8. India at last - Delhi

I have been in India just over a week.  I'll be honest - I am falling behind in posting this travelogue.  There is so much I see and experience and learn that is new and exciting that I can't remember it all, much less record it. That, and as I begin to make new travel friends and share experiences together, escaping for solitary documentation seems so contrary. But I am trying, and I do post the occasional photo to facebook if I can't wait to share.  Maybe if I switch to bullet form, it will make it quicker to write, and maybe even easier for you to read...? Let's give it a shot (photos follow).

Prelude

On the plane from Milan via Vienna, I watched "Million Dollar Arm", a western film about a North American guy who knows nothing and goes to India to get the answer to his needs. Seemed relatively appropriate. Halfway through, though, the film broke, froze in mid-frame. Seemed relatively appropriate. I was feeling quite unsure of myself, excited - sure, but surprisingly anxious as well. I have no idea what to expect, how I will come out the other side, and in fact, exactly what I hope to accomplish by leaving all my loved ones behind. Then, touchdown in Delhi.

Delhi

Day 1

• Palaak paneer & roti (OK, one of the only Indian dishes I remember the name of - gotta start safe) = 85 rupees or $1.50
• Pistachio popsicle 40¢
• Subway 30¢ but with A/C!
• Old guys pissing on the sidewalk
• Cows wandering the highway at 1AM
• Cell plan ~$7 / month
• Beep-beep: In Delhi, vehicles ohonk at every possible opportunity.  Maybe this is because they are frequently making illegal moves and want you to know to get out of the way now. 
• There are no public garbage cans in Delhi, hence...
• So far I am the oldest traveller I've met among 20- and 30-year-olds, except for one father who was only at Moustache temporarily until his family came, and Eva, a woman from Mallorca who came to India on a whim.
• 3 meals today, and so far everything's solid ...if you know what I mean. Some were delicious. Others were... interesting. Tip is to go to street vendors with lots of locals.

Day 2

• Lotus Temple  - see photos below
• Krishna Temple - I got a flower garland which made me smell great despite the hot, humid weather. Well, at least to me...
• Bought an Indian SIM card for my Nexus S. An Indian number is apparently required to order train tickets online.
• 4th meal (delicious Papri Chaat, although someone told me afterwards this was 'Indian junkfood') - all still good intestinally!

Day 3

• Finally was at Canadian Consulate when they were open. It was unfortunately useless. I had already registered my travel plans online, and they only gave me a print-out of the online travel advisories. They do not provide travel consultation. Not surprising really, but I wasted several tuk-tuk rides going there and back.
• Finally made train ticket reservation to go to Amritsar through Cleartrip and the Indian Rail Transportation site.  Unfortunately, only wait lists are available in the next 4 days.
• I had planned to go to Sufi singing with someone I met from the US, but the plan fell through.  I went on my own and found the location, the crush of devotees & beggars, and the ceremony to be overwhelming.  While being pressured in a language I didn't understand into acquiring a skull cap, a robe, and plates of devotional flower petals, and then afterwards, some formal looking gentlemen demanding information about who I was and what donation I was to make to each of the temple's 5 charities, I found my cell phone had been stolen from my pocket.  I wrote 9 pages about this experience in my journal, and also the trials and tribulations to get a valid train ticket and to actually board it on time (my mistake; I ended up waiting in New Delhi station until 2:30 AM to buy substitute ticket for a 4:30 AM departure. But I really don't weant to recount all of that and lambast Delhi. It all worked out, and in fact, I met some great people on the 4:30 train going towards Amritsar, so it worked out well!  I met a man in the middle of the Sahara who once told me "the more you bring, the more you can lose" (he was traveling through the Sahara with his zebra-painted Vespa, a bedroll, and his girlfriend.)  Don't focus on the negative, John.

The one reservation before getting to India was to have a place for when I arrived to this huge city in a new country at midnight. The Moustahce Hostel was welcoming and friendly.  There were plenty of interesting backpackers from all over. The hostel usually has 30. I met Brits, Welsh, Irish, Kiwis, Aussies, Chinese, American, Russian, Germans, a Finn and another Canadian - I'm sure I missed several.  One evening we went to a pub and eventually had a discussion where we lamented various worldwide conflicts. We asked ourselves if our talking together, sharing viewpoints, listening with openness, and proposing progressive approaches was our action to overcome continued division in the world, or if it was escapist and ineffective.  The jury's still out on that one.  Prosit! / Cheers! / На здоровье! (etc.)

