it has been a long time since my last entry and I was asking myself  whether it still makes any sense to write in my travel blog, now that I´ve been back in London for over three weeks.  But then I decided that it is definitely worth it, if only to explain the reason why I didn´t have any time to spare in internet cafes anymore… There are so many good stories!  Hmm, where to start?

The travel gods take me to Goa

The last thing I wrote was the grand introduction to the fact that I had booked a flight to Mumbai. It all sounded very sensible in the beginning: I wanted to see a piece of the “real India” and possibly prove myself that I can deal with a city like that. But then everything turned out differently…

India being India, there were delays with my travel. Having woken up at four in the morning to make my way to the airport of Cochin, I found out that my flight was delayed by nine hours. NINE HOURS!  Now that´s quite a lot of time, even for Indian standards. I decided to buy a ticket for a night train to Goa instead. In a rare moment of comlete honesty to myself,  I actually figured that I didn´t want to go to a big city anyway.  As selfish as it may sound, I  wanted yoga, I wanted beaches and I wanted friendly people.  I was also really keen to spend another day in Cochin, as it allowed me to meet Sajee and Lassi again.

The best yoga teacher in the world

Yes, Lassi is the name of a popular Indian drink – but also the name of Sajee´s dog. Oh, and Sajee is officialy the best yoga teacher in the world.   I met him when I first came to Cochin to pick up my sister for our two-week dream trip around Kerala and in our very first session he made me do a headstand! Now if you know me you will be as surprised at reading this as I was when I suddenly found myself being upside down.  For the two years that I have been practising yoga I constantly told myself that I was too weak, too heavy, too unbalanced or too whatever excuse came to my mind to even try a headstand. In only five minutes, Sajee proved me wrong.

Other things I liked about his yoga classes were the fact that you got food in the end, that the morning classes took place under a beautiful mango tree and that his dog Lassi always popped in the yoga studio to sniff some dedicated student´s ears. Oh, and Sajee´s English was lovely! He would always say “The crabs are coming”  when I got cramps in my legs and that made me smile through the pain…  It was just such a nice experience and felt like having a big family. I wanted to stay there forever.

Visiting an Indian baby

Talking about big families – I wasn´t only welcomed into the “cosmic family of yoga students” as Sajee put it, but also had a quite worldly family experience when his daughter took me to her auntie´s house to see the newborn baby. The family lived in an estate building that reminded me very much of London – apart from the fact that it was filled with lots of very sweet children who would shout “Welcome auntie!” when I arrived.

Anyway, I felt a bit weird just walking into this family´s home, unannounced and uninvited, but within seconds after our arrival I was settled on the bed, a baby in my lap, my hands full of sweets and surrounded by the whole family, who delightedly asked me a thousand questions about my life in Europe (Yes, we have been there before…) . I was so touched by the way they welcomed me into their home as if it was the most normal thing to do.

Needless to say the little boys were still waiting in the yard when we left. “Goodbye auntie!”

She´s got a ticket to ride…on the night train

The night came, however, and I had to leave for Goa. Not the worst thing to do, but I was sad to leave my “cosmic family” and was therefore set to return to Cochin after spending some days on the beach. Once again, things should turn out quite differently…

A note about Indian trains: They are not quite as scary as some people described them to me. I spent several nights on them and was never hasseled, robbed or woken up by an Indian teenager on my bed (Thank God).  There is, however, one drawback – the chai wallahs! As much as I love Indian sweet chai, I was never prepared for the tea sellers to start advertising their goods at FOUR in the morning. Try sleeping when someone shouts “ChaichaichaichaichaiaiaiaiaiaiaCHAIIIII!” endlessly…

My American Friend

Needless to say I arrived in Goa quite knackered and after having found a nice little hut for the night, I made my way to the beach for some yoga. (Still, no OM-wear, I promise!) It felt good, the sun went down, the sea breeze was delightful and I started wondering what else this beach holiday might have in store for me.

I had arranged to meet a lovely British-Mexican couple I got to know at the train station for dinner on the beach. When I arrived at the restaurant they weren´t there, but I soon made friends with a nice young man at the next table.  His name is John, he´s from New York and is traveling around the world for one year. What shall I say? He´s an American in India! I couldn´t leave him there on his own could I?

Dolphins and motorcycles

It turned out that John knows how to ride a motorcycle and two days later we were off on a road trip through Goa. It was fantastic! I will never forget the feeling of speeding through rice fields and timy goan villages, with the wind playing in my hair (no helmets) and the feeling of complete freedom and happiness in my heart.  I loved it.

