Talking Traveler

Welcome to Vieques*

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:51:00 +0000

Or "Isla Nena", Puerto Rico's little sister island. Christopher Columbus first sighted Vieques in 1493. Since then it has remained a jewel of the tropics, nestled between turquoise sea of the Caribbean and the azure waters of the Atlantic. The Jewel part is really appreciated at the beaches or when seen from above...

Now thousands of visitors come every year to discover what the 9000+ inhabitants already know, Vieques's beauty is unsurpassed. A must see on your stay is our bioluminescent bay. It is one of the best examples of this phenomenon in the world and will absolutely astound you. The luminescence of the BioBay is stunning. You go in the by after dark, swirl your hand in the water and you create a small trail of light in the water. You jump in the water, thrash around and you create bluish glow around your twisting limbs and torso... the water droplets twinkle on your skin and hair... pretty surreal!! The only unfortunate part was that some tour operators are unlicensed and seem not to be careful with sensitive eco-habitat of the bay and the surrounding mangroves.

Next, you rent a vehicle and go beach hopping. Chances are you will be one of only a handful of people on a half-mile stretch of glistening white sand... The beaches in Vieques are breathtaking - in coves and bays with aquamarine waters... At some beaches there is nobody or one or two other people all afternoon long with crabs giving you company as they zip back and forth digging holes. At some popular big beaches, though, there are people - lots of people enjoying Presidente or Medalla Light in the shallow water or blasting loud music - especially Shakira singles ;-). The April waters were warm, shallow, and sometimes with Angel fish trying to cozy up... if you decide to snorkel along the coast you can either see a plethora of beautiful coral fans, multicolored, multi-sized fish or nothing/sea grass - the remnants of US Navy's bombing practices for decades or an occasional plastic bag :-(... As for renting a car or jeep on the island, if the exorbitant prices don't get you, be prepared for gas shortages with lines as long as 60 vehicles at the only two gas stations on the island. Renting a scooter, on the other hand, is much more fun except for required attention to avoid hitting multitude of horses roaming the island roads and beaches!!

Vieques is located just 7 miles off the east coast of the big island. Though if you are planning to take the ferry from Fajardo, those 7 miles can cost you almost 4 hours - what with long wait times at the ferry ticket counter depending on when the ticket window opens, or once open when the clerk decides to sell the tickets to non-Viequense (may be after 45 mins) or whether the Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority decides to start the ferry trip 5 minutes past the scheduled time or 30 minutes later. Some hotels in Vieques strongly recommend to instead take the 20-25 min flight from San Juan. But if the objective is to be a laid back traveler or to develop an appreciation for "island time" or to court the uncertainty of boarding the ferry currently in the dock or the next one, Fajardo to Vieques Ferry Service delivers... Big Time :-)!! And then the ferry ride itself is redeeming - especially on a clear sunny day with flying fish and dolphins darting around the ferry, and clear views of the waters and islands of the Caribbean.

You'll find the people of Vieques very friendly and helpful if you are in need of assistance, directions, or just a quick Spanish lesson. Friendly indeed - An employee from Hix Island House went over and above his duty of call to drive guests from Isabella back to the hotel late one night when no taxis were available or a lady at the Coconuts Restaurant being exceptionally helpful to find a taxi late one night... some of the taxi drivers, on the other hand, did try to swindle the passengers and some locals do seem to not care about the beauty of the island throwing water bottles, soda/beer cans, out of the window of their cars, along many a roadsides....

To learn about Vieques's history and culture visit our museums: the Historical Trust located on the strip in Esperanza, Punta Mulas Lighthouse just past the ferry docks in Esable II, and the Fort Conde de Mirasol, the last military fort built by the Spaniards in Western Hemisphere, perched on a hill just above the center of town. The Symphonic Orchestra of Puerto Rico performed at the Vieques Cultural Festival at the grounds of the Fort Code Mirasol on Saturday April 16, 2011 under the direction of Maestro Rafael Enrique Irizarry, along with tenor, Cesar Hernández and the Lyric Coral of Puerto Rico. The pleasant surprise of the orchestral performance was the uninterrupted hub-hub and noise at the back of the tent behind the audiences where the local merchants/artisans were plying their wares or selling sweet concoctions or making margaritas, while the tenor sang and musicians performed - another unique Vieques/Puerto Rico "thing" presumably!!

In summary, if real relaxation is what you are after, Vieques offers tons of it.... So kick back, order another Pina Colada and watch the sun go down.

*Source: Text modified from a hotel brochure.

Guest Blog by Jeff Goforth, a new friend found and made in Vieques :-)

The Greatest American Hero

  I rented a 50cc scooter from a guy who worked in a shed in Esperanza, a very small town in Vieques. The scooter literally would not go uphill. I think my engine was powered by a hamster...or a mongoose. They have mongooses (mongeese?) down there. Anyway, my mongoose was lazy, or hung-over or something. As long as I rode along the perimeter of the island I was fine. It was relatively flat along the shore.   

One afternoon I decided to hop on my hog and check out Blue Beach. The road to Blue Beach was gravel, which is always a wise choice when you are looking for a good challenge on a scooter. Blue Beach is a very long beach, and it is undeveloped. No buildings at all, some of the prettiest beaches I've ever seen. There were several entry points to Blue Beach from the gravel road. I pulled up to one of the entry points, grabbed my towel and planned to hang out there for a little while.   

