Christmas in Calcutta (or Kolkata, apparently)

Hi all,

Happy Christmas and New Year.  We had a very enjoyable, if slightly discombobulated, Christmas in Kolkata. We're working to catch up on the overdue blog entries, but in the meantime here is a quick update on what we've been doing.

We arrived in Kolkata on the morning of the 24th, after a train journey from Gaya that was a mere 13 hours late.  We were met by a representative from CRAWL society, who drove us out to Khardah, around 45 minutes north from the centre of Kolkata.  There we were installed in the flat for volunteers, which is basic (bucket showers and hard beds) but clean, and which has come to feel like home after a week or so.  Our first visit was to the CRAWL school Christmas party, where we were greeted with a very enthusiastic "Merry Christmas" and a very touching Christmas card to "Uncle and Auntie" that one of the kids had drawn.  There were around 20 kids there, who kept us smiling throughout with their songs and dancing (and a kind of pass-the-parcel game without the parcel).  The kids were extremely sweet, and we were struck by what a great job CRAWL have clearly done already with these kids.

On Christmas Day we took the 5.45am train to Sealdah Station to help Boby, who was in charge of this CRAWL project, to distribute food to kids who sleep in the streets around the train station. The kids were again very sweet (at one point I had four tiny kids hanging on to one hand, each clutching a single finger), and it was both harrowing and rewarding to meet these 50 or so children whose broad smiles belied their unimaginably tough living conditions.

In the afternoon we traveled across Kolkata with Boby and Pia, one of the older kids from the CRAWL school, to the birthday party of the first child of Subhamita, CRAWL's president.  This was a fantastically hospitable West Bengali celebration, and we particularly enjoyed the delicious food.  We also made the very intimate acquaintance of lots of new friends on the indescribably over-crowded buses and trains of Kolkata.

We had Monday and Tuesday off to explore Kolkata, and took the opportunity to treat ourselves to a slightly more luxurious hotel, a miraculously peaceful oasis in the centre of the city, as a Christmas present to ourselves.  Kolkata iself, as you could probably imagine, is chaotic and hectic but lots of fun.

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we spent the morning helping Gopa, who runs CRAWL's street kids project at Dum Dum train station.  We took the 6.45am train from Khardah, and outside the station we set up a plastic mat for the kids to sit on.  Around a dozen kids gradually sidled up, each of whom was given a page of a colouring-in book.  Some of the kids were masters of the crayon, some had rather imaginative ideas of colour-schemes, but all of them clearly enjoyed the hour's entertainment and stuck to the task with surprising focus.  In the meantime another CRAWL volunteer tended to those who had wounds (mostly on their bare feet).  Finally they were formed up into a queue, smallest at the front, as Clem and I dished out the food (one sandwich each, plus a banana ("kola" in Bengali) on Wednesday, peanuts on Thursday, and the special treat of an egg ("deem") on Friday.  We were finished by 9am on each day, so had plenty of time to explore the city or retreat to Khardah for R&R or trip-planning.

It has been a very moving experience so far, and we're rather sad that we only have another 9 days here before moving on.  We'll be at Sealdah station tomorrow and Sunday,  helping at the school (which has been closed for the holidays) from Wednesday until Friday -- time to prepare our teaching plans! -- and then at Sealdah again for our final weekend in Kolkata.

Many thanks again to those of you who have very generously donated to CRAWL.  We have seen how well the money is put to use.  For those of you who haven't yet had a chance to do so, any donations would be very much appreciated.  See the link above.

Best,
Clementine and John

Update: Power cuts in India

Hi everyone,

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. We have been in India for the last week and thanks to various power cuts haven't had much of a chance to work on the blog. We are currently in Bodhgaya, where Buddha achieved enlightenment, and will arrive in Calcutta on December 24th to start volunteering for Crawl Society.

Happy Christmas!

Clem & John

12th December: Hiking around the settlements south of Kathmandu

Our guide met us at the hotel around 8 am and we hopped in a private car (yes, we treated ourselves) to Kirtipur, around 5km away from Kathmandu. Kirtipur is a quiet town and it was thus a good retreat from the noise of Kathmandu. From there we would have had a great view over the valley had it not been for the fog and the mist. Jiven, our guide, introduced us to the town's main medieval temples. On the Uma Maheshwar temple we could not help but notice the erotic wood carvings on each pillar below representations of Hindu deities. In the square children played volleyball with a lump of rubber-bands, using the large bell representing female power as a net. A bit further up was Chilanchu Vihara, a Buddhist stupa. The town also boasted beautiful medieval houses with finely carved wooden window-frames.

