I was nervous about doing a cycling tour. Everyone we spoke to, from hotel receptionists to travel agents, said that it would be 'mostly downhill'. To me, that was a euphemistic way of saying there would be some rough uphill stretches. I don't cycle regularly. Riding 25 km all of a sudden? I wasn't sure if I was up to it.But the cycling tour turned out to be my top experience in Bali.Sure, there were parts when I fell back, particularly when we went off the main road and onto little mud tracks. I've never ridden a geared bike before, and I certainly hadn't ever ridden a bike that picks up speed so fast. In the beginning, even on the tar road, a voice in my head screamed, Too fast, too fast, too fast. And used as I am to riding my Activa, I was afraid of skidding, afraid of wet mud ... and thrilled to be riding through it all.I'll write about the cycling tour in … [Read more...]
Books that I must write about!
I couldn't wait any longer. I just had to write about at least some of the books I've been reading. Last night, I sat and reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's not my favourite, but then, it's Harry Potter, probably the only series of books I've ever stayed up reading. I even took part in a midnight treasure-hunt at a bookstore the day the seventh Harry Potter book was to be released. It pushed me to write today about all these other books I'm reading, books that aren't nearly as famous.The good part about reviewing books long after you've read them is that you have a little more perspective. You know which books stay with you and which ones just get lost along the way.The Thing about Jellyfish stayed with me. And I think the best thing about the book - without giving anything away - is that it ends perfectly.When Franny dies, her best friend Suzy stops … [Read more...]
Shopping in Bali
Sure, shopping is fun in Bali. When we spoke about our top experiences there, shopping featured in the top three of many.Here's a sample of how it works."It's a good sarong - 3 metres, Batik print on both sides." "How much?" "Very good print, it--" "How much?" "400,000." (Quick calculations. How much is that? 2,000 rupees!? No way I'm paying that much!) "No, thank you." (Walk away.) "Okay, how much you give? Ma'am! How much you give?" (What I'm willing to give is too little to even start bargaining, so I shake my head.) "Okay! I give for 300,000. Okay 200,000. Okay, 150,000?" (This is strange. Without saying anything, it's suddenly less than half the original price.) "150,000 still too much." "How much you give? If you don't say how much you give, I don't know!" "40,000." "Aw. 40 too little. 100,000." "40,000." "Okay, 60,000." "No 40,000." "What is final … [Read more...]
Monkey Forest, Ubud
I'm an Indian tourist. Monkeys aren't new to me. We see them along railway lines, on walls, trying to get into houses ... I've written about Matheran too, where a monkey came into the room, picked up a packet of milk powder, and then calmly looked around, trying to figure out what else to take.So, no, monkeys are not an exotic species that I would go and see. I am not tempted by the prospect of feeding monkeys sweet potatoes or corn or bananas. I don't want a video of a monkey climbing all over me. In fact, I don't want a monkey climbing all over me. Period.For some of us in the group, the signboard at the entrance itself was a deterrent. I'm not quoting, but here's the gist of it. If a monkey jumps on you, do not panic. Do not carry a paper bag or plastic bag into the forest. If a monkey grabs your bag, let go. Don't make eye-contact with the monkeys.The list went … [Read more...]
