Adam’s Not Here

Well, I have been back in Shanghai for about 10 days now. It’s good to be back, although I forgot about the whole feeling cold all the time thing. It’s been a little harsh after strolling around in sandals and a T-shirt for so long. In India, the last three weeks were sunny and mid-twenties every day. Kind of a conversation killer really.

Going to and coming from the airport in Pudong I had a chance to ride the Maglev. This is the world’s fastest train, achieving a top speed of 431 km/h! The 30 km journey to the airport takes less than 8 minutes. Riding it was akin to a typical first sexual experience: It was even better than I imagined it would be - but over way too fast. But at least I got to ride it two times

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Date: 01/16/2006Views: 653

The whole India trip was pretty good, especially for gaining perspective on India and China. While it was exciting to be back in India, I found that I really missed China. India and China get lumped together a lot as emerging economies with enormous populations. Based on my personal experience I see a world of difference between these two nations. There is nothing like the chaos of India to make one appreciate the remarkable efficiency that China has achieved in a land with so many people. And on a personal level I find it easier to relate to the people here. So basically, the trip was good but has also led to a decision to stay here through the summer.

Since I have been back I have just been trying to develop a good routine for studying Chinese. For those of you with an interest in Mandarin, I have found a really good website at www.chinesepod.com, which has really made studying a lot more enjoyable. And you know me, if it gets my lazy ass studying, then it’s gotta be good. Other than that I have just been keeping my eyes peeled for temporary work. I also spent an evening helping out the Canada-China Business Council. I’ll probably be taking some short trips around the country, but have to increase my cashflow a little first.

Two visits to the factories was more than enough, so a few days ago Baba and I set off on our own side trip to Jaisalmer. On the way our driver took us to visit a family from the rural village where he comes from. Five brothers and their families shared a piece of land, with each family having its own little set up. When we drove up kids came running from all over to greet us. They couldn’t speak any English so they just came up to look at us. Our driver knew the family and brought tourists to visit every once in a while, so the family let us come in and look around. They lived in simple stone buildings with thatched roofs. The place was simple and traditional but clean and well cared for. They had a handful of modern devices such as a TV, radio and DVD player but they looked unused. I am pretty sure that they didn’t even have electricity. The family was happy to have their picture taken, generally when tourists come by they would take a photo and them send a copy back to them. This was how the family got their photos. The elder daughter was unmarried and therefore shy about appearing with her face uncovered before male guests. Her mother kept trying to get her to show her face as she wanted a photo of her daughter, but the daughter wouldn’t reveal much. So I gave the camera to Baba and stepped out of the house so that they could do a photo in private. Visiting the family was very nice, we gave them a little money for sharing their home with us. In the cities and towns kids are always coming up and asking for money, pens or “one photo?” (after which they will ask for money). The thing is, all kids do this, even kids who are well taken care of. They have just learned to give it a try and see if they can get anything from the tourists.

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Date: 02/05/2006Views: 628

Jaisalmer itself was very nice. The local stone is a yellowish-golden colour and all the buildings are made from it. As a result, Jaisalmer has been dubbed “The Golden City.” At the centre of the city is an 850 year old fort that is still inhabited. Personally I found this much more interesting than all the other forts I have visited which have been turned into museums. I find this gives them a dead feeling. The only problem is that the fort is overpopulated and the demands on the sewage system are causing the ground to shift and parts of the fort to collapse.

Outside of Jaisalmer are several wind farms. We drove out to see one of them at sunset the first evening. I am happy for the people of Jaisalmer, but it is rather frustrating to see an area relatively much poorer than Canada (although they don’t seem to be doing too badly) be so far ahead when it comes to renewable energy. When it comes to energy conservation, Asia makes us look like fools. It may be a little thing, but I was struck by how even in the poorest parts of Laos or Cambodia, buildings were outfitted with efficient 5-14 watt power compact lighting. In Canada most people can’t be bothered to switch out their 40 or 100 watt incandescent bulbs. And then we insist on using clothes dryers when you can just hang things up over night. I find the whole thing pretty ridiculous.

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Date: 02/05/2006Views: 562

Now that that’s off my chest, the second night in Jaisalmer we drove out to a small desert village and watched the sunset from the sand dunes. After the heat and dryness of the day, it becomes very quiet and comfortable at sunset. Just sitting on the sand and watching the world get ready for bed is simply magic. Baba and I are now back in Jodhpur and we all take an overnight train tomorrow to get to Delhi. There we are legitimate guests for a wedding before I head back to Shanghai on the 13th.

In Pushkar I had the chance to ride a camel, which was pretty fun. We went out at a pretty slow and relaxed pace and got to see areas in and around Pushkar. The area is mostly desert, although there is a decent amount of vegetation. The sun was warm but not too hot, perfect for building up a tan. The only thing was that I think you need to go out a few times before getting use to a camel saddle. My inner thighs were pretty sore from sitting in an awkward position so long.