Uma Maheshwar Temple with animal guardians

Erotic carvings on Uma Maheshwar Temple

Chilanchu Vihara stupa (16th c.)

We then walked away from the town and off the beaten track, following a mud path through farmhouses and agricultural land. The main crops were vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, and haricots) and rice.

Start of the walk through farmland

Working on the fields

A slightly scared young cow

Half way up a 300m high hill, we stopped for a drink at a local shop. Unfortunately, our conversation could not go beyond "namaste", so we just showed our warmest smiles.  John asked our guide the Nepali for thank you, but had forgotten it ten minutes later. The top of the hill offered a great view over the valley and from there we could look down on Kirtipur. We could also guess at the contours of the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

View over Kathmandu's southern settlements, with snow-capped mountains floating above the mist 

Laundry time

We then walked down along a small channel dug to insert pipes to import water to the valley. We stopped for lunch at the bottom of the hill in a quiet spot, only disturbed by a drunk man who asked us for food. Following our guide's advice, we declined. We then followed the road up to the Newari village of Khokana, which was devastated by the earthquake in 1934. Half way there, we crossed a very smelly river full of rubbish. Apparently, the environment is not yet a priority, and a lot of rubbish is dumped in what is a holy river. A similar contradiction applies to the treatment of cows, which are sacred but are left to eat plastic on the streets at the mercy of traffic.

A street of Kokhana

Buddhist stupa and a neighbouring Hindu temple

A few hundred metres further, we reached Bungamati, a medieval town famous for woodcarving. We stopped at the Rato Machhendranath temple, dedicated to the god of rain. Every 6 months, its statue is transported to Patan on a huge chariot.

The medieval palace is now occupied by poor villagers

Ratho Machhendranath Temple

The driver was waiting for us on the main square and was watching a card game when we arrived. He drove us back to the hotel, where we had a quick nap before going back into town for dinner. We went to a tasty Tibetan restaurant where I enjoyed a delicious vegetarian curry. John had opted for Tibetan vegetable balls, a more traditional dish.

11th December: Stupendous Kathmandu

This was the day for visiting stupas. First stop was the largest stupa in the world, at Bodhnath.  The taxi dropped us at the entrance after a short ride through the impossibly hectic streets of Kathmandu.  We paid our entrance fee and walked through a short passageway to the narrow path encircling the enormous stupa.  Crimson-clad monks were shuffling clockwise around the stupa, spinning the mantra-singing prayer wheels.  Thousands of prayer flags emanating from the top of the stupa glistened in the morning sun.

Bodhnath stupa

Circumnavigating the stupa

We walked past the numerous shops selling thangkas and made our way up to the first level of the stupa, past a thunderbolt and a bell that represent male and female power, respectively.  We walked around the stupa, admiring the view up at the three eyes of the buddha facing off in four directions.  Above us the slightly-discoloured kumbha, the dome of the stupa, was being cleaned, either with water or with fresh whitewash.  I was ambushed by a group of women to take their photo, and after a dozen efforts managed to satisfy them.  Below us on one side fully- robed devotees, many of whom were evidently Western, prostrated themselves in front of the stupa.

The eyes of Buddha are on you

Passing by a giant prayer-wheel, we popped into a gompa (Tibetan monastery) whose balcony offered a great view over the stupa.  From inside we could hear music and chanting, so we decided not to disturb the monks by intruding any further.  

After completing our tour clockwise (resisting the temptation to spin the prayer-wheels, which struck us as disrespectful if it's not heartfelt), we found a taxi to take us back into town and further west to our next stupa, the famous Monkey Temple (also called Swayambhunath). 

The taxi dropped us at the foot of the 17th century stone stairway that climbs up the eastern side of the hill from which the stupa gazes over Kathmandu.  We ascended slowly past numerous statues of Buddha, most of which sheltered a group of small monkeys (rhesus macaques, to be precise).  These cheeky characters inspected us carefully as we passed but decided we had nothing in the reach of their nimble fingers.  We did see one snatch a water bottle off another tourist, puncture the plastic with its teeth, and sip the spilled water off the floor.

