While we have been in Varanasi, the TV news has been dominated by the release of the Nano, a one-lakh car, by the Tata Group (that is, when they’re not slamming Australian umpires and replaying Ricky Ponting’s homophobic activities). A lakh is equal to 100,000 rupees and is equivalent to approximately $AUD3,000.
Amid the triumphalism el-Nano is causing, environmental groups are already questioning the Nano’s claims that it is eco-friendly. Apart from the fact that it...
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Waiting with Alice in reception for her lift to the airport to show up, the door of the hotel is being left open a lot and a chilly breeze is finding its way in. The reason, I soon observe, is to expedite the egress of hotel staff conveying broken pieces of wood. As I notice the aqua green paint of my room’s décor on some of the bits, I assume renovations are underway.
Outside, seeing Alice off, I see the same guys piling the wood in a modest sized tee pee in the...
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It’s after 6 pm in the evening but the heat still hits me when I step over the plane’s threshold. Whoah…the jumper that has been my loving companion for the last four weeks suddenly feels claggy and stultifying.
My taxi driver, Joy, is efficient in getting me loaded into his waiting Ambassador. We’re almost ready to go but he notices me fossicking around.
‘Seatbelt?’ he asks pleasantly.
‘Yes,’ I look up at him, ‘you have one?’
He shakes his head and smiles as if...
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Walking over broken pavement down Park Avenue, only Subash Park separates me from the sea. It is a lush arrangement of tropical greenery in square gardens with brightly coloured swings and see-saws for children. It is very empty and will stay that way till about dusk when everyone comes out to play in the cool of the evening.
Before Subash Park turns into Childrens Park, the path veers left towards the ferry terminus. Bougainvillea froths and bubbles over the fence in...
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On the night before our departure from Kochi we were taken to see a traditional Kathakali performance. I say traditional, but really it was observing the bright face paint being put on by the players and having the symbolism of the gestures and hand language outlined with some performed examples. A proper performance would probably go all night and have many intricate subplots and diversions, but our performance lasted just over an hour for us tourists with short...
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After a fabulous breakfast including some coconut noodle pancakes and steamed bananas, we were asking how to replicate the buttery type sauce that seemed to be under the skin of the sliced halves of the bananas. Matthew informed us that the steaming process only worked this well with the right bananas (ie not the tasteless-look-good-for-packing variety we get at home) and no, there was nothing added. Self-saucing bananas!
At 7.30am we flagged down our boat for the...
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The coolness of Periyar’s heights (over 3,000 feet) has been very welcome. Up early, we caught tuk tuks to the entrance of the park at 7am. After reading Dervla Murphy's account of Periyar 35 years ago in On a Shoestring to Coorg, I was eager to see if it had changed.
After we donned our 15RS leech socks, we commenced by crossing a river in groups of eight, sitting or standing on a bamboo raft linked to each bank by a rope. 
Once we were all together again our guide...