Shiva, Pushkar

I saw Shiva no more than three brief periods of maybe 15-20 minutes each, before he invited me to his cousins wedding in Pushkar, a 40 hr train ride from where we were in Gokarna, on the Karnataka coastline. And with my ever cautious western mind, I needed some time to think about this amazing offer from a virtual stranger. After a few days lazing on a nearby beach, I decided that I would be crazy to turn down this opportunity. In making this decision, I had changed the entire plan of my visit to India. Instead of covering both coastlines of the south, I would instead head north to the deserts of Rajasthan, and afterwards onto the cultural Hindu heartland of Varanasi, then North east to the Himalayan region of Sikkim. It's always good to keep an open mind!

So one month later I met up with Shiva in Pushkar. Everywhere I went I was offered food and chai. I was introduced to Shiva's entire family, and shown around the families farm. All his friends and relatives were incredibly welcoming. The hospitalty shown towards me was very heart warming. Life has been very tough for the farmers in Rajasthan for a few years now, like many farmers the world over. One of my favourite meals was a few varities of of chapati, a dahl (all prepared over an open flame in a mud hut come kitchen), and some deliciuos, rich buffalo curd which was fresh that evening. I was served first and made to eat twice as much as anyone else. Even though times are financially difficult and very frustrating for Shiva's family, I was amazed by their generosity and happiness. Food has never tasted so good as when it has come from someone who cannot afford to share it. This is one meal I will always remember.

This is not so much a story about the wedding, that is another one entirely, but more about friendship and generosity. Shiva just wanted to share with me, a complete stranger, some of his culture, to have a new friend. Our friends are one of the most important gifts we have in this life.

A Day on the Train, Mumbai

It begins early with the chai and coffee "wallahs" that parade up and down with their fresh brews and their own unique way of yelling out their goods. I mean, does anyone really feel like a chai at 4am, apparently so! These guys are closely followed by the food vendors with fresh samosas, vadas (a lentil pattie), fried veg cutlets or some other tasty morsel. Sometimes you are lucky enough to be sitting with a family, and when it's lunch time, everyone eats, including you. It is normally a chappati based meal with rice, a dhal and a potato curry style dish. Most of the time it comes from a family who speaks very little english, but they are only too eager to share with you their family meal. Sometimes your swamped by a carriage of small children, who after a few minutes of shyness, are climbing all over you, laughing and smiling.

When you travel in the unreserved third class, you may have to stand for quite some time before getting a seat. That could be in the aisle, next to the toilet, or hanging out of the open door. Those without tickets sit on the roof, not recommended! Even though you may not have a seat, theres still plenty of smiles and conversation on offer. A friend and I decided to catch a peak hour passenger train in Mumbai(Bombay), with our backpacks! That turned out to be one of the hardest workouts of my life. I'm not the smallest guy in India by any stretch of the imagination, but there were times when I was convinced my feet weren't touching the ground. Quite a few people were surprised that we were attempting that in peak hour, a few even asked, " What the hell are you doing here?" Even under the immense crush, there was still more conversation, plenty of smiles, and even a few lifes, as well as a few pickpockets!

If you can manage to excuse yourself from a conversation, you find yourself staring at the mesmerizing scenery. The south is a vivid green, splattered with hundreds of coconut palms, rice paddies and glistening rivers. The north is a vast desert, with wild rock formations, towns popping up like an oasis and camels shading themselves under sparse vegetation. Sometimes you pass through tiny villages, close enough to the living room of a family house that you can see what's on television. On the toy train from Darjeeling, we passed by a guy bathing himself on his front step, close enough that you could have taken his soap from him! No place to be shy in India!

Travel around India can sometimes be a painfully slow experience, but the train system is a huge network that provides so much fun and beauty. It is such a huge part of the Indian experience.

The "Humble" Samosa

Walking through the local market in Bundi, I came across a large crowd surrounding a little stall. Behind the "hungry" eyes were three men. Two of them were making fresh samosas, whilst the other guy was fishing out about 50 piping hot samosas from a huge wok of oil. He would then place a samosa on a piece of newspaper, squash it, then pour over 2 sauces, one a spicy, sweet, tangy one, the other a dahl.

One of these super fresh, swimming samosas cost only rps3 (AUS 0.08c). It was no wonder there was a huge crowd hanging around! It made me reflect on the take away food business, and how important it is in a place like India. It provides everyone with nutrition, great flavour, and all at an affordable price. I'm sure there are many people who look forward to this little stand opening every afternoon, and I was surely glad I had stumbled across it too!