Young Writers’ Club – Mystery Stories
A priceless necklace has been stolen from a museum and you are one of the suspects. How can you convince the jury that you're innocent?"I was on a plane to Kashmir," said one girl. "I can show you the ticket!" A little later, she added, "And I even have a photo that the air hostess took to prove that I was there!" And immediately, the cross-questioning began. "Why did she want to prove you were there? What air hostess takes a photo of the passengers? It looks like you're trying too hard to prove you were somewhere else! You're involved in the theft in some way!"And so, we examined how we can create characters that convince readers that they're innocent. At what point does an alibi begin to sound like the character is needlessly justifying herself? Also, how can you leave clues but still surprise the reader at the end?The children at the Young Writers' Club at Just Books … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest 2018
The Lit Bug Fest, Pune's own literary fest for children, was held yesterday, and I'm sure everyone who was there is still on a high. For me, just like last year, it was a delightful experience interacting with readers, talking about my books, sharing ideas, and even being interviewed by two child-journalists!The energy of a lit fest is unmatched. I kept sneaking away from the stall and attending bits and pieces of events, hovering on the outside sometimes, and sitting in at other times. Each session I attended was lovely!I began my day with a story with which I was familiar, retold by Yamini Vijendran. Using puppets and all the drama of her expressive voice and face, she drew us into the story, so much so that I didn't realise that she'd kept us engaged for half an hour!I wanted very much to attend Bhavna Menon's session because I loved her book, Welcome to the Forest. It was as … [Read more...]
Taxis in Bali
When you read about the public transport system in Bali, you learn about bemos that are too crowded to use and Bluebird taxis that are reliable and reputable. I still don't know what a bemo is. We saw bus stops that seemed impossibly high, and I never saw a bus stopping at any of them. Taxis are often awkward too if you don't know how much something ought to cost. You need to persuade the driver to go by meter, and then you still end up paying more than you would if you have a local SIM and download an app like Grab or Gojek. And coming from a city like Pune, Gojek bikes are the best!In any case, when you begin to bargain (unavoidable in Bali), the prices are confusing. One INR is equivalent to about 200 IDR, so we're all millionaires in Indonesia. Taxi ride? 40,000 IDR. Cycle tour? 500,000 IDR Extra bed in your hotel room? 150,000 IDRIt takes a while to figure things … [Read more...]
Back from Bali
Today, I finally finished writing my travelogue, which is over 50 pages long. I needed to get that done quickly before I forgot all the details! And now, I can leisurely write my blog, bit by bit, with one exciting detail after another.We were a group of ten dancers, and we were put up at Alam Puri, a resort that lives up to its name. 'Alam' means 'nature' or 'natural', and 'puri' is a castle. Alam Puri was really like a castle in the midst of nature!Yet, I would say that that's true of almost everything we saw in Bali - royalty and nature. The smallest little door in the middle of nowhere is ornately carved. And all around it is greenery that takes your breath away.I'll begin my series of travel articles with an offering, and the story behind it. Do you see the cigarette in the picture? We heard two stories about why the cigarette is there.Story 1 - When you make … [Read more...]
What is travel without adventure?
Would we travel at all if there were no stories to tell? The things that go wrong make stories - and things that almost go wrong make the best stories of all.A train journey to Varanasi did not promise to be exciting. First, our train was from Mumbai at an unearthly hour. The journey was about 27 hours long, and we would reach, again, at an unearthly hour. But then, we were in a group, so things were bound to get entertaining, in one way or another.Water dispensing machines have been installed at stations all over the country. These are supposed to be coin-operated, but usually, there is someone at the kiosk operating it for you. Many of the girls in the dance troupe were seeing these fancy water kiosks for the first time, so everyone was excited. Why spend on mineral water and plastic bottles when you can just refill your bottle at one-third the price? Of course, it's … [Read more...]
Performing in Varanasi
The last time I visited Varanasi, I was nearly run down by a charging bull. Not surprisingly, when the planning began for a dance trip to Varanasi, I was not overly excited. Varanasi, for me, was a place where religion was elaborately performed, as if every day was a festival. I was also utterly put off by a sign outside Kashi Vishwanath temple that said that non-Hindus were to remain outside. They could go see the temple from a nearby library. I was there with two French guests - how could I ask them to stay outside? It seemed more than a little unwelcoming, in a country that is famed for its hospitality.But this time was different. This time, Varanasi welcomed us in ways I would not have thought possible.Visiting BHU was a whole new experience. The campus is absolutely charming and feels steeped in history and culture. Yet, the campus was all very well - how would … [Read more...]