We crossed the whole state of Goa in one day – it is not very big – and because it got late ended  up spending a night in Palolem. The next day we went out on a fisherboat and saw dolphins, which made me really happy. Goa was a dream.  And as much as I missed Sajee and Lassi, I did not for a moment regret that fate had taken me to that little beach.

The last days in a Hindu empire of the past

Time was running out and although I could have stayed in Goa for a loooooong time, I decided to move on. I said goodbye to the beach, the German bakeries and the yoga school on a rooftop from where you could see pigs running around in the fields…and went to Hampi, a magical place in Karnataka, Central South India.

Hampi used to be the capital of a long-gone empire and was deserted in the 17th century. That makes it a quite spooky but beautiful place full of temples and ruins in the middle of a lush valley, surrounded by wonderfully strange rock formations. It really looks like soemthing from a different world. Oh, and there are water buffalos running around everywhere. Or rather pacing leisurely, they are Indian and holy after all…

We spent a lot of time looking at old things, cycling through the fields, climbing mountains and avoiding monkeys. John also used every opportunity for a spot of Bollywood dancing to entertain the locals. I have to say, he was quite good at it. I laughed so much and will miss those days.

Saying goodbye to India

The moment came when I had to get ready to leave and it was not easy at all. First of all, I really got used to India and all the craziness in the two months of my trip and was quite sad to leave the country.  Secondly, I got really ill with a fever on the night train to Chennai -on my last day! Means I spent the 16 hour journey sobbing with pain, sitting next to an old Indian lady who didn´t speak any English and patted my knee from time to time. Great.

However, I made it from the train station to the hospital (got some pills), from the hospital to my hotel bed, from the bed to the taxi to the airport and many, many hours later I arrived in Heathrow airport. What a transistion! I was set to get a taxi home to Herne Hill and ready to spend some money on it. It wasn´t prepared for a price of 75 Pounds though!!! When the guy told me this I anted to say “35, no more!” when I remembered that there ain´t no negotiating with a London black cab driver. So it was the Picadilly Line for me in the end. I have to say, it was not bad at all and when I finally arrived in my little corner of London, I went straight into the shop of the flower lady. I wanted to say hello to her dog Chelsea and buy something to cheer me up. She immediately had the right thing for me: “I know what you need darlin´ – You want some nice daffodils!” All this in thick South London accent. I loved being back…

Being all London again

How does life feel after coming back? Was India a life-changing experience for me? Is everything different now? I would say no, not everything. I still went to Kings Road and spent 100 Pound on shoes on my first weekend back – which I considered as a really good start!

Some things are a bit different though… I can now do a headstand and sit in Lotus, my hairdresser said to me “Darling, whatever you did in India, keep doing it – your hair is really strong!”, and I feel generally a bit more relaxed and balanced than I was before the trip.  Now that might also be because I just had a two-month holiday… However I think that my Indian experience will continue living inside me and it will take a long time to fully understand what effect it had on me. As Paul Auster writes: Nothing that happens to us is ever lost.

With these closing words, for now, all my love,

Bianca

Ashram life and fellow yogis:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=69222&l=e239d&id=710021486

Kerala round trip:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=72274&l=013a7&id=710021486

I hope that none of you will be too concerned by the title of this entry. To be honest, I had a bit of a funny feeling in my stomach when I booked the ticket myself, but I just have to go and see Mumbai, the soul of India. Let me explain it through the words of Gregory David Roberts, the author of Shantaram, who impressed me like no other writer before:

“I’ll talk about what’s happening in Bombay in the next few lines, but first, before you read any further, I want to ask you, I want to plead with you, to keep the faith with India and the city I love, Bombay. If we continue to visit the country and meet the people, if we spend our time in the beautiful chaos and chaotic beauty, if we spend our money in the bazaars and hotels, if we buy the books by great Indian writers, listen to the music by brilliant Indian composers and musicians, marvel at the splendour of Indian dancers, watch the captivating movies, wonder at the art galleries – in other words, if we go on opening our hearts to the best that India teaches us, the people who did this violence can never win.”

http://www.shantaram.com/

Besides, Mumbai at the moment is probably one of the safest places in India, and I am not planning to stay in Colaba, the main tourist district, if I can avoid it. Oh, but please do not tell my mum, as always

A thousand ways of traveling in India

My trip through India was very varied so far. The first two weeks in Tamil Nadu were intense and a real adventure. I felt a bit lonely sometimes, though, and suffered from the culture shock. Then the two weeks in the Ashram were out of this world, probably the most peaceful experience I ever had, although it did not really feel like being in India – most of the people in the Ashram came from the west – although I learnt a lot about Hindu traditions and rituals there. Then the week at the beach in Varkala – I was wearing a bikini in public. For anyone who knows India, I need not say more. Varkala is absolutely gorgeaous, but a big bubble for tourists from the West. Most indian guys would get a heart attack here!

