September 12 - 17

I spent some time in Prague; however, I unfortunately did not get to see much of the city due to meetins and conferences and the like. What I can say is that the city was beautiful from what I did see of it, and that I did get a couple of photos of it, albeit only at night. The two photos below are from the main square in Prague, where I spent two or three evenings drinking, eating and chatting away. :) The picture to the left is of the astronomical clock in the square. When it rings there are figures that come out and turn around. You can (sort of) see them in this picture, at the top of the clock, where there are two windows.

The team from one of my meetings went out one night for a black light theatre performance, which is kind of neat. Black light is used for special lighting effects, and the stage is generally completely dark. The performance we saw was called Aspects of Alice, and was about Alice in Wonderland. The first half had Alice as around 12 or 13 years old, and had some "questionable symbolism". (I actually called it creepy at one point.) Between the jet lag, being tired from an all-day meeting, and the performance being only music and in the dark, some of the group left during the intermission since they had been falling asleep. After intermission, Alice grew up, and there was a lesbian sex scene with two half-naked women in it! The comment from the guys was almost universally "Well that woke me up!"

September 18

I arrived at 12:30am. First impressions: Bangalore smells dusty, there are a LOT of military around the airport, and they are taking H1N1 very seriously. We had to fill out a special form regarding H1N1 with contact information, which was collected by people wearing nose masks, plus all the customs agents were wearing masks. I never really felt like I got to drive through the city to get to the hotel, and I wonder if Bangalore really has much of a city center. My observation from the cab was that the streets remind me of Peru (you know, where lane markings really don't mean much, and there's constant honking), and maybe a bit of Guatemala - the same kind of street stalls. I also noticed that there were a surprising number of people out and about, given how late it was, and also that they were all men.

Upon arriving at the hotel the cab was checked for bombs before being allowed on the premises!! And I had to go through a metal detector and my luggage through a security screening, reminiscent of taking the train in Israel. The hotel itself - the Leela Palace Kempinkski - is beautiful! CA will probably be less than impressed when I submit the bill, however!! In my room I have a pillow menu (with a choice of around 12 different pillows), crystal water glasses (4 of them!), complimentary fruit, water, slippers, etc. The place really is palatial, including being escorted to your room to ensure that everything is ok with it. And I arrived wearing jeans, sweatshirt and backpack, which I'm guessing is not the case for their usual clientelle!

September 19

I gave my talk today at USID, a usability and design conference, which seemed to go well. The talk itself took 55 minute (which surprised me! I thought I'd be done in 30!), followed by 15 minutes (!) of questions. The talk was videotapes (yikes!) and there was someone constantly taking photos.

I've been really impressed by USID actually. All of the attendees have paid attention during all of the talks - with no one working on their laptops!!! And they have asked questions after all of the talk as well. Everyone here seems very keen on learning, which is actually a refreshing change from most conferences.

For my part, I particularly enjoyed the talk by Saurabh Karandikar on advertising. Did you know that the most recognized actors in India right now are the zoozoos from a Vodaphone ad? (youtube it!) Also, "The Best Job in the Word" ad campaign cost only $10.2 million, but generated over $100 million in advertising (from being mentioned on CNN, etc., plus youtube, etc.) - brilliant!

(Mom - don't read this until I am back from India.) I also learned today that India is the number one place for terrorist attacks - even ahead of Israel!

Oh, and here are a couple of pictures of Bangalore as seen from windows at the Leela Palace.

I went out this evening to an Indian restaurant with three of the conference organizers and two of the speakers, and had a grand time! And it turns out that medium spicy is about as hot as I like to go, which is good to know. I had a sweet lime soda, which is made from sweet limes, and it tastes pretty much exactly as it sounds - delicious! My new favourite fruit, next to mango (which is, unfortunately, not in season right now).

September 20

I got yet another phone number. Apparently I'm really good at getting the phone numbers of bartenders and shop keepers! I browsed the gardens of the hotel for a bit (beautiful! photo on the left) and then went to the attached mall to window shop, where there was pianist playing a grand piano on the bottom floor (see photo below). (Note that you need to go through security before entering the mall from outside the hotel.) I ended up in one shop with the shop keeper (some kid, maybe 22 years old), who showed me some beautiful handmade silk rugs ($1500 USD, which is a bit out of my price range), kashmiri versus mysore silk, and taught me about sandalwood versus white wood versus rosewood. I didn't buy anything in the end, but he did give me his number and offer to take me on a tour of the city tomorrow!

