17 April, 2011
25 March, 2011
Grafitti on a classroom, Kelvin Grove High School, Philosophy Class
Observation, Reflexion
Written by a student called Flame, extract from The Golden Notebook from Doris Lessing
"You are in the process of being educated. We have not yet evolved in a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudice and the choices of this particular culture. The slightest look at history will show you how impermanent these must be. You are being taught by the people who have been able themselves to a regime of thought laid down by their predecessors. It is a self-perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others, will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourself - educating your own judgement. Those who stay must remember, always and all the time, that they are being moulded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society."
Conclusion
Written by a student called Flame, extract from The Golden Notebook from Doris Lessing
"You are in the process of being educated. We have not yet evolved in a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best we can do. What you are being taught here is an amalgam of current prejudice and the choices of this particular culture. The slightest look at history will show you how impermanent these must be. You are being taught by the people who have been able themselves to a regime of thought laid down by their predecessors. It is a self-perpetuating system. Those of you who are more robust and individual than others, will be encouraged to leave and find ways of educating yourself - educating your own judgement. Those who stay must remember, always and all the time, that they are being moulded and patterned to fit into the narrow and particular needs of this particular society."
Conclusion
Where did you see this graffiti: in the classroom !
My point.
You still need to be in the classroom to have access to this piece of educated critical thinking.
My opinion is go to the classroom first and develop your own learning after, there is a huge university out there, you can not miss it whether you want or not, it is called Life; the problem is that it may take you a bit longer to learn, and also, it may be even more expensive.
An other point, where will you live 'sheltered from any social mould', we are social animals, we still prefer being together even if we don't like 'the narrow mould'. The good news is that we can change it.
We can change it only if we are in it and that we make our voice dominant, meaning, if we manage to abide by the rules first, the rules that will enable our voices to be heard.
You still need to be in the classroom to have access to this piece of educated critical thinking.
My opinion is go to the classroom first and develop your own learning after, there is a huge university out there, you can not miss it whether you want or not, it is called Life; the problem is that it may take you a bit longer to learn, and also, it may be even more expensive.
An other point, where will you live 'sheltered from any social mould', we are social animals, we still prefer being together even if we don't like 'the narrow mould'. The good news is that we can change it.
We can change it only if we are in it and that we make our voice dominant, meaning, if we manage to abide by the rules first, the rules that will enable our voices to be heard.
18 March, 2011
Wrong way, Go back
The Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education Experience - not sure ...
Why did I chose this avenue ?
I am not sure 100%.
There were different reasons, and I will try to put them in the right order, from the most important to the least, but I am not sure I can even do that. The first reason is that I wanted to get a job which would allow me to still look after my children during school holidays without having to worry about the uncertainty of having non-paid leave holidays accepted, and being able to take the time off at the same time than my husband.
I calculated that the children have nearly 4 months of holiday and we have 6 weeks off each - pb !!! ... and no one talks about it.
Why?
But is this a good reason?
But is this a good reason?
The second reason is that I wanted to engage in a new and meaningful activity. I have been working for Red Hat for three years, and I am not learning anything new now; I am not using any of the hard learnt RHCT IT skills that were highly recommended to us translators in order for us to understand what we translated, proceed with software QAs and be able to built technical books. My salary has barely changed over 3 years. At work, my profession, translation, is not valued: there is no serious QA concern, the emphasis in on IT knowledge. The only aptitude valued for promotion are non main stream open source IT skills which are not transferable unless you are at least at Engineering level. Even if you put the effort to learn some of these skills as I did in August 2010, as a translator, you will not practise them much. So you just go nowhere. In fact, I am not even translating material related to that knowledge!
The third reason is to do with my age. I am now in my middle age phase and I am seeking to 'give back' somehow, and I consider teaching as a profession of 'giving', giving to the young ones (the future), giving to my community. I know this will require an effort since my community has, on many occasion openly rejected me on the basis of my nationality or accent, and I endeavour to teach that very culture to them, but I believe that there is a chance that if I do a good job, I may be precisely a person who will make sure that this does not happen again - well, happens less ! Here could be a chance for me to get closer to my community.
The fourth reason is the human aspect. I am hoping that I should be able to make real bonds with little ones (my students) and 'care oriented people' colleague-teachers. I already made some friends at Uni, the people I met there, who like me, are considering to become a teacher, all seem very very nice people indeed.
The fifth reason is the security: this is a job that will allow me to feed my children, look after them decently in the worse case.
Why do I hesitate so much ?
Motivation: I do not manage to get motivated, especially in the area of Unit and Lesson construction. It seems so horribly boring to me. The level of French is terribly low at any level, how will we engage in anything meaningful? I don't like either all the manipulation of children teaching techniques, mainly oriented towards realist broad economic goals. I would prefer clear and simple goals. Manipulation is lack of respect, even if the intended goal is good. What is good today maybe bad tomorrow, but manipulation is probably the worst mistake.
Quality: This is a video clip which was shown to us during last week's lecture. ADHD is portrayed poorly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U), as you can see if you know anything about ADHD and this is hitting me directly quite hard. I have been told that I should not take the content of this teaching too seriously, and this was a very good point at the very right time, but unfortunately, if I don't embrace the material, I cannot get motivated.
Fears: and I am not sure this should be the third point :)
I am not sure I can stand up in front of a class of 30 x 16 years old, let's say, and introduce them to French in a meaningful way. I know this is precisely the challenge and I like to take a challenge, but this may be raising the bar high for me. I am NOT a public speaker. I have been in the private sphere for too long. Yet, maybe that is the very reason why I need raising to this challenge.
I think I could put that effort if I was super motivated, but I am not, not enough, damn it, damn, it! And it seems I cannot do much about it, it is highly wired, in the non-logical area, it seems.
So what should I do ?
Get on with it, after all, it is only for two years, the fees can be paid by extra translation work easily, and I don't even need to cut off my working hours that much (I still work 5 days right now).
Or relax, look for other job options (maybe), and look after my children more carefully, organise nice holidays for the family, cook nice meals, be calmer and nicer to all, including myself, as result of the lesser stress.
I am getting stressed right now, but it seems the stress is linked to the indecision. The homework and study do not take much time or trouble, it does not prevent me from doing what I normally do. I will be stressed if I feel I do all that for nothing, just like these 5 months of studies last year for that IT exam which took me nowhere. I don't want to make the same mistake.
I almost did not attend the last workshop on Friday evening, but finally did and did not regret this last minute move (I even walked to the car park and turned back towards the lecture room telling myself the hour will be better spend there than doing IT translation), I think I give it another week.
Who knows, it could be a case of butterfly effect, something MAY happen!
07 March, 2011
Le nouveau monde arabe
Posted in fr.news.yahoo.com/fc/dessins/cartoons yesterday.
