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...]
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...]
Planetarium and Science Park, Bengaluru
Every year since I was born, I've visited Bangalore, or Bengaluru, if you prefer. Yet, I've barely done any touristy things there. Last year, I went to Cubbon Park, which was lovely. That opened my eyes to everything else I could do in the city!So, this year, we went beyond Corner House and all the other usual eating things, and visited the planetarium and Science Park. I didn't even know Bangalore had a planetarium! It does, with shows right through the day in English and Kannada. It is nice and easy to access by metro - the closest metro station is Vidhan Soudha. Entry to the planetarium is 60 rupees per adult, and the Science Park, which is just outside, is free and very well worth a visit.My first visit to the planetarium was when I was ten. If I remember right, the tickets were about 20 rupees each, maybe even less. I wrote a story for Kid-Day, the children's … [Read more...]
Udhagamandalam
At school, all of us took great pride in saying 'Udagamandalam'; I'm not quite sure why. We also felt very proud when we managed to say Udagamandalam while playing 'Place-Place'. (Everyone knows the game, and in India, we must repeat. Teacher-Teacher. School-School. Place-Place. All of that.)Yesterday, I realised that here in Tamil Nadu, we spell it Udhagamandalam because, you see, the first /d/ is soft different from the second, hard /d/. We must make that clear! So Udhagamandalam, it is. Past Wellington, past Coonoor, and all the way up to Udhagamandalam.I do wish we'd taken the charming toy train up to Ooty, but as my characters say in The Toy Train, it takes too long. We saw the train at Coonoor station, we crossed the tiny narrow gauge rail tracks, and sighed. Next time, we said, next time.This time, we drove up, enjoying the view of tea estates, stopping … [Read more...]
Scuba Diving in Krabi
Fifteen years ago, I went scuba diving for the first time. Fresh out of school, I wrote SCUBA, not scuba, because I knew it was an acronym (and probably wanted to show off that I knew).I remember standing on the white sand of Lakshadweep. It was all a bit overwhelming. There were sixty of us, on a Lakshadweep camp. I was at an age when I wanted to fit in, but did not want to fit in. I wanted to be welcomed, but just did not belong. Lakshadweep, with its breathtaking beauty, took me out of my own deep-rooted self-consciousness. I snorkelled to the end of the lagoon, watching blue surgeon fish. I remember deep sea snorkelling on our last day there, and can still feel the thrill that ran through every pore of my being. I remember running my hand along the sea weeds when Mr Shaukat Ali held my hand and took me under water.And when I went to Krabi last month, everything flashed … [Read more...]
Kothi Heritage, Jodhpur
You know how fancy, hoity-toity people tell you that when you go to Rajasthan, you absolutely must stay in a palace? "It's part of the experience," they say. And depending on the kind of person you are, you may nod politely and say mentally, 'Ya, right', or you may just shoot the suggestion down.We didn't stay in a palace, no, but we did stay at Kothi Heritage, which was used for two months in a year as a vacation home. And how was that possible? Because Make my Trip offers you a free night when you do a certain number of bookings!Kothi Heritage belonged to Shri Bachhraj Ji, Senapati to the Maharaja Jaswant Singh (IInd). Many, many years later, his great great grandsons Tapan and Trideep Singhvi decided to convert it into a heritage hotel. They handpicked the furniture and set it up -- and it's truly charming. We had breakfast outdoors on the lawn in perfect weather. (I … [Read more...]