Romba Nandri

Leaving India behind

2011-03-14T13:40:00.000-04:00

Palolem, Goa

Backwaters of Kerala

Tea trees in Munnar, Kerala

Jin loving India

I'm not ready yet. That's all I can say about leaving India. The last 6 months just flew by. Someone wrote once that hating India is the easiest thing to do while in India. I totally and completely agree with it. But you soon realize that one emotion is never enough to describe India. There's absolute beauty, once you look past the trash, public urination and defecation, chaos on the roads, constant beeping, and the feeling of being cheated. All in all, this truly is a god's own country with vast amount of natural resources and abundant cultures. I will miss my corner dosa shop, amazing group of friends, southern Indian coffee, and organized chaos. So India, we've had our ups and downs but I love you. Thank you for everything you've taught me. AND this is not the end but just the beginning of our journey together. See you later...

Foreigners in India

2011-03-04T10:46:00.000-05:00

It may be absurd that I want to talk about foreigners in India when in fact I am a foreigner. However, the simple fact that I no longer require toilet paper gives me a honorary citizenship to this country called India. First of all, I love foreigners. I feel safe when I see alot of them at a place where I know no one. I talk to alot of them as I travel alone. I actually relate to their frustration and love for India. BUT... I think everyone saw a BUT coming up.. BUT... really? really? reeeeaaaaalllllyyyy???? Ass always, here's my list.

1. Clothes in India: tube top with hot shorts in a Hindu town of Hampi? Skimpy tank tops with mini skirt? No shirts around the town???? There are posters around certain towns where they ask foreigners to dress appropriately. I've seen Indians' heads turning around 180 degrees with their eyes popping out with certain outfits. Puleeeeaze.. Have some respect for India!

2. Yelling at Indians in their native language: Okay, I get it, India makes you mad but do you really need to scream at them in your own language over 5 to 10 rupees? Indians just think you're a lunatic. In one incident, Indians told some foreigners not to come back to India. They said(in broken English) "This is India, it's my country, you go back to yours and never come back". That's just... sad...

3. Massive public display of affection in public: Yes, You are in love. That's cool but there's no need for frenchie in the middle of town. That won't even be cool in the middle of Philadelphia so why here? Maybe India just gets your blood boil and you get turned on. I don't know but please do private things in your own privacy.

Not all foreigners behave like these. Of course it's only maybe 10% of those who come to India. India will always be India. India won't change its ways for us, the foreigners. so Learn to live with it!

Jin's 0 to 10 scale on Indian cities

2011-02-23T11:35:00.001-05:00

Not that I claim to know all the cities of India but I feel that I should judge each place I have visited like a beauty contest. I created the 5 area, 10-point system method while backpacking around Europe years ago. The 5 areas are 1.Sights/things to do, 2.Shopping, 3.Food, 4.People and 5.General impression.
I did not include small towns or villages. Although the best parts of India are sometimes in those areas.
So here's the list, Drum roll, please....

Cities	Sights/things to do	Food	Shopping	People	General Impression	Total Score
Agra	9/10	7/10	7/10	6/10	7/10	36/50, 72%
Bengalore	8/10	8/10	8/10	8/10	8/10	40/50, 80%
Chennai	5/10	8/10	6/10	7/10	6/10	32/50, 64%
Delhi	7/10	8/10	10/10	4/10	7/10	36/50, 72%
Jaipur	9/10	5/10	8.5/10	2/10	5/10	29.5/50, 59%
Mysore	7/10	6/10	6/10	8/10	7/10	34/50,68%
Varanasi	10/10	8/10	9.5/10	9.9/10	9/10	46.4/50, 92.8%

*Disclaimer: This judgment is sorely from a foreign tourist's perspective. Please do not refer this table when you're making decision on where to live. Also, this does not reflect on those from these areas or live*

As you can see, I am a tough critic. What I realized is that it's usually the people and shopping that make the city lovable or hatable. So here's to you, Varanasi, for your amazing shopping, wondrous ghats, and lovable people.

The rest of Varanasi pictures can be found here . And all the other pics can be found on this link.