As pointed out to me yesterday evening, look at the details of what seems to have changed since the French Revolution painting by Delacroix below.
The man on the right on the Nouveau Monde Arabe cartoon picture holds a mobile phone : no official press allowed. Revolution social media style. Information is not held by dominant voices with vested interests only, but by people.
This technological culture shift may announce the end of media consumerism, people will not accept anymore to be recipient of news only, they'll want to 'have their say', create information, and they'll want to 'act'.
This may be the end of the passive consumer era.
And this may have been made possible, thanks to a technological change, free internet access!
12 February, 2011
Another beautiful text
Mathias Enard (2010) - Actes Sud
Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'éléphants
La nuit ne communique pas avec le jour.
Elle y brûle.
On la porte au bûcher de l'aube.
Et avec elle, ses gens, les buveurs, les poètes, les amants. Nous sommes un peuple de relégués, condamnés à mort ... ton corps dur reste accroché à ses certitudes, il éloigne le désir, refuse l'abandon. Je ne te blâme pas. Tu habites une autre prison, un monde de force et de courage ou tu penses pouvoir être porté en triomphe; tu crois obtenir la bienveillance des puissants, tu cherches la gloire et la fortune. Pourtant, lorsque la nuit arrive, tu trembles. Tu ne bois pas car tu as peur: tu sais que la brûlure de l'alcool te précipite dans la faiblesse, dans l'irrésistible besoin de retrouver des caresses, une tendresse disparue, le monde perdu de l'enfance, la satisfaction, le calme face à l'incertitude scintillante de l'obscurité.... en réalité, ce que tu souhaites sans le savoir, c'est la disparition de tes peurs, la guérison, l'union, le retour, l'oubli.
Cette puissance en toi te dévore dans la solitude.
Alors, tu souffres, perdu dans le crépuscule indéfini, un pied dans le jour et l'autre dans la nuit.
... (et plus loin) ...
Tu n'es pas venu jusqu'ici pour me connaître, tu es venu pour construire un pont, pour l'argent, pour dieu sait quelle autre raison, et tu repartiras identique, inchangé, vers ton destin. Si tu ne me touches pas, tu resteras le même. Tu n'auras rencontré personne. Enfermé dans ton monde, tu ne vois que des ombres, des formes incomplètes, des territoires à concquérir.
Chaque jour te pousse vers le suivant sans que tu ne saches l'habiter vraiment.
La vérité, c'est qu'il n'y a rien d'autre que la souffrance et que nous essayons d'oublier, dans des bras étrangers, que nous disparaîtrons bientôt.
Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'éléphants
La nuit ne communique pas avec le jour.
Elle y brûle.
On la porte au bûcher de l'aube.
Et avec elle, ses gens, les buveurs, les poètes, les amants. Nous sommes un peuple de relégués, condamnés à mort ... ton corps dur reste accroché à ses certitudes, il éloigne le désir, refuse l'abandon. Je ne te blâme pas. Tu habites une autre prison, un monde de force et de courage ou tu penses pouvoir être porté en triomphe; tu crois obtenir la bienveillance des puissants, tu cherches la gloire et la fortune. Pourtant, lorsque la nuit arrive, tu trembles. Tu ne bois pas car tu as peur: tu sais que la brûlure de l'alcool te précipite dans la faiblesse, dans l'irrésistible besoin de retrouver des caresses, une tendresse disparue, le monde perdu de l'enfance, la satisfaction, le calme face à l'incertitude scintillante de l'obscurité.... en réalité, ce que tu souhaites sans le savoir, c'est la disparition de tes peurs, la guérison, l'union, le retour, l'oubli.
Cette puissance en toi te dévore dans la solitude.
Alors, tu souffres, perdu dans le crépuscule indéfini, un pied dans le jour et l'autre dans la nuit.
... (et plus loin) ...
Tu n'es pas venu jusqu'ici pour me connaître, tu es venu pour construire un pont, pour l'argent, pour dieu sait quelle autre raison, et tu repartiras identique, inchangé, vers ton destin. Si tu ne me touches pas, tu resteras le même. Tu n'auras rencontré personne. Enfermé dans ton monde, tu ne vois que des ombres, des formes incomplètes, des territoires à concquérir.
Chaque jour te pousse vers le suivant sans que tu ne saches l'habiter vraiment.
La vérité, c'est qu'il n'y a rien d'autre que la souffrance et que nous essayons d'oublier, dans des bras étrangers, que nous disparaîtrons bientôt.
04 February, 2011
Fred Vargas - Pars vite et reviens tard - (Book Extract) - I loved it !
Auteur: Fred Vargas
Book: Pars vite et reviens tard (2004)
Pages 6 & 7
Les types, à Paris, marchent beaucoup plus vite qu'au Guilvenec, Joss l'avait constaté depuis longtemps.
Ce lundi, Joss filait presqu'à trois noeuds et demi, s'efforçant de rattrapper un retard de vingt minutes. En raison du marc de café qui s'était déversé en totalité sur le sol de la cuisine.
Ça ne l'avait pas étonné. Joss avait compris depuis longtemps que les choses éaient douées d'une vie secrète et pernicieuse. De mémoire de breton, les choses étaient chargées à l'évidence d'une energie tout entière concentrée pour emmerder l'homme. La moindre faute de manipulation, parcqu'offrant à la chose une liberté soudaine, si minime fût-elle, annonçait une série de calamités en chaîne pouvant parcourir toute une gamme, du désagrément à la tragédie.
Le cas de ce matin avait procédé d'un enchainement complexe, amorcé par une bénigne erreur de lancer, entrainant fragilisation de la poubelle, affaissement latéral et épandage du filtre à café sur le sol. C'est ainsi que les choses, animées d'un esprit de vengeance légitimement puisé dans leur condition d'esclaves, parvenaient à leur tour par moments brefs mais intenses à soumettre l'homme à leur puissance larvée, à le faire se tordre et ramper comme un chien, n'épargnant ni femme, ni enfant.
Non, pour rien au monde Joss n'aurait accordé sa confiance aux choses, pas plus aux homes ou à la mer. Les premières vous prennent la raison, les seconds l'âme et la troisième la vie.
Book: Pars vite et reviens tard (2004)
Pages 6 & 7
Les types, à Paris, marchent beaucoup plus vite qu'au Guilvenec, Joss l'avait constaté depuis longtemps.
Ce lundi, Joss filait presqu'à trois noeuds et demi, s'efforçant de rattrapper un retard de vingt minutes. En raison du marc de café qui s'était déversé en totalité sur le sol de la cuisine.
