Faces of India

Since we’ve traveled through a bunch of North India areas recently, I thought a “Faces of India” blog would be a good way to show the various people we encountered. Generally, people were warm and friendly, asking us to take their photos, asking for photos with us and obliging our requests for photos in their natural environment. Few words and lots of photos.

Here a Muslim boy is rushing to the mosque for noon time prayers in Delhi.



A young lady reluctantly, but agreeably poses at the Taj Mahal in Agra



This gentleman was taking a mid-day coffee break in one of the bazaars in Delhi













There's this guy who looks like an Indian version of Buddy Ebsen





This gentleman is very proud to be an Indian Sikh and was overjoyed to meet an American at the Taj Mahal.





Ladies waiting for their men at the Taj Mahal...



Here's an amazing series of two photos to end this blog. These young girls were in line waiting to get into the Taj Mahal building to see the tombs inside. The first photo is on my initial approach as I asked to take their photo.



Then I smiled, showed them the photo and the barriers came down and they relaxed and showed a different attitude.

Hindu Wedding in Mumbai

I was invited to a Hindu wedding by someone in the Staples office in Mumbai. While I don’t really know the young lady, I thought this would be a great opportunity to observe some rituals here in this strange and amazing place. I had no idea what to expect since the only Indian wedding I had ever seen was on a Seinfeld show. This show was famous (and infuriating) because it was a two part show shot from last scene to first scene which confused many people. This took a few viewings for me to fully figure it out. While tempted to repeat the reverse order of activity in this blog, I opted not to for two reasons. First, it’s a lot of work. And second, I’m not sure it makes any difference as things seemed to happen in random order.





While most of us are used to Jewish or Christian weddings full of pomp and circumstance (actually, the Wedding March), with specific religious rituals that happen in a solemn and specific order, this wedding was a jumble of people moving about tossing rice at the couple during all parts of the ceremony. People were constantly entering and exiting, clattering about, looking around for others, etc. It was like just another day on the streets here except for a few things. The wedding takes place over a period of several days. The bride and groom are taken through specific religious rituals in a specific order. The attire for the bride and groom is stunning. The people were very, very friendly and welcoming to outsiders. I was constantly being given prime spots to take photos and was invited onto the stage for a photo op in the middle of the service. (I thought maybe because this was day #4, they were running out of things to do and wanted some diversion.)



Rice played a key role in this day’s activities as the bride and groom were involved in various rituals where rice was placed on each other’s head. Sometimes it was a little, other times it was a pancake like thing and at others, there were overflowing handfuls. I had to wonder if this was the same rice they were serving downstairs for lunch.



A future groom



Feet are also important in this ceremony. There is feet cleaning, toe ring ceremonies, etc. I didn't buy a guide book so I couldn't keep up.



Here are two videos of the ceremony, with the usual silly commentary.





Then I saw Susan sitting here watching with great interest along with two of my co-workers on either side of her. Of course, I preferred the part where the bride kissed the groom's feet.



When we got tired of watching, we did what everyone else did, we wandered away. The plan was to go eat lunch downstairs while the ceremony rambled on. And boy, did it look appetizing when we walked into the dining area and people had their hands firmly in the rice on their plates shoveling food into their mouths. I was tempted to join in to say I did it, but there is just no way. Susan joined my co-workers and got a plate a of food while I held back my gag reflex long enough to get outside and buy a Diet Coke and wait for them.

So I go to buy a Diet Coke from a restaurant with a "take away" area for sales to passersby. In India, every retail item has an MRP, which is maximum retail price, stamped on it. I grab two small Diet Cokes from the refrigerator and walk over to pay. The guy looks at the bottom for the stamp which says RS 20 (20 rupees or $.45), he tells me it's 41 rupees for two and then asks another guy there what he should charge and that guy says 44 rupees. I give them my 100 rupee bill and get 56 rupees change and I turned to the guy who said 44 rupees and asked why it wasn't just the 40 rupees allowed by law. (This is a $.09 extra charge) He starts to blather on about cost of electricity for the cooler and some other nonsense so I just burst out laughing and say, "Dude, you're just ripping me off. The legal maximum price you can charge is 40 rupees, not 44. If you're going to rip me off, please come up with a better story. I'll pay you but next time at least give me a better excuse." There were four people who worked there gathering around and they were laughing at my comments as I walked away with another third world experience.