Just as I emerged from the coconut tree lined entry two older women approached me and said, "be careful, we just got ripped off." They were still dripping wet from a swim. Apparently they saw someone going through their things while they were in the ocean no more than 2 minutes earlier. They were missing their camera and 800 bucks. As they were describing the robber, a young male, dark hair, gray t-shirt, one of the ladies pointed behind me in the woods and yelled "there he is!" I turned around to look, but did not see anything. Like the 70s, this beach was totally natural. The brush was thick. Apparently he was just about 20 yards away, but I didn't see or hear anything.   I went into the brush, not really thinking about what this guy had available for weaponry. I had a helmet, a towel and had a coconut, and I was ready to smoke him out of his hole! I never saw the guy. The two women helped in the search by yelling things from the beach like, "give us back our stuff, jerk!" Very helpful. Eventually the ladies told me it wasn't worth it to try to confront the robber so that portion of my man hunt came to an end after only a few minutes.   None of us had a phone signal, so I volunteered to drive back towards Esperanza and alert the authorities.

I hopped on my hog again and took off, peering into the woods as I drove to see if I could find someone matching their description. The guy had to be close. We were miles from any buildings. There was only one way out. He had no way to get away quickly. These beaches are pretty isolated.   As I was performing my first ever mongoose powered man hunt I saw a guy running down the gravel road several hundred yards ahead of me. I put the hammer down on that scooter to get a closer look. As I approached him from behind I noticed the guy had dark hair and was wearing a gray t-shirt. Decision time...Should I run him over from behind with my 35 pound scooter? Should I clothesline him as I drive by at 8 miles an hour? How effective would a helmeted head butt be? Could I just throw my scooter at him? Do I know karate? So many things running through my head. My testosterone fueled decision making skills were tempered just in time, because 1/4 mile or so past the perpetrator I spotted a uniformed park ranger.   I again put the hammer down. I must have had that scooter up to 10 or 11 miles an hour!

I past the runner and interrupted the park ranger's discussion with a local. I had just enough time to quickly describe the situation before the perp arrived at the park ranger's location.   The ranger stopped the robber. I sat on my scooter smugly and observed, all the while making mental notes of where the closest coconuts were just in case all hell broke loose. He questioned the man, asked him where he was coming from, to empty his pockets, etc. The man replied that he was just jogging. His wife and kids were still at the beach. Then the park ranger patted him down and found nothing, and sent the guy on his way. Turns out he was just a tourist going for a run. The park ranger called for reinforcements to try to find the real robber, but as far as I know they never caught anyone. I was glad I didn't have to pretend to know karate or test my coconut throwing abilities.  

Pros: I did not run anyone over or throw my scooter at anyone. Got my deposit back.

  Cons: As far as I know the robber got away.  Need karate lessons.

Flat Annie Does India

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:50:00 +0000

A dear friend's daughter asked me to take Flat Annie on a recent trip to India. Annie, a 2nd grade student, wrote a letter, which read in part, "We just finished reading a book about Flat Stanley. This book is about a boy that gets flattened, but not hurt, when a bulletin board falls on top of him. His parents decide that since he is flat, they can send him in an envelope to California to visit a friend. Inside this envelope, you will find a flattened version of me. I have come to visit you. I am trying to find out about where you live and have a little fun. Please spend a day or two with me doing some of your favorite things." I spent about two weeks taking Flat Annie around in the Indian state of Haryana, where I grew up.

In researching about the project, I discovered that Flat Stanley is a 1964 children's book written by Jeff Brown. In 1995 the Flat Stanley Project was started as an "international literacy and community building activity for students of all ages, teachers and families."

In showing Flat Annie around I developed a new appreciation of the way of life and culture in Haryana - its foods, its customs, its festivals, its villages, its home life, its street life... Below is a collection of Flat Annie's discoveries in Haryana set to the vocals of a dear aunt and Runa Laila!!

God's Country - Federal Lands?

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:50:00 +0000

On a trip through southwest Utah in late April, met this guy from West Virginia who acknowledged that even though Appalachia is beautiful, this part of Utah with Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, is "God's Country". I agree with him. You are hard pressed to describe the place - majestic, breathtaking, remote wilderness, monumental... barely begin to describe the landscape of mountains, mesas, and canyons (including the world's longest slot canyon)!! And atop and across the landscape is the varied flora and fauna in stunning colors and shapes.

Joshua Tree Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:47:00 +0000

Late March in Mojave desert this year was full of Joshua Trees in different cycles of blooming flowers. From flowers as greenish buds atop the branches to flowers in full bloom with white/greenish white petals to remnants of flowers withering away as brown twigs. The flowers smelt musky and sweet. Quite a sight it was - the whole valleys and mountains of high desert in the southwest blanketed with amazing Joshua Trees!!

Rio de Janeirofiti Rio de Janeiro'&s Bondinho

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:12:00 +0000

One thing that stands out when traveling through Brazil are amazing crazy beautiful designs done by street artists, private companies, government along the sidewalks, on the billboards, store fronts, in the train stations, airports... everywhere!!

Rio de Janeirofiti Rio de Janeiro'&s Bondinho

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Here are some snippets on a crazy tram ride in Rio.

Chasing Teixeira in Salavador, Bahia

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:40:00 +0000

In preparation for a recent trip to Brazil, I had been reading works by Jorge Amado - one of Brazil's most beloved writers. When I reached the city of Salvador I discovered that the original Portuguese editions of his books, unlike the English versions, included illustrations rendered by artists known well in Brazil, like Carybé, Floriano Teixeira and others.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find a sketch that Teixeira did for Amado's brother's book called Chamado do Mar (roughly translated - calling from the sea) in an art gallery. The sketch had this little girl trying to catch a crab by the beach, all in black and white, about the size of a 8.5 x 11 inch page. It was so cool looking - I just wanted to buy it right there!! Asking price R$2500 (1470 USD at 1.7 exchange rate )... eeehhh... painfully beyond my budget... so a bit disappointed, I left the gallery telling them, I'll come back, next day or something...

