Bangkok stopover on way to India

Melissa and I spent 6 weeks traveling through South India in February of 2008. These are some notes and photos from the trip.

In the airport of Taipei, Taiwan.

We planned a 3 day stopover in Bangkok on our way to Bombay as we had enjoyed it so much on our honeymoon to Thailand last year. You often hear people describe Bangkok as a crowded, dirty, dangerous warren of prostitutes and thieves, which isn't entirely untrue, but given the chance, it can be a beautiful and exciting place to explore. I have passed through the city numerous times on various journeys and each time i learn to appreciate it more. There is an incredible juxtaposition of futuristic mega buildings set amongst tropical third world infrastructure. The Thai culture is unique, food is great, and the people are wonderful. One of our favorite activities is to sit on the floating docks on the giant Chao Praya River as the sun sinks into the haze and sip on a bottle of Mekong whiskey and breath in the heavy, sweet tropical air. The variety of boats that ply these churning green waters is dazzling, from giant barges to dugout canoes to ornately decorated cruise ships.

To enjoy the city, you must escape the traffic choked roads and tourist districts and take a cruise on a longboat and experience the water based world of temples, orchid farms and riverfront houses on the canals. We were lucky enough to see several Water Monitor lizards, one over 6 feet long, and a wide variety of birdlife.
Wandering through the pleasant, flowery corridors on a sweet tropical morning,

Read the sign- even the devil is hooked on caffeine I guess.

Melissa, being a garden girl, enjoyed visiting an orchid and fruit farm.

The first sunrise in Thailand was dramatic to our sun deprived, Alaskan eyes.

One of the greatest risks to me health I endured on the entire trip was photographing melissa-

I am accustomed to photographing less aggressive, more tolerant subjects like grizzlies and polar bears.

Bangkok is a wild place at night. Great place to party and meet other travelers, and freaks. Gotta be careful though.

Wandering through the mazes of crowded markets you see a hint of the copacetic chaos that characterizes the Asia that Americans and other first world residents have a difficulty understanding and dealing with. Bangkok can be a shocking and challenging place for a novice traveler, but it is a barely a warmup for the jolt of India. We boarded an Air India flight at 10 pm in Bangkok, took a deep breath and flew west to Bombay.

BOMBAY

We arrived to Mumbai (Bombay) late at night. we took a walk at 2 am when the streets were eerily empty and quiet save the hundreds of giant rats and roaches, along with feral dogs and cats, all prowling over crowds of peasants wrapped up blankets sleeping on the streets. Strange eyes peering from alleys, hot tropical air, moldy colonial buildings and vegetation growing from every crack. That first night was spooky and intimidating, especially for Melissa. I had traveled through India in the past and had described to her what I had seen in great detail. But she was determined to experience it all for herself, and there she was. The next morning as we drank chai tea from the high rooftop of our creepy hotel and watched the city awaken like fire ants on a disturbed mound...well Melissa's expression says it all.

The Streets of Indian cities are exosystems of extraordinary complexity. Rats, crows, monkeys, roaches, cows, dogs, cats, goats and people all live in harmony despite staggering densities of each.

The traffic in Bombay can be frightening. The congestion would blow the mind of any New York cabbie. The air pollution is a serious problem as well, and after 4 days in Bombay I had a scratchy cough, and produced black soot from my nose. However in other ways, I found Bombay to be by far the most pleasant and liveable of all major indian cities.

Crawford market. Specializing in selling fruit, and getting foreigners lost in its vast mazes.

While wandering down the street near Victoria Station we where hailed by a film scout who pleaded that we act as exotic looking stand ins for a Bollywood movie that was being shot on the street. It took about an hour. If you are an Indian film fan, look for us in "Asma" in the near future.

street scenes from one of the planet's most fastinating and bizzare cities.

residents spend Sunday strolling down the causeway on the Arabian Seashore. This is one of the cleanest and most wealthy areas in the nation.

A great photographer and friend of mine, Al Vinjamur(http://www.alvinjamur.com/), who is originally from Bangalore, India, arranged for us to meet his lifelong friend Suresh. An executive at MSNBC's station in Bombay, Suresh is well versed in Bombay's good life. He brought along his friend Ayesha who is a financial researcher and anchor. We took a dinner/booze cruise offshore for the evening.

On a tour of the MSNBC station the next day.
Shopping for next year's Christmas gifts.

KERALA- Kochi- Munnar

We flew to Kerala and spent time in Fort Cochin on the ocean and Munnar in the mountains.

The high country of the Western Ghats impressed us very much. Topographically very rugged, steep mountains rise to 7000 feet. With double monsoon seasons, varied altitude, and the equatorial sun, this region possesses incredible diversity of flora and fauna (especially reptiles).

Elephant used for skidding logs out of the forest. The wood from the harvested eucalypse trees are used in the tea factories to power the tea leaf steaming,
Tea workers sorting their crops.
The vertigo inducing trail to Top Station.
Hiking through tea plantations outside of Munnar, Kerala.

Munnar at night.
Government bus between Kochi and Munnar.

The historic, coastal city of Fort Cochin. These men are working the traditional chinese fishing nets. They are stationary nets anchored along the shore that are lowered when the tide levels are high.

Net and boat catches are all deposited and auctioned off on the main beach in Fort Cochin.
King mackerel.
Sole, sea perch, prawns, cisco, sea bass.
Various tuna species. The fishing and bidding starts before dawn and goes on until well after dark.While I watched the fishermen Melissa took a private cooking class to learn how to make a variety of chutneys, vindaloos and chapatis. The well known teacher had never had never taught a chef of her skill level.
A backwater trip. Poling through the swampy canals past villages and plantations.

Dead rat on the road.
Trying to determine the real price of a silk Kashmiri rug.

One of my favorite things about South India is going into a "Meals Ready" locals restaurant, ordering an all you can eat Thali which is dished to you on a wet banana leaf for 20 rupees (50 cents) and eating with your hands. Hand eating rice and sauce dishes is tricky at first, but as the indians proclaim, it is a much more intimate interaction with the food, and once you are accustomed to this the taste of silverware is repulsive.

A retired TATA "Goods Carrier" in Cochin,

A domesticated Brahminy Kite- a scavening eagle that is extremely common in the region.

All the cows, dogs, cats and goats, along with the ubiquitous house crows and kites, act as the garbage cleanup crews for all of india. Goats and cows, who often survive chiefly on old newspapers and banana peels, produce milk to residents. The most common, and most environmentally friendly method of pest control in tropical asia are the numerous geckos which emerge from the cracks in the walls. I hope to have at least a dozen on the walls in a room before I go to sleep.