One of my resolutions for 2010 is to visit a new place every month.
January : Aurangabad, Lonar and Ellora —- Check
February : Agra, Mathura —- Uncheck 
March : Hampi —- Not happening
April : Uttranchal —- Keeping my fingers crossed (……)
May
June
July —- Ladakh ( The trip of a lifetime)
August — Urban Stanpede 2010 ( a journey of sorts)
September
October : Delhi – common wealth games
November – Pushkar
December
On a freezing Saturday morning towards the close of January , I alighted at the Aurangabad railway station at 5 in the morning. Full of anticipation I set my right foot firmly on the ground and the train honked and started to roll! Nearly missed my first stop there! Well the day was to be full of missed buses, wrong stops and a helluva big crater.
I met up with a friend who had travelled in from Bombay and together we set off to Lonar. Lonar, the third largest lake in the world formed by a meteorite crash some 5000 odd years ago in our very own India .
We did’nt know much about Lonar save for the fact that it was the third biggest lake in the world and the little ( and faulty) information we got off the Lonley Planet guide. Following the directions of the Lonley Planet guide we started out at the Aurangabad bus stand. On enquiring about the buses to Lonar we learnt that Lonar was not a tourist hot spot. Surprising! Had I been on the board of Maharashtra Tourism ministry I would have definitely tapped into the immense potential that Lonar holds.Every time the officer at duty at the information kiosk would come up with the name of different bus that would get us to Lonar. I had spent over 14 hours in the train and hungry for some action jumped on to a bus that was headed to Jalna. I had read on the Lp guide that there are frequent buses from Jalna to Lonar. It was an hours drive to Jalna.I slept through out the way. On reaching Jalna we found that the bus to Lonar had departed 5 minutes before our bus . What was worse that bus started from Aurangabad and we were at the stop watching as that bus pulled away from Aurangabad!
After an hours wait we decided to catch the bus to Sultanpur and then catch an auto to Lonar which was supposedly on 10-12 Kns away. Hardly had we boarded the bus than another bus pulled up at the side. Lo and behold! It was the bus to Lonar resort and it gets better it started from Aurangabad. Qucikly we de boarded the sultanpur bus and occupied the last seats in the Lonar bus right at the back. And on we went to Lonar!
It was a bumpy ride at the back but I didn’t seem to mind. The scenery was an alternation of bare parched land with luch green patches of farm lands. If I am not mistaken the general occupation of the people on that route are animal husbandry, farming and orange growing, although there were pockets of patches with sunflowers. It was hard to affirm whether they were cultivated or just grew miraculously wild and in straight lines. After three hours we reached Lonar. I didn’t get off the bus immediately. My hindi being inclined quite to the not so great side I had mis read the Resod on the board as Resort. To me it made sense cause I knew there was an MTDC resort at the start of the carter trail and it seemed only logical that there would be a govt. operated bus right to the start of the trail!
From the bus stop we reached the MTDC guest house/warehouse by an auto.The driver Imraan bhyya was gracious enough to give us his cell number in case we needed a ride back. I can’t tell how much that saved me that day!
The crater was huge. It was gigantic. It was enormous. Yes I knew it would be so but seeing it with my own eyes seemed to make it bigger. 
After an interesting lunch at the MTDC resort we started out trek down the crater. We took a fairly used path. On our way we heard the cat calls of a lot of birds which at first I had mistaken for the voices of people carried by the wind. The base of the crater has lush green vegetation with abundant flora and fauna and a few abandoned temples along the circumference of the crater. The water is brackish and green and dirty too. But I am told that in the monsoons it is a sight to behold. Once we were down at the base we disturbed a flock of ducks that were lazily basking in the sun. While a couple of of other birds were unpertubed by our presence. All excited about being at the third largest lake in the world we had lofty ambitions of walking the full length of the carter. After a while we downsized our ambition to a temple about two thirds of the way. A little later it was further downsized it to a temple which was about a third of the way. We didn’t meet our target
No sooner had we got about a tenth of the way that we came upon a group of Languars with their young. And boy did they look agressive.That was when my friend decided that he had had enough of flora and fauna and wanted to turn back. Turn back!!! After we came all this way?!! Finally he agreed to walk up to the first temple that came our way. The deal was if we ever saw a languar on the way we were to turn back. That was fine by me. Murphy’s law as always. We walked ten steps when a languar came charging. He was a big languar. At the sight of the charginng languar my sense of adventure and ambition left me. Without a word I led the way back to trail. We had barely made it to the first temple.