Ça ne l'avait pas étonné. Joss avait compris depuis longtemps que les choses éaient douées d'une vie secrète et pernicieuse. De mémoire de breton, les choses étaient chargées à l'évidence d'une energie tout entière concentrée pour emmerder l'homme. La moindre faute de manipulation, parcqu'offrant à la chose une liberté soudaine, si minime fût-elle, annonçait une série de calamités en chaîne pouvant parcourir toute une gamme, du désagrément à la tragédie.
Le cas de ce matin avait procédé d'un enchainement complexe, amorcé par une bénigne erreur de lancer, entrainant fragilisation de la poubelle, affaissement latéral et épandage du filtre à café sur le sol. C'est ainsi que les choses, animées d'un esprit de vengeance légitimement puisé dans leur condition d'esclaves, parvenaient à leur tour par moments brefs mais intenses à soumettre l'homme à leur puissance larvée, à le faire se tordre et ramper comme un chien, n'épargnant ni femme, ni enfant.
Non, pour rien au monde Joss n'aurait accordé sa confiance aux choses, pas plus aux homes ou à la mer. Les premières vous prennent la raison, les seconds l'âme et la troisième la vie.
01 February, 2011
My metallic mirror
My most precious object I bring back from India is a present given to me: an Aranmula Kannadi, or metallic mirror from an ancient tradition.
This mirror is manufactured since medieval Dravidian times and was in vogue long before the appearance of today's silicon glass mirror.
It is a technological wonder !
In an ordinary mirror, the is a silver nitrate coating which reflects the light, thus presents the image of the object.
There is no silver coating in the metallic mirror.
Apparently, when you touch a piece of paper on the surface of an ordinary mirror, a gap appears between the object and image, whereas in the metallic mirror, there is a point of touching of two images and no gap between the images. Ah, ah !
The manufacturer says: the making of this mirror needs intuition, expertise, precision, lots of dedication and to be done in a sacred atmosphere.
I rejoice in the fact that people could take pride in their work so much that they can picture themselves in 'a sacred atmosphere', making their daily task all the more meaningful.
The mirror itself is sitting majestually in a red felted box; it is truly a beautifully hand-crafted object.
It also reminds me of how much I loved India's craftmanshift displayed humbly at every street's corner, from the stone sculptor of Mahabalipuram holding his sculpture between his feet, all the way to the Aranmula Metallic mirror makers.
It also reminds me of people of my life.
28 January, 2011
Flood Havoc in Brisbane
As we were looking at the tip of India in Kumarakom, the Hindu's newspaper first page, a leading national paper, was not re-assuring. This house, pictured on the front page, looked very familiar and resembles a lot the houses in my street.
We checked our mobile text messages, anxious to find a text from our neighbours about an 'emergency situation' for our house as well.
Fortunately, when we arrived in Brisbane (on the 20th),
(1) we could reach our house form the airport easily - that being the first concern, and
(2) the house was standing proud, not even a leak in the roof.
We knew the risk was not so high in the area we were living in since we are 'on the hills'. Nevertheless some people in Chapel Hill did get flooded, and many school friends families of the children from Fig Tree Pocket area got evacuated, some hosted in school grounds.
As a result some schools had to open their door a bit later for the first day of school normally this week. Oscar's friend (Liam) parents, in Kenmore, said they were stranded in their house like on an island for two days, surrounded by water and no electricity to communicate with anyone, not knowing 'for how long'. Family members would find themselves 'struck' in other parts of town, not being able to reach back home, having to rely on friends or else to host them for the night.
One neighbour said jokingly they had been happy to 'steel' (:) our cucumbers in the garden, because at one stage, they were afraid they would not get access to fresh food easily. Some fights over 'who takes too many loaves of bread' had erupted in the local Kenmore Plaza supermarket, and as a result, the supermarket was closed. Large queues were seen in petrol stations as some people started to panic and there was fear that trucks would not be able to reach supermarkets.
Fortunately, it did not last very long, and there are also lots of stories of bravery in the papers.
It was only two week ago, and already people do not talk about it, it is 'just what happens', and every one moves on.
Australian have seen it before. This flash flooding occurrence happens every forty years (see news archives).
As for us, we were so lucky we were in India during that time!
20 January, 2011
Kollam - Kovalam - Trivandrum
17th of January 2011
HOTEL IN KOLLAM: Valiyavila Homestay
This is ‘in my opinion’ the most beautiful room and accommodation we had so far, and surely not the most expensive ... but yes, very hard to reach. The Homestay is located at the tip of an Island and from our rooms (I reckon we got the best rooms in the hotel), we have a 270C view over the backwaters, hammocks in front of the private patios’ dining areas, wooden furniture set out nicely in mega spacious rooms. The two rooms are interconnected by a bathroom in the middle with a French Bidet (I don’t remember last time I saw one!). The hotel also features a huge 20m or so statue of liberty – Indian statue of liberty because she displays very generous rounded breasts like you can often see on temple carvings L
At 2.00pm, we reached the DTPV Official Kerala Tourism Tour to have a comment on the backwaters village life. It was highly instructive. We saw coconut oil processing, coconut fibre processing and Oscar even had a go at ‘wheeling’ Ghandi’s way! Paul and I were the only ones risking the chai tea in a local Dhaba, well, we are not sick! and we were rewarded by the owner showing us how to chew betel leaves – though we did not chew them.
We also bought some red bananas – the best ever !!!! I call them ‘superior variety’ one thousand times over the Qld lady fingers even! The children were able to drink the juice of fresh coconut and made a spoon out of the coconut to extract some of the fresh pulp after drinking.
We also bought some red bananas – the best ever !!!! I call them ‘superior variety’ one thousand times over the Qld lady fingers even! The children were able to drink the juice of fresh coconut and made a spoon out of the coconut to extract some of the fresh pulp after drinking.
We also saw fish farms, prawn farms, and paddy fields. The people there seem to live very self sufficiently. They all seem to own a few chicken, ducks, goats and small cows.
In that tour, we met an incredible woman from New Zealand who had covered 700kms on her bike from Chennai, with peaks of up to 97kms per day. She explained you have to understand the strict traffic rules. She could boast about - in her blog crazyguysonabike.com - overtaking an elephant with her bike. She said she now felt safer on her bike in India than in Auckland. Hum...
I am now writing this blog from the best ever possible setting, on a little table (with a beautiful tablecloth) in front of my magnificent room overlooking the Statue of Liberty of Valiyavila Homestay, listening to the gentle water movements (backwaters) with stunning coconut sceneries all around; Oscar is fishing out of a little wooden fishing rod that a taxi driver who was standing in front of the hotel made for him out of a hook he happened to have in his glove compartment !!! Paul is reading his ebook and quick, food is coming for lunch, we are leaving in 30ms for Trivandrum/Kovalam – last stop!
