Asia-Europe 2012

Elephanta Caves

Departing by boat from Bombay towards the Elephanta Island one can see the Taj Mahal hotel (left, scene of the 2009 terrorist attacks) and the Gateway to India monument.

Upon arriving on the island we were surprised by a form of art (or a building) we haven’t seen before: artificial caves dug in the VI or VII centuries, with rich decoration in the form of sculptures and paintings (no longer visible). Originally monolithic structures, some of them have brand new pillars recently built to replace the weak ones and prevent collapsing.

Permalink|Comments RSS Feed|Trackback URL

March 11, 2012|25 india|Post Comment »

Bombay

We found Bombay was in much better condition than Calcutta, but very expensive as well. The cheapest room in the tourist district was 45USD/night, far more than anything we paid before.

To expedite the sightseeing we booked a tour that took us to the landmarks. First we visited the old part of town to see some British era buildings, among them the pretty railway station from the previous post. The we went to the house where Gandhi used to live in the ’30s. Inside there was a photo as well as model exhibit explaining his life and work.

Then we went to see some slums. The first one was also the biggest. It is the slum where some scenes from Slumdog Millionaire was shot.

Then the tour took us the the slum were the poorest people live. This is the worst slum in Bombay.

Other slums are centered around a craft. For example, this slum’s inhabitants are engaged in washing. Most hotels and agencies in Bombay deliver them laundry and thousands of people make a living of washing. Not too many can be seen working because we arrived in the afternoon. Note the shanty houses in the rear, that is where the washers live.

The next slum was where the dish builders live. Apart from dishes, they also build various clay figures and decorative objects.

This is the recyclers’ slum. Here trucks deliver trash and old appliances so people can recover useful materials. The buildings in the right are actual houses.

Finally we visited the wood crafters’ slum. It was an interesting experience. The families live and work in the rear of the house, while the front is used as a storefront.

From what we’ve seen, the slums in India are far worse than those in South America.

Permalink|Comments RSS Feed|Trackback URL

March 8, 2012|25 india|Post Comment »

The Mumbai Mail

Having had such bad experience with the Indian roads, we decided to continue the trip by train. Eager to get out of Calcutta as soon as possible, I purchased tickets to the next train to Bombay, a train called “Mumbai Mail”. The tickets were very cheap (at 10USD/person and 40USD/bike for the 34 hours 1950km journey).

The train station, named Howrah, is a masterpiece of architecture design, completed in 1905. Unfortunately, everything inside and outside was extremely dirty. Piles of trash, people peeing without remorse on the platform, beggars, homeless and so on.

The train itself had the appearance of a refugee or a prisoners of war train, with bars at the windows. Laura burst into tears thinking about the next 34 hours. The smell was unbearable (for us). Fortunately, I could not close the window, so I got a cold that prevented me from further feeling the smell.

Somehow, we managed to survive the journey and we finally arrived in Bombay after 2 nights and 1 day of travel. The train station was also very beautiful, itself a UNESCO world heritage site, valued for it’s Gothic architecture.

Permalink|Comments RSS Feed|Trackback URL

March 6, 2012|25 india|2 Comments

Calcutta: the good things

As one might expect from the former capital of the British India, Calcutta has plenty of beautiful buildings (administrative, mansions etc), mostly built in the Victorian style. Some of them are preserved and still in use, while many are in decay.

One interesting destination is the Indian museum, established in the lat XIX century. Has art, archaeology, geology, zoology/botanics as well as mineralogy exhibits. Very old school inside and outside.

The most recognizable landmark is the Victoria Memorial, opened in the early XX century. Features art and history exhibits and a nice park with artificial lakes.

Barbwire on top of the Victoria Memorial fence. Needed to keep the barbarians outside..

Permalink|Comments RSS Feed|Trackback URL

March 5, 2012|25 india|Post Comment »

Calcutta: a city is dying

In short words: imagine a beautiful city with many Victorian buildings left in decay for 50 years. Then add few million savage refugees and you get the picture of how Calcutta looks like today.

In order not to make a mistake we checked in a hotel on Sudder street, an important tourist area. Although the room was more expensive than what we paid in Bangkok or Hanoi, the hotel was a ruin. It was worse than in the Max Payne video game. Shattered windows, walls falling apart, damaged furniture. The first picture is from the room adjacent to our room.

Leave the hotel and go for a walk. Ignore the pimps, beggars and homeless hanging out on the street. Remember we are still in the tourist area, on the same street with the Indian musem, a major landmark of the city, minutes away from the administrative buildings. Enjoy the view of people peeing and shitting on the street, spitting and throwing waste in the same place where they eat and sleep. Pigs and crows digging in the trash complete the landscape. No need to look for the slums. Slums are everywhere in Calcutta.

Can’t walk and hold your breath at the same time? Not a problem: A Mad Max style tram or bus, with shattered windows replaced by prison bars will take you for a magic journey through this piggery called Calcutta.

On the funny side: I found this article while researching about another major landmark, the Howrah bridge. Indians spat so much on this bridge that their saliva caused structural damage through corrosion. I believe this problem is unique in the world!!!