The climb up was tortuous made worse by the heat of the sun. About half way up we called Imraan Bhyya and asked him to come pick us up. If only he could come down the trail. I would have so loved a ride up. Finally we made it to the top. I was dead tired. Never have I been so tired my whole life. I was so tired I thought of scrapping the plans of going to Ellora the next day and instead catching the train back to Hyderabad that very night.
If getting to Lonar was difficult, getting back from Lonar was impossible. For starters the bus stand was patheitc. There were as many goats as there were poeple. And the goats took the liberty of chewing off a bit of your bag to satiate their hunger. And if you sat still at a place they came to keep you compnay. How annoying. To add to all this a bus came in once in a blue moon and never was that bus headed in the direction of Aurangabad. Tired, fustrated and angry we finally shelled out a good deal of money for a taxi back to Aurangabad. I just didn’t care. I wanted to get out of there. Lonar was beautiful beyond comparison but what a foolish thing to try and conquer it in a day. Its a 2-3 day affair, inlcuding the travelling bit. Now I know why the states tourism department leaves Lonar the way it is!
When I called it aday I was a little worried if I would be up for Ellora the next day. But a good night’s rest did the trick. The next morning we hired a rickshaw for a day and set off to the world heritage site of Ellora. En route we passed by Daulatabad, that fortress high on a hill above. We told our driver Raju bhayya that on our way back form Ellora we wanted to stop at Dualatabad and climb to the top of the surmit. He merely smiled and said ” first Ellora, then you tell me no daultabad go home! ” Well if he thought we tired so easily he was right. That was exactly what we told him after Ellora.Some people have all the answers.
Ellora and its 34 caves from different periods of history and dedicated to gods and goddesses of three different religions. Beautiful Ellora. We started our way down in to history with Ellora’s most popular cave. Cave 16 or the Kailash. A Huge cave dedicated mainly to Lord Shiva. The cave still has a functioning temple. Amazing. The exterior has carvings of Lord Shiva in the tandava pose.
Once you enter you see an elephant with its trunk missing and a marvelously carved pillar called the victory pillar. The cave has a middle portion with three levels. The caves surrounding the main temple have carvings of different gods and goddesses in several dance poses. There was a wall which had intricate carvings from the Mahabharata. The outer portions of the main temples had elephants in war modes. There were elephants crushing lions, elephants with lions meekly at their feet, elephants trumpeting and elephants humbling standing.Elephnats, Elepahnts everywhere!
On looking up you will get an idea how much of the rock had to be cut in order to make this temple. Simply amazing. This cave is believed to be built in 200 ad and to have taken 1o generations to do it. One can only marvel at the sheer perseverance and talent of the sculptors. 10 generations and never did they waver from their theme and style.Highest quality standards.There was a group of school kids who were touring the caves with their history teacher. The teacher was a powerful orator and engaged the group with excerpts from history relating to the caves.We spent a while in their company.
The next cave we went to was cave 10. Another wonder. It was a Buddhist temple. Unlike cave 16 it was not well lit. I came prepared for that. I had read in travel blog about the usefulness of carrying a torch. Indeed uselful it was. I felt like an Indina Jones with the full shade hat and a torch. 
When I entered cave 10 it didn’t give me a ‘wow; feeling. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could barely comprehend the beauty. There was a large statue of Buddha with the smiling face we all know so well and above on the roof was this intricate spiral carving. Perfectly symmetrical. Perfectely symmetrical at a time like 200 AD where men had nothing but bare hands to work with. Did we just progress in the reverse direction? Cave 10 was a 2 storied builing. The upper floor I assume was the quarters of the monk. There were about 4 cells with a stone slab which I assume would have served the purpose of a bed. The cells didn’t have doors and they were ventilated by the draft from the centre court yard.
After cave 10 we zigzaged around. Cave 15 was a Hindu cave which housed the temple preists. It had a version of swimming pool, cells, halls and miniature temples. Cave 12 was a three storied monastery.. It had many pillars, many cells and many many statues. More caves, more statues and more climbing.
Finally we went back to our auto and had Raju bhyya drop us off at cave 30-34 which were a little way off. Caves 30-34 are the Jain caves. They were similar to the Buddhist caves but of course they had Mahavira instead. I noticed holes in the rocks which I initially attributed to erotion at play. But on seeing more than a couple of them, it kind if struck me that they were viewing holes. The line of vision from these holes was directly aimed at Mahavira. Jeez did those guys miss out anything?