I strolled over to the Salvador Tourism office at top of the Lacerda Elevator and mentioned to this guy, who had provided very helpful tips to do fun things in the city, about my experience with Teixeira sketch and he said his friend works at an art gallery in the old part of the town and might know if the price is in the right range or not. After a quick phone conversation with his friend he suggested that I go over to this art gallery run by a French woman. Trudging through tiny cobble stone streets, walking past churches with side-walks full of cafezinho vendors and Bahian women selling acaraje, when I get to this second gallery, the lady tells me she has no Teixeira but she thinks price is right. She has Carybe' for R$ 3000 and more. Thinking there was nowhere else to go with this, I just hang around in her gallery looking at other works and chit chatting until suddenly she recalls that she thinks Teixeira's grand-daughter works as a cashier at a big bookstore "Livraria Saraiva" in one of the shopping malls in the suburbs - Bara Shopping. She also suggests to check with the biggest art dealers in town - Paulo Darze'.

So I hop on to a bus, struggling with language to head in the right direction, get off too early and walk 20 blocks to get to Paulo Darze'. You walk into this gallery and you already know this is way beyond your league... Teixeira paintings start at R$10,000, the sketches start R$ 3000, no room for negotiation - take it or leave it. As you walk around admiring different works and expressing preferences, the lady prepares a personalized folder with colored print outs of all the works that you liked and you walk out with a personal portfolio of works you would like to own one day but most probably will not... she talks about different insurance options, and special FedEx delivery arrangements in New York and LA... I quickly take leave!!

I take another bus and to get to the shopping mall. The first girl behind the cash-register at the bookstore I speak with turns out to be to Teixeira's grand-daughter - Isabella, daughter of Monique - one Teixeira's seven children. Isabella is greatly baffled and in her pequeno English manages to blurt out - "Who are you?" I think she might have also meant - what are you? what is this? After a not-so-lengthy explanation she understands and very kindly agrees to talk to her mother to see if she still might have some of her father's works that she might be interested in selling to this stranger who just walked into her daughter's workplace and that too for a "reasonable price" - a tall order of things to pull off, but my accidental discovery had turned into a quest!! By the time I walk out of the shopping mall with the correct telefone celular, the sun had set and the Salvadorans were out and about in the pracas enjoying their customary chopp. I find another bus to head back to the hotel and grab some food at Acaraje da Dinha in the Rio Vermelho neighborhood along the way.

Next day I call Monique's phone but it is picked by Sylvana the other Teixeira daughter who speaks English very well. She agrees to see me two days later at her father's house - in fact in Floriano Teixeira's studio - woohooooo!!!

When I get to the studio it is absolutely amazing - even though Floriano Teixeira passsed away 9 years ago his studio has been kept by the family in more or less the same condition when he was alive - it seems like he has just stepped out for a smoke or something while a few incomplete sketches on the canvasses await their fate... After going through many of his works, now carefully preserved by Sylvana, she agrees to sell a few pieces to me. Here are pictures of two of them -

Brazil: Salvador Drum Choirs

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:38:00 +0000

Here is a video (about 3.5 minutes) of a band playing drums in the streets of Pelourinho, Salvador, that I stumbled on late night on Nov 20th, the day of Consciência Negra. The most famous of the drum choirs from Salvador is Olodum, who have played with Paul Simon, Michael Jackson and others.

Explorations Around Ventura, CA

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:08:00 +0000

At the southern most tip of Central Coast of California lies Ventura that I have had a chance to explore - from Channel Islands off the coast to trails around Ojai. Here is a collection of pictures from these explorations set to the music of the daughter-father duo of Sophie & Mike Montano.

P.S. My personal thanks to Mike & Sophie for letting me use their music and voice.

Cacti on the Beach

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:58:00 +0000

The trip to Central Baja was a treat - one stunning landscape after the other from jagged high mountains, parched xeriscape with million cacti stretching right up to the beaches. Beaches that ranged from sandy white to none at all right off the high cliffs.

The day to day life in small towns offered its own cornucopia of colorful buildings, dusty streets, old cars blaring promotions from large loudspeakers atop their roofs and street vendors selling weird handicrafts, multi-colored candy, trinkets and lucha libre masks.

Here is a collection of some pictures from the area around Loreto set to this song that played on a loop for hours at end every day on the hotel's TV channel making annoucement about tortilla soup making classes or everybody's favorite - margarita making classes.

Handling a Whale Calf in Baja

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:27:00 +0000

On a whale watching excursion in Magdalena Bay along the west coast of Baja California, I had the most exhilarating experience of touching the calf of a Gray Whale.

We headed out into the Bahia Magdalena from Port of San Carlos (about 300 miles north of Cabo) around 12:30pm on a late February Tuesday hoping to get "up close and personal" with the Pacific Gray Whales that breed in the bay and neighboring lagoons from January through March and are supposedly so abundant that you might trip over them. It was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime whale watching experience (2 to 2.5 hr trip for 1500 pesos for a party of 4 people).

We spent and an hour and half on the water and saw about ten Pacific Gray whales from afar. The small dingy boat of ours with no canopy or cover never got closer than 50 feet or so and even then we saw the whales surfacing for less than a minute to spout and then plunge back for a long dive. A pretty decent experience but nothing spectacular. We headed back little bit disappointed. The young Mexican boat skipper skimmed fast over the choppy waters as we were tossed around like bobbing corks - quiet a bone jarring experience. The sun beat down on us hard.

