davethegrinch.net

Sarah says:

In our experience so far in SE Asia and India, when you arrive in a town that has any ounce of a tourist population, you will be barraged at the train station, bus station or airport by taxi and tuk-tuk drivers all wanting to take you where you want to go.  It’s a slightly manageable scene at the airport since we, the tourists with money, can safely view from inside the baggage claim area what is awaiting us once we take our first steps outside the airport door so we can take a few deep breaths and prepare. Train and bus stations, however, can seem almost riotous. I have seen taxi drivers actually board moving trains, I’ve seen them charge onto buses before any passengers can get off, all to hopefully land the job of taking you and your bags to your final destination and if it’s really their lucky day, they’ll convince you that the hotel you want to go to is full or they charge too much for what you get and you should really take their advice and go to this other hotel. If they use just the right, “I’m not trying to scam you, mate, I’m really just trying to help” tone of voice, they may just convince your naive ass and, at the end of the day, they’ll score a juice kick-back from the hotel. (more…)

David says:

There is, in the center of a 500 year old temle, which sits in the center of a small village called Hampi, which in turn is in the center of the state Karnataka, which itself is virtually in the center of India, an elephant. Her name is Lakshmi and every day she greets pilgrims to this quite centrally located temple. For one rupee she will grant you a blessing. She is probably the most pampered elephant in India, bathes twice a day and wanders the village in her off time. She looks happy. Deep in her dark eyes lies the soul of an elephant who realizes she could be doing a lot worse. (more…)

Sarah says:

If you had to seek emergency medical attention in a foreign country, which country would you choose? India?? Probably not at the top of your list and it wasn’t at the top of mine either but all things considered I’m a very lucky girl and I’m grateful to several people for being able to say that my emergency could not have gone smoother. (more…)

Dave says:

Bombay, India provides the brain with more stimulus than it can possibly handle. So, in an attempt to ease my cranial meltdown, I have decided to tackle the impossible: boil this sensory bombardment down to its essence, take it to one concept, something as simple as say, one single, solitary word. (more…)