After five hours tired and hungry we decided to head back. Raju bhyaa was only too happy. He claims that he comes here twice everyday and knew every stone by heart. Scaresly had we left the complex , when my friend exclaimed that we missed the Sun gods chariot that the guide book we had bought said was in cave 25. Raju bhyaa was quite obliging and took a U turn. However he refused to take the auto to the cave and we had to walk from cave 16.Anyways there was no sun god’s chariot in cane 25. There was a statute of Nandi and nothing more. Damn the guide book!But we did walk all the way up to cave 29 which is by far the cave with giant carvings. Everything about this cave is screaming ‘collosal’ , the carvings, the pillars , the statues, everything.
That completed all the 34 caves. Now we could turn back without fear of having missed something after coming all this way. On our way back when we reached Dualatabad Raju Bhyya playfully asked if we still wanted to climb the fort. ‘Oh No’ we cried in unison. No way. No more walking for me. Some food and a place to sit was all I could ask for.
We still had a couple more hours before our trains arrived andRaju Bhyya was insistent that we see places in Aurnagabad. So we first went to the Panch Chakki which is a water mill engineered a couple of hundreds of years ago. Totally unimpressive! Next Bibi ka maqbara or the as the locals call it ‘the mini taj’ more like a ‘fake taj’ to me. It was nice nothing more. Raju bhyya was quite disappointed that we were not very impressed so he took us to a silk weaving factory which is more than a hundred years old. We were too tried to protest. We were like ‘ya 5 min bhyya and then we ll leave’. Half an hour later Raju Bhyya was still patiently waiting for us 
The factory made Himroo shawls, bedsheets saris and other stuff. Himroo is a weaving design unique to Aurnagabad. The supervisor at the mill was Raju Bhyyas friend. So he took us around and showed us how the workings of the mill. Pretty cool I should say. We left the factory with a couple of himroo shawls as souvenirs.
An hour later I was on the train headed back to Hyderabad, asleep before the train left the station. What a wonderful weekend!
Finally after months of planning we hit the road. Destination Medak.
For starters, the known things about Medak
We started from Hyderabad at about 9.30 in the morning with the opinion that Medak was just a an hour and a half away. A couple of hours, a stop at a local dhabba and after a lot of enquiring we realised that we were still 70 kms or so from Medak. While Bidar which is roughly about 150 kns from Hyderabad was only 75 km away. I was all for changing the destination to Bidar. But that was not to be!
Supposedly we had taken a round about way to Medak, through a lot of rural area. We were slowed further by a traffic of bullock carts with sugar canes. It was a mess. There were carts all the place and traveling in all directions. Some of them stopped on the middle of the road and were exchanging greetings with commuters from the opposite direction. We soon passed the long line ofr carts and were up against tractors ( with sugar cane again). Well they were not as slow as the bullock carts. Thank God for small mercies!
Every time we stopped for directions Medak was always another 40 or so Km away. After a few hours we stopped for a small” beer break” at some abandoned ruins before finally reaching Medak.
Medak was a small town with a huge church and an old fort. The church was gigantic. It could seat 5000 people at a time. It had 3 stained glass painting – the most beautiful ones I have ever seen :- They were of the Nativity, the crucifixion and the Ascension. However it was such a tourist spot that it just did not have the ‘churchy’ feel to it. To me some how that is very important. We relaxed in the shadow cast by the church for a while before leaving to the fort.
The Medak fort is just like any other fort I would say with the exception of not being maintained at all. Nature is its only caretaker. Medak fort was built by Hindus rulers which can be seen by examining the carvings which have survived time and graffiti.
Climbing upto the top was a trek of sorts. It was’nt all together a very enjoyable experience. Obviously this was a hang put spot for the locals who used the fort more as a mens club sort of area. There were liquor bottles, garbage and annoying men almost everywhere. All the same we rested for sometime where it would once have been the steps leading to a water tank.
The way back to Hyderabad was shorter and uneventful apart from a couple more ” beer breaks”. If I were to rate the Medak trip I would defintely give it a 4.5 on 6. High scores for amazing company !
For the unacquainted, Hyderabad is just another capital city with crowded malls, high rise apartments, fancy restaurants and night clubs. The truth be told, Hyderabad is anything but ‘just another’. Veiled beneath the concrete jungles, coliseums of steel and glass, the true Hyderabad hides her smiling visage.
One weekend many a weekends ago, I set out with a backpack camera, and a check list of must see places to seek the Hyderabad that poets of all ages have waxed eloquent about. Here is an account of the weekend. I have tried better than my best to do justice with my experience.