Dhobi Ghat, a Mumbai Experience

Mumbai has many unusual sites that most people don’t see in their daily lives. I will chronicle some of them in this blog to point out how different lives can be here. One of the things we were told to go see is a place called Dhobi Ghat. Dhobi Ghat is basically an outdoor Laundromat staffed by up to 10,000 people, so its size and scope is beyond what most can imagine. The locals tell me that when the British were here they wanted locals to clean their uniforms. Since the people here were not expert enough, the British imported some people from Northern India to do this work. This began the development of a migrant community which over the years has grown in amazing numbers. Now that the British are gone, the laundry business has two locations, one for commercial companies like hospitals, hotels, clothing manufacturers and another for locals to get their clothes cleaned.





While there are some machines present for spinning clothes to extract water, much work is done by hand. Of course, since there’s no OSHA here, some of the job related injuries leave permanent marks. For our photographic interest, there are places where the saris are cleaned and the color combinations are brilliant.






Another interesting activity is the “agitation” process. Most people use washing machines with this cycle that soaps the garment, adds some water and slowly rotates the center core back and forth spreading the soap. At Dhobi Ghat, this is a manual process. They use a brush to scrub soap into the garment and then lift a small number of them and smash them against a big flat rock called a flogging stone. Not the job I’m looking for but if you can slow down your shutter speed, the camera reveals some real interesting photos. Note: None of these have Photoshop tricks in them, what you see is what the camera captured.







And then finally, a video of some of this amazing place...

Mumbai... the introduction

To fully understand Mumbai, you have to know that the senses are absolutely assailed with amazing and sad sights, sounds and smells. I frequently cannot believe what I’m looking at, how bad things smell which when combined with the textures, makes me want to run away… and all of this is just at the Breakfast Buffet. Today, I actually asked Susan to sit at another table if she insisted on sampling the local fare.



Anyway, the first week in Mumbai has been a real challenge. Adjusting to the climate, the people, the workplace, etc. has been tiring so I’m happy it’s finally the weekend. Kind of weird, to be here, knowing we have only three weekends and then will leave. The commute is very interesting as is the dining so here goes the story.

We are staying at a very nice hotel on Marine Drive where we have a two mile stretch of walking/jogging path which is 15 yards wide. We actually moved from our first hotel to a different one a couple blocks away on the same street due to lack of services in the first. There are two other hotels nearby plus a couple of Western restaurants close by and many more 10 minutes walk away.

Here a video clip on the view from our room (pretty funny, I think)



The things that attack you first are the way of life, the combination of Hindi and English which is spoken here, the congestion whether walking or riding and the noise. Let me explain some of these to put future blogs in context.
The way of life is very difficult to grasp and understand. There are people and cars everywhere. There are many, many poor people, many, many vehicles and a lot of disabled or deformed people. The poverty is inescapable. You are approached by beggars when walking the streets, riding in a cab, eating in a restaurant, anywhere. And, of course, because Westerners are softer touches for the downtrodden and less steeled to dismiss it, we are all targets for them. Some of the people are really sad and have little or nothing to live on. It’s not like in the U.S. big cities where you’d expect pan handlers to drink or drug their way to escape. The people here strike me as having such meager possessions that they would use anything they get to provide for the basic needs. It is hard to constantly look away but we’ve been warned that showing money and paying one person will garner immediate attention from those on the sidelines watching. Leaving a restaurant, you are immediately approached for your doggy bag. In one somewhat amusing scene on Sunday, a child approached our car, saw Westerners and began singing “Jingle Bells”. After the intro, he moved on to made up words but it was a cute moment.
From there, let’s talk mobility. While in China, walking and riding the Metro was my favorite pastime, here, I mostly ride in cabs to get around. I have taken more cab rides in one week than I did in six months in China. The taxis are not expensive. It costs around $1.50 to go from my hotel to the office which is a 15-20 minute ride. There are 40,000 black taxi cabs in Mumbai so it is very easy to find one. Of course, it hasn’t rained yet so the taxis aren’t hiding. I’m sure when it does; you won’t be able to locate one. There are lots of motorbikes here, just like in Shanghai. While the ones here do not drive in the wrong direction like they do in Shanghai, causing total chaos, the drive just as crazy weaving in and out of traffic and filling every little gap in traffic. Couple this with roads that are severely inadequate and you have a traffic nightmare. Now take all of that and tell everyone to honk their horn at approximately, but not quite, the same moment. Look up the word, “cacophony” and that’s what we’ve got. The noise is never ending and you can’t get away from it.