And then suddenly from nowhere on the starboard side a whale showed up about 200 feet away. First we saw the spout, and then a few seconds later it breached - the giant creature heaved itself up into the air and crashed into the water with a giant splash! We were so excited. I had never seen a whale breach. The skipper said, "One more" - and the whale breached again. Just incredible. The skipper turned the boat to get close to the whale. Very soon we were only 30 feet away as the whale, and then we noticed its calf, were playing on the surface of the water. And then they started getting closer to us. 20 feet. 10 feet. Right next to the boat. Under the tiny boat...

The mother and the calf then decided to just hang around and play with us. They turned and twisted around the boat, circled the boat, dove under the boat to surface on the other side. One time the mother went under the boat and the calf dove over her but still under the boat and came so close to the boat that I was able to touch the back of the calf - it was smooth like a baby's bottom, very soft like I was digging my hands through butter but the skin was very tight and shiny black with no barnacles... that was once-in-a-lifetime experience!!!

We got drenched in the spouts from the blowholes of the mother and the calf a few times. They must have swam and played with us for about 15 minutes when the skipper said we had to leave. As he started the engine and maneuvered the boat back towards the land the mother whale started following us. We stopped the boat 50 or so feet away and both the whales came over and continued with their horsing around. Some on the boat worried about capsizing but nothing of the sort happened. And then the whales were joined by sea lions who showed up just like that from nowhere. They jumped out into the air and dove ahead of and around the whales... It was a scene to behold - the joyous wildlife of Baja waters dancing around our boat. We were of course ecstatic. Absolutely Amazing!

P.S. All the pictures above and a short video below (shot with a digital camera) are gifts of friends on the boat. I was too busy jumping up and down to take any pics!

Below is the 25 second video of the bone crunching high speed boat ride where we had to hold on to whatever we could grab on (the sides, under the seat) and make sure we didn't go overboard. This part of the excursion was literally painful, leaving body aches in its wake for days to come.

Sharm El-Sheikh: Egyptian Los Cabos

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:47:00 +0000

Just finished three days in Sharm El-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort city at the tip of Southern Sinai on the Red Sea famous for its diving. The whole area is, geographically speaking, basically mountain deserts coming right up to the ocean with deep indigo blue waters. I made 4 dives in the Ras Mohamed National Park here to discover massive underwater landscapes with sheer cliffs dropping off into the deep, caves you could move in and out off, and teeming with lush multi-colored corals and tons of schools of fish. The underwater visibility here was stunningly clear and stretched far. I saw a new fish – Crocodile Fish. Didn't see what people claim here is pretty common – sharks, mantaray, hammer heads, and few others.

The town by itself (with its two parts, Old Sharm and Naama Bay, that are 10 minutes apart) has been turned into a European tourist destination with almost nothing Egyptian about it. Predominantly the tourists are from Russia, Italy and UK. The town is pretty deserted during the day when people are either diving or snorkeling or lallygagging on the beaches of major resorts runs by the likes of Hilton, Marriott, Sofitel, and some European outfits like Movenpick and Iberotel. The evening comes alive with tourists wandering the promenade trying all kinds of non-Egyptian food (Hard Rock cafe', TGI Fridays, Italian food places, etc.), smoking sheesha (hookah) at upscale versions of Cairo coffee shops and shopping for souvenirs.

And then the whole place explodes after 11pm when the discotheques dance music. start pumping out loudAll three of major clubs - Pacha (best space - partly open air), Little Buddha (best music), and Hard Rock Cafe (so-so) were jumping till 4am. At night the whole place does not have a hint of Egypt, the Egypt I discovered everywhere else - traditional conservative muslim society. The only exception was that in all the clubs there was a noticeable feature - multitudes of Egyptian men hanging out at the periphery of the dance floor staring and feeling awkward. The younger ones are much more adventurous to hit the dance floor and mingle with the tourists but majority abstain from such outings. A crazy dynamic!

The weird thing about the whole place is you see almost no Egyptian women. Since they do not work in any of the establishments (restaurants, souvenir shops, boats in the marina, etc.) its basically Egyptian men running everything. May be if Burqini's take off in Egypt the women here can enjoy the beaches and so many other water sports activities available to them.

People mentioned that the government is heavily promoting Sharm El-Sheikh as the new face of Egypt. I think that is unfortunate! On my first day of dive I noticed two warships off the coast and my dive master (an Australian) mentioned that the President was in town hosting some conference. Because of recent history of terrorists attacks here the security is very tight and police sets up road blocks at the drop of a hat. I almost missed my flight out of town because of one such police check post where the police officer harassed my hotel minibus drives for good 15 minutes!

In the end though, Sharm El-Sheikh is a fabulous place to dive. And I guess if you are trying to escape the cold of St. Petersburg, a good place to chill out by the beach and party hard at night. But nothing else if you want to experience real Egyptiana! It can be a good break and a nice stop as you continue along to other attractions up the Sinai coast (more diving!) and peninsula, including hiking up to Mt. Sinai and exploring Bedouin life.

Desert Travels: Encounters With Dali’s Dreams, “Shamanic Consciousness!” & Berber Libertarianism

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:59:00 +0000

I spent almost 5 days in the Western Desert in Egypt and discovered some amazing landscapes, proud people and interesting fellow travelers.

FYI – (a) The Western Desert covers two thirds of Egypt and extends for 310 miles west of the river Nile. (b) Sahara in Arabic means desert - so Western Desert in Egypt is a sahara but not the Sahara!

Black & White: A Natural Expression in Surrealism

My first stop was an overnight camping trip about 300 miles south west of Cairo where one discovers the wonders of two distinctly contrasting landscapes - Black Desert and White Desert. In the Black Desert, landscape changes color from sandy beige to a smattering of dark black along the desert floor and mountain tops. (The scenes here reminded me of the burnt out mountain sides one notices after forest fires in California.) The thin layer of black in the desert apparently is from the debris and lava spewed out by volcanoes active here many millions of years ago!