The other thing I learned is that tomorrow is Eid!! Everything is closed!! That was the day I had set aside for touring Bangalore. :( I was hoping to go to the City Market in the morning and Commercial Road in the late morning, catching my flight in the late afternoon. Alas, it looks like it will instead be a combination of work and leisurely reading.

I thought that I might go see some of the Eid celebrations, but when I asked the concierge about it, she actually recommended that I not go since I am a non-Muslim woman. She commented that Hindu women did not trust Muslim men. :(

So I went shopping tonight instead for gifts for Christmas (which I always do when travelling), going to the Cauvery Arts and Crafts store, which sells crafts that are created locally. I would say what I bought, but since my family might read this.... ;) I did spend too much money on myself, and intend to spend too much more when in Hyderabad!

I'm also debating changing my flight to come back to Bangalore a day early, rather than staying in Coimbatore. There doesn't seem to be much to do or see in Coimbatore, whereas Bangalore is very interesting. I'm not sure what I would do, though. I'm thinking the City Market and maybe a trip to Bannerghatta National Park, with a visit to Commercial Road if I have time.

Unfortunately, my schedule doesn't give me time to see any temples! There is one in Coimbatore, so I'm debating leaving the ashram a little early so I can see it, on the theory that I'll be perfectly relaxed and refreshed after only two days there!!

September 21

Wow! I just experienced India! :) I decided to go find the Shiva Temple, which is only about 1km from the hotel. Since it was so close, I decided to walk. I had previously thought that India reminded me of Lima, but I've now decided that it is more intense than Lima. The place is absolutely fascinating! Even on the main street (Airport Road) or reasonably main side streets, it is very busy, with throngs of people, tables and stalls on the side of the road selling fruits, shining shoes, grilling and selling corn on the cob, just about everything. I really wanted to get some pictures, but it seemed rather rude, especially since I didn't have any money on me to then buy something. There is garbage everywhere, and you have to pay attention to where you walk because there are cow paddies, dog puke, uneven sidewalks, sudden holes in the sidewalk, etc. I saw a guy pissing on the side of the street (it's so hard not to stare at things like that, yet somehow I feel like I should give the guy his privacy! Go figure!) and another asleep on the sidewalk. There is a definite contrast between poor and not poor here, with the nicer establishments having guards. And the women all wear such beautiful bright sarees - pinks and golds and reds and purples. The other things that amazed me, when I finally noticed it, was the number of people walking barefoot. And the smell here! It varies as you walk, but essentially is a combination in varying degrees of dust, car exhaust, garbage, food, incense (it smelled so nice to walk by a stall selling it!), and greenery. And the sound! It's very loud, with lots of cars, people talking, and the incessant honking of horns....

I ended up taking some wrong turns and ending up in the equivalent of the back alleyways, where there were dirt streets, still lots of business and busy-ness on the streets (food of all sorts, primarily), but I also ended up seeing chickens, cows, dogs and goats. And I came across a beautiful temple that was really intricate with lots of colours.

I eventually found my way back to the main road, and to Shiva Temple (which is just past the McDonalds and KFC, depressingly enough); however, it was a one hour wait to enter (or 10 minutes if you were willing to pay) and I needed to get back to the hotel to check out. So, I'll have to go next time!

I also think that I was the only white person during the entire hour or so trek!! I definitely stood out as a foreigner, and it certainly resulted in my getting lots of looks!

When I made it back to my hotel room, I have to admit that the first thing I did was drink a bottle of water, followed by having a shower. I felt really hot and dirty, and it's not even an especially hot day today, maybe only about 25 degrees C.

Later in the afternoon I went to the airport for my flight to Hyderabad. A lot of women work here as labourers. For example, I saw one sidewalk drainage being built, and women were carrying what looked like dirt from one area to another using plates balanced on their heads. (The sidewalks here all have a drainage ditch under them, with concrete blocks on top with holes drilled into them, so that the hard, fast rains have some place to drain into.) Another example was two women, dressed in beautiful bright pink and orange sarees, sweeping the dirt from the side of the road using brooms made from sticks.

There were also a couple of interesting things at the airport. The first is that I forgot that India has a large Muslim population. Thus there were separate security lines for men and women. I automatically went for the first line, and since I'm so used to being around men, I didn't even notice that the line up consisted solely of men! One of the airport employees flagged me down and directed me to the correct line. There was also a LOT fewer women flying then men - there was one security screening post for women and four for men. And I was then only woman with a laptop!!