I could be Indian, Part II

2011-02-21T07:46:00.000-05:00

I took a long time to get back to my blog. I still want to share my experiences but I am also getting used to things here in India, hence, these experiences are becoming daily routines. The last few weeks have been quite busy with Mel, Erica and Amy coming to visit and us traveling to difference places. Pictures of the places where we went will be posted in the next few days. For right now, I would like to let the world know that I am indeed almost(8 out of 10)Indian. On my last blog on this topic had a list. I want to add more to that list.

I no longer require toilet paper.
I can eat with my hands now. ~~I still can't do rice with hands, though.~~ I now eat rice with hands.
Hot shower is a luxury, not a necessity
People don't stare at me anymore, They assume I'm from Northeast of India or Nepal (not even China).
I don't see any problem with making 2-lane street into 6-lane street
Traffic lights are just annoyance, you don't need them.
Not sharing the street with the animals is just selfish. When there were no goats while I was in Delhi, I felt lonely.
~~I believe squatting for #1 and 2 have anatomical advantages.~~ Not only do I believe, I KNOW that there's a reason why 1.2 billion people squat for #1 and #2.
Saying "please, thank you, excuse me" is a waste of time. Just get to the main verb/noun. ex) Can I please have the check? --> Check!, or Can I please get a cup of coffee?--> One coffee(sometimes just lift one finger and say coffee)
You should never pay the fixed price. If he tells you $20, just give him $15.
I wonder why Americans don't use metric system!
My head bobbles when I'm talking to people.
My American friends think I'm Indian.

What I did during Christmas and NYE

2011-01-06T06:46:00.002-05:00

Thanjavur -->Tiruchirappalli --> Bengalore -->Mysore -->Chikmagalur --> Aldur -->Kadabgere/Bhadra -->Hasan -->Kushalnagar-->Madkeri -->Bylakupee --> Madikeri --> Bengalore --> Chennai --> back home in Thanjavur

'One state, Many Worlds...' Southern Karnataka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka) is what I did during Christmas vaca. The half of the trip was spent on local buses that had no suspensions and questionable working brakes but it was a blast. My favorites are Bengalore 100rupee fliflop shopping, Camping and eating river fish at Bhadra River Camp (http://www.bhadrarivercamp.com), Hillside town of Madikeri, Coffee plantations of Coorg and Tibetan monks in Bylakupee.
No No.. life is not all rosy, however. My iPhone was stolen while I was sleeping on one of the local buses, I couldn't keep up with different climate changes in a week and got a cold. The finale of my trip was food poisoning that kept me in bed or on the toilet for 48hrs. But it was one of the best trips EVER!!!
Now back to work, trying to finish my last month at work with a big BANG!

Me with Coffee tree, can I plant one in my yard?

Commercial street in Bengalore on Christmas Eve

COFFEE!!!!! Beans are inside

Sunset view from Raja Seat in Madikeri

Golden Tibetan Buddist Temple

Fishermen running away after they refused to give us fish they owed us


Little teenage monks in training during their tea chanting More Pictures found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=500545411544&set=a.500545346544.259880.519266544#!/album.php?aid=259880&id=519266544

What India has been teaching me for the last 100+days

2011-01-04T11:27:00.000-05:00

1. Tolerance
In a country this big and diverse, it's easy to get fascinated in the beginning. However, when the initial charms wear off, you face a rude awakening to the reality. India has been teaching me from the day one the meaning of tolerance. It means that I don't just overlook everything but have less expectation of things to work out the way "I think it should" and have more respect for the things the way they are. After all, I am in India where anything is possible and happens.

2. Patience
Patience is one of the virtues that I possess very little of. Things don't make sense at times, I still get confused with the head bobble thing, yes doesn't mean yes and everything is 'just around the corner'. But this is a part of being in a different culture. If I am patient and lose my temper, I am the only one who waste energy. After all, everyone else will think I am just funny anyway.

3. Assertiveness
This is a country with 1.2 billion people. there is no time or space to be polite. Just push and be aggressive! However, since being aggressive won't work back home, I learn to be more assertive.