Devoted monkeys

Looking up at the stupa from the stairway

We survived the monkeys and the street-vendors perched on the edge of the stairway, paid our entrance fee, and emerged onto the platform.  We passed another huge thunderbolt and bell placed in front of the stupa and headed for a restaurant with a view out over the city, since our hunger had persuaded us to save the tour of the stupa for after lunch.  We shared the magnificent vista over Kathandu with a tribe of monkeys, who at one rather unnerving point swarmed over the rooftops at great speed, fighting with each other as they went.  After an enjoyable lunch of momos (a Nepalese variety of dumplings), we set off to explore the stupa platform.

Monkeys on the move

Veggie Momos

As with the stupa at Bodhnath, monks patrolled the outside of the stupa, spinning the prayer wheels.  Prayer flags waved in the breeze.  A monkey peeked out of a small niche in the stupa sheltering a dark Buddha statuette as pigeons whistled just overhead.  The stupa was surrounded by several temples, including one to Hariti (the goddess of smallpox) in front of which was a large group of devotees.  We checked out a 6m high statue of Buddha inside the Shree Karmaraja Mahavihar, and took off our shoes to enter the Dongak Choling gompa and admire its surprisingly rough murals.

Buddha's eyes peeking through the well-populated platform  

Buddha and Hanuman, the monkey god

Thieving monkey eyeing up the camera

Taking shelter with Buddha

By that time we were at risk of entering stupa-stupor (Clem tried to veto this but I insisted) and started to head back down the stairway towards Kathmandu.  On the way we passed yet more monkeys and it seemed to be grooming time, as all of them had paired off to give each other's coat a good cleaning.

Looking out over the stairway leading down to Kathmandu

Grooming time

We decided to walk back into the centre of town, through the narrow, chaotic streets, dodging cars, motorcycles, and bikes.  We didn't really know where we were going but headed towards the greatest noise and eventually found a street near Durbar square that we recognised and emerged into Thamel, the horrifically touristy centre of town.  On the way we stopped off at Wayfarers, the tour agency recommended in the LP (one of several hundred agencies in the city), to discuss tour options and buses onwards to Pokhara, in the west of Nepal.  

This used to be a holy river; now it's a sad symbol of the pollution of Kathmandu

Weaving through the crowds on our way back to Thamel

We went back to the hotel to rest for an hour or two, changing rooms in the process because management had realised that our room needed repairs (why they had put us in that room in the first place was not clear).  In any case, we were upgraded to the penthouse, which was huge and slightly less faded than our previous room.  All it was lacking, we later found out, was a heater, so we spent the next two nights very well wrapped up.

We unwisely decided to have a nap, slept through the alarm again, and woke up just in time to get dinner before the restaurants closed at 10.30.  Food was not great; we'd known it wouldn't be, but we couldn't face walking too far. For once laziness trumped appetite for decent food.

10th December: First day in Kathmandu

We made the most of the surprisingly good buffet breakfast at the hotel before heading into town. We first walked around Thamel, the touristy area of Kathmandu, in search of a Lonely Planet guidebook.  This took no time at all. The bookshops were very well furnished and also sold guidebooks for other countries, including France and England. Walking on the streets of Kathmandu left us struggling to get used to the noise and traffic. John thought it was much more hectic than when he was here ten years ago. The rule as we understood it is that cars may stop for pedestrians but motorcycles will not. I could certainly not get used to the strident honk that they use when passing by. Apparently they are not authorised to use it, but it does not seem to be strictly applied or enforced.

Parade on the streets of Thamel, women wearing the traditional Newari sari

We retreated for tea in the Garden of Dreams, beautiful gardens built in the 1920s by a Nepalese general who had been inspired by English-type gardens. The waiters presented us with the bill quite quickly, explaining us that they would close soon as they were on strike. From what we understood, their wages had not been raised as promised, and they were thus quietly pausing work for 4 hours during the day, a very civilised way of being on strike I thought. We strolled around the gardens before bracing ourselves and heading back onto the chaotic streets of Kathmandu.