My operation ‘Discover Hyderabad’ began with the Salar Jung Museum. I am not a big fan of museums. But in the 5 months that I have been in Hyderabad I have visited this museum 3 times. Only during the first time did I go around and see the entire collection. My other visits were limited to three exhibits that capture my undivided attention: The Veiled Rebecca, the double statue of Mephistopheles and Margarita and the Musical Clock.
The Veiled Rebecca is a marble sculpture beyond compare. I had previously read about the statue but I was not really prepared for what I saw when I stood before the casing. It looked like Rebecca would almost step out the glass casings any minute and blush on seeing the large crowd that stood admiring her. Honestly one does not have to travel to the Louvre to see art at its best. It is right here in our midst. If only we would take the time.
The double statue, I would say, is definitely worth the winding climb to the second floor of the Museum. I love literature and could not pass of the opportunity to relate to the couple standing beside me, wondering what this statue meant, in the context of the statue. For clarity let me start at the beginning, the double statue as its name rightly gives away is the statue of two fictional characters, to be precise Mephistopheles and Margarita. Mephistopheles, the devil, tricks a young scholar to sell his soul to him in return for knowledge and Margarita is the fair maiden that this scholar falls in love with. More orthodox versions of the legend end with young scholar burning in the fires of hell for his tryst with the devil, while more liberal version considers his love for Margarita as his redemption from sin.
The statue has Mephistopheles on one side and Margarita on the other. While Mephistopheles wears a sardonic grin and is a picture of arrogance, Margarita has a very gentle and meek posture. This sculptor of this work is unknown. I wondered if Salar Jung was a close acquaintance of the sculptor or did the sculpture just change hands and finally come into the possession of Salar Jung? I guess I will never know.
Coming to my third favorite exhibit: The Musical Clock. This clock has been ticking away for quite a while now. It bears testimony to the craftsmanship and quality of its makers. The clock strikes the hour to date without fail. Unlike the highly digitized clocks of our time, this clock has a soldier who keeps track of the seconds of our lives with the beat of his drums and another soldier who pops out before the hour every hour to ring in another hour of life.
The visit to the museum was almost a whole day’s affair. There were rooms and rooms with clocks, porcelain stuff, guns, furniture, attire, regalia, etc. Name it and it was there. Since I was without any agenda I took the liberty of viewing the exhibits in my own sweet time till it got monotonous. At that point I stuck my head through all the doors for the consolation that I had been in there (Atleast for a second or so).
The next hot spot on my list saw me standing at a place which would have put the flea markets of Egypt to shame. Again for the unacquainted, I refer here to Charminar.
I was spellbound! For a person who has no difficulty with both the written and spoken word I must admit defeat. I am at loss as to how to best describe Charminar… I have done my best to do justice to the phenomenon that is Charminar.
Enter Charminar, enter the set of a chaotic play; enter lanes with shops and shops of bangles galore, display after display of earrings a glittering. Enter a world where the order of the day is chaos! Nevertheless, one will soon learn to appreciate the melody in the cacophony.
Walking down the colorful lanes of the Choodi Bazaar, I was hailed by hoards of shopkeepers to come examine their wares. Initially I declined with a polite smile only to hear them retort “Madam looking is free of charge”. Only in Hyderabad!!!! One persistent salesman persuaded me to enter his shop. Simply unbelievable! He had bangles for every occasion, every color, and every attire. In 10 minutes he had a bunch of bangles which matched the jeans and kurta I had worn without any thought that morning. I had no intention of buying anything, but slowly I was seduced to buy a couple of dozens of bangles! Now I know what they mean when they say ‘caught completely unawares’.
When I got lost with all the right angled turns that I had taken I had only to look up at the Minarets and trace and my way back to the centre of the chaos. Every time I made a mental note to climb the minaret and check out the view from the top. But the sights on the ground kept me busy and soon enough daylight faded. I was in for treat.
Bangles galore
If I was spellbound by what I saw in the daylight, I was stupefied by the scene at night. The whole place was light up, radiant and colorful and all this was a result of the light from the halogen lamps reflected by the bangles in the street. This added vivacity to the already vibrant atmosphere. Soon I called it a day and left the streets of Charminar. I could still hear the busy shoppers and busier salesman as I walked away. Life is Charminar was only getting started for some. And all the while the faithful minarets kept watch.
Sunset, sunrise. Another day.
The stops on my list for day 2 were Chowmallah Palace and Golconda Fort.
I started with the Chowmallah Palace. The grounds of the palace are huge with fountains and beautifully cropped trees and a long reflecting pool which in the mid afternoon seem to have a million stars twinkling together.