Some photos from my commute...




The food is another story. I do not have a death wish so I’m not eating the local food, at all, period, end of story. I know some would say this is short sighted and I won’t get to “experience” India and enjoy it as much as others. Well, as Archie Bunker use to say whenever he was one-upped, “Goodie for you.” The food here is unidentifiable, very spicy, eaten with hands (mostly) and neither looks nor smells appetizing. Susan can try all of this she wants but I only have one set of intestines and I’m not prepared to give them up yet. There are enough Continental (Western) restaurants around to keep me satisfied. The scary thought is, my father would never try anything that wasn’t meat and potatoes, no Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc. ever. I really don’t want to be that narrow minded, but so far, I’m standing my ground.

The last thing to cover is communications. While people here they claim to speak English, it is an interesting variation from what we’re all used to and it takes a little while to get acclimated to the sounds and accents on different syllables. The advantage is almost every cabbie has some understanding where in China; it was a small number who did. If you’re not familiar with this accent, check out Jerry Seinfeld’s old buddy, Babu Bhat. Now, I understand that Babu was a Pakistani, but the English accents are pretty close. Babu was famous for wagging his finger at Jerry and saying, “You a very bad man.”




Still to follow in the next few days are blogs on our first weekend in Mumbai and a special invitation to a Hindu wedding we attended today. It was kind of like the reverse Seinfeld Indian Wedding episode (think Peach Schnapps)

Next stop Mumbai ... with an Africa extension

It’s 5 AM on 1/27/11 and there’s lots of stuff brewing here. We’re supposed to fly to Mumbai today, that sounds simple but a couple of issues:
1. We have 6 bags to ship back to the U.S. that won’t be needed for a short term stay in India, especially where the weather is over 80 every day. It’s still cold in Shanghai, not Boston cold, but not over 40 any day recently. The return of “unaccompanied” packages to the U.S. is a complicated process that requires lots of paperwork.
2. We are almost finished planning our trip after Mumbai but have been waiting for our confirmation to come through.
3. Finally, we’re lacking an Indian Visa and might not be able to board the plane if it doesn’t come through today. Not a minor issue.

Imagine the wildest (or silliest) adventure you’ve ever taken. For me, it might be my travels to Alaska or my mountain climbing in Chengdu or maybe even sleeping on the Great Wall of China several years ago. Well, the next trip will top all of those combined.

Let’s take a look at this map of Africa and see what Steve and Susan will be doing at the end of our India journey, going South to North …

That’s our next adventure…
60 days in Africa heading from Capetown to Nairobi. 50 nights will be camping in a tent.

Before you assume we’ve totally lost our minds, let me explain. This is a tour run by a company called Intrepid Travel out of Australia. This trip leaves Capetown every other Thursday so it’s not like we’re blazing a new trail and 2x per month they have a trip following the same route in the opposite direction. There are 20 people on this trip. We will travel in a huge overland vehicle using smaller vehicles for safari trips and off the track journeys.

This paragraph from the tour company says it all…
Venture out and witness vast landscapes, natural wonders, towns rich in cultural traditions and modern cities humming with life on this epic journey through Africa. Get ready for 60 days of action, adventure and authentic experiences that will create lasting memories and endless photo opportunities. Starting amid the cosmopolitan cafes and vineyards of Cape Town and finishing in the bustling streets and markets of Nairobi, travel through remote parts of the continent seeing immense canyons, verdant mountains, exotic beaches and simple villages along the way. Stop to witness the power of Victoria Falls, the sweeping beauty of the Serengeti and the awesome scale of the Ngorongoro Crater. Meet the San Bushmen, sample traditional food cooked by the Chagga people, have close encounters with mountain gorillas and be warmed by the welcoming smiles of locals in Malawi. Camp on balmy beaches in Tanzania, trek through steamy rainforest in Rwanda and see cheeky chimps at play in Uganda. These are experiences to remember forever - this is Africa Encompassed.

