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Saturday, October 29, 2011

SEEN BY TRAVELLERS..WILD SIGNS

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen :
WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
In a Bangkok temple :
IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN, EVEN A FOREIGNER, IF DRESSED AS A MAN.

Cocktail lounge , Norway :
LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.

Doctors office, Rome :
SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.

Dry cleaners, Bangkok :
DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS.

In a Nairobi restaurant :
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the main road to Mombasa, leaving Nairobi :
TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.

On a poster at Kencom :
ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO WE CAN HELP.

In a City restaurant :
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND WEEKENDS.

In a cemetery :
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations :
GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant :
OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.

In a Tokyo bar :
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

Hotel , Yugoslavia :
THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel , Japan :
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery :
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.

A sign posted in Germany 's Black Forest :
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR
INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Hotel, Zurich :
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand :
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

A laundry in Rome :
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Friday, October 21, 2011

More on Pushkar

Thank you for your comments..you may like to visit www.horsebackholidays.com and see the Pushkar Link there.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Pushkar

The full moon in November will indicate the date for the holy dip at the revered Pushkar Fair.. The Horse Safari to Pushkar is a classic travel experience.Write to find out more...

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Hurricane Irene misses her date with West Palm Beach..and homeward bound

Well inspite of occasional smatterings of rain and dark cumulus nimbus clouds..Irene dropped her date with us on West Palm and moved up the east coast...I wont dwell on her antics there..

For myself I boarded the long long long flight home..Over the previous days I fiddled with a variety of combinations with my luggage which had followed the biblical missive " thou shalt go forth and multiply"!

I had bought an amazing computer bag from Mountain Coop in Vancouver..besides the quality..its unique feature was that it doubled up as a mountain back pack! I was therefore able to put my old and new computers into one computer bag and put this in the new pack...and therefore I could carry the air bag as carry on..in addition to the personal item (the laptops). But my dark secret unbenkown to the airlines was that there were 2 laptops..and the airbag was a couple of inches too high or long or wide (I forget which dimension) and was way way way too heavy..felt like 20 kilos to my straining arms)

Before this I was prepared to pay the extra 200 dollars and check the bag in as a third item of checked in baggage.

At the last minute I said to myself "let me try my luck".

The lady at the airline was swift and fast..and I showed her my two carry ons..to which she did not object in anyway.and mercifully there was no strict weigh in of my suitcases. My wife had done the smart thing by buying very light suitcases which unlike others, hardly weighed anuthing.and so I went to the departure lounge. There I struggled because there were no trolleys at the West Palm inside lounges, and I came up to my gate after being weighed down on the long walk, to see the forbidding gadget -the frame for measuring and holding all carry on bags..and I knew they would not pass muster.

Not being one who likes being ticked off, I again asked the desk lady about my bag..she gave them the once over and said "you should'nt have a problem sir".

But I knew I would be able to lift the wretched bag up onto the overhead rack!

Then came the call..."since the flight is full and the aircraft small , all passengers who would like to check in any of their carry on bags to their final destination may do so now at no extra cost"!. I jumped at the offer.
I then saw the departure attendant, a tall six foot bloke struggle with the weight and thought, now Im going to be slapped $200 bucks.. but..the bag was tagged straight to New Delhi and waited for me with my two suitcases..which had also been a few pounds overweight.

In Vancouver I had had a problem with Delta while trying to upgrade my seat. I was willing to pay the extra $ 120 for the economy comfort seat. However the long waits on the phone and other confusion meant that I lost the conversations mid way. I had to make two more calls . In the process my card got debited 3 times by Delta!..and I did not get the seat! because the conversation was not conclusive on account of que delays!
When I tried to call the final time, my card had not enough balance and the seat did not show as available!
When I called my card company they said the card has been debited 3 times and you will have to wait for them to refund the money.

Delta then said it would take 3-5 days to refund the money..but no seat could be allocated until I gave a fresh card. With the month end being on, and my newly transferred credits to my card requiring another couple of days to be reflected, I was neither here nor there!