The other interesting airport security thing was what was checked where. Before you were allowed in the terminal, you had to show your itinerary and passport, since only passengers were allowed in. (There were kiosks outside where you could get your itinerary printed if you had e-tickets.) When going through the security checkpoint, you needed a specific tag for your carry-on (it looks like the tags that the airlines give you to write your name and address on for your luggage), which was then stamped once it cleared the metal detector. The metal detector for the women was essentially ignored. You walked through it, then went into a curtained space where a female security officer would wand you in privacy. When boarding the flight, you had to show your boarding pass, passport, and that your carry-on had a stamped tag. Then, when *leaving* the plane (yes, leaving, as in I was in Hyderabad and going to get my luggage from the baggage claim) you had to show your boarding pass again.

Finally, the ad at the airport that I found interesting was an IBM ad, which read "Data helps prevent crime before it happens." Yes, Minority Report. I wonder about the relative success of that ad in India versus the US/Canada....

September 22

Ok, the big difference between the Ista hotel in Hyderabad and the Leela Palace in Bangalore (other than a smaller room and no crystal glasses!!) is that everyone here keeps bowing to me. :( I really don't like it!!

Interestingly, the CA office here has quite a bit of security. First, I needed to show my badge (like in Islandia), but then security also checked the trunk and under the car, again (presumably) for bombs.

Never one to have plans and stick to them (!), I am now looking at going to Mysore (by bus? flight to Bangalore and train?) for Sept 28, instead of either Coimbatore or Bangalore. :) Hopefully I'll have this worked out by the end of tonight! Else, it'll have to be figured out by the end of tomorrow!!

Also never one to heed good advice, I took a risk today and had watermellon juice with my lunch (standard Indian fare from the CA cafeteria). I'll let you know how well that worked out tomorrow!!

I went shopping tonight with a friend. Driving through Hyderabad was interesting, since the disparity between the rich and the poor is so in your face. There were beautiful apartment buildings that were obviously quite expensive, and between them and the road would be make-shift tents made from tarp where the poor families lived. I asked my friend about this and his comment was that you needed the poor people to work for the rich people. I wish I could get photos so you could see, but no luck yet. (I want to be discreet, since it seems so rude! And I need to be able to do it while not in a car careening through buses and cars and motorbikes.)

We went to a market, where there was a makeshift Durga temple, since there was a Durga festival recently. So far I know three gods / goddesses: Durga (female, with eight arms), Shiva (male) and Ginesh (the elephant). We wandered through the area, which consisted of a lot of shops, and was not very crowded. When we left, there was a family of three small children (maybe ages three to five?) who were begging. They would keep touching you to get your attention to try to get something.

We then went to a couple of shops looking for kalamkari, and I ended up buying a couple of paintings (one on canvas and one on silk) instead. The painting on canvas is brighter, and the paints are made from ground stone. The one on silk is not as bright, and about half the price, and the paints are chemical-based. We had a great talk with one of the shop keepers, who was from Kashmir. He left due to the violence and instability in the area, which apparently a lot of people do. This is also sad because, just 20 years ago, Kashmir was independent with a strong tourism industry, and now they are poor and fragmented (1/3 went to Pakistan and 2/3 to India) and still fought-over. He was also commenting that a lot of India does not like Kashmiris since they now have a reputation of being terrorists.

From that store, we went to the Laad Bazaar, which extends out from the Charminar (a huge gate with four pillars - apparently charminar actually means four pillars - with picture on the right). There was another temporary Durga temple in front of the charminar, which reminded me a bit of the arc du triomphe in that it was in the middle of a roundabout. It was crowded and busy, with lots of traffic and honking, and there was a lot of garbage on the ground. On one side there were a number of stalls selling fruit. We went down one street that sold bangles (you would not believe all the bangles!!), where I bought some for my nieces. Another street had a number of dentists. (Although not any in any kind of place where I would trust using them! It looked like there were a number of shops where someone could pull out a tooth, as opposed to actually doing any dentistry.) By this time it was late at night, so the street with perfumes was closed, as were all of the pearl shops.

We went to the perfume shop of someone that the driver knew, and I spent at least half an hour smelling different scents, before buying one for me (a jasmine attar, which is based in sandalwood oil - he had three different jasmines to choose from) and four for others. The shop keeper was very impressive - he could sniff a perfume on a piece of paper and recognize which scent it was! I, on the other hand, had sensory overload and had to keep sniffing coffee beans in between scents.

As an aside, the sign for one store made me laugh: "Condoms and Medical Supplies"! (I was then told that there just about any pharmaceutical can be purchased without a prescription. No guarantee of course on the quality.)

