Posts Tagged ‘Traveling’
The great Indian Adjustment.
I was traveling by train the other day on the Lalbagh Express (Chennai – Bangalore) . I managed to get a confirmed ticket on Second Sitting, which is the second class sitting compartment – reserved. The train starts at 1530 hrs and it was not crowded at all. But when the clock struck 1525, there was a huge gust of people rushing in and occupying whatever seat they could find. This did not amaze me; well I have been traveling in trains for a long time now. But there is one another thing that is common in all train journeys.
The seat adjustment.
Consider a family of 4 or a large group of 6, since most of the time we book tickets at the last moment the seats would be allotted scattered. The first one hour after boarding the train would be spent by the leader (whom we can assume as the one who has the tickets and keeps on counting the seats and berths, shouting out his seat numbers, indirectly asking the people sitting or leaning on his reserved seat to MOVE) to move people (read other passengers) around the compartment so that he can get his group sit together.
A well dressed man approached me and said
“ “
“I am sorry??” I said and removed my ipod headphones.
“Are you traveling alone?” he asked again. Smiling at the silliness.
“Yes” I said.
“Do you mind moving to another seat.”
“I don’t as long as there is one, Sure ! “ I said and picked my bag.
He directed me to another seat pretty much closer to mine.
He approached the old man sitting (or was sitting) next to me and asked the same question. And in a while the old man was with me in our newly allocated seats.
“Koncham adjust pannunke” (Please adjust a little) he said again and kept few of his luggage under our seats.
The adjustment.
I am a victim of seat adjustment every time I travel alone. They target the single travelers who fall easy prey to their questions. How do they identify that you are traveling alone?
If you are armed with a book and have head phones glued to your ears. You are traveling obviously alone.
I am okay with adjustments. It’s okay to move. It’s okay if the family wants to sit together.
But I get moved every time! Every single time!
Weekend Escapade Part II
The coffee plantations in Coorg mesmerize you with its aroma and splendid beauty. Being from Kerala and have stayed in the middle of a coffee plantation (in Peermade Idukku Distric, near Thekkady) for years, this experience was not new. But this brought back memories of the beautiful past.
We opted for a home stay to get closer to nature. But what was in store for us was surprising.
The endless insects that crawled all over, the leeches (surprisingly none of us got bitten by them) and the storm of insects all over made me closer to nature.
Tip #1
To get rid of a leech biting its ‘heart out’ on your body, (1) Apply a pinch of salt or (2) Use a lighter or a match stick and bring the flame close to the leech, it will let go !
Never forcefully remove the leech from your body as it injects a chemical to your body and the blood wont clot.
Due to an anticoagulant (hirudin) that leeches secrete, bites may bleed more than a normal wound after the leech is removed
Try stamping on the leech you could see blood spurting all over. (I sound sadist huh?, well its my blood !)
Tip #2
How to get rid of insects?
Turn off the lights. Yes, as simple as that. The lights attract all the flies all around the plantations as there wouldn’t be any light anywhere near. I remember the times when I used to stay at the place in Peermade without any lights for 3 days in a row. The moment I turn on any of the lights it would attract thousand of insects and they invade the house!
However, during daytime you are at their mercy. 
Talking about the stay in Coorg, its no big difference from Peermade. There were hundreds of insects trying to find a place to hide in my room, bags and all over. Finally we turned off the lights to chase it away. That didn’t however stop the visits from a dozen millipedes.J
But it was all worth it in the morning when I got up early to go trekking and fishing. The sight outside our room was splendid! The thick fog engulfed the morning rays and the visibility was very low.
Here are few pics.
(The beautiful morning)
(A view outside our room)
(The catch)
( To be contd)
Related Posts
Weekend Escapade Part I
The trip to Coorg was rewarding, the climate, the people, the endless plantations and insects that crawled all over my body made me much closer to nature than never before.
It gave some sort of a revelation that we are just aliens invading their space.
One of our stops was at the Tibetian Colony in Coorg. With all the issues surrounding, Tibet now, I wondered how they reached the Southern State of Karnataka from their cold hills of Tibet which they call home.
History
(Nyingmapa Monastery)
The monastery was established by Penor Rinpoche in 1963, following his 1959 exit from Tibet. The initial structure was a temple constructed from bamboo, covering an area of approximately eighty square feet. As of 2007, the lodging facilities alone for the school include three buildings with over 150 rooms. (Source Wikipedia)
(Golden Temple)
(Woman praying outside the temple)
Bylekuppe
ByleKuppe is one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India, around 16000 refugees and nearly 6000 monks and nuns. Set up in 1960, Bylakuppe is a small town situated 6 kms from Kushalnagar or 42 Kms from Mercara, the place has several monastries and the famous among them are the Great Gompa of Sera Je, Sera Mey and the Namdroling monastery.
(Source)
(Inside the temple)
The temple and the monks all around gave me a feeling that I was in Thailand again. (I have been to Thailand once). This was indeed a mind-blowing experience.
To be contd.
(All pictures taken with Sony DSC W55, thanks to new wordpress I couldnt insert the images properly)
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