I finally told the very professional reservation agent that I was not happy and wished to speak to someone else. She said I will transfer you but they will tell you the same thing (you have to wait or submit a fresh card)
But my peristence paid off. The customer agent in Cincinnati to whom I explained that Delta not being able to provide me the desired seat was no fault of mine, said I will hold the seat for you, said" Sir, I will hold the seat for you and you can pay before boarding on the 29th".

Well on the 29th when I was on the Atlanta to Amsterdam section, I was pleasantly surprised to see I had already been issued a boarding pass from West Palm for guess what? Seat 11 C! without being asked to pay for it!

After the five hour wait at Schipol in Amsterdam..I again boarded and was again pleasantly surprised when the flight supervisor came up quietly to me and said "Mr Singh, as a member of Flying Blue, we would like to allocate a seat upfront", and so seat 9 F became mine for the long flight to New Delhi.

The KLM flight which partners with Delta was very good indeed and the staff most pleasant.
But the flight from West Palm Beach to Atlanta, to Amsterdam, to New Delhi was long and I was happy to be back on terra firma with no bags lost or misplaced.















Monday, August 22, 2011

Border Crossings-Canada to the USA

After having arrived 3 hrs ahead for my 'international flight' to the US departing at 6 am..they decided to announce a five hour delay..a sense of chaos pervaded as I had two onward connections before arriving at my destination-West Palm Beach in Florida..scheduled for 1030 pm.

Adam from Fresno met the signboard with a loud wail. He was booked via Continental and me via United at they were both in a merger.operating the same fight.

We banded together to fight the airlines.With no staff at the counters yet we decided to share resources and feedback.He called Continental and me United...I called the toll free numbers and the half hour wait at 3 am was worthwhile for the United operative offered me a 730 flt straight to Houston were after a 3 hours wait I could connect the same original flt to West Palm.

I had been asked to check in at the Continental desk. A young girl who announced she was new to the job sweetly took my booking in hand. She was rudely interrupted by her manager, a young hot headed man who said "take him off" we are oversold . I realised that this was a dire situation! I brusquely told him that I had been give a computer number by his partner airline and he could not toss me out; and I was not budging.I loudly said I didnt see his name plate on and I wanted to speak to his supervisor. He shouted back" I am the supervisor". I said " I want to see "your supervisor". He snatched up my passport and stomped to the United Airlines desk where I followed angrily. The United manager told him she could not cancel my reservation, as it was the central desk which had reissued me a ticket.By this time the sweet young girl apologised to me for the inconvenience, and having already ticketed me couldn't cancel the booking. And so the angry young man issued me my baggage tags at all. I later went and shook hands with him and he looked very sheepish and sorry. I said "you must be in a very difficult situation'.The trouble, as the young lass explained was because the merger had taken place in the US,but not yet in Canada, and that United kept overbooking!

Then customs and Immigration. Not having been to the US for 10 years I supposed my profile looked odd. Asked to go for a "secondary examination", I stood before a young agent who was firm and professional but polite. The wait was long and his scrutiny on screen painstaking. He asked me what took me to Florida..I said "to spend time with a polo buddy". "You play polo?". Yes.and is there any other business in the US? Well Im writing a book to be put out in the US. What kind of book? I pulled out the rough sample..showed him the polo and other pics...

Much checking and typing ad retyping and other id etc etc.he looked up as he was typing and reaffired.." so it is a book on polo?" I said " on travel and polo". He typed something in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He said "thank you Mr Singh", you are good to go.  I walked out. Two officers stood. "What are you doing here did someome kick you out? Get the officer to walk you out". I walked back in..another officer said, "please come this way Mr Singh, here is the sacred door'.
I saw the two faces of US Immigration..and went on my way.

Here in Palm Beach my friends are observing Ramadan so the only meal and drink of the day is after sundown. Being good friends and knowing how difficult I find it to fast I dont like making too much of a fuss..a few provisions from the store and dinner with the family..makes it workable.

The polo farms, horses , estates et al are top knotch and world class..big and grand American style..
On the farm the family mucks in t keep the farm and horses in tip top shape.