September 24

My first impression of Coimbatore is that it is (comparatively) rich. The roads were very well maintained, particularly after Bangalore and Hyderabad. And I saw none of the tents - everyone seemed to at least have a single-room hut with a metal roof. The other new thing was that I saw oxen with lovely curved horns, sometimes painted different colours, pulling water tanks, and lots of donkeys (asses?), in addition to dogs, cows and goats. While Coimbatore is known for its textiles, since it produces a lot of cotton, and there are supposed to be tea plantations on the sides of the mountains, all I saw were coconut groves, along with groves of some other type of palm tree.

I arrived at the Isha Yoga ashram today (after being one of only two women on the flight from Hyderabad to Bangalore!). The jury is still out on the ashram. It has a number of rules which they do not tell you ahead of time, three of which annoy me. The first is that there is a dress code: women must wear long pants or skirts (capri pants are not long enough - as far as I can tell, you need to cover your ankles) and a shirt that covers your shoulders and arms. I'm not so much annoyed that there is a dress code, but rather that there was no indication of such ahead of time so that I could pack appropriately. Thus I had to spend $40 on clothes for the next couple of days. Keep in mind that you are 30km (about an hour) away from Coimbatore, so you need to buy from their shop. I don't care that it supports the local women who made the stuff, or the ashram and its mission, I want to be able to *choose* to support them, not be forced into the situation. Plus I look like a poser in the clothes they have available. The one girl who worked at the store, when I asked about one of the shirts, said it was "good for you", but essentially that she would not wear it!! *sigh* I should note that I get stared at here a lot, regardless of what I wear, since I'm pale and blonde. Which makes me wonder why I can't just wear clothes that make *me* comfortable.

The other rule that annoys me is that you cannot take photographs anywhere in the ashram. Thus I can't show you anything. And there are parts that are photo-worthy. Such as the mountains with the clouds spilling over them, and the coconut groves. I cannot write well enough to describe what I see.

The third thing that annoys me is that you are trapped in the ashram, and must sign out if you want to leave. I chose this place because it was surrounded by forests, but now I'm not allowed to enter them. ("Too dangerous, due to the animals, particularly the elephants." - something my taxi driver told me as well.) I'm still hoping to escape at some point and walk along the road a bit (there are electric fences along the road to stop the animals) and get a few photographs of the area, since it really is quite beautiful.

I had a choice of three facilities when I made my reservation: non air conditioned shared ($15 USD/night), air conditioned shared ($35/night) and air conditioned private ($55/night). I went with option #1. The accomodation is basic - two single, thing matresses on the floor, and a shared bathroom in the room. Sheets and towels are provided, but you need to provide your own toilet paper (30 rupees if bought on site). Like in most (all?) developing countries, you need to put your used toilet paper in the garbage provided, and not into the sewer system. The room itself has ocre-coloured walls made from brick, with a high ceiling. I'm on the top floor (there are two floors, the "ground" floor and the "first" floor), so I can see the inside of the roof, which is made from the round, interlaced clay that you see on roofs throughout many countries (such as Germany). There is a single light, which is a very bright flourescent, and a ceiling fan. There is one case containing four shelves for clothes. And there is no hot water.

I am told that the water here is drinkable, but I haven't trusted that yet!

The main points of the schedule (for me) is that breakfast is served promptly at 10am and dinner at 7pm. Men and women sit separately. (How is the lot of women, particularly in countries like this, ever going to improve if you are constantly reminded that you are separate, so that it becomes implicit that there are different roles and that never the twain shall meet?)

There are two security gates. The first gets you into the ashram where the temple is, while the second is for the residences and rejuvenation center (1150 rupees for a full body massage, plus a facial massage, plus a shoulder and neck massage, or about $25 USD). There is a cafe within the premises (outer premises) that is open all day, serving food (15 rupees for rice biryani for lunch). I finally bought some kulfi (20 rupees), which is served in a little clay pot and the spoon is a piece of bamboo. The kulfi itself was pistashio. The sad thing is that the clay pots are garbage, and so are thrown out, such a waste. I also bought some tea (5 rupees, or 1 penny!) and a bottle of water (15 rupees).

When I arrived, I was not provided with any map, etc. (although I was certainly quickly informed of the dress code!!!). I started asking several questions, which led to me getting an introduction by Grant, who handles foreigners like me. :) Grant is from South Africa and has been at the ashram now for three years. He's very interesting, and is good at explaining everything within the ashram. It was a good thing that they sent Grant to me, because the brusqueness and lack of helpfulness was initially very off-putting, and I was actually considering leaving early (as in tomorrow!).