Despite the ages that have come and gone, the Chowmallah palace still maintains its regal look. It’s not quite hard to imagine the palace during its heyday. I loved the architecture. There was grandeur and simplicity and a perfect marriage between the two. The servant’s quarters for example was built to a very simple plan. However it has this long corridor with wooden doors at regular at interval which makes it grand in a way.
The Servant's Quaters
The Durbar hall was beyond beautiful it was grandiose. The chandeliers and the marble flooring quietly state the fact that the Nizams lived in tasteful affluence.
I spent what was left of the morning walking around the grounds and scanning through the exhibits on display. I did not care much to read the articles. With all the reading I did at Salar Jung the day before this was turning out to be an overdose.
After I left Chowmallah, I took a cab to the Golconda fort. As they say, save the best for the last.
I took the services of a guide who made the ruins come alive with tales of war, peace, culture, love and treason. I climbed up to the top of the rampart and was treated to a panoramic view of the fort -the outer perimeter gates at a distance, the tank further on, the inner fortification, then the clapping portico (I could actually hear the claps) and the steep steps to the top. I watched the sun set lazily over the ruins and then descended down.
While I was there I stayed for the sound and light show. It reiterated or rather confirmed all the statements that my guide had made. Money well spent! The show touched upon the history of the fort and ended with a melancholy note.
Golconda
The speaker was upset that such a majestic fort that was once a confluence of religions, cradle of culture and literature now had only the walls to speak for it. “Listen ”he concluded and pay heed”.
Well that ends my search for the true Hyderabad. I had experienced the uniqueness, the vibrancy, and the affluence that is ‘Truly Hyderabadi”.
For anyone planning to visit the Grand Canyon my advice would be to visit the North Rim. The North rim is closed in the winter, not easily accessible and simply amazing. Worth every minute of the long winding drive. My friend and I drove all night in order to see the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. The experience was truly out of this world. The sun rise was at 5.16 am. We arrived at the north rim at 5.13am and greeted by a bunch of people already waiting at the look out point with cameras focused east.
At first the sky turned golden. It reminded me of the Chinese tradition where Golden symbolizes royalty. It seemed as though the sky was preparing for the arrival of its king! 
A little later a small fiery ball was visible over the horizon partially hidden behind the canyons. Now it all made sense as to why the poets refers to the sun as a ball of fire, why children draw the sun as a yellow semicircle nestled in between mountains. The small ‘ball of fire’ soon got larger and seemed to be evidently rising higher with angled rays of light emanating from it. The rays lit up the canyon in a majestic manner and it’s no wonder it is called the ‘Grand canyon’.
After a lovely sunrise we hiked to Bright angels point from where we could hear the roaring springs, see the Angels gate, Deva temple and the other projections on the canyon. Later, we signed up for an hour’s mule ride through the canyon. I would definitely recommend this!
My mule’s name was Supai and he was a lazy fellow. He would take his own sweet time and nothing would hurry him on. He was a sure footed mule though. There were times when he would walk on the outer edge of the rim and it was scary to even look at the canyon below. I was in a group of nine riders, four of them being children. They made the ride very lively with their camp songs and their chitter chatter. After the mule ride we drove to the cape royal point. This trail has the famous angel’s window. This is the only location on in the north rim from where you can see the Colorado River. The angel’s window is a crack in the canyon. Through this crack the Colorado River is visible. The view above the Angel’s window is something. Pressed for time we slowly wrapped up the Grand Canyon trials and made our way to Page.
The drive from the North rim back to the highway must be done in daylight. It is an hour-hour and a half drive but always add an extra hour for I assure you the scenery on the way will slow you down. There are many view points ideally located. At each of these points there are people selling Indian artifacts.
About 90 miles from the Jacobs Lake (the entrance of the north rim) is the town of Page. This is a must visit place for all the Canyon state visitors. The ride to Page takes you on a road cut out in between the rocks. The must see places in Page are the Antelope canyon, Horse shoe bend and the Glen canyon dam. Planning is essential. The antelope canyon closes at 5.00 pm (The lower antelope canyon is a better visit I have heard). Also since this canyon was formed due to water running through the canyon it is prone to flash floods.
The Antelope point or the Slot canyon is a wonder. I don’t think I will do a good job in describing this breath taking marvel. There is a narrow passage in between the canyons going down ward. The narrow slots on top which is ground level filter the incoming rays of the sun resulting in a colorful display of lights down below. It is a photographer’s haven.
I saw a number of them with their high end camera patiently waiting for that ‘perfect moment’. On conversing with one of them I learnt that one needed a tripod and an exposure of over a minute in order to get a good shot. Anyway my camera did a pretty good job without both.