I asked my hosts..should not the sky darken with clouds if the hurricane is immient?
No no..there won't be a cloud in the sky as all the moisture gets sucked up by the hurricane.
It will hit suddenly. Everyone is having a discussion as to " horses in or horses out"..etc etc.

I have packed my bags to batten down the hatches..

Well the sky has just darkened and there is rain..
Now we shall see...
until the next transmission from hurricane coasts in West Palm Beach..near the Everglades..

Monday, August 15, 2011

The Hare Krishna Festival of India and other events in Vancouver

Well my sojourn in the greater Vancouver area (covering, Delta, White Rock, Surrey, downtown Vancouver which in turn includes such places as English Bay and Stanley Park) is coming to an end .
Over the 13th-15th August there are numerous festivals put out by the Indian community and of course the Indian community also participates in other fun comunity parades and festivals . One had an open air tractor trailer which had seats for a full band playing merrily away.

The Indian Festivals take place over the 13th and 14th aug and on the 15th is the flag hoisting at the Indian consulate.

I showcased my upcoming book (see www.nobodaboda.com) and tours (see www.tigerpawadventures.com) at the HareKrishna Iskon Festival. It was set up in beautiful Stanley Park, by the sea, and small and compact and well organised by the tireless volunteers.
There was a great deal of interest and I was impressed particularly by some of the younger visitors who were very well travelled and had very insightful questions. Besides the trinkets, apparel, food and  such there were numerous stalls on yoga, meditation, spirituality and such. The ISKON group performed wonderful Indian classical dance, theatre and song to entertain all.

ISKON also served free food to huge public lineups ..quite commendable..

I a not sure how many knew or know, that the 14th aug (day of the festival) is actually Sri Aurobindo's Birthday. And that he was declared the most dangerous man in India by the British, and fought for Indian independence long years before Gandhi. That he was considered the reincarnation of Krishna on earth during his time..when in sadhna with "the Mother' in Auroville.

The other festivals were by the Punjabi community which included one called Geda Baba...da..
I received alot of interest in India and India bound trips..and plan to be a regular at the Iskon Festival.

I spent the weekend with friends in a wonderful location in Vancouver near Van Dousen gardens. These wonderful gardens about 40 years old, were the venue for an excellent musical festival. We took our chairs, hampers of food and set up along with the many others perhaps close to 2000 and watched the terrific pianist and base, dru combine from Cuba and then another group from Copenhagen...but the summer has been cruelly short in Vancouver this year...and so the beautiful people are out in force roller blading, biking, sailing, and so on.. as fall looms around the horizon...

I head now to Palm Beach Forida..and then wing home to New Delhi before embarking on the DagLang La Lake Trek in Bhutan...stay tuned!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

The Great Canadian Summer Part 2

The Great Canadian summer continueth...well being Canadian it is typically a pleasant admixture of sun and rain. Pleasant even when it is raining because I know the Sub Continent is either baking or flooding and with 95% humidity!

Well one of the great experiences as I mentioned in my last post was sea Kayaking with Howard Zatwarinski and Jeanne Zimmerman -kayak.bc.ca.

The other...has been a visit to Vancouver Island. Not an island you would get bored on if you were stranded on one..even with people you know!..Crossing the ferry (BC Ferries runs an excellent service of ships doing the shuttle) from Twassen, you reach Swarz Bay after a run of an hour and forty five minutes. The seat of Government, Victoria is where you then arrive. Victoria used to also have the Canadian Naval base and academy. The bases have shifted east since that is the more strategic I guess.

Victoria has streets named after SubContinental names...Sutlej (one of the five rivers of the land of five rivers -Punjab- punj- 5 and "ab- river" ) was one and the other, Trincomalee...where the English fought and overtook the native princes of Travancore (I think), in Southern India..or was it Tippu Sultan? Gotta check..and if you know it off the tip o yer fingers..let me know..eh? (Eh..is typical Canadian..)