There are two schools here for young children. The first teaches in such a way that children maintain their curiosity. This is intended for children destined for college - something the country sorely needs. The second is for special children, who are learning traditional Indian studies, such as religion, meditation, martial arts, etc. The idea is that these children have a special destiny with this. For me, I'm waiting to see if that's the case! I keep wondering about the ethics of teaching someone exclusively Eastern ways in an increasingly Western world. I hope that they are at least learning how to read and write, and how to speak English as well as their native language.

I went to the dhyanalinga today, which is the main temple. There is a place where you check your shoes, so that you can enter barefoot. I actually went in through the out door, but since no one stopped me...! You sit quietly outside the temple until a chime is sounded (every 15 minutes), at which point you are allowed to enter. The temple itself is a large round building with a rounded, brick roof and no internal support. The structure itself is pretty amazing architecturally. Along the outside wall, which is made from stone, there are individual places to sit and meditate cut into the stone. You climb inside, and there is a yoga mat on the floor, so you can sit crosslegged, facing the center, and meditate. You walk in a clockwise direction until you find a location to sit (or you can site on the floor outside one of these private areas). The center of the building houses the dhyanalinga itself, which is something like a black stone snake curled up, with its head facing out and its tail sticking straight up in the center, except that the tail looks like a large phalic symbol. There is a pool of water around the snake, and people will bring in pots of flowers to place along the wall of the pool, or floating in the pool. The place is lit solely by the sunlight coming into the entrance and the candles around the dhyanalinga. There is a monk who maintains internal order, not allowing you to leave until the chime has sounded (the idea being that the constant movement of people is distracting, and does something to the energy in the place). I watched several people come in and lay on the ground prostate in front of the snake, both before the meditated and before leaving. Another woman came in with a pot of smoke (sandalwood maybe?) and circled the dhyanalinga a couple of times, swinging the pot so as to fill the place with smoke. You do not have to leave after only 15 minutes, and so I stayed for 30, by which point my legs were bothering me from sitting cross-legged so long. Grant suggested just staring at the dhyanalinga for a few minutes, followed by closing your eyes and just feeling the energy, but it didn't work for me. :(

There is a large metal bull outside the temple area, like in some of the other temples (I forget which god was supposed to ride a bull, which is why you often see them). When I say large, think about 50 feet long and 20 feet high. There was a garland of flowers around its neck. What I thought would have made a great photo was this bull, and standing by him were two armed security with the standard rifles that you see everywhere. So much for a peaceful place to meditate!

There is something called "presence time" at 6:15 for 30 minutes. This is when Syadyoga's presence is supposed to be particularly powerful. Grant tells me that it can be quite an experience, and that sometimes people will feel the energy and yell or dance, etc. That's something else I might try tomorrow.

The other thing I might try tomorrow is Nadha Aradhana (the offering of sounds), which is at 11:40 and 5:40 in the temple. This is the only times that sound is made in the temple, and the idea is to break up the energy there and soften it, so that people won't close down immediately upon entering.

I actually fell asleep tonight quite early, and so missed dinner. Tomorrow I might pick up a small pack of (fresh!) almonds, so that I have something I can munch on. I might also have a massage. :) (As an aside, both the center selling merch and the rejuvenation center accept credit cards. :) )

September 25

I am going to shoot the guy in the room beside me. He talks loudly and constantly. His wife is softer, and just seems to respond on occasion. And he talks loudly on his cell, which he puts on speaker phone. And he showers loudly, since he spends 45 minutes in the morning trying to clear the phlegm from his throat (disgusting!). And his phone rang this morning at 6am. *grumble*

The other fun thing is that I have had a mildly sore throat since shortly after arriving in India. Well, it seems to have flared up into strepp throat now. When I look at my tonsils in the mirror the one side is white and pus-y. Ick! And, of course, it hurts. The other fun thing of course is that I don't trust going to a doctor, or a pharmacy, here, so I either take the Cipro that I have with me in case I got diarrhea, or I wait five days until I'm back in the States.

I had a cup of tea this morning (I love the tea in India!!) and went to Nadha Aradhana (the offering of sound) in the temple. The idea behind the offering of sound is that the energy in the temple will get too intense, and so twice a day there is an offering of sound that is intended to soften the energy so that people won't immediately shut down when they enter the temple. It was really quite nice. There are two monks who run something along the edge of a brass bowl, something like you do with a crystal glass, to make a humming sound. After that there was a flute for a while, and then some drums from outside, but echoing inside.

