Both of us had always dreamed of going to India and when we arrived it was as intense and colorful as we expected. We were lucky enough to have our friend Anushka's family put us up and they were truly wonderful hosts. Rita's food was absolutely delicious and she, Ashok and Rahul were endlessly patient while orienting us with Indian customs and culture.
Mumbai certainly feels like a city of 14 million; the streets are over crowded with buses, cars, auto-rickshaws (aka the cockroaches of Mumbai) and motorbikes all honking, swerving and following none of the western traffic laws. And weaving in between this constant flow of traffic are crowds of people jay walking to cross the street. But amazingly, accidents seem to be rare. Hilariously and occasionally we would run into a cow cruising the streets and we were the only ones who took any notice. Can you imagine seeing a cow in the middle of Times Square??
We rode the buses and subway line for an authentic transportation experience and were stared at curiously by everyone around as foreigners are apparently rare sights on public transit. Getting on a bus means fighting your way and often jumping on while its still moving. People cross tracks to board subway trains and hang from the open doors while riding (we found out 10 people a day die riding the rails).
We did a lot of sightseeing including the Taj Hotel (still boarded up), Gateway to India, Haji Ali mosque, Colaba and Crawford markets, University of Mumbai, Oval Maidan and more. We also woke up early one day to see the sunrise and participate in a laughing yoga class on the beach. We were surprised to see hundreds of people also walking the beach that early.
Amongst all this, we were constantly confronted by poverty (it's estimated that 50% of the population lives in slums). Everything from an infant left abandoned on a sidewalk to a father openly abusing his young daughter with a stick in broad daylight. There was also a barrage of homeless children and mothers carrying infants begging for money, which you can't give because it only furthers the cycle of kids being deprived of an education in order to make money. It was all sobering and heart-wrenching. After seeing all this, Nick decided to start Project Lift, an attempt at shedding some light on this issue and directing anybody who wants to help to reputable NGOs and NPOs. If interested, you can visit http://www.nicholaspandolfo.com/nap/Project_Lift.html.
Also, check out our Mumbai pics at:
Rebecca: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Mumbai-Rebecca/
Nick: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Mumbai%20-%20Nick/
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Soppy Shanghai
It was raining when we exited the railway station in Shanghai. It was raining when we left for the airport 10 days later. It rained everyday in between. According to one of Nick's former students, Jay, this is not a typical occurrence in February, and he explained that the weather in China has changed noticeably since the building of the Three Gorges Dam. Crazy that a man-made structure could so affect the weather (in Beijing before the Olympics they were inducing rain everyday at precisely 5pm by releasing chemicals into the air.....insane!) Our time here was defined by rain, and as such, we couldn't fully enjoy the streets of the city. We did brave it and wander the streets on a few days when the rain wasn't as heavy, checking out the Bund, the French Concession, Nanjing Road, and, of course, Nick's old stomping grounds and favorite hole-in-the-wall dumpling joints.
By far the best part of Shanghai was meeting up with some of Nick's former students and landlord for some fantastic meals! We were incredibly lucky to have such great hosts, and we have lots of favors to return upon their eventual visits to New York. Jay took us to an old town on the outskirts of Shanghai called Qi Bao, where we nibbled on various street foods, including stinky tofu and whole baby sparrows. Then Jay, his wonderful wife, and another former student took us to a new restaurant that had gotten great reviews.
Zhang Hua, another student of Nick's, took us and Michelle, a friend we met on the train to Shanghai, to a fantastic dinner at one of Nick's favorite restaurants, and on a separate day to his hometown Nan Xiang, where we checked out his packaging factory and feasted on xiao long bao, the soup dumplings his town is famous for.
Finally Nick's former landlord and his whole family took us out for yet another phenomenal feast. Without these wonderful meetings, we never would have been able to try so many traditional foods or learn so much about day-to-day life and current events in China, such as the economic crises' effect on the average citizen.
With all the time spent around the hostel waiting for the rain to let up, we got a little bored, and well, Nick got a little experimental and decided to give himself a mohawk. Actually, it was half a mohawk before his beard trimmer (not the best tool for shaving a thick head of hair) died. A trip to a street barber, a poor Chinese exchange, and a dollar later, and the cut was finally complete.
Check out Shanghai pics:
Rebecca's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai-Rebecca/
Nick's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai%20-%20Nick/
By far the best part of Shanghai was meeting up with some of Nick's former students and landlord for some fantastic meals! We were incredibly lucky to have such great hosts, and we have lots of favors to return upon their eventual visits to New York. Jay took us to an old town on the outskirts of Shanghai called Qi Bao, where we nibbled on various street foods, including stinky tofu and whole baby sparrows. Then Jay, his wonderful wife, and another former student took us to a new restaurant that had gotten great reviews.
Zhang Hua, another student of Nick's, took us and Michelle, a friend we met on the train to Shanghai, to a fantastic dinner at one of Nick's favorite restaurants, and on a separate day to his hometown Nan Xiang, where we checked out his packaging factory and feasted on xiao long bao, the soup dumplings his town is famous for.
Finally Nick's former landlord and his whole family took us out for yet another phenomenal feast. Without these wonderful meetings, we never would have been able to try so many traditional foods or learn so much about day-to-day life and current events in China, such as the economic crises' effect on the average citizen.
