the kind of people we meet there. Angkor Wat was beautiful but it became memorable because of two people, our tuktuk driver Nol and guide Kimsim Hour (pronounced as Huer). Hour with his sweet smile and excellent knowledge about Angkor wat and Cambodia in general helped us understand the Cambodian people a bit. Cambodian history is full of devils of colonization (French colonies), communist influence, and the rise of Khmer Rouge (brutal maoist forces in Cambodia) on the onset of Vietnam War that extended in to Cambodia, ultimately giving rise to Civil war that lasted for more than a decade. The scars of this bloodied past are still evident and they are still fighting the repercussions of the civil war, such as extreme poverty and poor health conditions (various diseases along with HIV is widespread in Cambodia. The common site of prostitutes along the streets and abundance of child labor is really distressing.

Nol and Hour with the deadly ‘tuktuk’

SihanoukVille – Beautiful beaches, a dream island, some crisis situations and an epic party at ‘Dolphin Shack!’ (5^th and 6^th July – South Cambodia)
White sand, a beach lined by palm trees, shacks, sunbathing ‘gore’ who had to disperse occasionally coz of rain showers and a dip in the blue water waves.. I think all this more or less summarizes what bliss the ‘Otres beach’ was! Good music, multinational crowd of all crazy, party animals made the party at ‘Dolphin Shack’ truly epic. All this coupled with the ride on the geared scooters we hired made the whole experience much better than our all time favorite, Goa! J (no offense to Goa, it will always be our most favorite place on earth!)

Otres Beach in Sihanoukville

The people in Cambodia eat anything and everything living (apart from humans, thankfully!). We tried things like snake, work, cricket, bug etc. I really hope nobody on this earth should be so deprived of food that they have to resort to eating such things. It was a memorable experience but disturbing at the same time.

The platter!

Worms, Crickets, bugs anyone?

Next day started with a pleasant weather and a nice boat ride to an island near Cambodia. We were told that the journey will take about an hour. I and Sneha were sitting in the front of boat looking at waves, enjoying the scenery and laughing at Shailesh who immediately felt seasick. After an hour or so, even we started feeling nauseous as the sea grew more and more aggressive, making us feel like we were in a raft rather than a motored boat. By the end of two hours my body gave up completely and I threw up looking hopeless as we passed another island without any sign of going ashore. Then, we stopped in the middle of sea and were told that we can snorkel in that area. I decided not to jump in the sea once we learnt that the water current was pretty strong there. Sneha, Shridhar and Shailesh jumped and immediately decided to return aboard. The crew on the boat was either completely dumb or plainly rude but due to their ignorance both Sneha and Shailesh along with some other tourists got cuts by the rusted iron at the bottom of the boat as they tried to get aboard from the wrong side of the boat.
Finally we landed on an island that looked better than the one in ‘Kaho na pyar hai’, feeling somewhat elated. We had an excellent grilled fish that elevated our mood further and we started enjoying the gorgeous landscape of this Bamboo Island. Just when I finally thought I had recovered from my seasickness and should go to take a dip in the shining water, Shridhar while playing volleyball got his leg cut by an anchor. The wound looked quite deep and we realized this was one of a cursed day of our trip. Although the situation was managed as we went to decent hospital (shown by a friend, a cheerful travel agent Mr. Kim) where all three of them got a Tetanus injection and to our relief Shridhar did not get stitches, I still regret not swimming or taking a stroll in the beautiful forest of that island.

The ‘Bamboo Island’ in SihanoukVille

Ho Chi Minh City – Mekong Delta and unforgettable Cu Chi Caves (Vietnam – 8^th & 9^th July)
The journey from SihanoukVille to Ho Chi Minh City (by a night bus) was very much uncomfortable and boring. In a retrospect, I think it symbolized the change from extremely friendly, smiling land of Cambodia to somewhat reserved, stern land of Vietnam.
A crowded small alley full of hotels, food stalls, guesthouses, open butcher shops, children, a thousand smells and many tourists is what marks the Pham Ngu Lao street in Saigon where we stayed.
Mekong delta was a one day tour to floating market (it’s a wholesale market where various fruits and vegetables are sold on boats). We also saw how they make pop rice, coconut candy and various rice items. It was funny to see four American boys eating a cake made of pop rice with so much louuve and admiration. They believed in ‘fukat te paushtik’ and finished a kettle of tasteless green tea given. :p Overall, a very ordinary day with typical touristy experience.

