No Secret Where Elephants Walk

Reflections on the trip, from Abu Dhabi, en route home, February 6

arnie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:28:37 +0000

So, let’s start with infrastructure. Peirce & Leslie is fabulous–exceedingly professional, attentive to every detail and willing, amiably, to turn on a dime to accomplish whatever we want to do. Like all good infrastructure, it’s virtually invisible, but makes an enormous difference in the travel experience. You may (or may not) pay [...]

Slumming it in Mumbai, February 5

arnie — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:30:51 +0000

We’d booked dinner at the seafood restaurant at the hotel last night. Lovely rooftop setting overlooking the water, but when we determined that there were only full, 3-course dinners, we elected to move into History, where we’d eaten the night before. Rejected our first table in favor of one away from the live [...]

Praying and washing elephants in Cochin

arnie — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:49:26 +0000

We were told that we could not visit the Jewish Synagogue today, because it was Shabbat. On further inquiry yesterday, though, Jay found that there was a service that we could attend. After breakfast we drove, then walked, to the synagogue, where we were told services would start at 8:45. We walked [...]

Backwaters and elephants, Kerala, February 3

arnie — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:54:47 +0000

Breakfast outside on the water is very pleasant (and slow). Carol and I walk into town by the sea to watch fisherman raise and lower the large, counter-weighted Chinese fishing nets, hung on spider-like wooden arms, to pull in the the fish and sell them in stalls. A sign on a restaurant says, [...]

On the go, from Madurai to Cochin, February 2

arnie — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:54:17 +0000

Today is a travel day. We spend the morning at the hotel, relaxing, as running back into town (half hour drive each way) to see more of the markets does not seem worth it. As there are no direct flights, to get to Cochin from Madurai, we need to fly first to Chennai, [...]

Fish-eyed women and meters of coffee, Madurai, February 1

arnie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:15:35 +0000

We’re dropped by a van a few blocks from our main point of interest today. We walk past houses, swept clean each morning and decorated with rice powder designs that will be eaten by ants by the end of the day.

As we walk, Jay tells us the legend surrounding the origins of [...]

Oxen and mansions, Chettinad/Madurai, January 31

arnie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:24:43 +0000

Today is a slower-paced schedule, which is a welcome change. And we don’t have to go into any damn Hindu temples. I’m kidding, of course, as the temples have been great. But a day off from Lord Shiva feels welcome to this Jewish guy.

We have stayed at some terrific hotels, and this [...]

Chola temples, bronzes and terra cotta horses, January 30

arnie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:03:10 +0000

After breakfast, we’re shuttled from our hotel to our minibus for an 8:30 start. As usual, there’s a lot to see and talk about, goats being herded, flightless ducks eating the remnants of rice stalks, which they’ll help to fertilize with their droppings, Jay brings topics alive by using articles from today’s newspaper. [...]

Stars of the show, Tamil and Chola, January 29

arnie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:22:16 +0000

After breakfast at the hotel, we set out for the capital of the Chola Empire, Chidambaram, one of Tamil Nadu’s most important holy towns. We are traveling comfortably in a minibus, which has a capacity of ten. With Ravi, our driver, and Jay, our guide, we are only six. Ravi has [...]

Living in peace and harmony, Pondicherry, January 29

arnie — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:39:01 +0000

Breakfast at the hotel, and then on the road again, heading south for Pondicherry, which was ruled by the French until Indian independence. Along the way, we see a man on a moped, virtually hidden by the pots he is carrying for sale, and bullocks with colorful horns, painted for the harvest festival. [...]