Bombay the hard way
Depart London: Oct. 13th 12:00
Arrive Mumbai (Bombay): Oct. 14th 2400
warp speed ahead into the belly of Bombay!!!!!
speeding cab from airport....no head lights....waTCH OUT FOR THAT DOG!! arrive in colaBA, mumbai....sea shore motel...hallo hallo mr. mr. you looking for sea shell "yep" you loking for hash "nope" ok 4th floor "thanks". awaken man sleeping on table in loby to show us our room...not bad at all for 450 rp a night and look, out the window, the Gate Way To India!! awake 10 am local time...slightly jet-lagging. all hotel staff crowded into room next to us watching India vs. Australia cricket test match. I'm invited in and attempt to follow as they attempt to explain the rules....how long do these matches last? finally get up the nerve to leave the hotel with radka in tow. hallo mr. you like ballon? great toy for small child! "no thanks" hallo mr. mr. you like roasted nuts ( as he carries a huge tray of roasting nuts on head) "no, that's allright" hallo mr. mr. hallo. (attempts to tie string around my arm) "sorry, no rupees" no, no, no. i am holly man. is ok! "ok, but no rupees" is ok! (smudges red dot on to forehead while chanting in hindi) eat these..very sweet and sacred "no rupees" is ok is ok. (against better judgement eat the white crunchy sweet things just placed into hand. Ok.. you give donation! "i said no rupees" ok...tomorrow? "hahaha...uh yeah tomorrow" Ok..how many hours? grab radka (fresh with head marking and bracelet of her own and leg it. cross street...constant flow of trafic..beep beep beep...look left first...beep beep beep. hallo mr. mr. mr. "no thanks" find church gate station and somehow among sleeping dogs and families, find tourist ticket counter. no sir not this counter, you must cross road. (we cross road) no sir, upstairs 2nd floor. (we go upstairs 2nd floor) no sir downstairs to the left, window 28. (ok...window 28..look! white folks! must be tourist counter) secure ticket out chaos central!!! depart for goa tomorrow night 11:00 pm! now must eat. food on every corner. all looks good but unidentifiable. eeny meeny miney moe. sit here mr. what are you liking? "uhmm...this one." yum tasty. "excuse me mr. and where are you coming from," she says smiling brighly wraped in her equally bright sari. (is she selling something? bombay will make you scared to even look at someone for fear they will attach themselves to you in sales pitch that doesn't end quickly) "uhh..California." "AAAHHH Yes! AMEREICA! And which movie stars are you having seen personally?" "uh..arnold schwartzenager?" "Ptuh! no good!" "yeah tell me about it...and who are you liking," I enquire, suddenly likeing my new friend. "oh you know i like the american pictures, pretty woman, officer and a gentelman, full monty." "we saw Hrthik Roshan at the airport!" i tell her, "he was on our plane" "Ptuh! Blue eyed pretty boy! Bombay films all the same! She is crying one moment then next scene she is dancing around singing again. same story in and out...all shit...excuse my language...have a good day..bye bye." Classic. somehow navigate the mele back to our humble room and crash out, letting the jet lag dissolve. so far mother india is living up to her reputation.
posted by tee cardaci @ 11:44 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Hi Tee,
Certainly sounds like you're having out of body experience in India. An experience i'm sure none of your readings had totally prepared you for. Hope you eventually found something identifiable to eat and have safely found your way to goa. We're are fine here and staying busy. Hope you got you med. insursnace info o.k.
Last tracking info i had was that the package was delivered in Prague on 10/11 at 1:59 p.m. hope it made it to Trinec in time. Let me know.
love to you and Rodka. Stay safe and have a great journey!!
Love & Hugs
Mom et al
Hey Tee Bone!!
You made it to India! Hurray!!
nice one mate!
so now, heres my tips for Goa...
you wanna be staying in Anjuna or NORTH (arumbol is cute and chilled, reggae huts and stuff) or way south (Palolem is mello)..everything in between is expensive and lame (baga, calengute etc...steer clear) Vagator is cool, but super tranced-out and loads of late night parties. get yerself a moped to explore, theres some nice portuguese churches and stuff inland. make sure to check out anjuna market on wednesdays, its mad and totally classic! (but expect a few more "hey mister's")
OK, when u r done in Goa, get yourself to Hampi, its so lovely...innertube down river and rent bikes to check out the temple ruins in the huge rocks...good place to buy silver jewelry too.
most of all enjoy your crazy adventure!!
we'll see you soon, me and tom fly into thailand around jan 9th (nicole is trying to work out coming then too!!)
keep in touch
have fun!!
love ursi
Hello Tee:
I am enjoying your travel adventure story! Keep writing more! It sounds so fun and full of surprises and 'learning experiency'... I remember coming over to the US for the 1st time and how exciting it was to see and hear all these new and different things and sounds and sights nad tastes and people etc etc. Like when I was trying to figure out why the football players had to start their game over and over again so many times..until I figutred out here must be some mysterious game rules that I better learn so I could follow the general excitement all around me. I hope you have a lot of those 'aha' or 'scratch your head' kind of moments.
Keep writing- I love your stuff.Will send it to Chris and Mike and some other cousins, hope you don't mind.