Immediately after Nadha Aradhana, I went to the rejuvenation center and had a full body massage. At points I was trying not to laugh! First, I was dressed in essentially a loin cloth. The other strange thing was that, at one point, I was actually cold!! In India!!

Later in the afternoon, I decided to go to the Pepper Vine Eatery for another tea and to read my book. When I got there it was packed (lunch time), so I sat on a bench outside under a jasmine tree and watched the construction work. (There is a *ton* of construction work going on here! The noise of people hammering stone is constant.) The women walking by typically ignore me, but I'm constantly getting stares from the men. At one point, a family walked by and the man came over to me (and hence the whole family) to ask me where I was from and why I was here. He seemed happy enough with my answers, so said "God bless" and moved on.

I eventually went into the cafe and had a kulfi (which is so hard for me to pronouce! They always think I want coffee!). When I sat down, thinking I would relax and read my book, another woman joined me and started talking. It turns out that she is from another state in India, is a doctor (a gynecologist), has moved recently so that she can spend more time with her son, and was taking a medical course here. I asked her about the symolism of the red dot on the forehead, which she took off to show me, and she said that it just meant that you were hindu. I then asked about the white streaks I had seen on some foreheads, and she said that it was ash and indicated a blessing from God. She took out a small brass container to show me the ash, and put some on my forehead. She then took out some of the ash and put it in a makeshift container from a piece of paper, and gave me the brass container (which has Ginesh on it) with the remaining ash. She said that just from carrying that you should be protected. Of all the things I am bringing back from India (silk, sandalwood), this is the one thing that I really treasure.

We were later joined by another woman, who is more of a Isha Yoga follower. She is a dentist who has recently moved to be closer to her family. She has an eight year old daughter who was adopted. And she has the most amazing story on how she met her husband! There are ads in papers here for people looking for potential spouses, which are very much American style (e.g., will describe how you must look, etc.). He had put in an ad saying that he was looking for a "dynamic, intelligent woman", and that divorcees, widows, people with visual handicaps or physical handicaps were ok. Apparently this is pretty much unheard of in India, so she wrote to him and said that he must either be wonderful or completely insane. The kept writing, and eventually made arrangements to meet. However, he was not able to make it, and so sent a friend in his place. The second time they arranged to meet, he was able to attend, and he had only one question for her, which was "Will you marry me?" She said yes, after which he convinced both her parents and his parents, and they got married. Cool, huh? I thought it was a great story.

She also talked about Isha Yoga. She apparently had tried a number of other yogas and meditations, such as the Art of Life, but without success. But something about Isha Yoga really worked for her. I noticed that both she and her daughter had the brass snake rings that a number of Isha Yoga followers wear (and possibly other yogas too, I don't know). Apparently you are supposed to wear a piece of metal when you meditate once you reach a certain level to help keep you tied to your body, and so they wear the brass snake ring to do this. It doesn't need to be that, any metal will do, and it can be a necklace or bracelet instead of a ring. At any rate, she was commenting that what you need to do is have an open mind, and that it will open up other dimensions for you.

On the side of complete serendipity, when we were leaving later in the afternoon, I noticed some medication, and she mentioned that she had a cough, so had seen the doctor here. I asked if it was the doctor at the rejuvenation center, and she said no, that that doctor was an ayurvedic doctor. I mentioned that I had a sore throat, and she told me where I can find the doctor here, and that he is available for free from 2:00 - 4:30pm. If my throat is worse tomorrow, then I will go see him.

So, my throat is sore in the morning. After that, I find an ayurvedic doctor, meet a gynecologist, and find the onsite "normal" doctor - what is the probability of that?

I then went to the Nadha Aradhana again in the evening. This time there was a guitar there as well, which was beautiful. Everything in the temple echoes, so you had this beautiful guitar, which I think was all finger-picking, and then it was echoing throughout the temple. I think that was my favourite part of the entire day.

September 26

Today was largely relaxing. I spent most of the day reading, which was nice. My throat was still sore, so I went to the doctor. I felt so silly when my response to why I was there was "I have a sore throat." The doctor at first got this look like wussy girl, but then looked in my throat and said, "Yes, you have a very sore throat!" He gave me an antibiotic, medium strength tylenol, cough drops and a gargle. And also commented that these would only treat the symptoms, not the cause, which he suspected to be a viral fever that he's been seeing lately, which starts as a sore throat and progresses to a fever. The problem with that is that I'll be on a plane soon, which means that they are more likely to suspect swine flu than any other kind of fever!!

I went to the Nadha Aradhana again in the evening, specifically to hear the guitar player! I took my voice recorder, thinking that I would surreptitiously record him, but then decided against it, since it seemed disrespectul. It's too bad really - the playing was beautiful!