Mekong Delta tour

Cu Chi Tunnels:
A quote from a T-shirt: “In 1976, U.S. could wipe out any army on the face of the earth… but not below it!”
The conflict between Communists (North Vietnam) in Vietnam supported by its communist allies (alike Russia) and anti communist forces (Government of South Vietnam) supported by US resulted in a destructive war that lasted for over 20 years and resulted in loss of a whole generation in Vietnam. The mystery of, how a tiny country like Vietnam with its brave but undersized ‘guerillas’ force, fought and forced a giant like US to surrender, is unfolded in the small, dingy network of Cu Chi tunnels. Guerillas lived in this underground network of tunnels for over twenty years, coming out only in the night. They had built a temporary city below the earth with ingenious planning by making provisions for all the necessary human needs, from oxygen for breathing, to hospitals and entertainment areas as well.
The moment one crawls inside those dark tunnels, the incredibility of staying in such a place for hours, let alone years grasps one’s senses and the whole history of people living in Cu Chi tunnels seems implausible.

Entering hidden tunnel

 Mui ne beach – A peaceful, lazy time! (10^th July)
We spent almost the whole day lazing in the bed, chatting and having a peaceful time enjoying luxury. It was raining constantly; the place was kind of dead, full of crazy groups of Russians which made us feeling happy to be ourselves sitting along the sea face. The only remarkable event of the day was the dinner that consisted of an assortment of seafood, like different shells, mussels, oyster, octopus, frog etc. here. We felt a bit sad, as it was a last day of Shailesh with us (he was leaving next day) and more than half of the trip was already over.
Hanoi – the capital city & Serene Halong Bay (12^th & 13^th July)
Hanoi is a pretty city full of rich Vietnamese people. Every evening, they leave their places well dressed (actually overdressed, the fashion sense here is about a decade ahead of us) go to one of the thousands of street shops selling some drinks (lemonade, coffee, beer is standard) equipped with tiny stools to sit on footpaths, along with sunflower seeds. As we sat in one of such shops looking over the hubbub we spotted a group of fashionable youngsters sitting next to us. At the first look, it looked like a usual group of friends, all well dressed, laughing and making conversations. On a closer look we realized that each one of them were deaf and dumb. We were awestruck at the ease and jovial bonding of this group. We kept on observing them for a long time. Why do we never see such a thing in India? Is wealth the main reason? Or there is some problem with our mentality and attitude towards invalids?

Busy city square in Hanoi

Halong bay:
It was the most luxurious excursion in the whole trip. We had an enthusiastic guide Mr. Tan and our tour group consisted of  two French guys, a man with a shy son from San Francisco, a couple with Chinese athlete woman and a German man, Israeli man, two Irish gals and a Vietnami kids group. Even after meeting so many tourists from various countries I couldn’t stop feeling amazed at the diversity of the group. We visited massive & pretty ‘surprising caves’. We also did kayaking and swimming in the Titov Island (crowded with too many visitors). It felt like we were in some fantasy land with so much beauty around. We had some interesting discussions about France, their people and policies with Lui and William in the peaceful atmosphere with a good wine. J

The serene ‘Halong bay’