For more info, here's the link...

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/UXODC


We’ve spent the last few weeks scurrying around Shanghai shopping for things we would need on this trip that we don’t have. We’re now ready for whatever India and Africa have to offer.

I’m guessing there might be a few photo opportunities on this trip. I’ve got 400 books on my Kindle and 200 hours of audiobooks on my Ipod. The trip ends on May 1st, a day which has some significance to me, (my birthday).

Next stop,,,, Mumbai, India

Home for the Holidays - December 2010

This is, somewhat sadly, my last China blog. Next week is the last week of my assignment here in Shanghai for Staples. Although local Staples management wanted to retain me here, the type of work I have been doing is not budgeted for 2011, so my contract here ends on 1/29. I have been offered a position similar to what I have been doing in Mumbai, India for the month of February. I will be there for just one month and then my career with Staples will end after 14 and one half years. More on next steps later.
The last month has been a major whirlwind. On December 16th, I left Shanghai after a week of crummy, windy, cold weather including accumulating snow which is rare here and returned to the U.S. for the first time since July. Starting in Boston, where I got to see many Staples friends, some neighbors, some photography friends and three of my children was a lot of fun but way more work than I expected because of things to do in our “for sale” house and meetings I needed to have at Staples. I did get to see an NFL game live for the first time this season and watched my favorite team play it’s worse game in many years and then miss the playoffs. The time whizzed by and on 12/23 it was off to Seattle, three days before the big storm shut down the East Coast with 18 inches of snow.
Seattle was nice, fun and more exhausting. I got picked up by my oldest, Michael, who chauffeured me around a little in his new SUV, very nice. Headed to my mother-in-laws house for a few days to see Susan’s family for the Christmas weekend. Of course, Susan was in Malaysia which made the whole experience a little odd, but I like her family, her sisters and my brothers- in-law so it was a fun trip. Since two children traveled with me to Seattle and one lives in Portland, OR it was a lot more family time. Again, there was lots of activity including opening two months of mail that have accumulated since Susan’s departure for Asia to join me. I spent one day back where we used to live with my daughter, had lunch with an old friend who is the Bagel king of the Seattle area and makes amazing products and then it was Christmas Eve at Susan's sister’s house, Christmas Day at her mother’s house. A day to relax with a Focker’s movie (better than I expected) and a great meal on a nephew’s house and then back to the airport to head to my family in Southern Cal.
Southern Cal was pretty much as expected. The weather was nice, it was great to see my mom again and the Lorin’s (my sister Janet’s family) were amazing hosts as they always are. With her two children there and my two youngest still in tow, we had a great, fun filled visit which included a round of golf. Of course, I was still working with Staples people to finalize the India assignment, dealing with issues at the house in MA, paying bills and making changes to things every day so there was very little downtime. On 12/31, I was pretty happy with the trip but ready to relax, I headed back to Shanghai. I came back a few days earlier than planned because doing so would get me to the next level in my frequent flier plan which means no baggage charges and upgraded seating for domestic U.S. flights. My daughter headed back to Boston for her last semester, my son, Jeff, stayed in CA until it was time to meet his older brother in Phoenix to attend the national championship football game in which, sadly, Mike’s alma mater, Oregon, couldn’t pull off the win.
Shanghai was like I left it, windy and cold. Unfortunately, I fought jet lag in a big way and it took me almost a week to get acclimated to the time zone change. Work for the last month has been a mixture of excitement for the things we have been working on coming to fruition and the reality and trepidation of heading to a new place. I’m thinking what do we know about Mumbai? For most people, it’s the movie, “Slumdog Millionaire” and the terrorist attack at the Taj Mahal hotel a few years ago. No, I won’t be staying there. I guess most of us don’t realize there is a big movie industry here called “Bollywood”. The few people who are positive about India say because everything is cheap you can hire services like a car and driver, maid, cook, etc. for very little money. The pessimists tell me, “It’s a great way to lose 15 pounds and it will probably happen in the first week”, due to stomach issues brought on by food contamination and dysentery. Boy, something to look forward to!
So I went to my India travel guide and pulled out some facts about Mumbai and India:
1. Population: 15,000,000
2. Average annual income: $1,000
3. Number of Bollywood movies made in the last 70 years: 70,000
4. India, with one billion, people will surpass China’s population in 2030
5. Families living one room homes: 42%
6. 80% of the people in India are Hindu and most of the balance are Muslim
7. Number of toilets per one million people: 17
8. Number of people in an 1,800 person capacity train at rush hour: 7,000
This all sound very interesting and I know many of you are queuing up to join me or visit. There are a bunch of positives:
1. Tiger photography
2. The Taj Mahal
3. Weird food and festivals to observe and photograph
4. It’s a short term visit
5. The work will be very interesting
6. It’s not monsoon season so I can enjoy the pleasant (?) weather where is 85-90 and humid every day.

