Holi is the 3 day Hindu festival of colour. Or, more accurately, of throwing coloured tikka powder (which stains everything, including skin) at people, with special attention given to foreigners...
So it was with some trepidation that I decided to travel throughout the Holi weekend, on 3 trains and a bus, with an hour between each, from Amritsar to Diu. The prospect of being covered in pink powder when a shower was 2 days away made me extra vigilant though, and helped me to narrowly avoid 2 flying powder balls at new delhi station. It was just like the matrix, except that I was wearing 2 backpacks and a guitar!
(I talked to this porter for at least 10 minutes before someone told me he couldn't speak english)
Miraculously, Indian railways came through, & there was a bus just about to leave from Veraval (end of the train line) to Diu, so I probably had the smoothest journey in the history of Indian travel.
Gujerat then. My only knowledge of this state, prior to coming to India, was that the Patel caste (ie everyone with the surname "Patel") originated here, and (thanks to that annoying woman from Masterchef last year) that the food is pretty good!
Actually, the island of Diu isn't really part of Gujerat: like Goa, it was a Portugese colony, and retains a lot of Mediterranean flava. Its one of the most relaxing places I've been. Anywhere, let alone India. I stayed in a guesthouse on the side of this church:
Its the highest point on the island, so the views from the top are quite nice. Here's me pushing the boundaries of technology!
In case you don't know, click on the pic above...
So, I wrote some music, learned some french, drank too much (alcohol is the cheapest in India & is dangerously inexpensive), ate too much (Diu is a great place to come if, like me, you're dangerously underweight), marveled at the lack of mechanical noise, especially car horns, learned to ride a motorbike, & went to the beach
The guy on the left is an insane Scottish anarchist called Ed, who is probably the inspiration for Daffy in The Beach, and on the right is Uri from Tel Aviv, who is unlike any Israeli I've met over here. Unfortunately its very easy to stereotype as the vast majority have just come from military service, where they're taught how to behave like fucking morons. Uri's on his 4th trip to India, and was quite an inspiration to me. Meeting him coincided nicely with my end-of-trip reflections.
I only have 9 (NINE) days left in India, which is kinda scary. Not that I'm not looking forward to coming home, its just that this has been one of the best things I've ever done and its sad that it has to end. I wouldn't change anything about my trip: I couldn't hope for more from my first time in India. I really hope I remember what I've found here, & that I keep coming back (albeit for shorter stints). If (when) I do come back though, there are some things I'll do differently. There are many different ways you can spend time here, and I guess you could say that what I've done is effectively extensive sight-seeing: I've had small tasters of most of the beaten track in India. Which is great. I have impressions of many regions, and have some idea of what makes the "country" tick. However, it struck me as slightly perverse that (like most people), I've met (or rather, I've had meaningful conversations with) far more western travelers than I have Indians. I've rarely had to stray far from my comfort zone (although that's all relative), so I guess I haven't immersed myself as much as is possible. Again, no regrets, great for a first trip.
The biggest barrier is that I haven't learned more than the very basics of Hindi. Its easy to make excuses: English is the official second language in every state, Hindi isn't the official language anywhere, many people speak no Hindi, there are major regional variations in the way it's spoken etc. But, in reality, it would enhance traveling here enormously: Indians really appreciate it when someone's bothered to learn, its possible to go way off the beaten track and be much more "independent." Hindi is also, apparently, a relatively easy language to learn. So, next time, I hope I'll spend a month somewhere that pure Hindi is spoken, i.e. Varanasi.
Also, next time I hope I'll travel by motorbike. Its cool. Everyone knows it. Whilst I really like the trains, & can tolerate the buses, to have transport would open up so much more. Not that I'd want to travel too far too quickly: I reckon spending a couple of months in one state would be a great way to really know a place. After the time I spent teaching in Ghana, I'm dubious about the value of being involved in projects for less than a year. And I've actually spent less in total than the fees alone for such a project! Still, it seems that I will end up with a portable profession (in about 20 years) so there are options along that line.
I'm sure there was something else I wanted to say. Problem is, I have these thoughts, then get to the internet, ramble for a while, and miss half the points I wanted to make. Yes, there is an obvious solution! But still...
So, I stayed in Diu for 11 nights, which is the longest I've stayed anywhere in India. Something strange happens to time there. Breakfast lasts until lunchtime, and if you manage to go to the beach and do some washing, its been a really productive day! I eventually extracted myself though, & spent 16 hours on buses (arrgghh) to get myself to Bhuj, where I am now. Bhuj, and the Kutch region, are also excellent, but I'll save recounting my adventures with Trousers, my trusty companion, til next time...
