Archive for February, 2009
Thiruvananthapuram
By Tony on February 27, 2009 | No Comments »
Our first stop back in India is Thiruvananthapuram – that’s a mouth full!
Pronounced Tee-roo-va-nan-ta-pu-ram, the capital of the beautiful Indian state of Kerala gives you an indication of the tongue-twister Dravidian place names we face every day here in the South. Even locals tend to stumble over this one, so most just refer to it as Trivandrum.
Yes, this is just one of many such linguist challenges that the regional language, Malayalam, presents us with when we show up at the bus station. Try buying a ticket to Thalayolaparambu, Purunnermangalam, or Mulangunathukavu. Not too simple!
Got “Milk”? Indians Don’t!
By Tony on February 25, 2009 | No Comments »
Apparently, the Oscar nominated “Milk” presented some kind of special threat to Indian society. Yes, there’s a little Big Brother in the world’s largest democracy. As Indians gathered to see if “Slumdog Millionaire” would take best picture, they may or may not have noticed that little bits of the Oscars were disappearing right before their very eyes.
Then again, maybe they didn’t as such censorship is quite common here, even on pay TV. Clips from “Milk” and parts of the award recipients’ speeches were cut to spare viewers the hideous ways of the West. Shiva forbid that Indians might be exposed to anything that might taint their sensitive souls. Oh, so fragile.
Why are We Going Back to India?
By Tony on February 22, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Well, after another epic battle at the Indian consulate, otherwise known as the palace of ass-scratching ineptitude, we finally managed to get our third Indian visa, which will allow us to stay for four more months.
After the nightmarish first visa last January and the power-tripping saga to get our second visa in July, we thought we knew what we were in for in Kandy. Oh India, you have such lows awaiting your visitors – even before they enter the country.
This time, the 8 day process tested our every ounce of anger management skills and ass kissing ability. A showcase for the highly refined art of non-thinking, the nightmare started with » Continue reading this post »
Attack on Colombo
By Tony and Thomas on February 21, 2009 | No Comments »
For all you news junkies, we just wanted to let you know we are OK. We have already arrived in India and were no way involved with the Tamil Tiger attack on the airport and capital.
As we have mentioned before, there is a gap between our immediate location and the blog location. Security was extremely tight as we left Colombo, and foreigners and locals were required to get out of taxis and take a special security bus into the actual airport itself.
We were very impressed with the smoothness and professional nature of the Sri Lankan military at the airport, so we were both quite surprised when we read about the attack by plane.
Just wanted to let everyone know we were OK.
Ralf His Dudeness from Holland
By Thomas on February 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Our latest Contemporary Nomad is not quite royalty but certainly does have the well earned luxury of seeing a lot of the world. And, no, we didn’t give him this title, Ralf’s a self-proclaimed fan of The Big Lebowski. This guy is one dedicated traveler – perhaps, even more dedicated than we are!
Yes, his Dudeness loves to travel. So much so that he is literally using his body to finance his wanderlust. » Continue reading this post »
