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06. - 27.11.2012 Mangalore and KannurOur reception in India was very warm in two respects: Firstly, after cool Uzbekistan we were welcomed by tropical temperatures, secondly, the Indians have a completely different mentality than the restrained Uzbeks and everybody on the airport aided us smiling and helpfully with our bicycles. Finally back in a country where they speak English. To reach our destination Mangalore, we had to change planes twice with our tons of luggage plus bikes on the huge airports of Delhi and Mumbai, but this was less stressful and much easier than expected thanks to the nice airport staff. Our bicycles endured the flights very well, except for 2 small cracks in Ollis saddle.
When we landed in Mangalore we were cordially received by 30°C of humid heat, a sea of palm trees and our Indian friend Reema. Quickly we were surrounded by about 20 Indians who all wanted to help to load our luggage and our bikes into and on top of the taxi, of course, requesting a few rupees afterwards. On the bumpy ride to our new home we were immediately overwhelmed by all the new impressions. The pothole roads are teeming with rickshaws, buses, motorcycles, trucks, cars and bicycles, which all meander wildly honking back and forth through the streets in the completely chaotic left-had traffic past wild dogs and cows. Along the roadside colorfully dressed people are bustling like ants to and fro between shops and stalls. Totally delicious fresh bananas, oranges and coconuts are sold on every corner. Dust, fumes, odors from garbage at the curb and exotic floral fragrances simultaneously penetrate your nostrils in varying mixing ratio.
In the following days we were mainly concerned with getting used to the completely unfamiliar environment, culture and climate. One of our new favourite things to do was to extensively test the Indian food. You can find vegetarian restaurants on every corner with totally delicious, often incredibly spicey and cheap food. Even the Indian beer is quite OK, but you should avoid tap water, if you do not want to spend the next few days on the toilet, unless you filter and boil it. Despite great care, we still had to suffer both from diarrhea for several days. Our second new hobby was buying clothes. We were immediately impressed by the colorful traditional Indian clothing and we enthusiastically stocked up on clothes and shoes for several upcoming festivities in Reemas family. Furthermore, we declared war against the hordes of ants, mosquitoes and cockroaches everywhere and equipped ourselves with the necessary Indian chemicals.
Thanks to Reema's help we acclimated and adjusted pretty quickly and the cultural shock was not too big. In order to culturally adapt to India, we visited a variety of Hindu temples (like Kadri-Manjunath Temple) and also Christian churches (like St. Aloysius Chapel) in Mangalore, we watched our first Bollywood film in Hindi (3 Idiots) and listened to Indian music in a karaoke bar. Cultural highlight was, to dress in traditional Indian clothes like kurta and sari, decorated with Mehndi (henna) on the arms and hands, and to experience various Indian catholic celebrations such as engagement, bachelor party (Roce) and wedding together with a large Indian family, which is completely different to the way we celebrate these events in Germany. The engagement party with about 200 guests was almost like a German wedding with ceremony, food, music and dancing. During the groom's bachelor party with 600 guests we were able to experience how everybody was allowed to pour coconut milk over the groom's head, a custom to clean and prepare him for the wedding, in which I (Sonja) participated enthusiastically. On the wedding day there is an evening ceremony in the church, during which the bride wears a white wedding dress like in Europe. Then there is a reception with over 1000 guests, during which the bride changes into a wedding sari, the newly wedded couple cuts the cake and dances the first dance together and after some short speeches it's the job of the couple to accept congratulations, to shake hands and to have photos taken with all the 1000 guests and relatives which takes hours. Meanwhile, there is a lot of delicious food for the guests, of course, but no alcohol. We ate and watched the proceedings curiously and waited all the time for the official part to be over and for the party and the music and the dancing to start... But suddenly at half past 10 in the evening the lights were switched off, the band stopped playing and the end of the party was announced. What? Already? Quite different to a German wedding where you celebrate all day and all evening until late at night. Anyway, thanks a lot to the bride and groom Anvina and Amish for the invitation and once again: Congratulations!
In order to get to know the Indian health system, since we both work in the medical field, the lovely nurses of the Father Muller Hospital in Mangalore, which was founded over 100 years ago by a German homeopath, guided us several hours through all the areas of the complex such as leprosy ward, addiction ward, psychiatric ward and hospital pharmacy. Like everywhere in India we experienced a huge contrast to German conditions and we were quite impressed how they sometimes work and improvise with the simplest of means.
To recover physically and mentally from all the exertions of the last few weeks, we were pampered with massage, scrub and steam bath and we practiced yoga for one hour every morning. We were both totally rusty, but it's amazing how quickly you improve with daily practice. Furthermore, we got general overhauls by dentist and hairdresser. To escape from the urban bustle, we also spent a few quiet days on a beautiful private beach (Waves Beach Resort) in Kannur, Kerala where you can relax, far away from the tourist centers, by swimming in the warm waters of the Arabian Sea or by dosing in a hammock under the palm trees while listening to the surf. Messages from home about frost and snow seem here very unreal and far away. Here we also had the chance to attend a very impressive and colorful Hindu ceremony called Theyyam up close for the first time in the home of private people, during which a priest, elaborately dressed up as deity, dances almost endlessly to the ecstatic sound of deafening drums while handling colorful petals, fire and offerings of rice and coconut. A very impressive and unusual spectacle!
All this whole time we have been waiting very impatiently for our parcels with spare parts from Germany, because it is very difficult to get quality bicycle parts in India. End of October two parcels were sent from Germany and one arrived after almost 2 weeks, including the less important parts, but the second, more important one, with Olli's new rim was missing until mid-December. In these weeks of waiting, we switched to rickshaws for short distances and to buses and trains for longer rides, which is usually very cheap and pleasant. Overnight rides in a sleeper bus however are a different pair of shoes to which you get used to not so easily since you are given a good shaking due to the pretty bad roads. The first time I (Sonja) was so sick all night and I couldn't sleep at all. Just imagine you sit or lie in a roller coaster all night and you shall sleep there.
When finally our parcel resurfaced, we got the bad news that you need to pay 40 % of taxes for bicycle parts in India! After a bit of whining the very friendly postal clerk, a bike enthusiast himself, finally dropped the tax charges after we signed a statement that the contents are only for our personal use and not for commercial purposes. Up to this point we have been getting really used to the backpacker's life and we had purchased two large backpacks. In addition, we were a little intimidated by the chaotic traffic everywhere and also camping is not particularly advisable in India because of the high population density and the dangerous animals creeping through the forest at night. So we finally made the decision to continue our journey in this country with backpacks by bus and train and to take a break from cycling.
To conclude our first report from India, here's a funny and very vivid video about how to use an Indian toilet:
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