I found the White Desert to be much more stunning. It is the soft limestone of this desert sculpted by desert winds into bizarre and fantastic shapes that takes your breath away. When you spend a long night with utter silence and a black sky with gazillion stars, you start thinking of mother Nature as the most scintillating craftswoman (or craftsperson)... Here are some pictures of these beautiful desert deviants!

Faces of The Desert – Indigenous & Outsiders

During this part of the trip I ran into many interesting people including an Italian geologist who was kind enough to explain a lot about the rocks and sand in the desert. Only a geologists can say – “Oh! these fossils are pretty young, say about 30 million years”. (My idea of pretty young things is obviously “pretty” different!)

And then I ran into this group of German and Swiss people who had just come back from a 5-day camping trip in the desert as part of a “Shamanic Consciousness” seminar. They talked about experiences of ecstasy and love and used phrases like “Natural Language Processing” to train the mind. Finally a guy said I should check out the energy in that room in the ruins of the Temple of Oracle in Siwa (an oasis – see below) where the Sybil (the black priestess) used to make her pronouncements. Finally something I could experiment with – I stood in that room looking for energy - flowing or static. To me it all sounded like a bunch of hooey – I didn't feel no energy – but then may be I haven't yet met a real Shaman.

Check out another weird story below -

Life in the Oases

My idea of an oasis was a little watering hole in the middle of the desert surrounded by palm groves and few, if any, dwellings around. It turns out all the five major oases in the Western Desert are full-fledged towns (with populations in tens of thousands) set in geological depressions many miles long & wide and sometimes below sea-level, with the surrounding desert floor acting as an escarpment around the oasis. These oases have multiple springs feeding them with water. These springs can be natural or man-made; cold or hot water; fresh or salt water. I spent a few nights in two oasis - Bahariya and Siwa.

The Siwa oasis, close to the Libyan border is much more interesting for many reasons -

1. It has a long and interesting history – among other things, Alexander the Great visited here to be declared son of Zeus by the famous Oracle in Siwa; a few centuries later Cleopatra visited as well and bathed in one of the natural springs (I swam there as well – the bubbles do tingle!); the British and the Italians bombed each other around Siwa during WWII...

2. Siwa's indigenous population is Berber who are fiercely independent and nearly ignore the diktats of regional and federal government. In my conversations with the locals, I learnt that there are 11 tribes, each headed by a Sheik. These 11 Sheiks basically run the affairs of the village. E.g. (a) Locals buy and sell land and the transactions are not recorded by the government but blessed by the Sheiks; (b) To settle disputes (like water theft for irrigation purposes or other infractions) among Siwans, the Sheik of the plaintiff and the Sheik defendant discuss over a cup of tea and hammer out solutions including monetary compenation and 80 beatings by stick publicly! The local police and judiciary is involved for matters related to non-Siwans.

The economy of the oases mainly revolves around growing palms and olives and to a lesser extent figs, apricots etc. Tourism is another major source of income for the locals who in addition to selling regular lodging-related services also sell desert safaris (including sand surfing, dune buggies, etc.) and handicrafts.

Here are some of my encounters with people, landscapes and life generally around these oases -

Face(t)s of Cairo

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:46:00 +0000

The last few days I have been walking through the streets of Cairo, meeting the locals (not as much as I would have preferred!), taking cab rides, and visiting some of the sights.

The overarching theme: Cairo is a non-stop commotion.

The chaos of masses, traffic, jaywalking en masse (this will be heavenly for Rudy Giuliani!), haze, pollution, food on the sidewalks, smells, more than 120,000 ancient items in Egyptian museum, history spilling into the streets with monuments and mosques from the times of rulers of all kinds (and hard to remember!) - Abbasid Caliphs, Fatimids, Ayyubids, Mamluks (the slave soldiers), Ottoman Turks, modern Egypt... blah, blah, blah... the list goes on!

After the Pyramids in Giza, the best part in Cairo has been the food, conversations with the locals, and some of its Islamic architecture. Luckily two most common foods in Egypt are vegetarian - fuul (a dish of slow cooked fava beans with garlic and garnished with parsley, olive oil, lemon, salt, black pepper and cumin - it sooooo yummy!) and kushari (a mix of noodles, rice, black lentils, and dried onions served with fiery tomato sauce). They also have falafel, just much crispier and flat and they call it ta'amiyya. The sweets have been another god send - my favorie, kunafa, a vermicelli-like pastry over a vanilla base and so sooooaked in syrup... slurp, slurp, slurp!

And then there are the ahwas, the coffee shops where men gather in the evenings and stay put till midnight and beyond to talk about everything (except criticize their "much beloved" President Hosni Mubarak loudly) over many cups of shai (tea), coffee and smoking sheesha (hookah or hubly bubly, as the travel books call them!). I hung out here two nights straight and for the record, "...I didn't inhale and never tried it again."!!!

Here are some of my encounters in Cairo - its people, neighborhoods, street scenes and foods, set to the latest hit single "Lealy Nahary" from Amr Diab, Egypt's answer to Ricky Martin... Before that furrow deepens on your forehead, you better be careful, Egyptians are very proud of him since he has won World Music Awards as the best selling Arabic artist thrice!

Click To Play

Giza Pyramids & Sphinx: Face-to-Face With Ancient AND Contemporary Egypt

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:46:00 +0000

Yesterday, on a hazy morning, I took a 45 minute cab ride from Cairo city center to the Giza Plateau. Its only about 15 miles but the notorious Cairo traffic gets in the way.