Lush and verdant, slow and quaint, Vancouver Island has beautiful hamlets and inlets typical of the maritime culture...there are quite a few folk in the business of horses for kids to learn, therapy work and such.The mural artist Susanne Pink (who painted the leopard and fish mural on spashram rivermountain's liodge (see
http://www.spashram.info/ and http://www.rivermountain.in/ ) lives here . Her parents have built a beautiful heritage home replete with carvings of the Haida nation (one of the key ethnic groups indigenous to the region). Her sister Lis teaches riding and also therapy via miniature horses which seem to have some Falabella and some Shetland pony.....Liz was also a gold medallist who had represented Canadian overseas...

Mill Bay, Cowichan and other places are idyllic and the recreational boat and yacht community here is strong.

Like everywhere else, the Pink family laments the change brought on by big development.
Even so, the wilderness around homesteads is significant and wild rabbit, deer, bird life and the occasion bear will be seen..

I also met a healer..Karen Whitehouse. An accomplished reiki and sacro cranial healer she had helped many and I decided to undergo her treatment..She obviously wove a great spell for I was soon in the deepest of slumbers and felt the twists and pains sorted when I got back to my feet!

When I came back to the mainland..the computer techie said " they are sorta different out there are they not"... ? He had the impression of a laid back lot..
Thi was not far wrong but to me they were good people..who loved the outdoors and were all very hard working..But there was much more of the Island I was to discover...but that will keep for another Canadian summer..

Saturday, July 9, 2011

All at SEA! a Great Canadian Summer Experience

Howard Zatwarinski...Ive known Howard and Jeannie (Zimmerman) for 16 years and so am able to spell their last names ! run  Natural West Coast Adventures  (nwca.in) and have been running sea kayaking training and trips in the Pacific waters off Vancouver's sea side suburban resort of White Rock (near Crescent Beach).
One of the great experiences available to just about anyone ...venturing out into the big blue waters is a special experience..the American Bald eagle, the Cormorant both enjoy (I think!) fishing here..or I wonder if it it gets mundane for them? but provide humankind a grand spectacle.. crabs and jelly fish can be seen through the clear waters at low tide..

On a sunny day everyone is on the water or just off it..flat boards, tune inners, dinghies, yachts, motor boats, and other saild boats are all out there. Kids will even float on a log and one bloke wa trying to row his boat with a birch brach (!)

I had come back to White Rock after a decade away from Canada having brought my 8 year old (who a local Senior and musican named "Sunshine" for her smile..and she loved it and took to the kayak like a fish to water ..and did not tire during the two hour journey..I am aching still...!

Howard is now starting kayak fishing tours  and quoted a foreign visitor as saying " do people know just how lucky they are to have access to such quality waters?"..Fortunately not!

NWCA gives you orientation , safety gear and kayaks with great stability and even a land lubber like me managed to stay afloat and keep balance for two! The Kayaks have a rudder worked by a left foot and right foot paddle and one can take one the mighty ocean (when calm!) pretty well for the most part.

See some pics on FB groups TigerPaw Adventures...and contact www.kayak.bc.ca which is Howard's NWCA website

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Alaksa's Inside Passage

Soon after returning from Goa, I took the family off the Canada from where we boarded the cruise ship Celebrity. Close to a 1000 staff for the 2000 guests, round the clock dining and enternainment (almost)..with something for all ages.. However, I did not like being trapped on ship faced with a choice of eating plenty, or spending cash for shopping!

But I was in paradise when we went whale watching in a large motor boat. The breaches (groups) or pods or whale and their antics were incredible to watch..Nature at her best..the water spouts and the sounds they made..
were a sight to behold..my 8 year old was impressed finally. The sea otters then came before the ship and they cavorted non stop in the water..their antics too were childlike and cute to watch..the whales just majestic.

In Junneau  we boarded helicopters and flew low over the vast waters and glacier summits...like the boat, the chopper too was driven by a woman..all excellent at their jobs..photos on facebook...soon..Im still swaying after 7 days at sea even though Ive stepped off my boat!
..