These guys surprised me by running over your bare feet (shoes always off inside a house). They're harmless though.

And Moustache's added bonus: rooftop ping-pong (marble tabletop) above Delhi's busy noisy streets!

Delhi has about 16-17 million inhabitants. Two Delhi's together is equal to the population of Canada.  Only Canada is 3 times bigger than all of India.

On my first day, I walked my new neighbourhood and took the Metro downtown.  It's efficient, pretty clean, safe, super cheap (~$0.30 a ride) and air-conditioned!  Every day 25 million people ride the Delhi Metro. And they are building several new lines.  Unfortunately, half the maps show these proposed stations, so several times I walked to the Metro only to find cement pillars where the future station would be.

This is Indian money.  Only usually it's older, more faded and like-coloured, and not worth much compared to the dollar and the Euro.  Simply, 1 Canadian dollar is worth a bit more than 50 Rupees. Never forget Gandhi's message: non-violence and peaceful resistance in the face of injustice. 

Not sure if you can see this but to understand Delhi is to see and hear it's busyness.  A photo doesn't do it justice, so I captured 30 seconds of life riding in a tuk-tuk.  This is not the best I saw, but it's enough for a North American to see how different it is! Indians don't follow lanes,honk incessantly, dodge people and cows and dogs, and rarely crash - amazing.  It looks like chaos, but I think it's more like a semi-choreographed dance, as does a chattering of starlings, or a school of herring.

No explanation necessary

Itinerant monkey in downtown Delhi. S/he stared at me for some time as if to say "What you want, Bro?"

This is a panorama of Chawri Bazaar. Again, trying to capture the pace of Delhi. I was so overwhelmed, and didn't know which branch to explore - no street signs - in this more Muslim area of town, that I took a rickshaw driver to the nearby Red Fort where I could getmy bearings. (Oh, we've found that Indians are notoriously poor at providing directions; maybe because there are so few street signs, house numbers, grids, or landmarks.) Although the Fort was closed in preparation for the PM's live speech tomorrow on Independence Day, I walked Chadni Chowk in the evening and was mesmerized by the lights, smells (some wonderful, others really bad - that's India - did I mention there are no garbage cans in India?) and bustle. The best way I can describe it is as India's version of Times Square.

Here is a collective effort I saw on Chadni Chawk to make some sort of decoration for Independence Day, just one of many cool things I saw. 

On my 2nd day, I visited the Lotus Temple with Nick from Wales. This is the main temple of the Ba'hai faith, which welcomes all believers in God but has virtually no doctrine, or rules, and - especially - no history of trying to force others to accept its faith.

This is a panorama showing the inside of the Lotus Temple and the of the temple above. On this day, a woman was chanting.  The acoustics were fantastic.The lotus represents beauty and non-attachment.

What's the weather like? Well, it's late summer, but the temperature still reached 41 C, and there's little wind and lots of humidity.  I have to say bringing all quick-dry synthetic clothes has helped a lot. Yes I sweat, but I'm not too sticky, and washing a shirt for the following day is easy.

It's hard to see, but with buses and traffic whizzing by, there's a guy painting the underside of the overpass at top right of this photo. The poor guys underneath are getting dripped in paint as is the road itself. I also often saw the stripes being painted on road dividers like the ones you see here.

I find this interesting because, with all of India's infrastructure problems, with open sewers and garbage everywhere, with "chaotic" driving that ignores all directions in the name of expediency and urgency, India still spends lots of time painting things.  In consultant parlance, we call that "putting lipstick on a pig".

There are big expectations from Modi, the new economy-focused PM, but while I wondered how western economies could possibly compete with India and China's low wages, upon seeing India, I'm beginning to wonder if the opposite is true: how can India possibly reverse its culture of "good enough"  execution and deliver goods and services that meet the increasing expectations of global customers. That and an entrenched and debilitating bureaucracy make Modi's challenge immense from what I can tell. It will be very interesting to see where India is in 10 years, 20 years, 50 years.

7. Italia!

Italy in pictures

(Nb. €1 =~$1.50)

In addition to Scotland, I had timed my trip to India to allow me to come to Italy and see Hadrian play at the World Ultimate Club Championships.  I decided instead of paying a lot and being in the hot valley, I would rent a car and have the choice to stay in the mountains. The blue line is the drive from the Refugio Saldanella to the WUCC fields.!