View of the Garden of Dreams from our table as we enjoyed our tea

The terrace where we were seated, guarded by elephants

Banner explaining the motives for the strike

From there we followed the walking tour suggested by the Lonely Planet, taking us from Thamel all the way south to the Durbar Square (palace square), which boasted an impressive collection of 17th and 18th century Buddhist and Hindu temples. The tour first took us to various Buddhist stupas and Hindu temples, and we started familiarising ourselves with elements from those religions/philosophies. One interesting aspect of Nepali life is the peaceful cohabitation between Hinduism and Buddhism, as there may be a Buddhist stupa next to a Hindu temple and we noticed that Hindu deities are sometimes represented on Buddhist temples. The streets were getting less touristy as we ventured further from Thamel, with no more travel agencies or restaurants advertising continental food, but were no less busy.

Kathesimbhu Stupa, a very popular Tibetan pilgrimage site in Kathmandu

Statue of Buddha (6th c.)

Stone relief of Shiva and Parvati in Uma Maheshwar (9th c.)

Football in Yatkha Bahal, an open courtyard with a central stupa 

Cows blocking the exit from Yatkha Bahal

Seto Machhendranath Temple, which attracts both Buddhists and Hindus

One interesting object of worship was a piece of wood on which people had nailed coins. The coins are offerings to the toothache god, who is represented by a small image on the piece of wood. Not coincidentally a lot of dentists offer their services nearby, below signs of gleaming smiles (I was not particularly reassured by the look of their practices though).

Piece of wood with coins surrounding the Toothache god

Dental practices near the representation of the Toothache god

Most of the houses on the streets were pretty decayed but some exhibited beautiful carved wooded windows and balconies. After about 1h30 wandering around the streets, we reached Durbar square. We had a quick look around before having a break for lunch at a rooftop restaurant, from which we had a good view over one part of the square.

Kathmandu's busy Durbar square

Lunch at the terrace of a rooftop restaurant

After lunch we resumed our visit, relying on the explanations of the handout and on the Lonely Planet. Plenty of guides, all similarly insistent, offered their services but we had decided to wander on our own for the first day (one of them spoke impressively good French though). The place undoubtedly had a very rich historical heritage, a lot of the temples and buildings around the square dated from the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the temples is even said to have been built in the 12th century, from the wood of a single tree. In addition, it is a very popular area for locals, who come here to worship or watch time pass by from the steps of the temples.

Kala Bhairab, the most fearsome aspect of Shiva

Taleju temple, not open to the public (16th c.)

Inside one of the temples called Kumari Bahal resides the living goddess Kumari, a young girl selected to be the town's goddess (there are similar living goddesses in towns around Kathmandu). Unfortunately, she did not appear at her balcony while we were there. The selection process to be elected as the new Kumari is very strict; the young girl must in particular meet 32 strict physical requirements.

Kumari Bahal, home of the living goddess

Another element that caught our attention was the erotic wood-carving on the roof struts of the Jagannath temple. One explanation for the presence of erotic carvings on an Hindu temple is that the Goddess of Lighting,  being a Virgin, would not dare striking a temple with such carvings. This is the religious explanation; it may also have been to encourage procreation at a time when they needed boys for the army, but the religious one is apparently the most likely.  

Erotic carvings on Jagannath Temple

The royal palace (Hanuman Doka) was closed so we could not visit it; the guard at the entrance did not even allow us to have a quick peek.

We then walked back to the touristy Thamel and returned to the hotel. We had planned to work on the blog, but we experienced our first power cut, so instead we had a long nap (sleeping through the alarm, as usual). We woke up at around 9pm and went out for dinner. Most of the places were starting to close, which reduced our choice but we still managed to have a decent vegetable curry with a garlic naan.

A positive aspect of the impact of tourism in Kathmandu is that most people we dealt with spoke English. While we were able to make ourselves understood in Spanish in South America (where even John could get by without English), it would probably take us a bit more time (if not forever) to be able to do the same in Nepal.  "Namaste" is the limit of our vocabulary so far!