The Giza Pyramid complex (or necropolis, if you prefer the morbid!) consists mainly of three Pyramids (Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure - named after the three Pharaohs from Old Kingdom - 2686 BC to 2025 BC), a Sphinx and a ship housed in a museum. Except for the Ship, I visited all of these and few other adjoining structures - funerary complexes, smaller temples, tombs for the King's mother, wife, architect/engineer, etc.

Once you get to the Pyramids, the only surviving Ancient Wonders of the World , the awe-factor completely overwhelms you, until you run into some other modern realities of visiting a "tourist" site in Egypt - hagglers, vendors, dust, camel & horse dung, heat...

As with Taj Mahal, I found the stories of the people (architects, designers, workers) who build these great structures much more interesting then the story of the Pharaohs themselves and their henchmen (aka noblemen) etc.

The largest Pyramid, Khufu, was build using nearly 2.3 million limestone pieces (approximately weighing 2.5 tonnes each). The symmetry and the mathematical precision required to construct these massive structures is pretty impressive by our modern standards (what with malfunctioning solar panels in the International Space Station!), let alone more than 40 centuries ago.

The Pyramids are not just a beautiful sight to behold but also a salute to the incredible human ingenuity that led to their construction. The biggest and most pleasant surprise of the trip to Giza Pyramids, for me, was to see the insides of these pyramids (especially inside the Khufu Pyramid) with their narrow passageways and chambers - simple, fully ventilated and designed with incredible care in red granite. I lucked out to be in the King's chamber, an empty 3o feet by 15 ft by 20 feet hollow space in the heart of the Khufu Pyramid in relative darkness, without any other tourists for few minutes - it was quite surreal!! Here are some highlights from this extraordinary experience -

(FYI: 1 US $ = approximately 5.5 Egyptian Pound)

JFK to Cairo: An Angry General & Accomplished Pentathletes

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:57:00 +0000

The plane that Egypt Air uses to fly from JFK to Cairo must be the oldest aeroplane I have ever flown. As soon as I boarded the flight MS 986 (Boeing 777-200) I noticed the general drabness. The carpet underneath the seats was torn. The bathrooms had scratches in the toilet (I didn't wanna know what happened there!). The rows of seat in 2-4-2 style were covered in dull light blue or dark blue fabric in the front and yellow in the back. The seat cloth with a "bird in flight profiles" design seemed to not have been changed or washed since the airline started in 1932!

Thankfully the cabin crew was very professional and helpful. The food seemed pretty good for non-vegetarians (fish, beef, fried potatoes, yogurt, cheesecake) as apposed to the boiled rice & vegetables for vegetarians.

On top of that, the plane with 319 seats was slightly above 50% occupancy. So I was pretty excited to have the seat next to me empty. But that didn't last long. Few minutes after I had made myself quiet comfortable to my "scintillating" surroundings, three girls boarded and plunked right next to me. They were all dressed in tracksuits with "New Balance" logos and "EGY " blazing along the sides and back. My disappointment lasted only few minutes. They were the chirpiest, happiest and loudest people on the plane - they were members of the Egyptian Pentathlon team.

These three girls and four boys (sitting in front rows) were heading back home from a sports camp in Colorado Springs to train at high altitude. I sat next to Aya Medany who has already qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She recently won the World Cup final and has won a few of these Youth Championships before. She was accompanied by her teammates Omnia Fakhry and Yasmine Khaled. They were very generous with their time and wrote down for me all the restaurants in Cairo to try, Egyptian music that is a must-listen and sights to visit.

Mid-way through the flight one of the guy pentathlete exchanged seats and ended up next to me. He was Yaser Nafne. He started as a swimmer and then took up running, shooting, fencing, and riding to compete in Pentathlon. He mentioned Egyptian Federation has been pumping in lot of money in the sport and that has reflected in Egypt's recent achievements in the field. They have a Polish coach who I guess brings that famous East European ethos and regimented approach that gave us the world class gymnasts and swimmers during the 1970's and 1980's! All of these players ranged in age from 19-25 and were full of energy. The cabin crew provided them with extra meals, snack, etc (Egypt Air is another sponsor for the Pentathlon team!).

There was a gentleman sitting, in seat 32H, right ahead of Aya & then Yaser who was not shy to constantly express his annoyance with them whether they were swapping iPods, passing along Kashi Trail Mix bars, or answering questions for people like me and and many many other people (mostly Americans - baby boomers from Atlanta, Spokane, Los Angeles) or generally being 20 years olds. With about an hour left to land this man lost his patience, got into an argument with Omnia and yelled out in Arabic (Yaser translated for me), "I am a General in the Egyptian Army and I'll have you arrested until you all shut up".

The Pentathletes called for the cabin crew and the so-called General was escorted to the front of the plane and when he appeared 10 minutes later, he was very quiet and stayed that way until we landed 48 minutes later!!!

India Trip in Conclusion: New Disocveries & Old Confirmations

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:59:00 +0000

At the start of this India trip (Oct 17 through Nov 6) I wanted to find out about the "New India" for myself - the new India of outsourcing, call centers, rapid economic growth, changed attitudes of its peoples, a new found confidence, a certain spring in its step...

At the end of the not-enough-time trip, I found some signs of this new India but tons of evidence of the same old - the same old lack of good roads, uninterrupted power supply, lack of basic sanitation in cities (see right), nightmarish traffic, mismanaged public services (including bus stands, as a small example; see below), generally a lack of commitment among public servants to help people, corruption, horrible pollution, and a definite lack of focus on improving quality of life for the vast masses of the country.

In my various conversations with auto rickshaw & taxi drivers, street vendors, etc. there was a palpable frustration with their inability to find opportunities and means to improve their lives, send their children to good schools, have access to good health care.

