Backpack and a Playlist

“Traveling is seeing. It is the implicit that we travel by”- Cynthia Ozick

Any place is a sum of your experiences. It could be about the things you do, food you eat or people you meet. This experience that is so unique to each person, be it a day spent or a lifetime, makes a place memorable for one while boring for another.

Prague is one of my favorite places. It has to be said that Prague countryside is absolutely out of a digital painting. It is almost as if each leaf of each tree and each ripple across the rivers have been carefully arranged to draw a gasp out of you. I felt like I had just stepped into a novel, almost sure of ruining it.

I arrived in Prague from Berlin at about 10pm. A step out of the train I was travelling in and I noticed that the temperature variation between Prague and parts of Europe even slightly northern is huge. Spring had been perfect timing for that chill in the breeze to make you want to snuggle inside a blanket. I had travelled to Norway, Finland and Germany before arriving in Prague. 

The train station is fortunately in the heart of the city, close to many hostels and most beautiful places you would want to spend time on. The beauty of Prague will overpower you, so it is best to prioritize on a few places before you reach and leave some room free for those spur of the moment choices.

Prague, unlike Germany, and like most other European countries does not have too many people who speak great English. One of the greatest inconveniences of getting around in Europe is that most of the signboards would be in the local language so carrying a map is of the essence; Google Translate would work even better. Most hostels in Prague have an 11pm rule where they require you to check in before that time else it would cost you extra. As I discovered by just making it in time, while almost twisting my ankle, the rule exists so that the care taker aka receptionist aka hostel owner can go out to party as most clubs close entries around that time. You can go out once you have checked in and come back to sneak into the bed allotted to you. 

The Prague Opera House is one of the best in Europe and if you have a couple of days there, you should try and attend one of the performances. The Charles Bridge over river Vltava is overlooked by the Prague Castle and connects the Old Town to the New Town. While the New Town houses most of the modern building and the main square, the Old Town will keep you walking up and down the cobblestone roads, the Castle and the Gardens. Charles Bridge overlooking both the old town and the new town is a different experience each time of the day. The best time of the day is early morning when the crowds are minimal and you can spend some time taking in the beauty of the surroundings and the sculptures lined on both sides of the bridge. Each sculpture is different from the other and you would want to spend a few hours just walking up and down the bridge and soaking in the moments. Come late morning though, the bridge is bustling with tourists, locals and those trying to sell their wares or art. Prague is a city of artists and you would find painters, writers, musicians, performance artists and sculptors at every corner of the city and all of them together on the bridge in the afternoon and early evening.

Going into the old town, I could have taken two alternate courses. You should figure out the kind of experience you want and have the plan drawn up accordingly. On one side were the John Lennon wall and the Furnicular Train at Uzehd. On the other side were the Franz Kafka Museum and the Prague Castle.

The John Lennon wall is filled with beautiful and inspiring graffiti by artists and people who came by over the years. It started soon after Lennon’s death with just a small square bearing a painting of his face and soon exploded to represent something much bigger, the freedom to choose and express that choice. If you talk to a few locals, they will tell you that no one has ever been stopped from writing anything they want on the wall, except by the police. However, they too have come to accept it as an integral part of Prague’s belief in artistic freedom and the urge to represent it. The Furnicular Train at Uzehd is a small toy train which elevates to Uzehd where you have the best and most landscape view of all of Prague. The train may look weak but as the driver would assure you, it is really strong and has survived many numbers of years and even more number of tourists. Prague also has its very own Eiffel Tower at the top of Uzehd for you to climb.

Kafka Museum is famous for one thing and one thing only, Pissing Statues. The Pissing Statues, as the name suggests are statues that piss. In an attempt to amuse himself on a boring day, David Cerny decided to create sculptors of 2 young boys pissing in a small puddle that strangely enough resembles the map of Czech Republic. Prague Castle has a short climb to reach the top and is completely worth the effort. The Prague Castle is huge and you can spend hours there just walking around and it even has spots to sit and rest while you do just that. The most beautiful thing about the castle is the paintings on the building walls and is bound to make you understand why wars are fought over years for castles across the world. The cobblestone roads are rarely on a platform so it should help you get all the exercise you have been avoiding through the year.