Kovalam Beach - Beach Hotel II
18th of January 2011
What a nice surprise !
As we were walking on the beach with our bags in order to find our hotel, Josie said : 'Maman, thank you, thank you for taking me to this place !'
Kovalam Beach had changed a lot over the years.
Last time I stopped over here was 'on my way to migrate to Australia, some 18 years ago, or so' - it was my stop over between France and Australia, just like on this occasion. Many new hotels had sprung, it is not so much a backpacking hangout anymore The clientele is more mixed, Indian and Westerners all enjoying the place's natural beauty.
Beach Hotel II is a winner, right on the beach, 50 m from the lighthouse walk, sea views, very tastefully furbished, and a cafe-restaurant on a terrace overlooking the Arabian Sea.
Breakfasts to die for included in the bill - Indian and western style - whatever you feel like !
We knew it was our last stop, so we gave some pocket money to the kids to do their shopping - no more bags to carry along in crowded railway stations, and plenty of luggage allowance since we totalled 35k for 4 people so far.
I almost fell for a nice rock sculpture, but did not succumb. Paul liked it too, but it was quite a bit of money still.
We got some cotton spreads for the children beds at home, Oscar got some little bronze Ganesh for his mates (God of prosperity and knowledge that all taxi drivers seem to display on their dashboard); Josie had a shirt made up for her and had a henna pattern on her hand.
We indulged in sumptuous final seafood meals - fish in Malabar sauce, fish tikkas (Paul & I), calamari (Oscar). You could chose your fish on the restaurant's terrace and say how you want it to be cooked.
I had a final ajurvedic massage before the dreadful plane journey to come, and I delighted in the nice fragrances coming out of the massage oil.
Paul had a splash in the Arabian Sea (or Oman Sea) with Oscar. They were careful of the drifts. The beach was patrolled.
It was a terrific way to end the trip in such a beautiful and relatively relaxing setting. We knew though, this was not 'really' India anymore, or maybe it was a taste of 'some hybrid tourism' in the making in India. We loved it anyway.
We struck a deal with the hotel manager so that we could stay until 8.00pm in the room until the taxi could take us to the Trivandrum airport since the temperature here was quite high, and so that we could have a final refresh.
After that : Trivandrum/Singapore (4 hours flight) - 12 hours in SIN (yes, a bad connection but a cheap ticket) - Singapore/Darwin (another 4 hours) - 2 hours connection (good because the plane was delayed by 40mns) - Darwin/Brisbane (3.5 hours)
Kovalam Beach - Beach Hotel II
18th of January 2011
What a nice surprise !
As we were walking on the beach with our bags in order to find our hotel, Josie said : 'Maman, thank you, thank you for taking me to this place !'
Kovalam Beach had changed a lot over the years.
Last time I stopped over here was 'on my way to migrate to Australia, some 18 years ago, or so' - it was my stop over between France and Australia, just like on this occasion. Many new hotels had sprung, it is not so much a backpacking hangout anymore The clientele is more mixed, Indian and Westerners all enjoying the place's natural beauty.
Beach Hotel II is a winner, right on the beach, 50 m from the lighthouse walk, sea views, very tastefully furbished, and a cafe-restaurant on a terrace overlooking the Arabian Sea.
Breakfasts to die for included in the bill - Indian and western style - whatever you feel like !
We knew it was our last stop, so we gave some pocket money to the kids to do their shopping - no more bags to carry along in crowded railway stations, and plenty of luggage allowance since we totalled 35k for 4 people so far.
I almost fell for a nice rock sculpture, but did not succumb. Paul liked it too, but it was quite a bit of money still.
We got some cotton spreads for the children beds at home, Oscar got some little bronze Ganesh for his mates (God of prosperity and knowledge that all taxi drivers seem to display on their dashboard); Josie had a shirt made up for her and had a henna pattern on her hand.
We indulged in sumptuous final seafood meals - fish in Malabar sauce, fish tikkas (Paul & I), calamari (Oscar). You could chose your fish on the restaurant's terrace and say how you want it to be cooked.
I had a final ajurvedic massage before the dreadful plane journey to come, and I delighted in the nice fragrances coming out of the massage oil.
Paul had a splash in the Arabian Sea (or Oman Sea) with Oscar. They were careful of the drifts. The beach was patrolled.
It was a terrific way to end the trip in such a beautiful and relatively relaxing setting. We knew though, this was not 'really' India anymore, or maybe it was a taste of 'some hybrid tourism' in the making in India. We loved it anyway.
We struck a deal with the hotel manager so that we could stay until 8.00pm in the room until the taxi could take us to the Trivandrum airport since the temperature here was quite high, and so that we could have a final refresh.
After that : Trivandrum/Singapore (4 hours flight) - 12 hours in SIN (yes, a bad connection but a cheap ticket) - Singapore/Darwin (another 4 hours) - 2 hours connection (good because the plane was delayed by 40mns) - Darwin/Brisbane (3.5 hours)
Kottayam - Kumarakom - Allepey - Houseboat cruise
14th of January 2011
I am now sitting in the train from Kanya to Kottayam where we should be met by a taxi around 4.30pm to take us to our houseboat. Tonight should be candle lit dinner – plenty of mosquito repellent, don’t worry! It is a shame I booked in AC2 (Air Con) wagon because as a result, we have dirty and heavily tinted windows which preclude us from properly enjoying the breath-taking Kerala landscapes we are passing through and we had to get our fleece jackets from our bags to sustain the cold despite perfectly pleasant temperatures outside. On the plus side, we are getting more space on the benches (2 people as opposed to 4 people in the non AC class). Here the vegetation is even lusher and we are passing very rich coconut fields, rice fields, backwaters landscapes.
Our train was delayed by 45 mns. Fortunately the people who were supposed to pick us up had waited patiently and I was surprised when two guys approached me from the crowd with no sign, nor any other indication they were form the tourism industry, calling out my first name.
We followed them with our luggage and they took us in a brand new Renault car (with transparent plastic covers sticking to our skin) to the boarding point. I have to admit I did not feel so comfortable in since it shortly became unbreathable inside. I opened my window but they did not open theirs in the front. Mid-way, they asked Paul if he would like to stop for beer. We both found that odd, but worked out later that it was probably for the houseboat on board consumption as the houseboat may not have been licensed for alcohol. Paul said: "no, just take us straight to the boat".
15th of January – Houseboating in KUMAKARAKOM
The houseboat was looking great, beyond expectation.
All made of local products: coconut tree wood, ropes and mats made from coconut fibre. You can eat local grilled fish on board, and you are looked after by three local crew members who had equal responsibility in the running of the boat – as they told us at the beginning. We were first greeted by freshly fried bananas – the kids loved it, and so did I – accompanied by drinks. Then, we moved towards the middle of the lake – it was already getting dark, and we moored the boat along a small islet with two other boats moored there for the night.