Then, the last week, I traveled through Kerala’s natural paradise with my sister. This part of India is absolutely stunning – we went trekking amongst tea plantations in the Western Ghats, saw some wildlife in the reserve  in Periyar, enjoyed the nostalgic atmosphere in the harbour town of Cochin and now we’re back in Varkala and enjoying the beautiful beaches of the Arabian Sea. I have to admit that our trip was quite luxurious so far…and although I do not mind nice hotels and drivers at all (the day-long bus rides really were tiring in the end) I feel that the best of India remains hidden if you stay too comfortable.

Maybe that’s where my decision comes from: to go to Mumbai and immerse myself in the chaos again. The best you can learn in India is to let go of all expectations. This country is a complete chaos, yes, but it works. The people hold it together. And I think that is one of the most impressive things I ever experienced.

Elephant showers…

Now, I still have one more week in beautiful Kerala before I fly to Mumbai (on 19.01) and before I start telling you everything about elephant showers and spiritual freaks I met on the way, I better head down to the beach. Don’t they say you should always save some stories for the next chapter? There you go

I hope you all are well, wherever you are and whatever you do. In case you are getting a bit cold in Europe, feel the sunshine and heat I am sending you! Lots of love, Bianca

• Sugar makes you hungry
• After a week of eating green vegetables, tomatoes can make you feel excited – and I mean really excited!
• Some things seem impossible although they are not – for example lying down and touching the floor behind your head with your legs.
• Some people think it’s a good idea to say ‘Om’ before every sentence they speak. (Quote from the health hut: OM! Number 24 fruit salad and hot herbal tea 
• Chanting in Sanskrit can be a very enjoyable pastim 
• It does not help when you sit next to a hot dutch guy while you try to meditate.
• I actually like getting up at 5.30
• There are no crocodiles in the crocodile lake in Neyyar Dam
• There are some fun people in America and Canada
• Swamijis (Hindu monks) can be quite sexy – especially when they are from Italy and wear red speedos on jungle trips

Ashram memories

I had an absolutely amazing time in the Ashram and really thrived in the atmosphere there. For two weeks I did not feel the slightest sign of anxiety or worry, my body was grateful for four hours of exercise and healthy food everyday and although I still cannot meditate, it helps at least to try from time to time to focus your mind. I have not had such a peaceful time in a long while and I met lots of very sweet people.

And for all of you who were worried, no, I will not turn into a spiritual freak and I am also still not planning to purchase any clothing with OM signs on it. Hope that makes you feel assured J

My second job in India!

Another prove that I am still an unchangeable Londoner is that I secured myself another job! Apart from serving tea as my karma yoga (this means you work in the ashram to make sure you get a good birth in your next life) I volunteered to present the Saturday night talent show! I had so much fun and was proud that I got my opening line right: “Om namah sivaya, good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Neyyar Dam Dhanwamtari Sivananda Ashram Talen Show” Phew! And all that in crossed-legged position. It was hilarious. After that evening, most of the 200 people in the Ashram thought that I was working there so I ended up spending abgood part of my free time (2,5 hours a day) giving directions.  I did not get paid for this one, but I didn’t mind. Once again, the good karma …

Christmas in the Ashram and New Year’s Eve in beach paradise

I think my favourite day in the Ashram was Christmas. We all woke up at 5.30 and walked to the lake to see the sun rise and meditate (or at least try to – remember the dutch guy problem?). It was so quiet and peaceful! After the yoga class I joined the choir to practice Christmas carols and in the evening we first had an Indian music concert and then sang the carols together. I really loved it! In the end there was a very special Santa Claus – he had rastas, was dressed up in traditional red and said ‘Om Shanti” for every present he gave out. Where would I ever see that apart from in India?

Beach holiday!!!

After two weeks of strict schedule and what seemed to be sporadic food a group of girls headed down to the beach in Varkala for some rest and relaxation – and to show off our perfect yogic bodies (Erm…) Lisa, my new Australian friend and me went absolutely bananas with the breakfast – the first couple of days we had three per day! And they have German bakeries in Varkala, I need not say more…

We spent new year’s eve on the beach, looking at a perfect starry skuy not drinking any alcohol and feeling very relaxed indeed.

Happy New Year to all of you!!!!!