Prague Square in the Old Town is just across the Charles Bridge and has some of the best cafes on the road with performance artists and musicians by the dozen. There are lots of small stalls selling food as well. The city square houses the famous Astronomical Clock, which has performance at the strike of every hour. It’s a charming show that is bound to bring a smile to your face. 

Prague feels like an old lover. You smile every time you think of Prague and want to return to it one more time, just to feel exactly how you felt that moment.

Wake up and smell the Coffee

Waking up is difficult! I am not a morning person except when that morning starts post 12 noon. But the only time I do manage to get my ass up before the sun is even up is when I am traveling. It takes me 2 minutes to convince myself to get out of bed when traveling as opposed to the usual 15 minutes any other time.

Coorg is quite a change from Kushalnagar. While only 40 kms away, the weather and surroundings in these two places are very different. I truly believe that the dynasty that set up Coorg liked to work out and they took their workouts very seriously. As a result, everything is either downhill or uphill.

I took a local bus from Kushalnagar to come to Coorg. These buses are not for the faint-hearted. Local buses in small towns are like big autos- uncomfortable, given the number of potholes in any place in India and with a lot of personality. But if personality is something you enjoy, then hold on to your wallets for safety purposes purely and go ahead to take a ride in one. It took about 1 hour to reach Coorg and thankfully my hotel was pretty close by. Since it wasn't a particularly good hotel, I would choose to not make recommendations. After a brief rest, I decided to go a place called Talacauvery before the sun sets in.

All great journeys undertaken are usually for a greater destination. The destination in this case was the top of the Brahmagiri hill. Ofcourse, getting there is no easy task. Brahmagiri Hill is 350 steps from the Talacauvery temple. Talacauvery is about 45 kms from Coorg and requires a bus trip of about 3 hours to and fro. You get off from the bus at Bhagmandala, 8 kms away from the destination. This is where the 3 rivers- Cauvery, Kannike and Sujyothi meet and is called Triveni Sangam, it is highly over hyped. From here, you take an auto to Talacauvery which will wait for 45 mins at the destination for you. Once you reach Talacauvery, there is a small outlet where the Cauvery river starts from. It is quite fun to try and figure out where that small outlet is since there are always hundreds of faith blinded people screaming around the place at any given time. Once you've figured it out, start climbing the steps from the temple to the top of the Brahmagiri Hill.

The top of the Brahmagiri Hill gives the best view of Western Ghats, and if you don't believe me then you can sue Lonely Planet. The view is quite breathtaking, also cos the air gets thinner with the height. A most definite must go to place.

The next day brought more drizzle with it. I decided to brave it and took a bus to Somwarpet. Its a small village near Coorg which has the supposedly famous 'Chick Basappa Club', famous for are absence of chicks and presence of drunken men even at 11am. The ride to the village and back crosses many coffee plantations and if you manage to befriend any of the drunken men, you may get an inside view to a coffee estate. Needless to say, I am not that friendly.

In the early evening, I  made my way to the Madikeri fort. Making my way in Coorg means walking for 5 mins from the local bus stand, its a small town. The fort is quite charming and retains its medieval look despite the government setting up an office there, but then our government officers are quite medieval looking too. The perfect place for watching the sunset in Coorg is definitely the Raja's Seat. As the name suggests, Raja's Seat is the seat for the Raja. But for a nominal fee of 5 bucks, you get to see this coveted throne.The garden is lovely here and the view is one of the best views in the town. Another must visit in Coorg for sure.

My last day in Coorg aka Madikeri aka Mercara took me to Abbi Falls. Its about 8kms away from Coorg and needs a short auto trip with waiting time built in. Once you reach the gate, its a small hike to the Falls and is quite nice. The only unfortunate thing is that the area around the falls is protected by fences unlike some other falls where I have been fortunate enough to trek all the way to the top, which is a story for another day. After spending some time, I left to catch my bus to Bangalore. I had a long night ahead of me with my impending travel to Pondicherry the same night.