The dinner was served in a glass protected area – if you wanted to. We chose that option for fear of mosquitoes that first night. The food was sumptuous, and given the immaculate state of the kitchen, we did not have any second thoughts about ‘eating everything heartedly’ – we did not leave one crumb!
The bedrooms were very cute, and inviting. I asked one crew member if I could open the windows and put the mosquito net for the night instead of the A/C. He said ‘the A/C is better’, so I complied. I was not convinced the mosquitoes were that much of a problem there because I did not notice any on the deck that evening.
After two or three hours, I realised we were about to choke in there, it was terribly hot, the A/C was not working properly at all, so I decided to stop it and open the windows. I put the mosquito net on the bed as Paul is very worried about mosquitoes, then I attended to the children. In the early morning, Paul was finally convinced we could take the net out, and that was the best part of ‘lazing around’ as a gentle breeze entered the room and we could still admire the calm and peacefulness of the lake waters and waterlilies from our bedroom window.
We shared a traditional Keralan breakfast with Geetha & Gopan families. This was a very special and private moment. They came with generous and mindful presents. They stayed with us until 11h30am, it was sad to see them leave the boat but Geetha’s husband said we should come to his home next time. We took heaps of photos to share with Gopan who was overseas. These few hours were for me the very highlight of the whole trip.
Then we continued along the river towards Allepey and were dropped in front of the Green Palms Homes Guesthouse I had booked for that night around 4.00pm.
This was indeed a very special venture. The guesthouse was a separate building from a Backwater Villager’s home to host travellers in a very eco-friendly and minimalist way. We embarked almost immediately in a guided tour with Matthew (Thomas’ brother – ref Lonely Planet India), a very erudite man himself as well. He taught us about the ecology of his area, as we walked through the canals, backwater houses and paddy fields. He also told us how successful Kerala had been with religious discrimination issues, and he explained that by the ‘above average degree of literacy in that particular state’ – people who ‘think twice’. He said uneducated people were ‘easily manipulated by politician’. He explained the intricate symbolism of the local Christian Syrian church where the lotus flower was mixed with the cross, etc – showing how the faiths had interestingly somehow intertwined over the millennia. We were also taught about the ‘mud diggers’, previously known as arajans (untouchables) and how they had to construct their own Christian church in the middle of the paddy fields so that they would not mix with higher cast gents and ladies. He explained that the cast system was not current anymore in states like Kerala, that it was more a thing of the North, like Bihar etc.
We saw some Bihar nomadic people fishing with small handmade (palm leaves) round shaped boats of approximately 1 meter diameter.
The last part of the tour saw us boarding small wooden canoes that every household in the backwater seem to have moored in front of their house (like we do with our cars) and Matthew sang three traditional songs that could be heard during his childhood years along the river. Then the children sang a song as well, and the finale was a song from a old Austrian couple !!! .. very very pleasant and picturesque moment indeed.
We enjoyed the evening meal around a round table with a Norwegian family of four (they must have the same school holidays as us) and a young Chinese couple working in Pune who were here for the week end. The Norwegian woman said they had chosen to come to India because she had been there and had a great time when she was in the middle of doing medical school as a young student. She said she ‘at the time’ had to be evacuated by emergency plane back home as she had suffered severe dehydration. She said she had waited for too long to address the problem, because she wanted to stay in India ‘with her boyfriend she loved so much’ – girls !!! She seems not to have lost her sense of adventure because she had just spent one month as a Médecins sans Frontieres in Haiti this year.
The young and outgoing Chinese guy was a sales person for a Chinese Vehicle manufacturer and he engaged in conversation with me ... IN FRENCH !!! He had spent 10 years in France studying and working there for the same company. He missed Paris. His fiancée had come from China to visit him for one month, so he was taking her around for the week end. He said ‘the hardest place to visit had been Varanasi’, and that it was ‘no place to take children there', and 'if you can travel there, you can travel anywhere'.
In the morning, he was struck with fever and diarrhoea, so his fiancée (who could not speak much French neither English) came to fetch some help from us all and Paul had to mime how to take the ‘blokker’ ... that it : take two capsules, then after ‘miming passing a stool’ (well this was serious matter J) take another one, then another one after the next stool. The Medecin sans frontiers woman gave her some antibiotics if he wished to as ‘she was not an antibiotics doctor’ (her own words), only in case of emergency.
Paul had a bird walking tour with Matthew in the morning.
16th of January – KOLLAM
After breakfast, we rented some wooden canoes from the hotel and paddled around the backwaters and paddy fields. The canoe was a bit wobbly, so the children were soon fed up with it. We finally moored the boat and they could easily make their way home walking !!:))) An escape from the parents is always a good plan, for some reasons... Then Oscar made up a fishing rode out of a multi branched stick and a large handkerchief. He put bits off an old muesli bar he had been given in the plane as part of the kids meal, to attract fishes along the canal.
Philip, Matthew's brother in law, said he would never have accepted our booking if he had known we would stay so little time. He explained kindly how he was doing this job as a hobby, as he was also a ‘financial adviser in London’ where he spent 7 months of the year, and the remaining months here with his family, wife and two children who would come to see him during the holiday in England – the best of both world he had managed, I suppose. He was very nice to talk to. I could sense how frustrating these kinds of encounters could be for him. One day is not long enough to make real connection. I found this tourism venture very interesting. It was run in an eco-friendly way by a family of gifted young men (and women I should say, because the mum was cooking the three meals every day), who were perfectly able to act as a ‘bridge between cultures’.
We left the place with the regret of not having spent more time there.
Matthew organised for a taxi to take us to Kollam, our next stop for the night. We first had to put our luggages on a small wooden boat to leave the backwater island where Green Palms Homes house was located, and the taxi was waiting for us on the other side. It was a small Tata car. The driver was very skilled and even managed to find our hotel in Kollam after having ‘again’ to cross a river, putting the car on a barge --- the joys of the backwaters! but I felt a bit nauseous in the car, I feel more comfortable in the old fashion ‘Ambassador’ car with no A/C.
Kanyakumari
Today, our taxi came at 9.00am on the dot, in front of our Madurai Hotel to drive us to Kanya. We stopped on the way to a dhaba to have a chai tea. A guy was wearing a tee-shirt which said ‘Nothing is illegal until you get caught’, Josie pointed him out to me. The driver was very good, he managed to avoid a 4WD driving in the opposite direction on our side of the 4 lanes (2 on each side) highway.
Getting out of Madurai was a bit of sportive driving but after that, it was a highway all the way. We saw rice fields after a while, then kms and kms of wind mills, some with two, some with three blades. They seemed to catch the wind OK, maybe due to some mountains on one side channelling the wind ???