The way through the canyon is very very narrow and steep and at some places tricky.
While I was negotiating the narrow turns through the canyon I was amazed to think that at one time this had been a solid piece of rock. One River did all this!!!!! The power of ONE.
The other must see place in Page is the Glen canyon dam. The glen canyon dam is a dam in between the canyons and over the Colorado River. It’s a nice ‘hot’ spot to sit idly and gaze at the Colorado River if you are brave enough to face the Arizona sun. This is the second largest dam in the country. The city of Page is a consequence of this colossal dam. A mile across the bridge over to the other side is the Waheep Marina. This Marina is stretches across to Utah. On the edge of the Marina on the Utah side are look out points called coves facing the blue Lake Powell. The lake is calm, blue and serene occasionally disturbed by a speed boat. On the other side are the Navajo mountains with its contrasting white and brown colors. And to think one river did all this.
Our last spot that day was the horse shoe bend. Just as they say save the best for the last. To reach the spot is a three quarter of a mile trek through hot beach sand which makes the walk seems longer. Taking a bottle of water with you is a good idea.
Once you reach the horse shoe bend the walk fades away in to oblivion. What greets you at the end of the trek is beauty beyond compare.
The horse bend is a meander formed by the Colorado River and as you guessed, in the shape of the Horse shoe. You will need a wide angle camera to get the entire meander. The view will sweep you off your feet. 
Hold on with care because my dear you are at the edge of the rim. One small slip and you will fall about a 1000 feet into a sleepy Colorado River.
We lay down on the wafer like rocks with our chins resting on the edge of the rim. Despite the fact that there were quite a few people at the spot there was a certain solemn silence in the air. Everyone was taking in the moment. I am sure the same thing was running in everyone’s mind “Ah, all the beauty in the world”.
It was sunset time. But it was not to be a picturesque sunset. It was a cloudy evening so slowly everybody packed their gear and left before it got dark. On the way back I did not seem to mind the distance. I kept looking back wanting to remember as much as I could.
There is so much to see in this world. If only we could make the time “to stand and stare.’
I have heard of The Equator crossing. I have always wanted to do that. For that I would have to take a cruise and it wasn’t going to happen in the near future. While on my flights back and forth from India I should have crossed the International date line. Well this time on my flight back to LAX from Hong Kong I was actually awake when that happened.
The flight simulator showed that we were flying over the dateline. I pulled up the window shades. It was dark outside. Even with the night mode of the camera I wasn’t able to take a decent picture of the airplane wings. But in a couple of minutes a hazy shade was visible at a distance. It soon got brighter and I was able to take a fairly decent picture. As the plane sped on I took another couple or more pictures. Believe it or not , in less than 20 minutes it became as bright as day. I had crossed over to the ‘other side of midnight’!
Every coin has two sides to it. Cliched I know but I am borrowing it for Hong Kong for lack of being able to come up with one on my own. This weekend was one of surprises. On Saturday I set out to explore the Island of Lantau. The island can be reached in two ways , a one hour long bus ride up the winding hilly roads or a 15 minutes stunning cable car ride over the South China sea. I chose the latter and I did not regret it. The view was breathtaking. Well there were moments when I worried about the factor of safety that was used to design the ride but as I got used to the bumpy ride I began to enjoy the view. The ride took us over two hills.
Cable car ride
The landscape changed quickly from the tall scrappers at Tung Chung where the ride started to the beautiful, pristine hillside of the Lantau Island. I noticed certain concrete structures located right on top of the hills at a very odd angle.The structures were shaped similar to the Egyptian key of life symbol. Later I was told that there were ancient burial sites. The Chinese believe that when you are buried facing the sea you have a peaceful rest or something like that. I wonder how they got the body to the burial site, since its almost inaccessible. Well I guess as the modern world teaches us, peace does come with a price.
The ride over the hills was scenic. The hills were dotted with small streams , steep crevices and waterfalls. The recent typhoon and the rains had done their part in adding to the strength of the falls.
When we were over the top of the second hill TheBig Buddha statue came into view.
The Big Buddha
I had known that this statue is the largest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha but I wasn’t expecting anything quite like what I saw! It was gigantic, magnificent and there was something special about it. The sculptor or sculptors must have been very skilled. The facial features of the Buddha was something!!! It radiated serenity and peace even from a distance!
I wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I got to the village of Ngong Ping my final destination. It was like I had traveled back in time. The village of Ngong Ping is a typical Chinese village. The architecture and even the ambiance will transport you back a 100 or so years. When I got off the cable car I just stood at the bridge that led to the village taking in the moment. The one thought that went through my head was” Am I really in Hong Kong???” It was like a scene out of a movie, traditional tea houses, arch doors, curved roofs and the rest.
I walked to the path that led to the Tain Tan Big Buddha statue. The Big Buddha sits on a throne of lotus and is surrounded by eight statues of goddesses at a lower level. Inside the statue there are three levels. The top level holds the red relic (flesh relic) of the Buddha. The climb to the statue had 268 steps. These numbers have a symbolic meaning since 2, 6 and 8 are considered to be lucky numbers by the Chinese.
268 Steps
Thankfully they decided not to build 862 steps . Now that would have been a climb! While on my climb I noticed some devout people climbing on their knees. What was humiliating was that they climbed at the same pace as me, in fact faster. Once at the top I had a panaromic view of the village of Ngong Ping. I could see the Cable cars at a distance. It seemed like they were dancing wildly in the wind. ( And I was actually going to ride one of them back!) There was a cluster of yellow roofs towards the right of the statue, The Po Lin Monastery. Thats where I had lunch. It was a vegetarian lunch prepared by the monks of the monastery. To be honest I did not enjoy the lunch. It was a bowl of white sticky rice and boiled vegetables. But I was proud of the fact that I ate the whole meal with a chop stick ( Not that I had another option!)
Lunch at Po Lin
After lunch I walked around the village and finally when the heat became a little too annoying I decided to head back. ( I dropped my sun glasses while looking up at the Big Buddha.) That was the end of my Saturday adventure!
Come Sunday and what a big disappointment! This was going to be my last holiday here in Hong Kong. I was to leave on Tuesday. The sky was grey and gloomy!! I once read that great people are the onces that ‘make things happen’, so I decided to go on a trek despite that the fact that it was going to be a very rainy day. I switched two trains and endured an one long winding tram ride to Pak Tam Au where the trail was to begin. The weather had been co-operative so far. Just a mild drizzle. Manageable. But the minute I stepped off the bus it came down with a fury! Pak Tam Au turned to be in the middle of no where with a small leaking ‘shelter’, a public toilet and a sign ( ah redemption) that told you ‘yes a bus does pass this way’.Anyway I was drenched to the bone so there was no need to seek ‘shelter’. But I knew the trek was not a good idea since I was alone and it was not a wise thing to do. Also my infamous affinity for attracting trouble told me to stay out of it. I met a group of four friends who were walking to a nearby pier. I joined them. It was good walk, along the ghats overlooking the sea. Once I reached the pier the first thing I set my eyes on was the bus which had taken me to Pak Tam Au. In fact the final destination of the bus was Wok Shek pier.
The four friends, Kit, Anson, Ben and Joe I if understood them right work with the cinema. They invited me to join them on their hike and I did. We took the ferry to Wan Tsai the south camp site of Hong Kong’s famous Sai Kong country park. From there we walked all the way to another Island, Hai Ho. Hai Ho is a marine park and it’s beaches are beautiful beyond compare. I couldn’t but imagine what the scenery would be on a sunny blue sky. Clearly I had chosen the wrong time of the year to enjoy the beauty of Hai Ho.The walk was about an hour. We climbed small knolls, waded through shallow streams and braved the dirty muddy stretches. We passed by the Marine conservation park sponsored by WWF. I am told they have a boat with a base made of fiber glass to study the corals and the under water life that Hai Ho is famous for. We passed beaches filled with people snorkeling and canoing even on a day like that. They seemed to be having lots of fun at it too. The next time I come to Honk Kong that will be on the top of my ‘To do’ list.
From Hai Ho we caught the bus to Sai Kung. There I left the group and headed back to Tsim Tsai Shui. Believe it or not a couple of minutes after I reached the hotel the rain stopped. Stopped as in really stopped!
Well thats the end of my Hong Kong trip. Along with the sight seeing and treks I did have a wonderful experience. The hotel staff were really nice. I was there for 16 days. Soon they knew me by name. They knew that I liked the table by the garden, that I liked my coffee with hot milk and cereals with cold milk. The cleaning lady would also turn the air conditioning off before I got back from work so that I did not have to wear a sweater in my room and William would always bring complimentary chocolates instead of cookies when he noticed that I always ate the chocolates and left the cookies behind. I will have a tough time getting used to ‘not being pampared’.