I lost 1 kg in Coorg while waking and gained 2 while having the awesome pork curry they make in thier own style. Pork dishes are a specialty and should not be missed. The same goes for the kukkad coffee you get at the Kodagu Cuisine restaurant which is diagonally opposite to the Coorg Post Office and quite close to the local bus stand. I would recommend the same place for food too. The bus ride to Bangalore was most eventful- I saw Robot and failed to understand the magic that is Rajnikanth. How the man is still acting is beyond my understanding. Perhaps it shall continue to elude me much like some other mysteries that I fail to understand like happy people or vegetarianism or happy people.

Coorg is not a big place and not a shiny place. Its got personality and very old world charm. It reminded me of the silent black and white movies which you could watch alone without the need of popcorn and just gaze at every scene, taking it all in.

You never forget your first

Its true. You don’t. And my first was at a Buddhist Monastery. 

Before your mind gets any dirtier, I’d like to remind you that this is a travel blog. And ofcourse I am talking about my first trip. I was awake for days thinking about where to go to. Over the years, I have discovered that planning trips is more exhausting than even being on one, especially when going on it depends on someone else (you know who you are). 

I will deliberately try to talk less about the actual places I have visited since I feel that you should really experience them for your own. Ofcourse I will talk about some things about them that make each place special.

I had 10 days around the time of Diwali and being the religious nut that I am (read: sarcasm), I thought it is the perfect moment to start. I spoke to some friends which was absolutely useless. I kept telling them I want to go to 2-3 places and they kept telling me to go to places which would take all of 10 days. Finally, I decided that my friends could not be relied upon for this important milestone in my life. Afterall, they still have not found a way to get out of having to work for a living, so how smart could they really be. 

I went straight to work on the one source we all rely on, a source even closer to our secrets than our best friends or our parents, a source that knows everything we want to know- Google. I carefully typed “places near bangalore” and boom! I discovered a site that is now my bible for travel in India- www.mustseeindia.com. Also it helped that the name of the website caters to my very basic needs of travelling. So this very important site that I just promoted on this blog led me to a list of a number of places that I could go to. I always thought asking the internet is better than asking actual human beings and this was the last confirmation I needed.

Now before you think that I am one of those people who travels with everything ready to restart civilization in case of Armageddon, let me assure you that I have lost count of the number of times I have had to buy things because I thought something would be available at the guest house or hotel I was staying at and since it was one I found to be the cheapest and sorta reliable, it ofcourse did not have any such amenities (I am amazed at not being corrected by Mr. Bill Gates aka Microsoft Word for that long sentence). 

So I narrowed down on 3 places and decided to begin with Kushalnagar.

Kushalnagar is about 4 hours 45 minutes away from Bangalore and can be reached by bus directly. I took the KSRTC bus through online booking. And I must say that all KSRTC buses are the best ones I have ever taken. I actively go out of my way to promote them to anyone and everyone who comes in my travel path or is subjected to conversations about them. 

The journey began early morning 8am. I packed all clothes that I felt would make me less attractive to potential or in-the-making rapists. I also felt that there must be some statistic somewhere which said that women who wear glasses are less prone to being raped so I packed my no-power glasses which I only use occasionally on trips alone to escape earlier mentioned great men who’d make lovely husbands one day I am sure.

I took the local Bangalore bus to travel to the Majestic bus stand in Bangalore and went about searching frantically for my bus asking onlookers which platform it comes on and if its ever late and any other question they could understand and answer. With time, I have gotten really good at finding buses on bus stands anywhere. I now believe in the golden rule of ‘Avoid Eye Contact’. India is not the best country to travel alone especially if you are a girl but it can be if you take the right precautions and I ensure I do.

At the Majestic bus stand. Taken from my Nokia E63.