The variety of snacks deep fried on the side of the road in India is immense. The flavour, freshness and price are the three things which stand out the most. All you need is some form of table, a wok and some oil, and your open for business. You can spend all day wandering and not set foot inside a restaurant, and still be well fed and entertained. This amusing side show starts early and finishes late, and will cost you only a handfull of rupees, plus your life story told on repeat.

The "Indian" Smile

Although I am finding it quite hard to translate into appropriate words many of my Indian experiences, there is a small story which I will try and tell justly. It is so typical of day-to-day life here, but the impact it has on you is immeasurable.

I was walking with a friend late one evening down by the Ganges on Dasaswamedh Ghat in Varanasi. It was a very cold night. There was an older man , most likely with no family, and definitely no home. He was lying directly on the icy cold concrete, under a wooden bench. He had a dirty, paper thin blanket, a tiny candle which he was curling his fragile body around, settling in for the long night ahead.

As we walked past, he stuck his head up, and with one of those beautiful Indian smiles, greeted us in a language that wasn't his native tongue, a "good evening".

So if you think your having a bad day, or someone or something is annoying you, just think about the millions of people without family, friends or someplace to call home, who can still manage a loving smile for a complete stranger.

Gopal Guesthouse, Jodhpur

There are 3 generations of family living and working in this heart warming, super friendly guesthouse. I was nursing a tender tummy(post 30 hours of the squirts) upon my arrival, and was given a family remedy to help my "iron gut" return to it's natural state.

Unfortunately I could only stay for a few days as I had a pre-arranged plan to meet friends in another town. Gopal is the type of place where 2 weeks would fly by before you realized, such is the friendliness of the family. When they found out I was a chef, I was in the kitchen immediately. They were desperate to improve their "western food" repertiore. My bare-footed lessons included spaghetti and tomato sugo, french toast, poached eggs, greek salad and roast chicken and roast vegies( the later been done in a gas tandoori oven!). In the meantime, I was in turn shown a few local treats.

The rooftop sitting area overlooks the magnificent Meherangarh Fort and is a wonderful place to sit, drink chai and discuss life with Mr. Shatki. Without sounding too cliche, it eally is that home away from home. When it was time to (begrudginly) leave, the family refused to accept any money for the food and drink my "back to normal stomach" had consumed. They also gave me a small gift for the few dishes I had showed them. The genuine hospitality shown at Gopal Guesthouse exemplifies Indian culture and it is the only place you should stay if you ever find yourself in the magical town of Jodhpur.

Taking off with LAM

When we stop to work it may be for extended periods of time, example one year. This gives us time to take in the town, city or island community we are contributing to. Some experiences are outstanding, some not so good, a golden rule we travel by is the people make the place and the good food is just a bonus!

If you have been thinking of taking off around the world but don't think you can leave your job behind, family, pet or comforts. Think again you can and you should! It's easy to travel, well no, it's challenging, tiring and sometimes alittle hairy (you know what I mean), but the rewards are life lasting. The people you meet along the way open some many paths, opportunities lay around every corner, life becomes a choose your own adventure.

Everybody travels now adays, oldies are out there with backpacks, families with kids, single women with toddlers, the list goes on and on......

Ok so maybe you don't think you've got the money, it's so expencive with airfairs, travel insurance, vaccinations and general living expences. It's true these things are expensive, you folk out thousands of dollars sometimes before you have even left your home country, so save a little harder before you go. Don't have that third, fourth or even fifth drink, take public transport instead of a cab, cut back on your smoking, eat dinner at home, stop getting take away coffee, cutting back on little things goes further than you think.

So you've done it you've saved your money, you've got your ticket (and the rest) your on your way. How long do you think you want to be away? From our experience it's a bad question to ask yourself, just be away and see where the journey takes you. The options for extending your finances are limit less wether you have a working visa or not, from voluntry work, to cash in hand there are always options, you just have to want them.

And the food, OH THE FOOD, wine and good times .......................

Sathi Lassi, The Best in the World???

Sathi's lassis' can be found in his aplty named shop, Sathi Lassi, on Chorbhuja Rd in Bundi. Bundi is a 4 hour bus ride south from Pushkar, in Rajasthan. His lassi is flavoured saffron, sugar, honey, cardamon, cashew nut, pistachio and raisins.The flavour is highly addictive and the texture is fantastic. It is so full of goodies, that instead of the usual straw, it must be eaten with a spoon.

Sathi makes only 50, fresh every morning, and sells for a bargain Rps20. They are approx 350mls, and one is generally not enough, they are that good!

"Dr" Sathi is a bit of a one-stop-shop, and he is always sporting a big grin and is up for a chat. He also sells a sticky sweet fruit and nut "confection", that will give you an altered view of Bundi town! Beware!