To me this is real India - the struggling masses. There was a definite enthusiasm in certain sections of middle classes as their earning potential and access to opportunities to advance seems to have increased by leaps and bounds thanks to newly created jobs from an influx of multinational corporations. The challenge for any government in India would be how to extend these benefits to many many more teeming millions living in the villages, slums, and small satellite towns!

I was also disappointed in the deterioration of standards in the media in India. I remember the leading English language national dailies (Times of India, Hindustan Times, etc.) for their high quality and a journalistic fervor to expose the malfeasance of the powerful. But now they have all turned into tabloids more interested in covering celebrity gossip and tidbits from Bollywood. Similarly there has been a profusion of television channels but they also, with very exceptions, waste precious air time on covering the tawdry. Late night these multiple channels turn to stories with a heavy dose of supernatural, superstition and illicit sex.

The trip was a very pleasant discovery of the past glory and natural beauty of India - be it the Mughal architecture in Delhi & Agra, backwaters and spices of Kerala, lagoons around islands of Lacadives, beaches of Goa (see left), and successful synthesis of foreign influences (Portuguese and Dutch influences in Kerala and Goa).

The best part of the trip for me was meeting so many interesting people, developing acquaintances, and the conversations I had with them. People who were so willing to open up and share about their lives, their dreams and their families - the road side vendors, the small children performing their tricks in the trains, the hotel managers...

Bombay: Maximum City with Extreme Contrasts

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:44:00 +0000

Today is my last day in Bombay (aka Mumbai) and after 4 1/2 days here, my first visit, I can safely say that this mega city of 14 million or so, by the ocean, is an assault on your senses - the masses of humanity, the heat and humidity, the excesses of wealth and poverty, the high class socialites and straggling street vendors, the cricket obsessed fans and the wheelers & dealers of business world, world class hospitals and an utter lack of medical care for the huge number of slum dwellers... it is an unending roller coaster of an experience.

After my visit here it seems like I grew up in a very different India - out in the boonies! The Bombay world seemed alien and not so alien at the same time to me. I thought I had seen high density population in Delhi or New York, but here it goes to an all together new level. And surprisingly, by Indian standards at least, these concentrated masses have developed a system of movement that seems to work pretty efficiently, especially the public transport in metro trains and local buses.

The Metro train travel in Bombay is a unique experience in itself and the least of it is the incredible overcrowding. I cruised a couple of trips on these trains and here are some thoughts on the whole adventure.

On the streets on Bombay the urban life manifests itself in varied ways. One day I walked through the neighborhood of Mahim and came across an array of characters and events unfold in a span of 40 minutes or so on the sidewalk - from roadside barbers, flower sellers, to vegetable vendors, locksmiths, lottery ticket sellers... I think this was a neighborhood for lower middle class. Here is a collection of some of these encounters.

Bye for now, kali.

Paradise Islands: Lacadives

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:40:00 +0000

The 3 1/2 days stay in the middle of the Arabian Sea and completely removed from civilization was fantabulous! Dove down to fifty feet and saw lion fish and juvenile scorpion fish for the first time and some other familiar creatures of the deep like groupers, snappers, sting rays, etc. Didn't have equipment to photograph these or the beautiful corals, but here are few shots of the world outside the water in two of the islands (Bangaram & Agatti) in the archipelago of the Lakshadweep (aka Lacadives by the British).

Chinese nets, Backwaters, and Jew Town: 3 Days in Kerala

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:07:00 +0000

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to travel through Kerala, one of the four southern states in India. Growing up, I was fascinated by its backwaters, a tiny Jewish community with a 400 year or so old synagogue, and the Chinese nets that fishermen use here.

Three other things I have discovered in my days here are spices, Kathakali, a traditional Kerala dance form (saw a live performance) and the story of coconut in Kerala - as it turns out the word Kerala comes from kera that means "coconut palm tree" and alam that means "land of".

I spent three full days in a town called Cochin right on the Arabian Sea coast and explored the city and its neighboring environs. It rained all 3 days in the evenings. It was usually overcast, hot and muggy except for very few pleasant breaks.

Kerala Backwaters

I did a 7 hour backwater boat trip yesterday. Quiet an amazing experience where you meander through these interconnected lagoons and rivers. It was a bit hot and very humid but the views were just spectacular. You get to see the life of village folks as it unfolds along the banks - fishermen hauling mussels (called oysters) from the river, divers hauling sand from river bed that is used for construction purposes, women washing clothes and families generally lounging along the banks. Here are some pictures from this excursion.

Oh... before the backwater pictures check out what I discovered in a Cochin restaurant - Chocolate Samosa completely drenched in Mango Coulis! It was heavenly - sumptuously delicious (it is in the running for the best food experience of the trip!)

So back to the backwaters - from the boat you get to see different kinds of birds - kingfisher, bee-eater (blue tailed and green tailed), cormorants, egrets, herons, crows, kites, etc. The flotsam on the water surface included water hyacinths, water lilies, a rare lotus plant (and to a pleasant surprise very very little of the regular fare of plastic bags and other waste). The boat makes brief stops where the "guide" introduces clueless tourists like me about flora and fauna of the islands including plants used in Ayurvedic medicine, flowers, trees and wines (I especially remember the one used to make vanilla ice cream!! hehe...!) etc. They also introduce you to local industries (coir, a fibrous material from coconut used in doormats etc.), calcium from oyster shells). Along the way you stop for lunch served on the boat) and fresh juice from the coconut fruit (sweet) and the coconut flower (this white liquidy thing was repulsive to taste).

Kathakali

So I had heard of Kathakali growing up and hated watching it constantly played on the one and only one television channel at the time that was run by the government (Doordarshan). But I thought on this trip I would be open minded and explore another art form after my new-found hoity-toity discovery of Mughal architecture in the north.