Amritsar,Kashmir, Goa

After Mcleodganj we drove down to Amritsar, city of the Golden Temple. For all the crush and chaos of Amritsar and other towns in the Punjab, the Harmandir (God's house) was an island of beauty...many of our group were overwhelmed by the experience inspite of standing in the heat and que.
The free kitchen besides th Golden Temple was another special experience.In Amritsar we stayed at Mrs Bhandari's Guest House.  Set in the quiet of the cantonement, visitors did not want to leave the quiet surrounds and lawns. Mrs Bhandari is actually a Parsee, that rare Indian community and served the most delicious and wholesome food of the entire trip. A spinster who spend some of her time in Germany each year, she speaks fluent German putting our guests at ease. The 1940's architechture and fittings are still maintained. I loved it.

From Amritsar we drove up to the hills of Jammu. I was returning after 25 years! I had done this journey 27 years ago as well, by Vespa scooter! all of 900 kms.. In Jammu I was able to peel off to meet a friend of old from Kashmir days..Lali Broca..he and his family had to flee the Vale of Kashmir after the militants ousted minorities the Hindus and Sikhs. It is an injustice that the Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus), the older community of Kashmir (before it was converted to Islam) were still refugees and could not come back to Kashmir valley.
But then every other community in India has faced the same sort of injustice! Christian refugees in Orissa, Muslims targetted in Gujrat and Sikhs lynched in northern India. For every example of how communal harmony should be displayed, India has a corollary on how to negate it.Whoever thought 1947 was the last such..was sorely and surely mistaken.

Kashmir: flying from fortress Jammu to Fortress Srinagar was another experience. It was nevertheless great to come back to the Vale of Kashmir..Kashmir is good in small doses ..But barely a foreign tourist in sight apart from our Germans. Indian and local tourists abounded.  What was noticeable was the courtesy of Indian defence personell. Somethings hadnt changed however and the local CID staff a Kashmiri wanted his ounce of blood money for processing our exit forms from the airport!

I connected with Omar Nedou..again an old friend..he now runs the Nedou hotel in Gulmarg..a vintage piece of old..his Srinagar property is now a garrison for the Police. Omar was playing golf until past sundown everyday...

And then GOA. in a single day we flew from north to the south in a 17 hour journey. Goa was lush, wet, monsoonal..but not before allowing us to walk the length of the long quiet beach, and enjoy wading into the waves....and washed by a cool sea breeze as well...

the quiet villages, magnificent churches and old houses. and the laid back folk, had now.made Goa my national favourite..you will see TigerPaws operating here dynamically now..!







Saturday, June 18, 2011

McLeodGanj

Our first destination was McLeodganj.."Ganj" is a typical north India (Uttar Pradesh) Raj era term for locality..
and named after the British officer who discovered this once idyllic spot. It was part of a British officer's characteristic in the early19th and 20th centuries to "go beyond" the known territories and discover and name..


Today though the quietitude is sharply torn by the sound of cars and bikes raring past the very narrow and limited streets of McLeodGanj (2 streets in all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The nearby city below is Dharamshala, now famous as the highest cricket ground in India(official) ...
I have not heard of Richard Gere coming here recently..to meet His Holiness The Dalai Lama..The Tibetan community is well established and structured...and its various institutions provide an excellent cultural insight.
In the adjoining hotel I saw young ladies dancing and singing to Tibetan song and rythm..one more strand in India's multiethnic weave....




Saturday, June 11, 2011

From The Mountains To The Sea..An Indian Traverse

We have just completed a quite incredible journey actually!  The miracle of the modern jet engine playing a significant role.

For the last few years we have been taking elderly German clientele (it is the elderly who are now young enough, and wealthy enough to make such journeys something unthinkable in earlier years.

The journey began with a second (and most fortituous) audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his mountain fastness (the security amidst tranquility) is incredible, in McLeodGanj. Ganj is a typical Indian word signifying "locality", and the British Officer of the Raj is immortalised after his discovery of this "hill station".
...

Over the next few days and weeks I will aim to lend you vicarious pleasure ..and also give an update on the way you should explore the places we visited....Happy hunting IJ      IJ SINGH

follow me also on TWITTER at    ij_himself and FB on Inder Jit Singh   or TigerPaw Adventures