Om shanti,

Bianca

this is possibly the last time that I acces the internet this year – how exciting! As you know, I will spend some time in an Ashram, starting tomorrow, and of course there is no mobile phone, no television, no hi-fi, no onion, no garlic and no internet

Anyway, I am really excited, and after travelling for two weeks I also feel ready for some real relaxation. I have arrived in Kerala today, in the capital with the incredible name of Thiruvananthapuram ( no, I can’t write this witout checking the lonely planet…) and as much as I loved the last two weeks, I really had enough of bus journeys – especially the six-hour ones with six-hour Bollywood films on full blast! The Ashram lies in the middle of the forest, up in the mountains and is surely the most non-Bollywood place that you can find in Kerala…

Where have I been so far?

My diary is getting fuller and fuller – there are so many stories I could tell! Every day in India is different and truly amazing, so where shall I start? So far my highlights were seeing the carvings in Mamallapuram, cycling from Pondicherry to Auroville, dipping into the Indian Ocean, visiting India’s biggest temple in Madurai  and last but not least having lots and lots of Indian food

Two happy kitchen ladies

Talking about eating, there was one very funny situation I had in a cheap vegetarian eaterie opposite the temple in Madurai. It nicely illustrates the way most Indians react to me as well I was the only european person in that place and therefore provided entertainment for all the other guests! One of the guys spoke English and informed everyone in the restaurant about my name, age, martial status, country of origin, job and salary, while the two ladies from the kitchen closely watched me eat their food – with lots of happy head-wiggles, of course! It was hilarious Throughout this trip I am truly surprised by my own patience…but there is a good reason:

The Indian people

I know this sounds cheesy but I really have to say it: the Indians are so lovely and really make my trip a very special one! Yes, they stare and give wrong directions sometimes but most of the times they are just sweet and reeeeeeeally curious. So I find myself answering the same questions patiently over and over again. While in Brazil I would have used my best favela-Portuguese to tell people to bugger off, here I don’t mind talking to complete strangers about my life. Maybe it’s because I feel that there is a genuine interest and no hidden agenda behind the questions. And I can’t blame them, because I am just as interested in them as well! I flew around half of the world only to see them and their country – how much more cuious can you be?

My message for the end of the year…

Now, dear friends, this feels very weird but I have to say it: Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Take care, have a fabulous time and speak to you all in January. I’ll hopefully be very zen-ed out and able to tie my legs around my head while walking on two fingers

I really miss you all and send you lots of love!

Oh and before  forget, here are some first photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=65778&l=8ce43&id=710021486

Enjoy!

It is my second week in India and I am slowly easing myself into the chaos. This means that I do a lot of deep breathing, eat with my fingers, ignore the traffic, and fancy every guy who does not wear a moustache.

Sadly, there are not many of them in this country…

Cycling with Captain Shakti

Today I met a lovely girl from Tavistock (yes, THAT Tavistock) and went on a real adventure – a cylcle trip! Now, everyone who knows my cycling skills, and has a vague idea of the Indian traffic, might think this was a very dangerous undertaking – but I actually did very well and nothing happened!  Although we both were quite wobbly, we managed to pedal all the way to Auroville (a very hippy place) and back. The only real health and safety hazard were the cows, which really do not bother to get out of the way, those lazy holy things…Talking about holy things, my bike was called Captain Shakti – how cool is that?

The Ganesh and other elephants…

On the topic of Hindu gods, there are many of them and I am getting to know their family a bit better. Did you know, for example,  that Ganesh the elephant-headed god likes playing with laptops? Well, I didn’t either, until I met a very nice shop keeper called Ravi in Mamallapuram, who told me about it.  Ganesh stands for prosperity and play, so apparently laptops appeal to him greatly – he should come and visit our office I just always feel like tickeling his toes and quite like him because of his big tummy.

Oh, and today I saw my first real elephant as well! He was standing in front of a temple, eating bananas (as you do when you’re an elephant) and blessing people by placing his trunk on their heads. I gave him a banana as well and he sort of rubbed his trunk against my neck, so I hope that counts as a blessing.

In diesem Sinne…

Good night and all my love,

B

It is true… The plane from Bahrain actually took me all the way to India and now I’m here, in the middle of this crazy and beautiful country. India is a challenge to begin with, of course, but I am very proud of all the Indian things I have learnt already:

1. How to shower with a bucket (sometimes in the dark)

2. How to eat with only one hand and not spill the food everywhere

3. How to drink out of a bottle without touching it with the lips

4. How to negotiate a fairly fair price with rikshaw drivers (and how to stay calm once on the rikshaw)

5. How to do the Indian head-wiggle (I do admit, there is still room for improvement)

And all this in only two days. Not bad, hey?