We arrived at the Seaview Hotel around 1.00 pm. We were happy to find that our double-connected bedroom had a view on the very tip of India, so no need to get outside for the sunrise tomorrow morning. The bathroom was not very cleaned although all made of marble, and the bedroom was a bit stuffy. The AC rooms are best avoided in the winter as the air is very pleasant outside. The downstairs restaurant was excellent though, so we enjoyed a nice Malabar fish curry in the evening and we even risked ice cream for the kids for desert.
For lunch, we decided to be more adventurous and had a tali at a more local restaurant recommended in the Guide du routard. We were taken in a stuffy adjacent room, but we asked to be in the main room with everyone. We ate in the company of a dozen of school boys hungry for their tali.
In the afternoon, there was plenty of time to visit the Fishermen Village. The village is being reconstructed after the 2005 Tsunami, and is not shy with paint colours, fishing boats and houses alike. We visited a Christian church. There were no chairs inside, so you had to pray really humbly, and I rested there with Josie. Then, we walked at the end of the jetty, and further proceeded to visit the memorial of Vivekananda on an islet 40m from the shore. We were taken in a very crowded boat as this was a very popular place to visit for Indian tourists who wish to pay homage to the first century (or so) poet Thiruvalluvar. There is a meditation room where the Ohm sign is lit/displayed in red. This is probably as far off the tip of India you can get at that point.
In the distance we could see the fishermen going even further, probably trying to catch what could end up as our ‘Malabar fish curry’.
After that, we made our way to the Gandhi Memorial. It was completely empty. Gandhi chose for his ashes to be scattered in that very place where 3 seas meet: the Indian Ocean, the Bengal Sea, and the Arabian sea (or Oman sea). In the same fashion this mausoleum has been designed by three architectural influence : Christian, Muslim and Hindhu.
Finally we made our way back to our hotel, missing the Kumari Amman Temple, so no ‘celibacy vow’ for me, I am afraid! ...
A very large tourist market goes along the holy coast. This is definitely designed for Indian tourists, you find a lot of colourful godly trinkets, frilly dresses for little girls, plastic baseball bats for boys, pink sugar candy sellers, horse rides.
14th of January
This morning, we saw a picture of Brisbane flooded in the Hindu News . Paul texted Bill to let him know he could use our house if his was flooded as he lives in a more at risk area, but Bill said although it was a big mess, his house was ok.
Madurai
11th of January
At 9.00pm, our taxi arrived to take us to the 35 km /1 hour / 800 Inr journey to Villapuram Train Station. We found out that Pondi does have, after all, a train station, but it is very limited in scope and does not reach the great Southern Network.
The taxi driver was young and savy, but as we left the city centre in the evening, we got arrested by a policeman who asked me where we were going (Train Station) and where to (Madurai). Finally, he asked if it would be ok to search our luggage and I said yes with calm and no hesitation, so he let us go without searching.
10:30pm - on arrival, the building did not look at all like a train station; we had to go up a long concrete ramp before we could reach the reservation office, and the officers looked at our e-tickets suspiciously. Our train was not on the luminous billboard, but I was reassured by the officer that it would come tonight on Platform 2.
I have to admit that I would not have liked to find myself in such place at night alone. There were a lot of small food sellers waiting endlessly for the next train to appear, there were people sleeping on cardboard on the ground, beggars, but also school groups, no westerners at all on this occasion.
We made our way to the platform 2, and doubled checked with the station master who said it may arrive on platform 1, and to go at the beginning of the platform in order to reach First Class 1AC wagons. It was impossible to work out how far we should walk, and the trains are incredibly long (much longer than the TGVs), but it was easy to switch platform, so we decided to walk up a bit. When the PanIndia Express (our train) arrived – on platform 1 -, it was easy enough to switch platform but we had to run with the luggages because we were far away from our wagon. A military man helped us out to board the right wagon. It had been impossible to figure it out by ourselves with all the good will in the world. I reinforced my concept of keeping the luggage weight down.
It took us only 10mns before we could be in bed sleeping. We were escorted to our cabin immediately. A man brought two pairs of sheet each, a nice woollen blanket and fluffy pillows. He made our beds on the generously large leather bunk benches, and we fell asleep immediately. We could put our luggages under the lower beds. The light went on again at 5.45am, and the train arrived in the station (terminus) at 6.15am. An incredible amount of people came out of that very train, it was smelling horrible as we walked along the wagons. People had done the journey sitting at night all the way from Chennai.
Madurai, the 12th of January
The strip of tourist hotels are located only 200 m from the train station, so we decided to walk. This was the theory, but Madurai traffic is extremely busy: that was our biggest town so far, and it was hard to make our way through the crowd with our luggages.
With much difficulties (we tried 3 hotels nearby), we found a suite (2 rooms with one common bathroom) for 2200 Inr all inclusive with breakfast at the Keerthi Hotel. The tourists in the area are mostly Indian who want to visit or pray in the famous Shri Meenakshi Temple, so the kind of services are more designed towards the Indian clientele. For example, breakfast in our hotel was definitely Indian Breakfast and 100% vegetarian as seems the case in the restaurant around this area. The kids went one level up in their acculturation.
We were lucky to be let in our rooms immediately, and have this breakfast. The beds were queen size, and the rooms clean and of modern style, in great contrast with Hotel de l’Orient for sure! The staff was very friendly.
Around 10.00am, we took an auto rickshaw to visit the famous Sri Meenakshi Temple. It is best seen from the roof of the antique stores surrounding the temple, but our rickshaw stopped at a nice angle. We were immediately surrounded by touts proposing all kind of services with a lot of insistence, including one who wanted us to put our shoes in his ‘friends shop’. I glimpsed a more official and organised area to leave our shoes in, we only had to give 5 rupees for that when we collected them. The entrance fee for the temple was 50 Inr for tourists + 50 Inr if you wished to take photos inside (a permit), 10 Inr for Indian people entry fee and some parts of the temple were only for Hindus.
The good thing about this temple is that it was ‘one of a kind’, made of 30 000 or so colourful statues representing deities and alternative forms of deities endlessly. We saw people talking in the ears of some of these deities, bringing offerings made of food on banana leaves or fresh flower necklaces, people kissing the grounds, even a live elephant inside blessed me with his trunk!! The kids were mesmerised by the atmosphere and the amazing variety of gods and were busy taking lots of photos with their own cameras where it was allowed.
After that, we went to the Tirumalai Nayak Indo Muslim palace dated XVII s, built by an Italian architect. The architecture is very impressive and the place hosts a sound and lights show every evening in English and in Tamil, but we skipped that because we would be too tired tonight. The palace seemed very peaceful as it was not counting many devotees, I could glance many young couples looking for isolating spaces in the large window frames of the palace. I don’t think it was a religious place, which would explain the lack of interest by people.
