Chennai: Landing back in Chennai and India after being away for a year was a nice treat. it was nice because unlike the last time, this time i knew what to expect. Chennai is definitely not a tourist city which is not to say that it is boring, but there is No major draw like Agra and the Taj Mahal, simply a city to live in and spending a week there was fantastic. My host whom i stayed with the Entire time writes online food journals and runs a small restaurant just few blocks from his home. Sharing the common ground for the love of food is was a pleasure to have stayed with Ramki, learning a bit more about Indian cuisine just by hearing him talk was fantastic, cruising on the back of his motorcycle to south Asia's largest fruit and vegetable market was also a fantastic experience.
While in Chennai I was also blessed with getting the opportunity to tag along with a food journalist for The Hindu, news paper. Going to a pre-opening Food Tasting at a new restaurant was a fantastic experience, talking to that chef one on one helped me understand cooking style a bit more. Getting the opportunity to cook and learn in a home setting with another Food Journalist from the Hindu was wonderful because it takes the stress away from being in an actual restaurant. Lastly, Shonali (my Hindu new paper friend) set me up with Chef Damu a Indian TV and Radio personality who runs two different cooking talk shows, an honor in it's self to have a one on one with him for a few hours. Chennai, not a tourist city, but a city this tourist really enjoyed.
Darjeeling: to reach Darjeeling you first must go to NJP or to Sunali which lies roughly 4hrs south by massive 10 seater toyota SUV's that look specifically designed for this exact purpose, of moving people with a fair amount of gear high in the Himalayas. The ride was interesting, switchback bumpy roads so littered with potholes you may as well consider it gravel and not paved at all, sheer drop offs which plummet 100s of feet straight to the valley floor, and the most reassuring part is the width of the road, in many places only as wide as one vehicle. my favorite part is seeing which one must back up and look for a place to pull over as two passing vehicles hug the side of the cliff and inch by each other.
The City its self is a touristy location which was highly developed by he British many years back, but has been thus "Indian-onized" with houses built on top of houses, sewers backing up, streets getting more and more narrow, tea plantation quality plummeting, and far too much noise and air pollution. Roaring, diesel, engines blowing past you spitting out black clouds from their exhaust pipes and the shrill of the horn piercing your ears and brain as suv after suv passes is something i will not miss. the surrounding beauty was on the other hand quite fantastic. Catching a glimpse of Everest one more time (off in the distance) during a Darjeeling Sun Rise was a beautiful sight, i get a funny feeling in my stomach upon seeing Everest, the mysticism of seeing the highest point on earth overtakes me with awe. Snow covered peaks jutting up over your head while neatly stacked tea plants speckle the landscape below you, Darjeeling was not all that bad.
Sikkim: Can be considered its own country in my eyes, a very "green" Indian state in both color but also in thinking. Mountains, hills, rice terraces, rolling glacial rivers which holds the 3rd highest peak in the world. A strong stance against plastic has been taken in Sikkim and road checks upon entering the state are fairly active in policing potentially harmful materials from entering into their relatively pristine and isolated portion of India. you will not find piles of garbage here, in fact garbage cans are quite easy to find happily painted with one simple note, "please use me." I spent a couple of lazy days here, driving around through the hills and taking short walks, this was a truly unique and beautiful state.
Varanasi: Can be a bit overwhelming as a first timer to India, with narrow streets that only humans, farm animals, push bikes, and motorcycles can fit down, you are safely removed from aggravating rickshaw drivers but over taken by a new nuisance of boat-men (who take you out on the Ganges) along with the usual suspects of shop keepers, silk dealers, and children who try to sell you literally anything. Pushing this nonsense aside it is a unique place, a pilgrimage sight to bath and cleanse your soul in the overly polluted Ganges river (which amazingly has no affect as i have seen on those who bath there). A boat ride out on the river is a touristy thing to do but the beauty of sunrise and the chance to see 1000's of devoted Hindus bathing this early in the morning is a must in my opionion.
Being a Holy place of cleansing it is also the main location to bring your dead, cremating them in public at mainly two "Ghats" which are docks on the side of the River Ganges. with fire burning 24hrs a day it is a experience that will stick with me for a while. Rarely is the experience a sad one, as Hindu's believe that this will release their loved ones soul into the next life, and the Ganges a life line to millions is THE place to be set free.
oh yeah, i also had a flash to a loction i have never been, Spain. i heard loud noise and turned around to see 4 huge cows being led by monstorouse bull with horns pointed straight for me. i stepped aside into shop fronts door step and laughed as i watched this chaos unfold. i glanced around to judge the reaction on the surrounding onlookers faces, nothing... just another day in varanasi.
Delhi: My final chance to drink in a little bit more of Indian food and culture, spending 4 days with Kerrun and his Mother in Delhi was again fantastic, relaxing in the comfort of their home, getting a much needed haircut and shave and preparing for the next leg of my trip. It was great to see them and reminisce with Kerrun about familiar grounds of Westchester New York and the foods we both miss and love from home..... mmmm, my mind wanders just typing that, with visions of NY delhi sandwiches dancing in my head, i'm happy to suppress that comfort of home for just a little bit longer.
India on round 2 was a much more comprehensible country one i enjoyed a bit more than expected.
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