This is the Refugio Soldanella, the first place I stayed in, for 4 days near where Hadrian was playing. I had the room on the furthest right of the 2nd floor. This was a great, great place to stay, with a delicious breakfast and morning cappuccino.

I should mention that the owners, Mauro and Daniela, were so kind and friendly. Mauro's English was OK, and Daniela's French OK, which is how I communicated with each during our different discussions. Mauro talked with the airport to help me get my lost bag back, and also lent me maps and missing gear to climb up to La Grignetta.

This is one of the 14 switchbacks you have to climb (or descend in this photo) to reach the refugio.  You also have to go through several tunnels, the longest of which is over 2 km long.  The drive is spectacular, and was tough for my Smart Car manage going up, but so much fun to drive (for me at least!)

Often I was impressed to see bikers doing the treacherous climb. The climb to Piani Resinelli was the final HC climb of a stage of the 2012 Giro d'Italia.

Later when I drove up to Bellagio on the narrow seaside road, I followed a "small" camper that at one point had to stop and negotiate past a car coming the other way. Such delays were common, but the driving always interesting from a North American point of view.

This is the view from my room. Lecco is the town mid-right at the bottom of the valley and at the end of the East arm of Lake Como. €40 /night including breakfast.

The first day, Sunday, was total rain. WUCC 2014 was rained out, but I went and found Hadrian at the dorms and explored Lecco. On the 3rd day, while waiting for Phoenix to play their first game, I could leave directly from the refugio and climb towards La Grignetta. The climb is 700 m vertical, but in a shorter (more aggressive) distance, so took only 90 minutes up compared to the 3 hours to climb the Scottish Munro. The view is spectacular. About a third of the way up I came upon this 77-year-old Milanese priest who was reading the psalms! We communicated through his broken French. He was a very nice man. On came upon him again on the way down. He told me his legs were weak and shaking. I didn't know how to help, he said he would be fine, and I bid him well.

At the summit, I met a couple who had brought their dog! If you saw the ascent (many times using hands to climb, most people with poles) you would be impressed.  They said "he is the 'King of the Mountain!'"

These are the route signs on the way up. I kept to the "easiest" trail. At the top I saw a pair of guys who had used equipment to scale a very challenging route.

Here I am at the summit of 2,184 metres.

This is the view down. You can see part of the path - an easy part - on the face above my foot. Lecco is in the distance.

This is the view from the summit looking North-East towards Switzerland. There's a strange lunar-landing type box here. I guess it's an emergency place to stay if you arrive in mid winter and/or are injured.

It's hard to capture WUCC in a photo. There were 30 fields, and I think some 4,000 across 5 disciplines plus juniors a few weeks beforehand - the Canadian junior boys won the gold this year! Phoenix plays in the Open (Men's) division. Canada sent 4 teams I think to the Open division. In alternating years they have national championships with individuals from various clubs and regions. Think of club like NHL, and Nationals like the Canada Cup.

This is Union, Emma Seaborn's team, who competed in the Mixed category. In mixed, typically 3 or 4 women per team are on the field with 4 or 3 men respectively. Union played very strong in the early going but then lost to another Canadian team in the quarters. Union eventually finished 5th in the world in Mixed.

This was a huge day for Phoenix. To their own surprise, they beat Japan's famed "Buzz Bullets" team, who had won this tournament a few years ago. The Japanese players are typically much shorter than the North American and European players, but they make up for it in quickness - critical in Ultimate - and play strategies that match those skills. Hadrian called it "an honour" even to play them in pool (preliminary) play, so to beat them was a huge high. The same day, they went on to beat Sweden's top team who were strong, so Phoenix entered the round of 16 in 3rd seed. The following day was frankly a letdown, perhaps expected after the high the day before, and they lost 2 games. They finished with 2 wins though to finish 13th in the world. Hadrian and team were totally dedicated until the night they completed their games. That night I finally got a terrific dinner with Hadrian at a cafe by the lake, and that night (with all but 6 teams eliminated) there was a huge party at the athletes' village! 