From Pushkar we drove to Jodhpur, which is the centre of (real and replica) antique furniture in India. We have spent a lot of time here just relaxing, but in the last couple days we all went to some furniture factories where Mom and John buy their stock. After having seen the stuff in their stores for so many years, it was interesting to come and see where it all comes from. Some of the operations here are truly massive, with rooms upon rooms crammed with hundreds of different pieces.

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Date: 02/03/2006Views: 561

The place we are staying in Jodhpur is right beside an area that is used for staging Indian weddings. On the second night we were here my Mom, Baba and I went out on to the street to watch a procession entering the grounds. The groom was mounted on a white horse and he had a group of around 50 or so people with him. They had stopped in front of the entrance and his close male friends and relatives were dancing with tremendous energy to the beat of drums. We stopped across the street to watch. After a couple of minutes, one of the dancers noticed us standing there and made a motion to come over. I wasn’t sure it was to us so I just stood there. So the guy ran across through traffic and pulled me over and into the circle. Now I am generally pretty embarassed about my dancing, so it was a bit of a shock to be thrust into the middle of a circle of 50 people. At this point there was no escape, so I had no choice but to just go with it. I just tried to copy those around me and was hoping that the laughter from the crowd was due to the spectacle of some random foreigner and not a critique of my technique. I managed to survive, and was completely worn out from just 3 or 4 minutes. They really go hard at these things. Last night, I went with a couple of American friends of John’s and crashed another wedding next door. They are really hospitable here, they see you standing on the side and just ask you to come in and join their wedding. I guess when you already have 1,000-2,000 guests, one or two more isn’t a big deal.

I met up with my Mother and Grandmother almost a week ago now. We stayed a day in Delhi and then drove through the Shekawati region, which has all these old mansions (called havelis) that belonged to the old merchant and banking class. Nowadays it’s just a bunch of small towns and villages and the havelis have fallen into disrepair.

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Date: 01/25/2006Views: 562

From there we went to Jaipur, where we met up with John and his agent, Vinod. The two days going through Shekawati had a lot of walking and sitting in the Jeep, so I was starting to feel pretty pooped. I spent most of the two days in Jaipur just hanging out at the guesthouse, reading, eating, napping. It was relaxing, but I still felt just as tired, go figure.

We arrived in Pushkar yesterday which is a small town and one of the five holiest placest in India. The town also has a sort of hippie backpacker feel to it that is reminiscent of some of the stops in SE Asia. It’s the sort of town that some travellers get stuck in, and will stay in for weeks, months, and even years. Again there has been a lot of lounging, playing cards and sitting in music shops listening to CDs.

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Date: 01/29/2006Views: 549

The experience of Jaipur, Delhi and my previous visit to India has led to the conclusion that I can’t stand large Indian cities. They are just a mess. Garbage, traffic and pollution are everywhere. I find the whole experience pretty stressful. Most of them are pretty spread out too (they seem to have an aversion to tall, high-density buildings here) which means you have to take taxis and autorickshaws through the traffic if you want to go anywhere. The smaller towns are a lot more chilled out though. Pushkar care has a gorgeous lake surrounded my temples and you can just sit on the terrace at the front of the guesthouse and relax. It’s great.

My time in Shimla was fantastic. The train ride up was very scenic. It was a narrow gauge “toy train” that winded its way up steep hills while passing through over 100 short tunnels. On the way up I met a really nice Australian couple, Tom and Merrin (sorry if i got the spelling wrong!). We had a nice chat on the way up and decided to meet the next day to tour around the area near Shimla. The funniest part of the touring was definitely the Monkey Temple. It was strange as the people at the temple sold us food to give the monkeys but also rented us big sticks to bang on the ground when the monkeys got too aggressive. The monkeys were very used to people and so would come and rifle through your pockets or grab things out of your hands if you weren’t looking. The small ones were pretty cute, but there were also some big bullies that you really had to look out for.

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Date: 01/20/2006Views: 522

The next day I headed up to a small village known as Tattapani, which is famous for its sulphurous hot springs. The springs were right beside a river that ran its way through the base of a valley. I got the bath to myself late at night and was able to have a soak while looking up at the stars and listening to the river. Peaceful does not even begin to describe it. I also went on a couple of short hikes in the surrounding area. At the top of the hills one could really get a great view of the Himalayas, which looked quite impressive. It has got me wanting to come back at a later time and do a real multi-day trek through the mountains.

At Tattapani I also ran into a couple of really friendly Aussie guys. As it turns out, one of them is moving to Shanghai to work after he finishes in India. So I gave him my info and said I’d help him get settled. Pretty much the exact same scenario with me meeting Laura in Vietnam. It’s definitely one of the best parts about travelling, the chance encounters with great people. The way everyone reciprocates such hospitality really makes things so much more enjoyable.