We took another auto rickshaw (35 Inr) – the kids love it / Oscar seats on my laps since it is only designed for 3 passengers in the back – to our hotel and shortly after, the rickshaw took Oscar and Paul to have a hair cut at the local barber. They were treated extremely nicely, we even had to take pictures of them all and we'll send one back to the hairdresser.
In the evening, we had a sumptuous meal on the rooftop of the Supreme Hotel. We found a spot in the roof garden corner so we could enjoy an unchallenged view over the town, with Shri Meenakshi Temple in the distance.
Wedding Night every night for a God and a Godess
One interesting fact I read in Le Guide du Routard is that the statue of Shiva is taken every evening at 9pm from the Sri Sundareswara sanctuary (forbidden to non Hindus) to Meenaskshi's sanctuary, so that the two Gods can spend the night together.
Why? The energy produced is believed to revitalise everyday all the universes' energy!
We also booked our taxi to take us to Kanyakumaru tomorrow morning (235 kms – 4 hours). We cancelled the train two days ago (got refund) because we thought it would be too much for the kids. We even considered the bus (6 hours) but decided otherwise when Oscar started complaining his stomach was aching. He has not complained since then, but I think it is better not taking the risk of being ‘stuck in a bus’. The fare is only 3200 Inr (80 Aud) for a taxi all the way.
....better go and supervise the kids brushing their teeth with clean water, they tend to get a bit too relax about such things now.
09 January, 2011
Pondicherry
Pondi on the 10th of January 2011
I am writing in the comfort of Hotel de l'Orient
We reached Pondicherry yesterday by taxi and the sea was never very far. It was a 2 hours ride across mangroves, salt extracting fields, traditional rice & wheat crops, and prawn farms. The cows and buffalos had their horns painted as (perhaps) part of the end of the harvest celebration (mid-January), and there were nice sun patterns drawn with chalks in front of most doorways everywhere.
As we arrived in Pondicherry, we were happy to find the classy Hotel de l'Orient. The rooms have been tastefully decorated with 18th century furniture. It was 'old world' but not desuet, the place was kept alive with in door concerts, and we just happen to check in while a movie was being shot outside the Hotel. Special effects consisted of 'creating the rain', so all the kids were getting excited.
Shortly after that, we went for a stroll along the beach, had a look at the Gandhi memorial, then we reached the more Indian Northern part of town where we soaked in the bustling atmosphere. Paul tried to find a shirt, but no shirt on display were truly casual.
The atmosphere in the French Quarters is very odd. The avenues are paved and beautiful poinciana trees seem well established in large avenues comprising strong stone houses of French architecture, but all seem very old world, abandoned, no one in the streets. It does not only seem rundown, some places are deserted. Remarkably, a few places seem done up and trendy in the middle of what looks like a war zone. One café seem to summarize it all with its sign for FRENCH BREAK FAST ...
The following day, we took an autorickshaw to the city of Auroville
Auroville
I was quite puzzled by such an ambitious human project. We found there a very well managed venture hosting 2000 aurovilliens, comprising 43 nationalities, with 50% Indians. The project is spiritual (around the founding Mother doctrine) but not religious - I am not sure I get the subtleties.
There are factories around the compound to make the place sustainable, tourist shops to sell the goods produced there (great quality), bikes for hire to visit the compound (although none was left when we visited) and a big emphasis is placed on environmental solutions. My impression was that the mission statement sounded great ('no nationality boundaries' etc.) but the language was 'vague'. I don't like that so much, because it is easy to make general vague statements that mean something and its opposite at the same time. I was also under the impression the project was very intellectual. I found odd that despite such a noble project statement, as a visitor, you were very much 'snobbed upon', this was at odds with the words, je suis restée sur ma faim.
In the evening, we went to Satsanga (Labourdonnais St) in the French quarters to eat a sumptuous meal. We had Indian flavoured mushrooms for appetisers, Aubergine curry, Butter chicken, and Chocolate Mousse, a blend of French and Indian flavours.
11th of January
This morning we visited the museum of Pondicherry, in a colonial house, hosting furniture from the French Epoch XXVII and XIX s, and even a portrait of Marianne standing. It was easy to visit with children, all the more it is located next to the Government Place, city council parkland with large established trees, a gathering of Hindu and Muslim families alike. The beautiful surroundings seem to make everyone at peace, a very pleasant feel.
Then, we consulted Le Guide du Routard (we prefer this travel guide over the Lonely Planet when it comes to food recommendation) and we found L’Aristo, on a roof top garden, where we had chicken tikkas and curd – yum!
In the afternoon, we visited a paper factory in North Pondi. Some women showed us how to shred cotton, as a basis for paper making. Then, we saw the oil printing process, and we bought a handmade paper blue photo album with a blue elephant where we’ll put our photos of the trip. The kids bought souvenirs for their friends. I am being cautious because I try to be strict about luggage volume and weight. For now, we each have 10kg, except for Oscar who carries 5kg.
That last evening in Pondi (3rd), we had a nice meal at Hotel d’Orient and Paul ordered as a surprise a nice bottle of white wine made in Khatarnaka (North of Bangalore). It was quite pricy (1000 Inr) but very pleasant in such magic setting. The children had a 'to die for desert' for chocolate lovers called Trilogy (chocolate mousse, chocolate tart, chocolate ice cream).
Tonight, we will be sleeping in the train from Villupuram to Madurai, and I am not sure I will manage to get internet connection to write and share this blog for a while after that because the travelling will be fast paced and less luxurious from now on, so I am looking forward to a good night sleep tonight.
I also cross my fingers, nobody is sick as this is crucial right now.
Gulf Air trip and Arrival in India
We flew with Gulf Air on the 7th of January from Paris to Bahrain with a 35mn transfer time. It was like a temporary passage in the Arab World: Newspapers in the plane were in Arabic, captain messages were in Arabic, then in French, then in English, our Flight Route Map was displayed in Arabic characters to start with.
I chose an Egyptian movie subtitled in EN. It was about a young man who did not know what to do in order to please Leila, his beloved, so he would ask a magician to change his personality and see what would happen with Leila if he could alter himself with the following qualities: being more sensitive, being a leader, being cool, being rich etc... but nothing seemed to work because Leila would always reproached him the bad side of being too ‘such or such quality which was emphasized’, so eventually the magician said 'just be yourself and let people see who you really are' ...))))). I liked the idea of the ‘Magician’ and the dramatic transformation of the character after each new supposedly desired quality emphasized, it was very funny.