4. Learn to have fun
Being frustrated as a foreigner in India is an understatement. however, no one else would ever teach me the importance of having fun and laughing everyday. For the lessons you teach me, I thank you, India.

The World Map

2010-12-02T05:18:00.000-05:00

visited 23 states (10.2%)Create your own visited map of The World

Am I becoming an Indian?

2010-11-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

Each day seems so long at times, yet the time flies before I notice that it's December! I am on a return train back to the lovely and sleepy town of Thanjavur after spending a long weekend with Erin and Geoff visiting Taj Mahal and the Agra fort. During this trip with Erin and Geoff, I've noticed that I am almost like half Indian. The reasons are listed below.

I no longer require toilet paper.
I can eat with my hands now. I still can't do rice with hands, though.
Hot shower is a luxury, not a necessity
People don't stare at me anymore, They assume I'm from Northeast of India or Nepal (not even China).
I don't see any problem with making 2-lane street into 6-lane street
Traffic lights are just annoyance, you don't need them.
Not sharing the street with the animals is just selfish. When there were no goats while I was in Delhi, I felt lonely.
I believe squatting for #1 and 2 have anatomical advantages.

There're many other reasons why I am only half like I can't wear Sari, I can't speak Hindi, tamil or any other Indian languages, or I can't stand cockroaches. When I spend about 2-3 more months in India, I'm sure I will become a true Indian. So this was just a thought and I will post my pictures from Taj soon.

Punjabee Wedding

2010-11-16T02:58:00.000-05:00

Me in a Punjabi suit in a Punjabi pose

http://picasaweb.google.com/shewhodares.wins/PunjabeeWedding# Click this link for More Pictures!!!

So I finally "crashed" an Indian wedding in India! This was one of my things to do while in India. Technically, I couldn't crash since I was invited. First of word that comes to my mind is BLING-BLING. These people know how to dress up, play hard and work hard. My friend's family is one of the most hospitable people you could every meet and I still am so grateful for them to take me in and make me feel like a part of their family. It was definitely one of the most memorable weddings.


Raj in her wedding gown, so pretty

The wedding ceremony goes on for three days, the first day was to get their hands henna done and other fun girly things that i missed. My hands were done later by one of the cousins...

My hand with Henna

The second day starts with the bride's family all going to the groom's family. There was a Sikh service, food, then more food, then more and more food. The evening of the second day is when the women from the groom's family come to dress up the bride. The wedding is on the third day and it's BUSY and has lots lots of food.

The newly wedded couple

The in-laws dancing and spreading money to each other

Me in another Punjabi suit


Throwing the rice backwards for prosperity before heading out...

After the wedding and reception are over, the bride and groom walk out together. The bride throws the rice backwards for prosperity for her family, then goes with the groom's family. I got sad because it felt like she was leaving her home to become a part of the new family.... Anyway, it was AWESOME!!! I plan to crash many more Indian weddings!

Nicest uncle and friend's dad!

Jalandher and Back

2010-11-15T09:01:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while since my last entry, it is not because I don't have anything to say or do anything fun. It's because the opposite. I've been busy traveling to Punjab (it's one of the northern states in India for those who don't know India geography). I went to a friend's wedding there. The wedding needs a whole new blog page so that will be posted separately. I would like to discuss about traveling in India!!!! Before I begin, I would to emphasize that I love India!

But traveling around sometimes is not easy. Few examples here; My morning at the airport started with a bunch of rude ladies cutting the line in front of me for the luggage x-ray. I was so aggravated that I pushed one of them with my backpack, but she didn't even flinch. On the way to the Delhi train station, the traffic was horrendous and the taxi driver reached over, opened my door and told me to get out and start walking because he wasn't going to drive in the traffic anymore! I basically told him off in English which I doubted he cared or understood.

View of the Delhi the train station platform

But all in all, this was not a bad trip, I guess. I was not ass groped, did not miss the stop, met some nice people whose son kept singing Justin Beiber's song the whole 6hr ride, and yelled at drunk men who were making passes at me. I do, however, continue to ask, India! why? Why can't we be on time???