With all the time spent around the hostel waiting for the rain to let up, we got a little bored, and well, Nick got a little experimental and decided to give himself a mohawk. Actually, it was half a mohawk before his beard trimmer (not the best tool for shaving a thick head of hair) died. A trip to a street barber, a poor Chinese exchange, and a dollar later, and the cut was finally complete.
Check out Shanghai pics:
Rebecca's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai-Rebecca/
Nick's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai%20-%20Nick/
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Guilin to Yangshou by the Li River
Well, it took a couple months, but we finally paid for trying to save a little cash. Our major reason for traveling to Guilin was to take a boat trip down the famous Li River. But we were too cheap to use the hostel's official tour service. Instead, we decided our best bet was to go with the guy who approached us in the train station, henceforth referred to as Creepy Mike.
All seemed fine when he picked us up the next morning, but 2 hours later we were still en route to the dock. Creepy Mike, of course, had jumped off the bus after the first 45 minutes, leaving us with a 17 year-old local girl, our "tour guide." On our way, a truck driving in front of us lost its spare tire, which rolled into a ditch on the side of the road. Being the Good Samaritans that they were, our driver and ticket collector pulled to the side of the road to haul it out and then rested this dirty thing against Nick while we caught up to the truck driver. They then proceeded to demand 100 RMB ($15) from the driver before he could get HIS tire back...ahhh China...
When we finally reached the boat port, our guide and her father, the "captain", had us walk 5 minutes down the beach and jump on the boat (a bamboo raft with some beach chairs and a tarp) before the port officials could catch us (we later found out these small boats are illegal). After 5 minutes of enjoying the stunning views of the mountains along the river, we stopped at this random abandoned island for no apparent reason:
Our guide did her best to try and entertain us in the dilapidated playground among the wild animals, but we finally convinced her to get back on the boat...only to stop 5 minutes later at her home village to eat 4 cereal bars and a blood orange. Now, 2 hours had passed and we had spent a mere 10 minutes on the river. When we started to make a fuss, they called Creepy Mike who told us the Chinese President had taken our boat and wouldn't be back for 3 hours! As probable as this might seem, we weren't buying it. We dragged our guides back to the boat and off we went...for another 15 minutes before making ANOTHER stop at ANOTHER random village. We finally came to understand we were waiting for 2 more people, but even after they came 30 minutes later, they still insisted we wait another hour for Hu Jin Tao, the President, to pass us. Though we'll never know for sure what the delay was all about, we finally arrived safe and sound to Yangshou, and had managed to take in the beautiful river scenery and get Creepy Mike to buy us dinner.
The highlight of Yangshou was our 11-mile bike ride through the surrounding villages and farmland to the 700 year-old Dragon Bridge. For the most part we were the only ones on the path, which made the trip even more special. We did occasionally come across some locals, most of who were friendly. The children, however, were a bit hostile as proven by the one boy who smacked Rebecca across the face with a vegetable stalk twice as well as the boy who shot her with a toy pellet gun. For some reason, Nick escaped unscathed. It was well worth it though, as this was our second favorite adventure so far.
Rebecca's Pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Guilin%20Yangshou-Rebecca/
Nick's Pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Guilin%20Yangshou-Nick/
All seemed fine when he picked us up the next morning, but 2 hours later we were still en route to the dock. Creepy Mike, of course, had jumped off the bus after the first 45 minutes, leaving us with a 17 year-old local girl, our "tour guide." On our way, a truck driving in front of us lost its spare tire, which rolled into a ditch on the side of the road. Being the Good Samaritans that they were, our driver and ticket collector pulled to the side of the road to haul it out and then rested this dirty thing against Nick while we caught up to the truck driver. They then proceeded to demand 100 RMB ($15) from the driver before he could get HIS tire back...ahhh China...
When we finally reached the boat port, our guide and her father, the "captain", had us walk 5 minutes down the beach and jump on the boat (a bamboo raft with some beach chairs and a tarp) before the port officials could catch us (we later found out these small boats are illegal). After 5 minutes of enjoying the stunning views of the mountains along the river, we stopped at this random abandoned island for no apparent reason:
Our guide did her best to try and entertain us in the dilapidated playground among the wild animals, but we finally convinced her to get back on the boat...only to stop 5 minutes later at her home village to eat 4 cereal bars and a blood orange. Now, 2 hours had passed and we had spent a mere 10 minutes on the river. When we started to make a fuss, they called Creepy Mike who told us the Chinese President had taken our boat and wouldn't be back for 3 hours! As probable as this might seem, we weren't buying it. We dragged our guides back to the boat and off we went...for another 15 minutes before making ANOTHER stop at ANOTHER random village. We finally came to understand we were waiting for 2 more people, but even after they came 30 minutes later, they still insisted we wait another hour for Hu Jin Tao, the President, to pass us. Though we'll never know for sure what the delay was all about, we finally arrived safe and sound to Yangshou, and had managed to take in the beautiful river scenery and get Creepy Mike to buy us dinner.
The highlight of Yangshou was our 11-mile bike ride through the surrounding villages and farmland to the 700 year-old Dragon Bridge. For the most part we were the only ones on the path, which made the trip even more special. We did occasionally come across some locals, most of who were friendly. The children, however, were a bit hostile as proven by the one boy who smacked Rebecca across the face with a vegetable stalk twice as well as the boy who shot her with a toy pellet gun. For some reason, Nick escaped unscathed. It was well worth it though, as this was our second favorite adventure so far.
Rebecca's Pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Guilin%20Yangshou-Rebecca/
Nick's Pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Guilin%20Yangshou-Nick/
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