Then we flew over Bahrain, we could see a very modern city near the airport, all lit up in the Arabian land, not much else. The transfer went without drama, everything was very well organised in the airport – security checks, etc. Women alone with children were escorted to go first. The second flight was not so good: the air was too thin, it was too hot and I kept on asking for water for myself and the kids, but I did not get airsick this time.
The flight was full of Indian Migrant men returning home for a break home in India, I was guessing.
As we arrived in Chennai airport, and as we were queuing for ever for immigration, we realised that we were tomorrow – it was 3:05 am! Paul’s birthday, so I gave him a quick kiss on the chick. A young Arab family (from Bahrain I suppose?) was behind us with a toddler.
The woman must have seen the kiss and this may have helped her take her courage in her hand. She asked me ‘what do they want?’. I was not sure what she meant, so as we were queuing for immigration, I said: they want to see this form (I showed her) and our passports, then we will be able to collect our luggage. Then she smiled and said OK, and her husband showed me he had the forms and the passport. Yet, I had not understood well: what she really wanted was for me to fill up the form. I found that out as they were escorted in the queue ahead of us for having a young child, when the immigration officer put them aside and soon enough a young Indian man was filling up the forms for them. I thought to myself: how much I took for granted that to enter Bahrain I could fill up the forms in English writing, imagine I’d have to write in Arabic! Anything like this kind of help available in CDG?
As we passed the second passport check, I placed all the 4 immigration cards in a very methodical way (I was getting bored) and this made the officer laugh, so he said : ‘Welcome to the land of India’ – that was nice.
3:05 am did not seem to be of any concern in Madras airport: two official money changing boots were open, the second giving you 51 Rs for 1 Euro, the first 48 Rs, so it pays (slightly) to be patient. Unofficial was 55 Rs. We went to the prepaid taxi counter and we got immediately what we needed, a fare to Mahabalipuram (1h45 drive) for 1080 Rs without any bargaining – I had been told it would be 1200 Rs by the hotel, so there was no need to bargain. We could even find 2 big water bottles on the way to the taxi – I was quite impressed given it was about 4.00 am by then, and everything working in full swing!
Outside, it was incredibly alive with people and cars, and I had a bit of a job moving through the traffic handling 2 kids (Oscar half asleep and the Josie in culture shock). Paul was following the man leading us to our taxi. As we passed the toll, the taxi driver asked us for 50 Rs, we said it was prepaid, but he did not move, then said he had no money, ... what could we do ? ... so we gave him the 50Rs (1.5 dollars!). I did not know what to think, it was embarrassing, and we had no real choice. It was still pitch dark and the children had fallen asleep in my arms in the back of the car. Later, we learnt that the tolls have to be negotiated before.
The hotel keeper kindly opened the door for us as we arrived at 6.00am (we had warned the Hotel about our early arrival), and gave us a temporary room until our rooms would be ready, so the four of us slept in a double bed! Yes, it is possible when you are extremely tired! This is a mistake I will not make again. It seemed silly to me to book two rooms for a few hours. Well, these kind of ‘few hours’ are crucial to ‘how fast you will recover from the middle of the night flight arrival ordeal’. We were so tired that we went on to sleep until 12.00pm.
I woke up first and had a walk to the beach – 3 mins from the Hotel. Now, I recognized India how I had known it years ago, the main trigger being the earthly smells, it smells real organic, REAL! The streets were alive and I was already greeted by many people who would remember me more than I could as I would find out later when I would need some of their services later on. An English speaking woman showed me the beach direction and warned me about watching out where I would walk on the sand. I got it.
As I arrived near the beach, I could already glimpse the Shore Temple on the right, the grey, rolling and misty Indian Ocean ahead of me, heaps of seafood restaurants lined up on the beachfront, fishermen back from the sea, and many straight dogs that seem to mind their own business. I was glad we were so close to the sea, this would please Paul and the children as well.
Our hotel (selected by Susan at work) was very stylish in its category. Managed by a young French woman, Pascale, it had what I would call ‘a French Flair’. Each room had a mosquito net on top of the bed, a nice Indian patterned flowery covering sheet, but no sheet – anyway we did not need any as it was hot, the mosquito net was enough protection. It seemed spartiate inside but each room had a small patio with a small desk size table and two wooden chairs: absolutely perfect to have a drink with a friend or/and mostly to use your desktop which was what the other guests seemed doing. I reckon you’d get used to the simplicity (like the cold shower not running all the time – but bucket and dispenser available, no toilet paper, well you can get some around the corner) in one day, and could then enjoy the freedom for a long time, the price also: 800 Rs per night per room, that is 18 Australian dollars ! Our kids loved it, they had their own room on day 2, and they loved the little table for themselves and the new found freedom: NO PARENTS to tell them what to do for one night !
Around 9h30am, I asked Paul if he would like to visit the Enfield factory (motorcycles), but he said ‘no’ that he would rather relax a bit in Mahabalipuram. After lunch at Le Nautilus in our street, and a quick look at the sea, we ventured to visit the Shore Temple, modest in size but fragile and proudly standing despite all the erosion work from the Indian Ocean on its stone carvings. It is a VII century temple dedicated to Shiva, surrounded by Nandi (on which Shiva rides). In one of the chapel, you can see Shiva laying down on his side, in the other one, you can see a huge black granite lingam, which represent the God’s presence – nothing else! The 2004 Tsunami for once had a beneficial effect - on archaeological discoveries – since it revealed more of the presumed other six temples along the 10km beach.
Most tourists were Indian and many women were dressed entirely in red, I don’t know why. It was quite beautiful to see so many of saris in such beautiful settings.
In the afternoon, we had a look at the stone carvers everywhere in the streets. Apparently, their work is exported all around South East Asia to decorate the most exquisite hotels. In the early evening, I had an ajurvedic massage by a local woman who told me about her daughter performing at Arjuna Penance tonight and who gave me a good address for a Tamil Nadu restaurant for Paul’s birthday. This sorted out all my aches from the flight and general tiredness. She even gave me a facial massage. After that, I found a taxi to take us to Pondicherry tomorrow.
Paul would eventually be rewarded for his birthday as we were lucky enough to arrive in the middle of the Classical dance festival and we were able to get tickets (100 Rs each – nothing) to see Orissa Classical dance performance against the exquisite Arjuna Penance Bas Relief lit up in the background.
The lead dancer took time to talk to her audience to explain and mime the nine dramatic facial and gestural expressions she was going to include in her coming performance. All the local youth were trying to sneak without paying, being very noisy at the beginning, but finally, the performer wan them all over, as they managed to stay on for the two hours and not a word was heard as all the audience managed to be captured by her talents. This was the best act. We also saw other martial arts and folk dance performance before her final act.
We slept well that night.
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