Madurai and its temple

2010-10-25T03:25:00.001-04:00

Time just flies.. it's been already a little over a month since I've left home. Life is as good as it could be. I still haven't traveled much but that's coming up soon. Went to Madurai for work-related reasons but we stopped by the Sri Meenakshi Temple. Madurai is one of the oldest cities in Tamil Nadu. Tamil and Greek documents record the existence of Madurai from the 4th century BC(Lonely Planet, 2009). So here're some pictures. This post is boring but just stay tuned for my next post, it will be filled with adventure and excitement!!!! For more pictures, please click on the title and it'll take you to my facebook album.

Me vs. Indians

2010-10-12T09:42:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I feel really dumb asking different questions. so I will list some of the examples and let you be the judge.

1. Jin: what's the point of all these metal gates if you can just put your hands thru the other side and open it.
    Indians: well.. duh! these gates are not to keep people out, they are to keep the animals from coming into your house

2. Jin: what do you guys do for Christmas if you are a Hindu?
   Indians: ummm... technically we don't celebrate christmas if we are Hindus.

3. Jin: why does everyone have Dell Computers? is it made in India?
   Indians: No, they are made in China. Not everyone has a Dell computer. Now you're just weird.

Anyone else with intesreting questions about India???
I think India and I are still in our honeymoon phase and I love everything about it. Even walking on the roads half trying to kill myself has turned into a game. It's like how close you could get to a car/bus/truck/motocycle/bicycle/rickshaw/cow/goat before either you or they have to move. Trust me, it's actually fun!

The Big Temple

2010-10-03T06:51:00.002-04:00

I would like to introduce you to Brihadishwara Temple of Shiva in Thanjavur. This was the crowing glory of Chola temple architecture, commisioned in 1010 by the King Rajaraja. Also, Nandi, the sacred bull of Shiva is one the largest Nandi statues in India. This amazing temple was made of sandstones and the carvings on the walls are amazing. It was very humid when we were there and very packed but I quickly learned the arts of pushing and shoving sticky people.
More picutres can be found on facebook... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=217918&id=519266544&saved#!/album.php?aid=217918&id=519266544&ref=mf

a long walk to the temple, we had no idea!

First entrance to the temple

Sayani and me sweating our asses off

Nandi; Sacred Bull for Shiva

A line of people trying to get into the inner sanctum where Shiva is

this is a Hindu priest handing out ashes for blessings

Welcome to my neighborhood,

2010-09-28T23:36:00.000-04:00

I have so much to write.. I have so much that I don't even know where to begin!

Rockey the Rooster, If he doesn't get quiet, I might have to eat him

water pump/well where people get their water supply. Don't worry I have running water and AC

Rocky and his girlfriend

People are always sweeping, like every 1-2hrs

stray dogs resting in a rickshaw

my street around 7am

First of all, I would like to show you guys around my house and introduce Rocky the rooster, who starts crowing around 4 and never stops. Also it's monsoon season so it freaking rains all the time.. and it will until... decemeber! And I have seen too many corpes of frogs, how did they end up dead in the middle of the street? I wonder..

My street around 2pm

I started working with this amazingly driven, dedicated, ambitious and young group of people who share the common goal of improving health care for the rural areas of Southern India. I am humbled and honored to be a part of this group for a period of time. If I had any notion of arrogance in my coming here, It is now replaced with tremendous respect for them. I will and am already learning so much more from these people than what I can give. The only thing is that these people work like 10 to 8 everyday! I can't do it. I am sticking to my 8hr/5d schedule. Call me spoiled but I ain't doing no overtime! =)

Let's do Chennai

2010-09-26T03:14:00.000-04:00

I only added a few pictures here on my blog, you can see all my pictures of Chennai on Facebook link here, http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=519266544#!/album.php?aid=208923&id=519266544&ref=mf

So Let's talk about Chennai... It's definitely NOT on your top 10 places to go in India. so when you're in India and don't make it to Chennai, don't feel bad.
This is the 4th largest metropolitan city in India, the capital of the state Tamil Nadu. Also has the longest shore line for a city. This is also where St.Thomas preached and was killed. However, it is very hard to navigate. My short stay here ends tonight when I head out with the group of people from work to Thanjavur, where I plan to stay for the majority of time during working months. My general impression of Chennai is that this is a city for work, not for leisure tourism. Tamil Nadu has a very strong culture but I was not able to appreciate any of them due to being busy staying alive. The most interesting part of this city is Mylapore, one of the oldest area where the city started. The following pictures are all of Mylapore. The contrast of life in India was most visible in this part of the city. It felt most authentic as well. I can't say I will miss Chennai, and I am actually looking forward to going to a sleepy town.

