Tag: tips

Ajanta Caves

The World Heritage listed Ajanta caves (Buddhist) were another tight squeeze on the way to a different train station (Jalgaon) for a 24 hour trip to Varanasi.
These cave temples weren’t as cool as the ones in Ellora, but still interesting. I found the cave paintings disappointing, but without a guide (nor a good flashlight – my headlamp isn’t working anymore!) they were rather faint and I couldn’t usually find the specific painting that the guidebook mentioned in a particular cave.
Tip: if you can only do one, see Ellora.

Update on food/drink

Despite being ill last night (thankfully briefly), I wanted to make some more comments/updates on food/drink and prices…

Beer: In Goa, beer is cheaper: only Rs60/$1.50 for a large Kingfisher, and Rs35/$0.88 for a small (regular) Kingfisher, which I hadn’t actually seen until this point. The Goan beer Bello tastes worse, in my opinion. I’ve also seen Budweiser and Fosters here in Goa. On that note, the Kingfisher colours/advertising/slogans remind me a lot of Budweiser, actually…

Bread: I had written that adding things to bread other than ghee/butter (e.g. garlic) wasn’t “worth it” despite the small cost because there just wasn’t enough to notice the difference; well, I found an exception in Arambol, Goa: mint paratha. There is definitely enough mint to notice, and it makes it even more tasty!

Quality: I’ve had over 100 meals in India now, and I’d say I’ve enjoyed all but 1 or 2 of them (and maybe disappointed at the lack of variety, but no the quality, of 2 more meals). And the one I clearly remember disliking was because it was all (deep) fried and bland.
Which means over 95% of meals have been good or better, which is more than I can say than any other trip (or eating out back home, for that matter!)

Tip: fried almost always means deep-fried here, not stir-fried (even if the oil isn’t heated quite as much as the trans-fat inducing high heat back home)

A coule of little points missed in recent posts

Hampi:
it’s a World Heritage site.

Communicating in English:
Note: there is a movement in India to make Hindi the official country-wide unifying language, but south India is resisting the idea because English is the common second language – hardly anyone speaks Hindi in the south. Recall that virtually every state (certainly in the south) has its own language (a Dravidian language in the south, which is very different from Hindi).

Alleppey and backwaters:
In the backwaters village homestay, Thomas’ mother did the (excellent) cooking. She also gave cooking classes (no time for me though).
Tip: skip the night in Alleppey and head straight for Chennamkary village homestay!

 

Tips: reducing plastic waste

In Fort Cochin, a part of Kochi (formerly Cochin), I saw one Internet cafe, as well as one restaurant, that didn’t sell water in plastic bottles. Instead, they hae big 5 gallon re-usable water bottles (similar to the big water coolers we see in offices back home, or in homes and offices in Arizona and Nevada), from which you can refill your own little water bottle for Rs5/$0.13 per Litre.

A damn fine idea – why didn’t I think of that? We need to suggest that concept in more places around India and around the world!

I do remember a little condo/hotel in Isla Mujeres, Mexico (near Cancun), that put 5 gallon water tank (no dispenser though) in the room.

On an unrelated note, here is a sunset photo in Fort Cochin, with a Chinese cantilevered spider-like fishing net (the unofficial emblem of Kerala) in the foreground:

Chinese cantilevered fishing net

Tips/thoughts/feelings: Food

After 17 days in (south) India, here is what I’ve discovered/experienced regarding food:

Note that I haven’t gotten sick yet (knock on wood) and the food has been very tasty and cheap.
Only 7 of my meals have been non-vegetarian (5 of them were fresh seafood in Mamallapuram and Varkala) and I can’t say that i miss the meat.
However, I feel like I am getting too many (bad) carbs, what with all the naan/bread, idli/dumplings, dosai/crepes and even uthappum/thick-crepes.
I do have to say that I feel full after every meal.

I’ve had a range of dining experiences, in ascending order of fanciness:

  • Vendor on train (or platform): tea or coffee for Rs5/$0.13
    from a large stainless steel “cooler” (drinks are hot!) they carry.
    I noticed the lid of one of these coolers was padlocked closed.
  • Beach vendor: tea or coffee for Rs10/$0.25; whole pineapple cut into a multi-speared “popsicle” for Rs50/$1.25
    drinks from a large stainless steel “cooler” (drinks are hot!) they carry – that’s right, double the train station price! 😉
  • Push cart: a little baggie/cup of freshly cut pineapple for Rs10/$0.25 (some fruit vendors, like this one, wear latex gloves when cutting the fruit)
  • Street stall (a little shop along the street with a propane or wood cooking apparatus by the sidewalk):
    I ate at chicken and noodles stir-fry for Rs20/$0.50 in Pondy (inc. Rs5 to add the previously-cooked diced chicken into the stir-fry to reheat it) and a tomato/onion oothappam/pancake for Rs20/$0.50 in Madurai. Both were tasty.
  • Local resto: thalis and ready “meals” (Rs20-40/$0.50-1.00), and dishes (Rs30-80/$0.75-2.00) plus bread or rice (Rs10-40, $0.25-1.00) (similar to Indian restos back home, which are primarily north Indian dishes)
    Thalis and ready “meals” are similar (not quite clear on the difference, though thalis tend to be north Indian and meals tend to be south Indian, at least in south India :-) and served quickly; typically they are eaten with the (right) hand, not utensils (which makes it hard to write in my journal at those meals!)
    Thalis tend to come on a stainless steel tray, with something starchy in the middle (rice if it’s south Indian, or a dosai/crepe or something like that) with 2-7 sauces in little stainless steel cups surrounding it.
    Ready meals are usually served on a big banana leaf (as plate), with the starch and multiple sauces/items on it, but no little cups.
    See the photos in some of my other posts.
    Common “sauces” include a coconut sauce, a dal/lentil, a spicy red sauce (sambar, with tamarind), a green sauce, veggies in a sauce, soup, tapioca; common items are variations of sticky rice.
    Dishes (like we are accustomed to at home, e.g. masala, korma) usually take longer to prepare and you have to order bread (naan/chappati/roti/parota) or rice separately. So far it seems that fancier bread that includes other ingredients, such as cheese or garlic, only contains barely noticeable traces of the extra ingredients and aren’t worth the “upgrade”.
    These are often busy places with locals, who won’t hesitate to sit down at your table if there are empty seats.
  • Tourist resto: dishes (as above, Rs40-100/$1.00-2.50), fresh seafood Rs150-350/$3.75-8.75 for fish, Rs450/$11.25 for 4 jumbo prawns
    For the fresh seafood (e.g. in Mamallapuram, Varkala) you can pick your fish (either whole or a cut from a larger fish) or seafood from the proudly displayed table by the sidewalk (and includes chips/french-fries and “salad” (tomato & cucumber slices, or shredded-veggies)).
    By tourist resto I mean a more expensive resto in a touristy area, where you won’t see any locals eating there (though you will see Indian tourists from other, wealthier areas, e.g. Bangalore).

I’ll try to clarify some of this info more at a later time.

Tips/thoughts/feelings: Drinks

After 10 days in (South) India, here is what I’ve discovered/experienced regarding drinks:
note that bottled drinks are almost always opened in front of you at your table, sometimes even after confirming with you that it’s ok (which also gives you a chance to feel it to make sure it is cold)

  • Tea: if you ask for “tea” it is hot milk (not water) with infused tea. Not to be confused with chai or masala tea (spiced, with milk).
    You can ask for black tea (water, not milk).
    Oddly enough, tea isn’t always available, for no apparent reason (it’s boiled water/milk, tea, and a cup, no?).
    Several times I’ve been told there is no tea (or no coffee) and once I was told not until after 15:00 (it was 14:45).
    One time on the long distance train, the tea was hot milk out of a big container, and a tea bag to steep in it myself. On the local train, it was pre-steeped milk tea served from the over-sized stainless steel thermos.
    Cost: Rs3-12/$0.08-0.30 for a cup (sometimes in a resto you can buy a glass or pot)
  • Coffee: can be black or pre-mixed with milk. Not always available. And it’s usually instant (Nescafe) unless it explicitly says “filter coffee” on the menu.
    Cost: Rs5-15/$0.13-0.38 for a cup (sometimes in a resto you can buy a glass or pot)
  • Espresso/cappuccino/etc.: available in upscale coffee shops
    Cost: Rs40/$1 or more
  • Fresh fruit juice: One of my favourites, I ask for no ice and no sugar (they seem to like sugar in their fruit juice here). This is fresh fruit cut up and either run through a blender or, less commonly a juicer. I only have this in restos, as street stalls will add (tap) water to it – I tried that once, took a little sip and discreetly dumped it (not worth the risk!). So far I have had orange, pineapple, madulai/pomegranate, papaya and mixed juice.
    Cost: Rs17-38/$0.43-0.95 (“no ice” can cost Rs0-5 extra, but that is already added into the price range shown here)
  • “Fresh lime soda“: another favourite as it’s cold and refreshing and no plastic waste:
    it’s fresh-squeezed lime juice (they have really small limes here) in the bottom of a glass and a 300mL glass bottle of Soda water (i.e. club soda).
    Cost: Rs10-20/$0.23-0.50
  • Lassi: with or without fruit
    Cost: Rs20-30/$0.50-0.75 I think. Have only had one.
  • Soft drinks: of course they are available, but I only had one once and it was too sweet to be refreshing (300mL glass bottles)
    Cost: Rs15/$0.38; note that soda water (club soda) is usually a little less, Rs10/$0.23
  • Water (plastic bottle): usually purified water, not spring water
    I haven’t bought many in restos; in stores they vary from Rs20-40/$0.50-$1.00 for a 1L or 2L bottle (the best I’ve seen is Rs20/$0.50 for a cold 2L bottle!)
    See also below on reducing plastic waste.
  • Water (tap): In non-touristy restos, they have tap water on the table in a stainless steel jug (and stainless steel cups).
    I presume this is not safe to drink, but I purify it (see note below).
  • Beer: not available very often, since liquor licences are expensive. The tourist restos will have Indian beer, and sometimes you have to keep the bottle on the floor so that it isn’t visible to a policeman on the street; in some areas, it’s called “secret tea” and is served in a teapot.
    Cost: Rs110-120/$2.88-3.00 for a large 650mL bottle of Indian beer (Kingfisher is a popular brand, quite drinkable)
    Update: in state of Kerala, beer was as low as Rs80/$2 for a large bottle.
  • Wine shops: the official liquor outlets sell beer and alcohol, but not wine :-)
    I saw a large beer bottle for Rs40/$1