Sunset over Kathmandu from our room

7th-9th December: Quick stopover in Hong Kong

7th December

Our fourteen-hour flight overnight from San Francisco to Hong Kong passed in a blur of films, but we didn't get much sleep. The Cathay Pacific plane was much newer than those operated by AA, but had terrible seats that rather than reclining backwards just slide your bum forward while keeping the seat-back in the same place. Entirely unsatisfactory. We therefore arrived in Hong Kong at 8am feeling jet-lagged, short of sleep, and generally exhausted, but at least caught up on the latest movies. We caught the bus from the airport to Kowloon, crossing the impressively enormous Lantau Link bridge (and driving on the left side of the road, hurrah!), and walked ten minutes from the bus stop up to our hotel.

Driving past Hong Kong's huge port

Irritatingly we couldn't check in until 2pm, so had four hours to kill before we could curl up in bed. The hotel (a bit of a splurge, partly because we couldn't find anything particularly cheap that didn't look horrible) did at least have an unoccupied reception area. Clem managed to sleep on the sofa for a couple of hours while I, in between checking sports websites, booked our hotel for Kathmandu and sorted out some other admin. Once Clem had managed to vacate the sofa we went for a walk through Tsim Sha Tsui, one of Hong Kong's most touristy shopping areas, before finding a restaurant serving excellent Chinese. After lunch we had a quick stroll through Kowloon park, a surprisingly peaceful island of grass and artificial lakes in a sea of neon. By then it was almost 2pm so with great relief we made our way back to the hotel, checked into our 21st-floor room with harbour view, and collapsed in bed.

We set our alarm for 6pm, but managed to sleep through and only woke up at around 9pm. We were sorely tempted to continue sleeping all the way through to the next morning, but ultimately our stomachs prevailed and we dragged ourselves out of bed. We had no intention of going very far, so were relieved to find a decent noodle place just around the corner. We filled up and headed back to the hotel for more much-needed sleep.

8th December

We only had one full day in HK, so were determined to make the most of it. We managed to get up fairly early (at least the jet-lag was useful for something) and set off to explore, armed with insider tips from Lizzie Fraser (whom you should be sure to contact for yacht trips etc. around Hong Kong). Make the most of Hong Kong's unique culture? Our first stop, after taking the ferry across to Hong Kong island, was the huge Apple store in the International Financial Centre. We'd seen numerous great offers for iPads and MacBooks in the shops of Tsim Sha Tsui, so wanted to get a feel for the proper price (which turned out to be around 75% of the European price) and just have a bit of a play around. 

View of HK island from the ferry (that's the IFC in the middle)

The harbour is home to boats of every shape and size

We dragged ourselves away from the pretty electronics to have some food, making our way to Hong Kong City Hall (partially hidden behind construction works) for dim sum with a view over the harbour. The Maxim's Palace restaurant is set in a large, British-style reception room. Rather than ordering from the menu, you cast an eye over the trolleys of dim sum being pushed around by waitresses. Signs on the front of the trolleys advertise their contents. We went for shrimp, pork, and vegetable dumplings (separately, that is) and finished off with an incredibly heavy sesame and peanut butter concoction. 

A trolley laden with dim sum goodies

Sipping at some jasmine tea

The waitress ticked the card on the right after each dim sum

With the tank on full, we left City Hall behind us and wandered along the main street looking for the escalator up to the mid-levels. This contraption, designed for the lazy, those who don't want to risk the traffic below, and (more legitimately) those with mobility issues, carried us up to Hong Kong Soho. Here we walked along streets of antique sellers, browsing for artefacts that we couldn't carry or afford, and wandered through the "wet market" to peer at the lobsters and crabs crawling over each other in small tubs of water (this probably has nothing to do with the name "wet market", but it was what we found most interesting). 

Stairway to mid-levels

Checking out the lobster; I prefer mine cooked

We paid a quick visit to a Buddhist temple nearby, and then walked east to catch the tram up to the Peak (a viewpoint over the city). On the way we meandered through the city's zoo and botanical park, which had a small collection of reptiles, apes, and birds. 

Temple looking slightly out of place

I don't see the resemblance

Botanical gardens in the heart of the city

The tram up to the Peak was an old carriage pulled up a steep slope that had us clinging slightly too tightly to the handrail but offered great views back down the hill. At the top was a gleaming multi-storey mall that seemed slightly out of place but was probably to have been expected in HK. On the way up to the top Clem had to drag me away from the shop selling sunglasses with a video camera attached. 