When leaving the temple one guy started talking to me, asking first if I was observing a vow of silence! I said no, so we started chatting. The usual question first: "Where are you from?" When I answered with Canada, but living in the US, he responded with "Parlez-vous francais?" It turns out that he is a "communicator" for a textiles company, and speaks several languages, including (besides his Indian dialect) English, French and Swahili! His brother works at the ashram, and he occassionally comes to visit. He bought me a coffee at the Pepper Vine Eatery and we chatted for a bit, which was very pleasant. Like others (such as the dentist yesterday), he found that Isha Yoga really helped him in a number of aspects of his life. (Then he laughed and commented that no, he was not a marketing agent for the Center!)

September 27

I decided to spend the day at the Center and go into Coimbatore late, rather than go in early and try to go to Ooty for the day. After making that decision, however, I found that there was a festival that day, and so there were large numbers of people around. So much for a *quiet* relaxing day! I did grab breakfast at the Pepper Vine and read some, then went to Nadha Aradhana, even though there is no guitar in the mornings. There was a very large number of people there today, and some were swaying to the music and shaking (almost as if in an epileptic fit). I keep wondering what the experience really is - is it some powerful energy, or is it something closer to an epileptic fit? I enjoy the music, but I still don't feel any of the energy that others claim to. The power of my skepticism maybe? :)

I decided to catch the afternoon bus back to Coimbatore, since there seemed to be no reason to stay at the Center. As I was finishing packing, there was a knock on the door. It turns out that there was another American who had not been told of the dress code before arriving, and so did not have anything appropriate to wear. I was thrilled to give away the pants and one of the shirts I had bought! I was going to leave them behind and let Grant know that they could be gifted to someone who needed them, and then someone who needed them appeared! How perfect is that?!

By the way, even though the web page states that the 14D leaves at 1:40pm, it actually leaves at 1:10, and then the next bus is not until 2:55. Yes, I found that one out the hard way! So I took pictures from the bus stop, and then read my book while waiting. The picture to the left is the entrance to the ashram. The wall is the outside wall of the temple area. The pictures below show the construction area, where during the weak people would be sitting and chiseling the stones. This area was in front of the entrance to the temple, and extended up to in front of the Pepper Vince Eatery. The metal bull below was in the construction field, directly in front of the temple entrance. The two photos of the woods show what the woods in front of the ashram looked like (now imagine elephants in there!), and the last one is of a coconut grove that was at the end of the construction area, right by the bus stop.

Due to the festival, the bus was crowded!! I stood for some of the trip (7 rupees to get to Coimbatore), with most of the women in the front of the bus (I'm not sure if that's normal or just happened that way). They showed me where I could put my bag, and offered me their seats (which I wouldn't take). I did eventually sit when one of them offered me her seat and then indicated that she was getting off. It's like they try to be especially kind because you are a visitor, which is really very sweet.

I took a *lot* of photos from the window of the bus after that! India is beautiful!! The country is beautiful, the people are beautiful, the colours are beautiful. There is a wonderful energy and vibrancy to the country that is very difficult to capture in photos. Having said that, I'm tempted to do a trip and take all my photos from the window of a bus and published them in a book called "Scenes from a Bus Window" (how original is that?! :) ). Keep in mind as you look at this photos that Coimbatore is a (comparatively) rich area. (The pictures are in the order that I took them.)

After getting off at the bus stop, I found an auto rickshaw stand (an auto rickshaw is one of those little yellow 3-wheeled vehicles you see in the left-hand picture below) and took one to the hotel (60 rupees, which was probably at least double what it should have cost, but it's still not much). Again the driver asked where I was from. I told him Canada and he said that I was welcome in Coimbatore anytime! While on the auto I managed to get a photo of a woman riding sidesadle on the back of a motorbike. This is common (and requires a balance I'm sure I don't have!). The most I saw on one bike was five people: a husband and wife with three children (where the woman carries one of the children... while sitting sidesadle!).

September 28

17. That's how many mosquito/bug bites I have. 17. I guess that means that the Malarone was a good idea after all.

I hired a (air-conditioned) car and driver today ($50 for 8 hours) and went touring. I said that I wanted to see some temples and waterfalls. So the first place he took me - the Isha Yoga Center!! As we were approaching I tried telling the driver that I had already been there. "Yes," he smiled and nodded. "I just spent three days there." "Yes," he smiled and nodded, and kept driving there. Zero comprehension. It wasn't until I explicitly said, "Can we turn around now?" that he realized what I meant! There was another temple near there, but he said it contained a lynga as well, and so was a lot like the Isha Yoga one, so I decided to skip that one and we went to the falls. Below are a huge number of photos taken from the taxi, again in the order that they were taken.