This was the last game of WUCC 2014 - the Open finals between (San Fransisco's) Revolver and Seattle Sockeye, both US. The match was not the cleanest, they each had a few drops, but incredible defensive plays especially (one or two layout bids per point), and even I could see the teams adjust strategy as the game went on to better exploit the opponent they already knew pretty well from recent US tournaments.  The crowd enjoyed the hot weather and I was surrounded mainly by international teams cheering in various languages. The tournament was a lot of unf and I'm proud of Hadrian and Phoenix for working so hard and reaching several new milestones.

Halfway through my stay in Italy, I assumed I would be bored of my first booking, so I had arranged to stay in a small village directly North of the playing fields. The Antica Corte turned out to be very old-world comfortable and in a charming village, Canzo. I think I got an extra special room with a private bath and kitchen. I had done many emails with the owner because I found them on an unusual site, and she did not accept North American credit cards. It all worked out for the best. Here is my little black Smart Car in the courtyard. The B and B is the green door, but my room was on the ground floor in the dark corner behind the fence. €30 / night including breakfast.

This was my room at Antica Corte. I'm not sure why, but Elena gave me this room under their apartment, when I had seen the rest of the B and B was next door and much more shared.  Elena had written asking if I would be OK being in her new room "in the trees" (evidently we were communicating through Google Translate!). I wasn't sure what that meant - a treehouse?!? - but I accepted. I guess I was just lucky.

In my kitchen was everything I needed. Asked about coffee, and they said, of course, use this, plus here's the pot to steam your milk.  I recognize this old expresso maker from years ago. Using gas, I had a great cup of cappuccino in no time :)

This is the beautiful 'Parrocchia Di S. Stefano Protomartire' a couple of blocks from my B and B. I would have liked to have done a drawing, but I did one excursion up the coast to Bellagio, and besides that, was occupied with Phoenix and Union playoff games. I had forgotten how delightful the frequent ringing of chruch bells is in old European towns. This church's bells rang, not randomly, and not as recognizable music either, but in gentle, lilting, and uplifting melodies.  

Sorry for the blurry picture late in the evening, but Canzo had lots of these beautiful, cobblestone streets and squares.  Walking around was a joy.

This is one of the streets I had to pass to reach the B and B, obviously created centuries before the automobile. It was so narrow - not much wider than the Smart Car - that there is a traffic light at each end to avoid cars meeting halfway along.

On a free afternoon, I drove up the coast on the triangle between Lecco and Como. This is Osso where I had a great swim in the clear, warm Lake Como. Hadrian said every day he and others would walk a bit from where they were staying to have a swim. Lake Como is also where rich villa scenes from Star Wars II/IV and James Bond were filmed.

This is a bay on the right / East side of Bellagio. That small sailboat is almost exactly like the old dinghy we had at my grandmother's cottage in Muskoka.

This is one of the very touristy - and expensive - shopping streets in Bellagio.  Not sure which came first, but I understand why this town is associated with the Las Vegas casino made famous (to me) in Ocean's Eleven.

There were so many beautiful photo opportunities on this day. Here is a particularly beautiful ochre- and rust- coloured wall.

This is a small panorama up the mountain from Bellagio. Lecco is at the end of the bay.  Note the helipad mid-right.  Maybe George Clooney lands here...

This was very interesting: at the top of the small mountain south of Bellagio is the Madonna del Ghisallo Chapel, dedicated to the patron saint of cycling!

Inside - besides the religious standards - are bikes, jerseys, and medals of many many champions like Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain and Italian great Fausto Coppi. 

On my last night in Italy, I did a washing. I'm getting good cleaning my quick-dry (not cotton) clothes.

Ciao Milano e Italia! (Note the sign for the chapel here in Milan's Malpensa airport). 

Now, on to India.

5.Alas! a lass in my bed - Glasgow

(FYI the Edinburgh post and Highlands post have been updated)

The bus ride from Inverness took almost 7 hours instead of 3.5 due to road construction and traffic delays - the bus was late arriving and getting there. Nevertheless, I promised myself I would recognise the luxury of an open schedule and not fret too much about non-critical things like delays and such, which should almost be expected when travelling out of the ordinary. India will probably be worse in this respect - get used to it. Still, I got to Glasgow late, registered at the hostel, set up my bunk with my sleep liner for the covers and my USB charger, and went out for a bite and to explore.

I walked several kilometres (I needed it after sitting idle for so long) and reached Byres Road and quaint Ashton Lane (recommended by James) with their many interesting shops and pubs.

