India, week one.
Not sure if this'll work either, it looks different this time.
Right, I am now in India, flight was very long but okay, however my hopes and dreams of beginning this trip and experiencing new cultures and frames of mind were slightly tarnished by the fact that everybody loves raymond was on the screen.
Nevermind, Chennai was a good place to start, but impossible to get around on foot for a naive young amateur like myself, so got myself an autorickshaw driver ( I'll refer to autorickshaws from now on as tuk tuk, mainly to be pretentious, but I've proabably spelt it wrong) and was then taken against my will to loads of shops where salesmen had the perfect pyjamas/ shawls/ statues of Ganeesh etc for me. After parting with a fair amount of money the driver (forgotten his name, dammit!) took me to San Thome Cathedral, one the two churches in the world to be built on the tomb of a bonefide apostle (St Thomas). The driver led me through to a silent chamber with a glass case which contained a waxwork of the deceased doubting Thomas. The driver ushered me forward and I sat down on the floor in front of the glass case and bowed my head....
The worst thing about realising that you've made a prat of yourself is judging how long you should leave it before you move. As I noticed that all the other visitors were using the pews behind me, I knew I had to get up but thought that if I did it straightaway I would be admitting my mistake. After about three minutes of sitting there I realised that either way I looked like an arse and so sheepishly shuffled over to the side. Maybe I gave St. Thomas a good laugh.
Also visited a Hindi temple, kapeeshwarer, I think, no funny stories there but it was pretty beautiful, I gave some money for tsunami families and was anointed by my guide, again, I forget what this ritual is called, I'm gonna have to write this things down or something.
Nevermind, today I awoke in Bangalore, a pretty big city, and will have to resist the temptation to visit all the western fast food eateries that can be found here. Need to buy a few things before heading to Kerala, which sounds amazing.
Right, I am now in India, flight was very long but okay, however my hopes and dreams of beginning this trip and experiencing new cultures and frames of mind were slightly tarnished by the fact that everybody loves raymond was on the screen.
Nevermind, Chennai was a good place to start, but impossible to get around on foot for a naive young amateur like myself, so got myself an autorickshaw driver ( I'll refer to autorickshaws from now on as tuk tuk, mainly to be pretentious, but I've proabably spelt it wrong) and was then taken against my will to loads of shops where salesmen had the perfect pyjamas/ shawls/ statues of Ganeesh etc for me. After parting with a fair amount of money the driver (forgotten his name, dammit!) took me to San Thome Cathedral, one the two churches in the world to be built on the tomb of a bonefide apostle (St Thomas). The driver led me through to a silent chamber with a glass case which contained a waxwork of the deceased doubting Thomas. The driver ushered me forward and I sat down on the floor in front of the glass case and bowed my head....
The worst thing about realising that you've made a prat of yourself is judging how long you should leave it before you move. As I noticed that all the other visitors were using the pews behind me, I knew I had to get up but thought that if I did it straightaway I would be admitting my mistake. After about three minutes of sitting there I realised that either way I looked like an arse and so sheepishly shuffled over to the side. Maybe I gave St. Thomas a good laugh.
Also visited a Hindi temple, kapeeshwarer, I think, no funny stories there but it was pretty beautiful, I gave some money for tsunami families and was anointed by my guide, again, I forget what this ritual is called, I'm gonna have to write this things down or something.
Nevermind, today I awoke in Bangalore, a pretty big city, and will have to resist the temptation to visit all the western fast food eateries that can be found here. Need to buy a few things before heading to Kerala, which sounds amazing.
posted by Martin O'Neill at 11:09 AM
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