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, dedicated to Shiva

So I ask you,

2010-09-25T05:32:00.000-04:00

Since I have nothing else to do but play on the computer and be on facebook, I figure I will make some use of my time by making a list of things that's been bugging me. Maybe you guys can help me figure this out,

1. So I don't know if it's just me but I am actually quite surprised to see how chubby people are in India. Alot of them have diabetic bodies, too. You know like round belly and flabby here and there. These are petite people who actually have large behind. Isn't this also the country of yoga and vegetarianism?
2. What's up with head bobbling thing? I can't figure out if they are saying yes or no. Not everyone does it but a lot of them do. It's kinda constant bobbling when talking to you.
3. There're more men out there, where are the women? Everywhere I go, everywhere I see, there're so many more men than women, about 10:1 ratio. Where are the ladies? I wonder if they are the ones doing actual work somewhere while men are just hanging out.
4. Dogs, let's talk about dogs. I've seen people with dog as pets. there're stores where they sell royal canine dog food and other pet related things, as well as animal hospitals. I don't even feed my own dogs Royal Canine cuz they're expensive. Yet, there're so many stray dogs. I highly doubt there're any rescue groups for dogs. so where are these 'pet' dogs coming from? Do they have breeders??
5. Shopping.. wow....I'm disappointed in shopping here. I haven't seen any stores where they have gold. What am I doing wrong? or did I just have too high expectations??

So there goes my rambling of nothingness, but it feels good to get it out. Any thoughts on any of these????

First day is... well... interesting

2010-09-23T07:26:00.000-04:00

First of all, the flight was probably the best flight ever, had 2 seats for myself, watched about 5 movies and slpet well. The only events were being frisked by two german security ladies at the airport (She did not have to feel my butt 5 times!) and a creepy pilot kept breathing into the microphone whenever making annoucements. The fun begins here in Chennai. Walking out of the guesthouse is a suidecide attempt in itself. Cars, motorcycles, bicycles and buses just keep coming at you. I love how the lanes are just a suggestion that no one follows. I bargained hard with rickshaw drivers or at least I think I did, found the office, got a cellphone(my number is 91 99524 64239, I know the numbers are so long, they look like a fake #), and ate very very spicy but awesome shrimp marsala. I was practically crying at the restaurant and the waiters kept apologizing and gave me free mango ice cream. Now I'm so pooped out from multiple suidecide attempts or rather homicide attemtps by a mass of motor vehicles.. oh, I saw about 5 dogs that I would live to rescue. Thank godness I got rabies shot, who knows what I would do when I get confused from heat stroke

pictures do not do justice for the organized chaos on the roads

School bus is internationally yellow

These school boys saw my carmera and wanted me to take pictures of them

street corner store

Some pics from the partay! Thanks everyone!!!!

2010-09-21T01:19:00.001-04:00

There're alot more pics but I still don't really know how to use this blog thing and it's taking too long, so some peeps are saved from embarassing pics on the web.

Pre-Departure

2010-09-19T17:01:00.000-04:00


before

after

So less than 48hrs from the departure to Chennai, India... I've been looking for different ideas to pack effectively and cleverly. One of my tricks is to put socks in sneakers and other shoes. Rolling shirts and pants help with spaces, too. My trial packing proved that I could take a backpack and a messenger bag for this trip. There' re pics to prove it for those with little faith.

Tamil Nabu 101

2010-07-25T17:37:00.002-04:00

Tamil Nadu is one of the oldest state in India.. that's all I know for now. And Here's a map of Tamil Nadu...