Work was a wonderful experience too. Very nice people, hard working and friendly. We went out for lunch everyday. I tried Indonesian, Dim Sim, Shanghai Noodles, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai and Hong Kong Style cuisines thanks to them. I will surely miss them. All ten of them. The office was always full of life and noise. One evening Raymond took all of us to The peak for dinner. The peak is the most popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong. From the peak you have the beautiful view of the world famous Victoria harbor and the buildings thats surround it. At night it is a pretty sight. Also at eight every evening is the famous ‘Symphony of the lights’ a light and sound display. Its a laser light show. A good vantage point to watch the chow would be the Avenue of the Stars, the Hong Kong version of the Hollywood walk of fame. Make sure you take your picture by Bruce Lee’s statue and beside Jackie chain’s hand prints.
I will surely miss Hong Kong with its vibrant hustle bustle. I will miss the colorful Ladies market with all its lights and bargains. I will miss the green tea! I will miss the people with their trendy outfits and hairstyles. In fact I will miss everything.
True to Hong Kong’s tourism logo,
” Hong Kong! Live it! Love it! “
I have done just that!!
Its hard to describe Hong Kong. A kaleidoscope may be a reasonably good description. Cosmopolitan is another word that captures the groove of Hong Kong. But when you truly experience Hong Kong it leaves you wondering if there is a word coined that can best describe Hong Kong.
My first three days in Hong Kong saw the typhoon warning signal slowly climb from signal one to signal three and finally signal eight which was supplemented with heavy rain and strong winds. This was my first typhoon experience and I shouldn’t be saying this but it was a pretty sight.
When the sun finally came out I set out with a visitor’s guide to Hong Kong and an MTR map. It was a good decision to take both and I suggest if you ever visit Hong kong you buy both. They replace the need to join a tour group.
Anyways my first stop that morning was Central. I think I will be justified in saying that Central is the most visited place in Hong Kong. I walked from the MTR station to The ManMo Temple. My first Buddhist temple. Man stands for scholar and Mo stands for soldier and the ManMo temple is dedicated to the god of Literature and to the god of War. It is customary for parents of children and also for the children themselves to burn incense sticks to Man before appearing for an examination. Firemen, Policemen and people whose profession put their life in peril pray to Mo for protection.
ManMo Temple
The ManMo temple is located on Hollywood road which is an antique shop street. Here if you are clever and lucky you will get antiques at bargains which are a fraction of the auction house prices. Walking down Hollywood street I passed by SoHo. Step into Soho and you have the option to dine in the part of the world of your choice. Restaurants serving various multinational cusines gives Soho its popularity as does pubs and bars to LAk kwasi fai, a small street lined on either side with pubs and bars.
From Central I caught a ride on one of the famed Trams of Hong Kong to Stanley. It was love at first sight. Stanley is definetly one of my favorite places in Hong Kong. The markets at Stanley sell goods of all the brands at a good bargain price. More over the waterfront at Stanley is lined by cozy restaurants and pubs serving a variety of cuisines. The Murray House and the Black pier add to the charm of Stanley.
SoHo
My next stop was a fishing village Lie Yuen Meun. This village is famous for its seafood bazaars. The food is fresh here, so fresh that it is swimming in a tank. You pick what you like and take it to the nearby restaurant to have it prepared just the way you like it. A word of caution choose your restaurant with care or you will spend the night like me scared that you will die in your sleep due to food poisoning.
My last port of call was Wan Tai Sin. This is a popular temple both among the locals and the tourists. It is a confluence of Buddhist, Confucianism and Taoist teachings. There are many small temples situated in and about the main temple. It is a common sight to see people shaking boxes with numbered bamboo sticks till one falls out. Then the interpretation of the fortune related to the number on the fallen stick can be heard from fortune tellers for a price or you can just read it off the net. It is believed that it the god’s way of answering your questions. More the questions, the more number of times you will have to shake the box!
An old Chinese saying ” a journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step.” My journey began with my passion for traveling. The tiny baby steps I have taken would be the walks around my estate with Maria my younger sister. We would pretend like we were some explorers. We even called ourselves ‘MARLIS’ and would leave flags behind. I wonder if it escaped our minds that the places we ‘Explored’ were ones we literally walked by everyday!
A giant leap to my journey would be my decision to come to the United States. I have added more miles to my journey of life and to my previously non existent sky miles after I came to the US.This place has changed me a lot. I am yet to figure out if its for the worse and or for the better. There are a lot of things that I do here which I would not have dreamed of before. I got to be independent. I got to believe in myself, that would be ” with a little help from my friends.”
This picture is of Maria and me. It was taken in Yercaud when Maria was too young to attend school. Time does fly. As I type this she has graduated from college with honors!