Chennai is a really loud and busy city and many people have told me that it is the worst place in all South India. I quite like it though, to be honest! Surely, living in London and having spent some time in a Brazilian slum helps I do not claim that I do not have a culture shock though. Everything is really different and all sense of familiarity is lost. But thanks to all my fabulous seminars on intercultural communication, I was quite well prepared (uni was good for something, after all). Oh, by the way, I am not ill yet, although I ate pretty much everything that was offered to me so far, including food cooked near a rubbish dump behind a film studio (more about this later)… Probably all the bacteria are still arguing inside my tummy who should have the first go. No worries, I am prepared, my medical kit weighs a kilo!

The Bollywood story

Now, how come I had food in a film studio? Guess what – I acted in a Bollywood film!

See, on my first day in Chennai, which is the film capital of Tamil Nadu, I already secured myself a job and made 800 rupees in a 10-hour-day. (What do they say? You can take the girl out of London, but you can’t take London out of the girl). The nice guy at the hostel had a brother, who had a cousin who works in the film industry. You know the story… So he asked me and two other German girls whether we were up for it. Of course we were!

My job required having a fake drink and pretending to smoke a cigarette in a ‘western night club’. Me out of all people, what irony The studio was very basic, with barefoot boys climbing up and down wooden scaffolding to fix the lights, and absolutely boiling! Worse that the Victoria line on a summer day… Now, the hero of the film, who apparently had to chase a smuggler, was wearing a cowboy hat and dark glasses. He was very happy when I told him that he looks like Brad Pitt. (He asked me, by the way, I would not have spotted the similarity myself..)

The most interesting job on the whole set must have been the one of the mirror-holder. Yes! The hero had his own mirror-holder, who came up in every short break to allow the hero to look at himself and shake his hair wildly and make grimaces (which I suspect was part of the styling…) It really took me a lot of discipline not to start giggling, but hey, you can’t laugh about the Indian Brad Pitt, can you?

Good night, Grinsekatze!

Now, before the internet cafe closes, one last observation: The half moon has a different angle in India and looks like the teeth of the ‘Grinsekatze’, the mysterious cat that appears in Alice in Wonderland. This reminded me of one of my favourite quotes from literature: “Could you please tell me how to continue from here?” asks Alice, who is lost in wonderland. “That depends very much on where you want to go.” says the cat…

I’m sure the cat was Indian and did a head-wiggle.

Good night and sweet dreams!

Bianca

Alone in my flat, for the first time in a long time, no bathroom and everything is a total chaos. CDs are scattered everywhere from my selection session yesterday. REM, Feist, Norah Jones…but Ben Harper is still missing! I can´t possibly travel without him?

I just spent a lovely evening with Caroline, at Kenington Tandoori, to get a taste of the culinary delights that lie ahead of me. All my plans of returning to the UK skinny and toned went out of the window. How delicious!

Yesterday a very nice lady from the Orange service centre, which is based in New Delhi (surprisingly enough) wished me a very happy holiday in India. “Be our guest”, she said. And as much as I hate Orange, that was actually very nice. By the way, I arranged for my phone to be set up for international roaming, so I can receive texts for free – wink wink, nudge nudge!

In addition, I had an e-mail from a Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Kerala today, accepting me as a guest for a week in December. The e-mail started like this “Blessed Bianca, thank you very much for your enquiry”. And I thought, writing “Dear friends at the Dhanwantari Ashram” was over the top … This is the place, by the way: http://www.sivananda.org/neyyardam/

It was recommended by Lucy Edge, who wrote the brilliant book “Yoga School Dropout” about her travels in India and inspired me to go myself. (Because who wants to spend endless time in the Waterstones travel section without ever actually going anywhere? Not me, anyway…) For those who are getting jealous now, I signed up for the following daily routine:

0520 hrs WAKE UP BELL

0600 hrs SATSANG

0730 hrs TEA TIME

0800 hrs ASANA CLASS

1000 hrs BRUNCH

1100 hrs KARMA YOGA

1230 hrs COACHING CLASS (optional)

1330 hrs TEA TIME

1400 hrs LECTURE

1600 hrs ASANA CLASS

1800 hrs DINNER

2000 hrs SATSANG

2200 hrs LIGHTS OUT

And no, Satsang doesn´t mean breakfast.

I can´t believe I´m actually going on Monday. Time is a strange thing. And all change feels a bit frightening in the beginning. But as Sarah said today, it´s worth just enjoying every minute…