‘Surprising Caves’ in halong bay

WE Bangkok (14^th July night)
On 14^th night we reached a hostel called ‘WE bangkok’ in Bangkok at night. An excellent hostel, superbly managed, it’s a role model for the hostel we are going to open in India. Bangkok is a cosmopolitan city of great nightlife and never ending experiences. So many people, so many cultures, so many opinions, so many angles and so many perspectives! The life is flowing and there are never ending opportunities of living and being happy!
Back to Mumbai (15^th July)
We woke early morning on 15^th with a determination to visit the Grand Palace that we had missed earlier. At a lightning speed we saw the Palace and travelled to airport by changing trains twice. We boarded the flight with a heavy heart, thinking about Mumbai, work and all other stressful things that we were going to face from next day. Cherishing the memories of this wonderful trip we took our seats and immediately slept off exhausted, with the plan of directly getting up at Mumbai airport. The flight started a run up; suddenly I woke up and realized something was wrong with me. Then, I blacked out and collapsed all of a sudden.
I can never forget that moment…
I want to thank the doctor on the flight that checked me and instructed to stop the flight.
I want to thank the Captain Chetan Patel who warned us against the danger I can get in, in case I had taken any kind of drugs. (Although he ended up scaring a shit out of us, I thank him for his good intentions).
I want to thank the doctor who took me to his clinic in ambulance and assured me I just had a low Blood pressure and everything was alright.
I want to thank the guy who took me around the airport on the wheelchair to complete all the formalities
…and I thank God for having my best friends with me who took so much care of me. Without them I couldn’t have managed it!
Our Itinerary and some useful information:

• 30 June: Reached Bangkok airport by 1.30. Took an Airport link train to Phaya Thai station and then taxi, reached Niras Bangkok hostel around 5pm (400 baht pp)
• 1 July: Sightseeing in Bangkok (few Buddha’s), Party and massage at Khao San road
• 2 July: Train to Aranyaprathet at 1pm. Reached at around 6.15. Tuktuk to border (25 baht each) After border crossing reached Poipet by 7.30. Taxi to Siem Reap (40 dollar for cab). Reached hotel ‘Angkor friendship inn’ by 11 (6 dollar pp)
• 3 July: Angkor Wat. Excellent guide, Kimsim hour. Tuktuk driver Nol. (10 dollar for driver,20 dollar for guide)
• 4 July: Angkor Wat. (15 $ for driver, 20 $ for guide). Left for Sihanoukville, night bus at 8pm, $18 each sleeping bus Virak Buntham express.
• 5 July: Reached at 6am. Stayed near Occhuteal beach (also known as serendipity) Utopia mixed dorm ($2.5 each). Booked tours from Mr. Kim, Cool Banana travels. Nice, helpful chap. Shailesh got visa for Vietnam in 15 mins for $47 (less than what it cost in Mumbai) although he was told they don’t normally issue visa for indians there. Bike hired ($7 dollar for 2 bikes 1 day, petrol 5000 riel/ltr
• 6 July: A day tour to islands nearby. 7pm bus to Ho chi minh,$17.5 each (was told to be sleeping but turned out to be sitting). Changed bus at Phnom Pehn. Again Virak buntham bus. Border crossing at abt 7.30. Reached HCMC by 10 (pham gulao road). Stayed in Mai guest house ($5 each). Very nice service.
• 7 July: Sightseeing in city. Bantham market, Notre dam cathedral.
• 8 July: Mekong delta full day tour ($15 each). Bad food.
• 9 July: Cu chi caves, half day tour ($5 each). Bus to mui ne at 3pm ($6 each, tam hanh company). Reached at 9pm, Ocean Valley hotel ($25 dollar per night for room, for 1 and half day we paid $37.5)
• 10 July: Bus to HCMC at 1am ($6 Tam Hanh company).
• 11Jjuly: reached HCMC at 5am, again mai guest house. Shailu left at 11, we caught flight to hanoi at 2. Reached at 4. Bus (no. 7) to hanoi city. After waiting for bus and travel time, reached hotel by 6.30 around. Ly quoc su road, sihn cafe tour Victor hotel ($5 each)
• 12 and 13 july: Halong bay 2 day tour ($95 each plus 6 dollar for visiting james bond cave on 2nd day). Elizabeth travels company, good food (elaborate Vietnami food includes all weird seafood. Back to hanoi by 5pm on 13th july. Same hotel, same price.
• 14 July: Sightseeing in Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh mussoleum (body of Ho Chi Minh is kept, lot of security), Hoi Chi Minh museum, 1000 year old one pillar pagoda (not worth) and temple of literature. Flight to bangkok at 5. Reached airport by 7 then took airport rail link and then BTS rail line. WE bangkok at around 10 (prebooked, 300 baht per head mixed dorm)
• 15 July: Went to grand palace (400 baht entry)