Ashton Lane

I stopped in at Grosvenor Cafe and had 3 starters: Grosvenor Scotch egg & cracklin' salt; Feta-stuffed roast peppers; and Crayfish, avocado and marie rose (see my Food & Drink page). A Scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg deep-fried. Very tasty.

Near here are several 'legendary' used bookstores.

Voltaire and Rousseau, where the books are pilled 3 deep in general categories but not discernable order. A control freak's worst nightmare and a browser's nemesis. I asked if they had Dante's Divine Comedy. They did. We found it.

On the way home, I was curious about all the people heading into a lit-up church late on a weekday. It was Oran Mor, a church convertevd into a pub. As this was Commonwealth Games week in Glasgow, I ordered a Scotch and came upon a couple of Canadian wrestling refs (no, they don't ref Canadian matches) and also spoke with a theatre director / Columbia prof from NYC.

Oban Mor outside...

...Oban Mor inside

(cribbed images)

When I finally got back to the hostel at 12:30, I opened the door to the pitch-black dorm room for 6 (what is it with all these young travellers visiting new places and going to bed by 11 PM?!), and gently lay my day-pack on the top bunk, and started to climb up the ladder to get into bed. Suddenly somebody jumped up and mumbled something Scottish in a thin voice - that's how I figured it was a lass. I whispered I had the receipt for that particular bed and asked also if she hadn't seen my stuff, she said, 'yes, I put it on that other bunk'. Frantic whispering and half-explanations ensued. Turns out she had been in that bunk the previous night and came back an extra day. It was a pain, but after getting the night watchman involved, it all worked out. OK, that was my second misleadingly provocative heading. Will you stop reading now? ;)

The next day I visited the Kelvingrove Museum. It's an interesting hodgepodge of random historical anecdotes, presented in an order I could not decipher, but I did learn a lot about Glasgow's rise as a global centre for shipbuilding and ironworks expertise, before struggling in the early 20th century as manufacturing rose elsewhere, until its slow resurgence as a popular and creative city today. 

Outside the Kelvingrove was one of several "Play-me-I'm-yours-Glasgow" pianos I saw around town. This guy played for a long time and it sounded plesantly like Coldplay and/or something Finn might play. I liked it.

Here is one thing that caught my eye as I really like spirals - these snails were hunted to (near?) extinction because of their beautiful sheels.

While I was there, Glasgow (and all the news) was totally about Glasgow hosting the Commonwelath Games.  I sometimes watched in the evening with others in the hostel, but mostly I was not in a sports tracking mood. In the Kelvingrove Gardens, the lawn bowling competition was being held.  I tried to be excited looking through the protective fence - people PAY to watch lawn bowling?? Will wonders never cease.

On my way home from Kelvingrove, I came upon the Botanic Gardens and found them beautiful, well tended and informative.

Panorama inside one entrance to the main greenhouse. All the plants are identified and many have context and/or explanations.

This is the big hardwood tree I dozed under and which sheltered me from a slight rain shower. Thank you tree.

I was too tired by the end of the day, and after being out late the previous night at the Oban Mor, that I went back to the hostel and watched Commonwealth Games with a Brit and 2 Aussies. I missed checking out James' recommendation for music, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, and Glasgow is renown for music; it is the home of Simple Minds too, a fav band of mine from the 80s (most everything before their US hit "Don't you forget about me". Oh well, when I'm back in Glasgow? :(

The next day was travel back to Edinburgh and the Fringe before flying to Italy.  As I had 2 hours to kill before my bus, I walked over to the Necropolis.  I didn't learn much - I didn't really have the time to do so - but it is visually spectacular, and made what I think are some good photos.

Partly I wanted to see Glasgow Cathedral (AKA "The High Kirk of Glasgow"), built in the late 12th century (can you believe it? This working church was built 300 years before a westerner came to North America), and just near The Necropolis. According to what I learnt at Kelvingrove, it was basically the first permanent building in Glasgow, and was built by to try and establish the Catholic Church in the region.

The back / top of the entranceway (the Necropolis climbs up to what appears to be the highest hill in Glasgow, so the view is impressive), with Glasgow Cathedral in the background.

This is a monument for an important person. And/or a very rich person. I'm sorry I don't know more.

John amongst the tombstones.

Thanks Scotland, for a very wonderful time.  And thank you especially for such great people being ancestors to create who I am today, and so it continues.