Love,
Aunt Hildy
Hello Tee,
I am just writing to wish you all the best in your ventures through some beautiful though rough terrain. Please be a better ambassitor for our people than our elected officials (though I say that tongue-in-cheek for the simple fact that I know you to be the kind of a person that would win the hearts of any you meet). Even so, we know, sadly, that so much damage has been done to what use to be a respected entitle in the world - that of being an American Citizen. I am at least glad that those you come in contact with will be reminded of the good things in America (hope you are voting in absentee as we need every darn vote for change we can find).
As to your blogging, it is amazing how computer technology can change the world whether exporting help desk jobs for AOL and others or connecting family across deep waters and distant lands. It is wonderful to hear from you via your blog (learning new lingo everyday despite my advancing years - smiles).
I hope that you know that you were missed during the Family Reunion. I think that Tel could have used a surfing partner during one adventure though otherwise Tel appears to be making a strong go of NYC and has a good start on his promo CD-Video (and complimented me greatly by adding one of my b/w headshots to it). Otherwise, it was a pleasant reunion and compliments go to your mother and father for their efforts and hospitality with good-times had by all part-takers with only one minor wish from myself - that I might have had more time to share with everyone.
On my side of the waters, I still love my new job and will be needing to get into the shower in a few moments to get the day started. Bel Air (Maryland) is a great little place - in many ways not unlike Upper Marlboro in the earlier times. I am just beginning a financial upswing following the expenses that always come with a move and resettlement. Of course, I am fortunate to have a great family who has helped to make it possible to do so with significantly less pain than might have occurred doing such alone (Thanks M&D).
Although work takes up a lot of time, I do enjoy it greatly. In my limited free-time, when I go out, I find myself at a local pub, called Loonies, on Fridays & Saturdays for live music - drinking Cranberry & Ginger-Ale (25/75/ETOH Free) and eatting a monster Garden Salad; Barnes & Noble w/Starbucks attached drinking frappachicno (how do you spell that ???) and reading books or working on laptop; doing a little exploring and went hiking twice; making friends; and/or doing things for the new apartment.
I have been making a study of spirituality following an academic assessment this summer in which we had to examine the issue of "spirituality" in relation to the treatment of addictions as well as how it impacts our personal and professional lives. In an effort to find center, I have decided (as money allows) to begin to pursue martial arts again remembering fondly studying Tai Chi in Rockville back in 1991-1992. Of course, it is important to me to find a martial arts form that is oriented toward self-defense, mediation, and focusing of chi/ki energy as opposed to speed, power, and first strike aggression (or in otherwords, not a a form or style that is hard/external, but a form or style that is soft/internal such as Tai Chi). In my search, I was also trying to find a style that might incorporate a sword form as well.
Stangely enough, during the family reunion, I spent the night with Bob & Kathy Hummer (warmly smile and a big hug to you both with many thanks for your company, conversation, and your welcome - it had/has been too long and shall not be so long again). In our late night talks, I had the chance to talk with them, which was a wonderful opportunity in-and-of itself, but which also resulted in the discovery that a work-friend of Kathy's instructs in Aikido in Parkville (about 30 minutes south of me just inside of I-695 aka Baltimore) and with great follow-up by Kathy was given his number and called the instructor.
Aikido, after some research at B&N with a frap by SB, I discovered is a purely defensive style of martial art from Japan (Tai-Chi being of Chinese origin) which has no real offensive moves at all. It is entirely based on using the energy of your opponents aggression towards you blended with your own to redirect their attack while disabling/disarming them as peacefully and with as little harm to them as possible (although it is possible to harm or end ones opponent in the most dire of circumstances). Interestingly enough, Aikido is based on katana and jo-stick forms and so you practice your forms with your jo and katana (though this dojo does not actually intruct in the applied use of these two weapons) so that in-built into these forms is the sword form I sought. And, of course, it is a soft/internal form which is not based on aggression, power, and speed, but upon balance, chi/ki, and harmony-peace. (Note: I have recently learned that Steven Segal is a Aikido Master and, in fact, the only American given permission to open a Dojo on Japanese soil, which I mention only in that if you wish to see Aikido in action watch one of the early films, for example Marked For Death).
In any case, I hope to begin a series of practice lessons (3 free) to see if it is what I am interested in... though I will spend 2 weeks running to recondition myself a tiny bit after 5 months absence from the Gym. Wish me the best. I hope that it turns out as my current hopes suggest.
Wow, that took longer and more space to explain than I had anticipated. So, I will simply add that I have also decided to make a personal study of the Tao by Lao Tzu (All 81 Versus At A Verse/1-2Week), read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu (which is not about war as much as it is about strategy and probably one of the most famous and widely read books of strategy around), as well as spirituality from Native American/Alaskan side of things (no funny mushrooms or peace pipes more their perspectives on the connectedness of all living things). In my quest for understanding, I have found one of the simplest definitions of spirituality reads as follows:
Spirituality is "a sense of connection with self and other-than self and the behaviors that reinforce this felt connection." And so, I seek.
In closing, I wish you happiness, health, and safe travels. Despite absence and distance, I hope that you know that you are family and that you are loved and remembered in the hearts of those who hold you dear. Be Blessed & Safe, Love, Michael
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