 

I slept through half the journey and discovered my reason to not sleep during day travel or as far as possible during even night travel- the journey to most destinations is amazing if not more amazing than the destination itself, in the other half of the journey. When the bus stopped at a Kamat food joint on the way, I decided to risk eating some local food but I was surprised at how clean the place was and how tasty the pongal was. As usual, the quantity proved to be too much for me but I smiled meekly as the waiter looked at me in disbelief of food being left in the plate.

Before reaching Kushalnagar, I had a clear agenda and itinerary in my mind. My only reason to visit Kushalnagar was to go to Bylakuppe, a town nearby which is home to 2 Buddhist settlements and the Golden Temple of Buddhist culture.  I had booked a guest house opposite to the Golden Temple which is run by the monks from the temple. Its a small and comfortable place with basic cleanliness in place. 

On the way to Kushalnagar. Taken from my Nokia E63.

Before moving on to Bylakuppe, I thought of quickly grabbing my lunch since this was a bigger town and would have better food joints. Oh how wrong I was. The tourist places have the best joints, always. I made my way to a restaurant almost next to the bus stand and ordered for their egg curry and rotis. Well the curry felt like water with salt and the rotis were half cooked only. Thereafter, I caught an auto and after the obligatory 10 mins of bargaining, I gave in and took it. The way to the guest house was a little strange but only since I had never travelled alone and hence kept hoping I don’t get kidnapped. Thankfully, I didn’t. 

On reaching the guest house, I was pleasantly surprised to see the guest house complex very lively and full of monks. Monks here, monks there, monks everywhere. Monks on foot, monks on Royal Enfield’s, monks hopped onto trucks. I made my way to my room and decided to not waste any time before heading to the monastery. It was a sight for sore eyes that never realized how sore they were until now. Everything was new, everything was alien and I couldn’t love it more. The entrance to the Golden Temple is huge and always crowded with smiling monks of all shapes and sizes. 

Monks exiting temple post prayers. Taken from my Nokia E63

I made my way to the corridor that is surrounded on both sides by monk’s living quarters and I could see so many of them just going about their daily chores unfazed by the hordes of visitors watching them. It made me think of a zoo and suddenly I wasn’t sure who was the one outside the cage and who the monkey getting peanuts. 

On entering the main temple, I was at a complete loss of words. I had never seen such huge statues basking in their colour of gold. It was absolutely beautiful without compaision. I noticed that there were small pillows on the side to sit on. I took one and meditated for as long as I felt like and then made my way back to my room. I had been carrying a Haruki Murakami book with me and took it to the juice shop next door to the guest house within the complex itself. The shop was filled with monks joking around with the shop boy and he seemed very sweet and not bothered to disturb me even as I sipped my juice ever so slowly while reading my book quietly. My speed could have given competition to any old blind lady crossing the road at night. I watched the night draw closer while I lazed around and watched the cloud turn into tiny drops of rain before retiring to my room for a night of tv and more reading.

One of my best evenings. Taken from my Nokia E63.

I woke up early the next day to go straight to the main Golden temple for the morning prayers. The music instruments they use during the chants are simply amazing. The sound is something that needs to be experienced. It is soothing to the ears and makes you think of nothing. Absolutely blank and absolutely brilliant. After the morning prayers ended, I spent some time meditating in the other temples as well and then made my way to the monastery’s cafeteria. I had read about the Buddhist breakfast and wanted to experience it. To this day, I have not tasted anything worse. But do try it out for fun. 

The Golden Temple monastery is also called the Namdroling Monastery and is one of the largest. There is another Buddhist monastery close to the Golden Temple called the Sera Monastery which has a lot of students studying there as well. Apparently, being a monk is a tough job. Its not all about being round and looking cute in a very airy robe.

Prayer Flag at the Sera Monastery. Taken from my Nokia E63

I took an auto to the Sera Monastery which is different from how Golden Temple is since it has several temples, library and school of the monastery spread over a village and not all in one place. I walked on the streets while asking locals for directions to the different temples and other buildings I could visit. While on my way to one of the temples, I met a monk named Sonam. Sonam was a monk who did not teach but did other odd jobs like plumbing etc in this village. He said he would be happy to show me around and so he did. He also explained some of the traditions monks follow while in school like active debating, praying everyday and how difficult it is to be a monk. But he added in how much fun they have with the simpler joys of life. 