Wow! That’s a quite a story and I haven’t done anything yet!
There is a very interesting blog coming about our next trip that Susan and I are planning if my Staples career is over. Until we get the confirmation back, I’m withholding the details. Let’s just say, this trip will be quite a shocker. I should be ready to publish the facts on that very soon.

Last post for the year

This week it will be adios Shanghai or (zai jian as we say over here; that's pronounced Zie Gee En.) Heading to Massachusetts then Seattle and then Southern California.

The past two weeks have not been very adventuresome as I try to get things ready for me to leave for a while. We continue to have more successes at work with each day bringing some new and different challenges so in the Staples fashion you don't celebrate too long because there's always another mountain to climb.

In other part of my life, Susan is off to Japan with her Mom and sister. They return on 12/15 and we all fly out on 12/16, except Susan who is staying in Asia for the holidays (Singapore and Malaysia).

There has been some interesting street activity here. Last Saturday, I went to get my cleaning and there was a mob surrounding the building. As I approached, I noticed a couple of police officers and bunch of screaming. It seems there was an unhappy customer who thought her best protest was to gouge the guy who owns the cleaners with her nails. His head was well marked. Of course, this would remind some of you of the Seinfeld where the cleaner's wife was borrowing the garments of women who dropped off their cleaning and wore them to her outings before giving them back to the customers. The episode is better known for some other things like this quote:
George: I am telling you Jerry, having a secretary is incredible! I don't know why I didn't have one before!
Jerry: Because you didn't have a job?
George: Perhaps.

Then on Wednesday night after having dinner with my co-workers, I was walking home and found this. (Also posted on my FB page.) There's crowd across the street so I had to look. Several cops and a lot of people. There is a guy trying to escort and then drag a female away from the area to a car. The cops stopped him several times because she was hysterical whenever he touched her. Ultimately, the cops let him go and as he dragged her, she vehemently protested and got down on the ground. At this point, two large Western males decided to step in and help set her free. Let's just say he was pretty easy to move. Eventually, she got in a car and got away. Amazed that the cops did nothing. Unfortunately, he will probably end up wherever she is and the situation will continue. The cops were totally useless.

There were two great responses on my FB page, after one person commiserated and told me it's a good thing I hadn't seen this when I first arrived or it would have tainted my image of Shanghai, I said...Really not all that traumatic for me. It was just like another day in my house; lots of yelling and pulling and screaming but no real action.
The other interesting response was from one of my darling children who said, "It seems like they've got things figured out over there."

So as the year winds to a close, there is many unknowns for me. Where will I work? Where will I live? minor things like that. I'm headed back to Shanghai for January and even though my contract expires on 1/31, I believe I will be asked to stay here for an additional period. Not sure how long or what's next but that is adding to the adventure. Either way Chinese New Year which is around 2/1 will find Susan and me visiting the Golden Triangle, no, not the one that includes Port Arthur, Orange and Beaumont, Texas where we used to live. I will be in the India Golden Triangle of Jaipur, Agra and Delhi with a side trip to the Tiger jungle in Rathambore.

So let's end this year of blogging the way it began with some photos of my Alaska journey from the summer. I have just finished processing all of the photos and have some that I think are worth looking at. Here are a few and more can be found by clicking on the link and looking further.









http://spiegels.smugmug.com/Travel/Alaska-2010/14920858_CP2DZ

Have a great Holiday and I hope to see many of you real soon.

Steve