I had thought when I saw painting of a hand everywhere (take a look at the last photo in the series above) that it was a religious symbol. It turns out that it is political, since there is a state election coming up. The other symbols are the drums (seen in the photo), propane tanks, and a leaf.

The Siruvani Waterfalls (and the drive to the falls) were beautiful, and getting there was interesting, as you can see from the picture on the left! The road was partially washed out, so you needed to drive very slowly and carefully through that, then park your car (after paying 50 rupees to take a camera!) and walk about 10 minutes in to the falls. On the walk there, I was asked to be in a picture!! I'm getting used to the constant stares, and people asking me where I am from, but to be in a picture?! I can't figure out if it's because I'm white, because I'm blonde, or because I exposed my shoulders!!

There is some beautiful falls, with a few pools at the base, followed by a bit more falls, and a larger pool, with people "swimming" in the pools. More accurately, the men would strip down to their underwear and go in the water to cool down, and take the kids in the water. The women - all still in sarees! - would put their feet in. How's that for fair and equitable? I think I would have shocked the nation if I'd actually completely gone into the water, even fully clothed. Instead, I sighed, and just put my feet in and splashed water on my face. (And on the car ride back mused on the fact that I just kind of assumed that there were no parasites or bacteria to worry about, having ignored all the warnings I'd received about not going into any lakes, rivers, etc.) I took a couple of pictures, but couldn't take a picture of the larger pool because there were a lot of people in it (it was a holiday today) and my driver was worried that they would get angry.

As an aside, it turns out that there is an elephant preserve in the area, but that elephants don't tend to come out until dusk. For example, the falls are closed and vacated around 3:30pm due to elephants.

On our way out of the falls we stopped to take a few more photos of the countryside. It turns out that the "crop" being grown was rice! I also got a photo of a mango tree (last picture below). :) (Now, if only it had also been mango season. :( )

We also stopped to get some coconut water from a girl selling them on the side of the street (15 rupees).

We then drove to another temple, Perur Patteeswarar Temple, which is 1500+ years old! I find all the intricate carvings and bright colours along the temples absolutely fascinating. Unfortunately, the one for this temple was still being restored ("come back in six months"). We arrived half an hour before the temple opened (at 4pm). While sitting in the car, another car parked beside us. I was waving at the child in the car, so took his picture and then showed it to him (left). We then wandered through the town a bit (pics below of the town, the banana field beside it, some goats, and one of the temples). Three more children asked me to take their picture, so I did and then showed it to them, and they were so happy about it. One of them pointed to herself on the photo and said "That's me!" While I was taking their pictures, an old woman came down to beg for money. You can see her hand in the photo.

I have a picture of the river there, but not of the people in the river. When I came by, there were children bathing in the river. They seemed so happy to see me - saying hi and waving! There was also a woman washing her clothes in the river.

When we left the river I found these drawings, which I've forgotten to mention in earlier posts (mostly because I had no photos of them). I've seen them in all three cities and at the ashram (although only for the day of the festival), usually outside of doorways. I don't know what they symbolize, and I don't remember now what they are called. :(

We then went to see an elephant! Ok, so it wasn't a wild elephant, which is what I was hoping to see on this trip. (I was told that the park was closed because it was rainy season, which is why I ended up going to temples and waterfalls instead. Although as far as I can tell from the interweb, the park was actually still open. Oh well. It would have been 3.5 hours there and another 3.5 hours back, so would have been a long day anyway. Next time.) This elephant is used for festivals. He is also taken into the temple, where people can give him change and pat his trunk. (Yes, I did this!)

We went to the temple after this (see pics below of the entrance and some of the carvings that you can see from the parking lot), leaving our shoes in the car and walking across the parking lot. Yes, the same lot with the goats and everything. Let's just say that I chose my steps carefully! Even in the temple I did this. (Elephant dung is *large*.) Unfortunately, pictures in the temple are "strictly prohibited", so I have nothing to show. For 10 rupees, I was blessed by the (uh, monk? maybe?) there, who gave me a bit of ash to put on my forehead (indicating a blessing from God).

After all that, we rushed back to the hotel so I could pack and catch my flight, with only a stop at a grocery store so that I could get some tea and spices as gifts for people. I wish I'd had more time to browse through the store, actually, but alas. During this time I took two last photos of Coimbatore from the taxi.