Note about reducing plastic waste:
One new gizmo I have that helps in this regard is my SteriPEN which is a portable UV light sterilizer (it runs on 4 AA batteries, the same (rechargeable) kind I use for my camera and my travel shaver, so I only have one recharger with me). It cost me about US$75 at REI, a travel gear store in Seattle (a store similar to MEC in Toronto).
One downside is that it doesn’t improve the flavour of the water (but at least it doesn’t make it worse, like iodine tablets do). Another downside is that the water isn’t quite as cold as a fresh refridgerated bottle.
So far I’ve used it in 2 ways:

  1. To purify tap water that I then use for brushing my teeth (this alone could avoid 1-2 1L plastic water bottles per week of travel).
  2. In non-touristy restos, they have tap water on the table in a stainless steel jug (and stainless steel cups); I purify a cup of this to drink along with my meal.

So combined with choosing glass bottled soda instead of plastic bottled water at a resto or drink cart, I am only buying one 2L plastic water bottle every 2-3 days (as opposed to one or more a day!)
Actually the very first day, before I started using my SteriPEN, I probably went through 4 plastic bottles (300mL and 1L sizes). Oops!

So far I have not gotten sick (and these last few days I have been drinking a total of 2-3 glasses of purified water in the restos per day.

Tips/thoughts/feelings: Accomodation

Having been in 4 hotels now…
Note this applies to budget and moderate hotels (all under $20/night), since I haven’t stayed in any fancier ones…

  • Often 24-hour checkout is possible, i.e. you can check out 24 hours after you check in, instead of by 11am like we are used to
  • A/C can be nice (duh!), but mostly because it gets rid of the mosquitoes. Hotels just don’t get that a screen-less slatted-glass window in the bathroom makes having a screen (usually with holes or a poor seam) on the window ineffective. (This isn’t a problem only in India)
  • You can reserve a room just by calling and giving your name. No credit card or deposit. Worked so far…
  • Book ahead (a few days) if possible, esp. around holidays or weekends in popular areas. For one town, I had to call 6 hotels; today, I called 5 and ended up with a more-expensive-than-I-wanted moderate A/C room for this Sat night.
  • You can pay one night at a time, which is handy if you aren’t entirely sure how long you will stay, or might want to bail after one night (I haven’t yet). Also handy if you don’t have all the cash on you when you first check in.
  • Expect thin, ratty sheets and small, thin, ratty towels. I’ve been using my silk dreamsack (like a thin sleeping bag liner) as a barrier and to keep the breeze from the ceiling fan from chilling me.
  • You have to ask for a towel. Yes, I do have a travel towel, but if I can get a reasonable towel I’ll use that first…
  • Bring (or buy) toilet paper. There won’t be any, and not always a wastebin in which to discard them (like in Mexico, they don’t go in the toilet or the pipes will clog).
  • Bring a good big padlock (or buy one here cheaply); sometimes the rooms don’t have regular keyholes in the door, rather they use a padlock to lock the door (by locking a metal bar to a loop behind the lock). One thing I like about the local-style locks is that you can’t lock it without using the key, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally locking your key inside the room. Note that your typical luggage lock isn’t big enough. It’s comforting to know you can keep the staff out, and it’s not like you’re getting daily maid service at these places :-)
  • Buy mosquito coils here and burn one in the room (or bathroom) while you are out for the day to clear out the mosquitoes.
  • I’ve only had hot water in 1 of 4 hotels. Supposedly you can sometimes get it by the bucket (sometimes at extra cost) but I haven’t figured that one out yet. Of course, the “cold” water tap isn’t anywhere near as cold as back home, in fact it’s actually refreshing!