There was a protest happening by the local students against the traditional Tibetan books being translated in Chinese. There were hundreds of students on the roads with banners and slogans for this. I was told that a special meeting is happening between the protesting students and the main head monks to discuss how to best resolve the unrest. I have to say that I have never seen a more peaceful debate in my life. Both sides seemed so sweet to each other that I didn’t understand how either is supposed to win. Unfortunately, I had to leave as it started to get cloudier. Sonam was nice enough to give me his number in case I needed some help. Sadly, I deleted it after his 5th message asking me how I am doing in 3 days.  

Evening coffee with a lovely book.

Within each of the temples, the architecture is absolutely beautiful. Every carving, every draped and embroidered cloth and every sculpture is absolutely beautiful. While on my way back, I stopped by Olive Kitchen where they serve some amazing Chinese and Tibetan dishes. Thereafter, I made my way back to the guest house on foot and went to my room and read my book at the juice shop again. This was my evening ritual there. By the end of my trip, the juice shop boy was a friend. While reading the book, my ears caught a song playing in the shop which I had not heard before but seemed to really like. The song is “How to save a Life” by “The Fray”. If you have not heard the song, do hear it. Lovely lyrics that I totally related to.

Walking all over for hours. Taken from my Nokia E63.

On my 3^rd day there, I decided to spend more time in Golden Temple and spent the whole day lazying around and walking in the gardens and the temples of the complex. In the late afternoon post lunch, I decided to check out the library and made my way across the side of the main temple to enter the library. Upon entered, I was greeted by a monk who bowed down to say hello, I presume. As I bowed down and came back up, I noticed he had a packet in his hand. He smiled and handed it to me. He could see me confused and told me in broken English “Because you come to library”. Now this was an innovative way to get people to stay in the library longer. It had mango juice, biscuits, chips and noodles. I finished almost all of it there while reading poetry books I have already read in school and had forgotten over the years.  It was definitely one of the quietest days of my life and I loved it.

All day long prayer ceremony. Taken from my Nokia E63

On my way out, another monk stopped me and told me that it is the 1^st day of the month according to their calendar and they have a day-long prayer ceremony every 1^st day of a month and that if I can, then I should come. I smiled and thanked him for the invite. I woke up early the next day as I also had to leave for my 2^nd destination late morning after breakfast. I made my way to the main temple and was saw that the prayers already in progress. I also saw few younger monks playing around while chanting and being reprimanded and asked to do few push-ups as punishment by one of the head monks. There were also few monks distributing some water and food to the monks and audience alike. I took some and thanked them for the kindness. For the next few hours, the monks only stopped for short breaks in the middle of chanting and I meditated with them.

It was peaceful. It was quiet. It was different than anything I had experienced before. This is not a place where time stops… this is a place where time is irrelevant.

And so it began

Taken with Nokia N900 phone on the road from Kargil to Ladakh

This post may be 2 years late but well, I procrastinated.

My life prepared me for a lot, but certainly not this. All my life, my purpose was singular and now that it was becoming more real, I realized I was suffering from the lack of any purpose.

Although writing had always been with me since I was in high school, I am almost about the laziest writer I know of. But then I know of so few writers, that the earlier statement probably suffers from lack of reliability. Either way, upon finding myself purposeless, I decided to do the next best thing I could think of after writing- Travelling.

Although I had grown up with hippy parents, they refused to go out of the house except in the search of food and money. They’re sort of your medieval parents only more torturous. But that’s a story for another day. What you need to know is that I barely travelled all my life, not counting the trip to Puri, of which all I remember is- We went to Puri and we got back. So this was my chance to conquer the world or well find a purpose.

While a lot of people have told me in my last more than 2 years of consistent travelling that it is somewhat strange to travel alone, I find it intensely liberating and insightful. You can let go of the present thanks to a small space that is neither real nor unreal. It is like choosing an alternate personality for a few hours.