Bad Idea. Apparently the dance form is too sophisticated for a lay man to understand. It has its own grammar and rules, which is fine. The problem is with the words or the lack there off. Kathakali is storytelling of ancient myths and religious heroism in dance form and hence requires use of words but they don't use words as in lyrics. Words and sentences are expressed as different hand formations, eye movements, facial muscle contractions....

The more interesting part of the whole exercise is the putting on of the make up. The artists come on the stage and apply different plant extracted colors that are based in coconut oil on their face to exaggerate the eyes, eye brows, mouth etc. The objective of the make up, as the theater director proclaimed, to make a human into the super natural!

Check out Kathakali and the make up session (about 2 minutes) recorded at a tiny theater in a neighboring town of Ernakulam and see if it puts you to sleep as well. I would love to appreciate this art but just can't keep myself awake. I asked a local and he mentioned he prefers Michael Jackson over Kathakali. The theater director also said Kathakali is not a dance form but a meditation, a spiritual exercise to come closer to god. Well, in that case, I ain't gonna get no favor from Our Lord or be blessed by the glory of His word!

Chinese Nets

I do not know too much about the history of Chinese nets. I did inquire to find out that they are no longer imported from China but are manufactured in a small town of Pune just south of Bombay.

These are an interesting contraptions set up by the banks of lagoons and rivers to catch fish as water flows by. Here is an unedited footage of how these things work...

Click To Play

Usually they catch small fish like sardines, snappers, pomfret, Kerala salmon, etc. One of the fisherman proudly showed off his baby shark... !

Will have more posts on Oct 29th after I get back from Lakshadweep Islands where there is no television, internet and newspapers! Vacation time... yooooohoooo!!

What Design Inspired Taj Mahal? - Woman's Love for Man!

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:35:00 +0000

One of the first garden-tomb mausoleums that preceded Taj Mahal was the tomb of the second Mughal Emperor of India - Humayun. And this one was built by the orders of his widow to commemorate her love in contrast to Taj Mahal which was built by the orders of the 5th emperor for his wife.

Quiet an interesting bunch of romantics these Mughal Kings... in fact there were seven of them but I'll save the story of the others for a different post (some of them were cruel...!). This one is about the "Dormitory of the Mughals" and George Bush!

Automobiles, Trains & Planes... Craziness Galore in India

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 05:22:00 +0000

Maneuvering through various transportation modes is quiet a feat in India. Here are some reflections.

Taj Mahal

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:58:00 +0000

Old Yet Magnificent

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:46:00 +0000

On Day 1 of the India trip I discovered the breathtaking beauty of Mughal Architecture that has been epitomized in 4 kinds of buildings - a fort, a mosque, a palace and a tomb. Here are some thoughts about the first two.

Long Flight to discover Indian-ness, Sleep Interruptions & Exploding Yogurt!

noreply@blogger.com (kali (Vivek Kaliraman)) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:07:00 +0000

When the in-flight TV screen on the flight from Newark to Delhi (CO82) said "Time to Destination: 12.47", it did seem a bit daunting. But then you notice "Ground Speed: 598 miles/hr" and "Tailwind: 99 miles/hr" and the light at the end of the tunnel seems to get nearer. The Continental flight flew over or by Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Dushanbe and Kabul. The mountain ranges over Afghanistan looked menacing (much higher and ferocious looking than Rockies...)

The flight was pretty hectic - what with people pushing and shoving, piling up their luggage over yours in overhead bins, and generally being loud and boisterous! I guess for some it was a sweet trip home. But not so, for at least two people - they were being deported back on the orders of USCIS (formerly known as INS). Must have been painful for them...

Otherwise the flight was full - 235 in coach and 48 in first class. Its always interesting to overhear conversations in such a crowded mix - actually quiet a good mix of Indians and non-Indians. In the three rows that I counted around me, there were 9 white people out of 30 - all baby boomers. One of them visiting India for surgery.

Our flight attendant, Eric Mariani (one out of 12), was a very patient man putting up with demands for bassinets, hot milk for the babies, etc. in addition to providing regular services... He mentioned later that he has a background in Cultural Studies and enjoys working on this flight. But suggested that some of his Continental associates, used to a certain kind of "passenger behavior" should not be doing this flight to Delhi. When I asked why, he said that the passengers in this flight are very demanding - they finish their beverages even before the flight attendant has finished serving the next person and extend their hand out asking for more with a distinct lack of politeness; also, he said attendants can specifically remember people that say thank you, sir, ma'am, etc.; there are multiple "call button" calls on this flight as apposed to flights to Germany or Tokyo; he said he uses humor to diffuse situations when people are in his way asking for their 9th drink (I noticed passenger in 16A ordered "Johnny Walker" quiet a few times...)

I wonder why is it that many of us born in India are like this? Here is my hypothesis - I think many in India grow up thinking that people in services industry - waiters, porters, cab drivers, attendants, etc. are servants and hence treat them like that... India does have a very deeply entrenched caste system that is widely accepted, if not celebrated. From this acceptance of casteism stems a system that condones discrimination and inequality. So may be the explanation is that to an Indian eye people at the forefront of services industry are like peons and hence belong to a lower caste... but may be some sociologist can come up with a better explanation!

The food on the flight was better than the typical domestic airlines food (or the lack thereof) - you could pick a vegetarian meal, a Hindu meal, a Moslem meal, a Jain meal in addition to regular good old meat laden fare like "Chicken Cacciatore"! The yogurt container exploded on me at 37,000 ft - I am glad the 777's pressurizing system was working where I sat!

The sleep during the flight was hard to come by too - I counted 3 infants around my row that would start their shrieking spells either in tandem or consecutively... [Note to Self: Develop business idea for a childless long haul airlines...]

Bye for now, kali