Tram coming into the station

Hanging out the window, San Fran style 

We'd had to pay a little extra to be allowed on to the terrace at the top of the building, but the incredible view was well worth it. After posing for photos (while squinting into the sun) we took a stroll through the woodland around the top of the hill, from which we looked out over the South China Sea and then over the Victoria Harbour again. 

On the terrace, after giving in to the sun

View back across to Kowloon.  That's the ICC reflecting off the harbour.  Ozone bar's at the top (see below).

Indian rubber tree; also grows in HK

After taking the tram back down to the mid-levels, we walked across to the harbour, taking the ubiquitous overhead walkways rather than navigating the broad roads. Surviving the maze created by the construction works around the convention centre, we arrived at Golden Bauhinia square, which holds a monument donated by the Chinese government to mark the transition of sovereignty from Great Britain. We didn't linger for long, put off by the hordes of tourists that seemed to have been brought there on a fleet of buses, and took the ferry back across the harbour to Kowloon.

Looking across to Kowloon from Golden Bauhinia square

We made our way across Kowloon to the International Commercial Centre because I was determined to have a drink at the world's highest bar. Clem decided that she preferred the Ritz-Carlton's reception area on the 9th floor, while I took the elevator up to the 118th floor. The bar itself was starting to fill up with tourists planning to watch the harbour's son et lumiere show from on-high, sipping champagne in the dim light. I took the requisite photos and sank a Hong Kong beer, since I couldn't leave without having a drink, then travelled back down to join Clem in the safety of the 9th floor.

Looking down on the harbour from the 118th floor; there was no terrace, disappointingly

Not convinced by the decor

From there we walked back to the harbour and took up position by the water's edge to watch the son et lumiere. Neither of us are usually fans of such things, but we rather enjoyed the amusing electro music and flashing lights, as well as the gasps of the crowd at particularly staccato passages. The show also had the great virtue of relative brevity. Video below:

By then we were famished, since we'd only had a snack since our 11am dim sum. Too hungry to search for something new, we returned to the previous day's restaurant, then retreated to the hotel and collapsed.

December 9th

With a flight at 5pm, we had a morning to shop. I wanted a new camera (since my three-year old pocket camera wasn't doing justice to the magnificent sights we'd been enjoying, and I was envious of the wonderful G12 bought for Clem by her parents) and we had also been eyeing up Macs. We did a tour of Tsim Sha Tsui, comparing prices for cameras and MacBooks. When we eventually found the lowest price, in a place that looked respectable, we only narrowed escaped from a major mistake (largely of our own making). We were on the point of agreeing to buy a Canon S95 and MacBook Air when we discovered that the MacBook Air was the 2009 model and didn't even have wifi. Yes, we can be that naive and stupid (at times). We left that fairly unpleasant experience behind us and decided just to buy from the Apple store, which was in any case an excellent saving on European prices.

We went back to the hotel and collected our bags, then took the metro to Hong Kong station, which has an incredibly convenient "in-town check-in" where we left our bags (crossing our fingers that they would make it onto the plane). Freed from this encumbrance, we entered the enormous mall above the station. After some credit card issues -- this was proving to be a stressful day -- we eventually bought a MacBook Air from an authorised reseller for the same price charged by the Apple store, but with a few accessories thrown in. I also managed to find a good price for my Canon S95 (a simple but good quality point-and-click, since I have minimal camera skills).

Last view over HK from the hotel room

We made our way back to the station and caught the express to the airport (more expensive than the bus, but much more convenient). There we boarded our DragonAir flight to Kathmandu (via Dhaka, curiously), which passed fairly pleasantly (although again with the ludicrous faux-reclining seats; I really hope these aren't becoming standard on new planes).

At Kathmandu airport we took a taxi to our hotel. As we left, a guy jumped in the front seat and started trying to convince us to stay at his hotel. He even offered to host us for free that night, so we could then go to our hotel in the morning and decide which we preferred. He then offered free breakfast the following morning so we could look at his hotel. We resisted (without being rude), said we'd maybe make it for breakfast if we woke up early enough, and managed to get to the hotel we'd booked online. Hotel Moonlight was large, faded, and apparently empty. We were shown up to our room, also large but faded, and jumped into bed to escape the cold.