David Waumsley Travels

What could be more Indian than the sight of “Horn OK Please” signs hand painted on the backs of (usually heavy) vehicles. For me, this double politener of Ok and Please is as endearing as the Indian misplacement of “isn’t it” (innit). Should you ever, as a visitor, find yourself driving in India (and good luck if you do) the sign means sound your horn before overtaking.

Horn OK Please is also the title of a fantastic multi-awarding short film from flickerpix animations which follows the day of an Indian taxi driver. I have added a few subtitles for extra detail. Surely, a “must watch” for anyone travelling to India.

Click here for the You Tube version without subtitles

If anyone knows the make of these Indian taxis please do comment below.

A tour of Kerala is likely to include a stay in Thekkady which is the home of the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve, situated on the banks of the Periyar lake. The main attraction is in the hope that by taking an early morning boat cruise one might get to see herds of elephants, sambars, tigers, gaurs, and Nilgiri langurs coming to the water’s edge to drink. The reality can be somewhat different as these boats (filled with around 50 passengers) will to set off 3 or 4 at a time and few animals can be seen – at least not at close range. We saw bison, wild pigs, birds and I’m sure I spotted a chicken. A couple of our photos in our Kerala gallery. Those really passionate about wild life should probably research the limited accomodation that is in the reserve itself.

As Thekkady is a small town, and like any in Kerala, our driver suggested seeing the Martial Arts show at the Kelara Kalari Centre for Rs. 200 per person (Rs. 250 for video cameras). There’s does not seem to be too much on the web about this particular show so here is quick video of what you can expect. I’ve excluded the show finale which involves a couple of guys jumping through flaming hoops. The show bills its self as:

“an hour of fantasy, excitement with breathtaking performance of the oldest Martial Art”

In truth the only breathtaking moments are from pungent fumes produced by the fire stunts. However, I think even for those who have no interest in Martial Arts it is a pleasant and inexpensive way to spend an hour.

Not the usual travel post, but we could not resist including our own photos of one of the national news events during our stay in India. Seemingly, most of the press were supporting the helmet awareness rally organised by the Mumbai police and led by a team of senior state ministers on motorbikes.

There’s no doubting that wearing helmets saves lives and that (although illegal) a good proportion of motorcylist don’t. The main dissincentivite for both riders and their passengers (aside from cost and religious headwear) is the discomfort of wearing a helmet in the Indian heat. Fortunately, those involved in this demonstration at Nariman Point were sensible enough to block off the road, wait till the sun was setting and to ride only 10 mins next to the cool breeze of the Arabian sea.

The best part of the event for us was the sight of two policemen riding pillion (5 minutes behind the main procession) without their helmets. I’m guessing with all of Mumbai’s Senior Police ahead of them these two escaped a fine this time! Apologies, we were laughing too hard to get to the camera in time.

Here are some photos of our 5 day trip to Kerala (God’s own country) This is just a temporary post. When we have better internet connection we will post on all the individual places we visited. There is lots to tell.

This video is for Alan who I know would have been disappointed by the absence of an Elephant on the wedding video.

Mr and Mrs Waumsley proudly presents our little wedding – almost live and uncut. Thanks to Father Emmanuel for the camera work.

Also a huge thanks to all of you for your kind comments, cards and gifts. Debbie and I are so very touched.

In case you thought Colva was all about the beach here is short video of our walk down the lane at the back of our apartment.

After a trouble free one hour flight from Mumbai to Goa with Air Deccan (Rs 12000 return) it was only a 30 min taxi ride to Colva Beach in South Goa. What a fantastic place this is! According to the literature Colva is a village of about 12,000 residents and boasts the longest of all the Goan beaches (12 miles). It is, however, the most popular beach in Goa after Calangute and in May (the holiday time) is largely packed with locals and other Indian tourists. It seems Colva’s popularity is more recent and has resulted in some development that the locals are not so pleased about (see poster in the gallery). Nevertheless it is still very peaceful and with 20 km of white sandy beach you can always get some solitude.

Of course the food is great here and there is no shortage of eating venues. Even the ones on the beach are very reasonably priced and good.Our apartment was found by a very good friend of Debbie’s (Thanks Sarita) and is excellent (5 mins walk to the beach). I doubt our photos do it justice, but it is open for rent at Rs 1000 per day from:
Mahesh Lotiliker
Phone 0091 832 2788064
Mob 0091 9823 351 123
Email world_linkers@hotmail.com

Mahesh also runs the nearby internet shop.

If lounging in the sun gets you restless like us you might want to try this:

Para-sailing here is Rs 500 for one or Rs 800 for two. Apparently a dip in the water is an extra Rs 100. Sure it is, but the guy did do our filming for free.

View Larger Map

The flight with Air India was a positive experience (London Heathrow – Mumbai). Admittedly, our flight was changed twice before setting off and the 727 did not have the latest individual screen entertainment. But Air India gives more leg space than most airlines making a huge difference to us bigger fellows who like a kip.

Arriving at 2 am we transfered to our pre-booked hotel “The Sun and Sheel” located near to both the airport and Debbie’s (wife to be) parents. All looked fine on the internet for budget accommodation (Rs 3000 inc taxes) but was a dirty flea pit with iron shutters protecting the hotel by night. Do not go there! We quickly swapped this for the Ashwin Hotel a few blocks up in Marol (Rs 3,600 inc. taxes). It was much brighter, cleaner and cooler.
Hotel Ashwin
Marol Naka M.M. Road
Ahdheri (E) Mumbai – 400059.
Phone 2920 0945/5285 or 2920 7267/7269.
The only down side was that our room could not pick up their wifi.

Our first days have all been about getting the wedding organised – just minor details like the reception venue our rings and clothes!. However the highlights of our free time in Mumbai (apart from “the wife” looking half crazed wearing a handkerchief on her head – something to do with the sun she says) were:

• Juhu Beach (see early post for the kind of beach food you can get there)
• Debbie’s Mum’s crab curry
• Crazy Mumbia travel by auto rickshaw and the Indian Taxis (they are more like bumper cars than dodgems)
• Nariman Point (The commercial heart of Mumbai).
• Escaping to Goa (see next post)

Debbie is from Mumbai but still spend much her time saying “HOW MUCH!”. The prices have shot up here and compared to most Asian cities Mumbai is expensive. She has still not recovered from spending Rs 359 on 2 black coffees at
Mocha Coffee & Conversation
82 Nagin Mahal
Veer Nariman Rd
Churchgate.
It is worth it for the novelty of watching India’s youngest, brightest and perhaps wealthiest smoking infused tobacco from the big cylinders with attached pipes.

India, and particularly congested Mumbai, in May is a bit more challenging as this it the hottest time of the year and the locals that are still working are grumpier than usual – Much to our amusement.

Yes dear reader, my single life is coming to an end…. and the fun is finally about to begin (oh, you cynics how could you!). This (sometimes slow loading) map below is still work in progress. Click on it to get more information. Hopefully we will be broadcasting some of the day (probably the reception) on the live cam page. The wedding is taking place at 13:00 India time (07:30 UK time).