Ride With Winston

Grenada is a small island nation.  It is about 31 kms long and 19 kms wide.  There are almost 110,000 citizens and of those, 34,000 live in St. George’s.  To learn a little more about the place, we hired our new friend Winston to drive us around for the day and give us his take on the local geography and history.

Tour Guide Winston

Apparently the Carib Indians were the first inhabitants.  They were a fierce, warring nation that regularly feasted on their enemies but when the French arrived in 1649, they didn’t take to French cooking and committed mass suicide jumping off cliffs rather than face French rule.  The French influence remains and can be seen in the many place names around the island.

The British took over in 1763 when Grenada was a spoil of war between England and France in Europe.  It remained under British control until independence in 1973.  Grenada continues with the British democratic system and right hand drive cars on the left side of the road.

Winston was a boy but clearly remembers the invasion by the US in 1983.  Maurice Bishop and his Marxist party usurped the democratically elected government in a bloodless revolution in 1979.  Winston said they took over the radio stations and when folks woke up the next morning, the airwaves were filled with messages about remaining calm and that a new government was in place.  Apparently things were going okay and people loved Maurice Bishop.  That is everybody except his deputy prime minister who, backed by the army, had Bishop and his cabinet executed.  This prompted the American invasion.   The Americans said it was to protect the American medical students at the university.   The US troops were met with resistance from the Grenadian army, supplemented by Cuban and U.S.S.R. troops.  In Winston’s words, the Grenadians changed uniforms very quickly but the Cubans and Russians fought hard.  It was all over in short order and while the US’s actions were condemned by the United Nations; the Caribbean nations were fully supportive.  According to Winston the bodies of Bishop and his cabinet were never found.  The national airport now bears Bishop’s name.

The rest of the day was spent meandering the steep, narrow, mountain roads hearing about the nation’s rich farming history.  Grenada was known as the “Spice Island”, rich in nutmeg, chocolate, and cinnamon among others.  The industry took a huge step backward in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan destroyed most of the agriculture.  Grenada was once the world’s top producer of nutmeg but lost most of their trees in the hurricane.  Since it takes a nutmeg tree 10 years to produce, maybe there will be resurgence in 2014.  Now the economy is mostly based on tourism.

Deborah’s pictures will tell the tale of the day.

Cocoa Pod

Cloves

The Cocoa Bean from the Pod

Coffee Beans

Apparently Folks Here Eat Them

Breadfruit

Nutmeg - Ripe Split One Upper Right

 

View From the Top

We Tipped a Local to Dive From Top

We ended the day with a dingy ride to Roger’s Beach Bar for rums and BBQ as the sun went down.

Live Music on Sundays

Lots of Locals

Dinner is Served at Roger's Beach Bar

Time to Get Back to the Blue Pearl

Getting to Grenada

Travelling to Grenada is not for the faint of heart.  Of course a regular person would fly direct from Vancouver to Miami and then direct to St. George’s, Grenada.  It would take about nine and a half hours of flying time.  On the other hand, a retired person with lots of time, airline points to spend, might decide to stretch the trip out and maximize the airports visited and hours spent travelling.   Deborah and I chose the latter, not the former.

We started in Vancouver.  The airport was very busy with holiday travelers returning home.  Thank goodness for the Nexus cards as we sauntered by the long line at airport security and then breezed through US Customs.  We had a fabulous Alaska Airlines person who took one look at our convoluted itinerary, felt sorry for us, and gave our bags a free upgrade to “Priority Baggage”, to ensure it made all our connections.

Two and half hours later, we were in Los Angeles.  We were surprised that our second leg First Class American-Eagle tickets didn’t qualify us for the American Airlines Lounge.  Our long faces and puppy dog pleading eyes eventually turned the tide and we were soon partaking in free beers and wine.  Three hours later we were fed and recharged (Kobo, Ipad and laptop) for the next leg.

LAX

The LA airport was full of college football fans.  Michigan and Stanford had played in the Rose Bowl the previous day and folks were headed home.  I am always surprised by the wide spectrum of college football fans in the US, men, women, boys, girls, young, old, and ethnicities of all kinds.  They all sported their college colours and shouts of “Go Green” or “Go Red” were everywhere.

We managed a few naps on the three-hour trip to Houston.  We arrived to an empty George Bush International airport, too late for the First Class Lounge and a four-hour layover.  It was weird walking around a completely empty airport.  We eventually settled into a couple of chairs and watched a Bruce Willis movie, “Red 2” on the laptop to pass the time.

At 6 am we were off to Miami for a two-hour flight.  We had a great breakfast and a nap on the plane and arrived at Miami to blue sky and sunshine at 9 am.  It was off for a sleep and a shower before enjoying cappuccinos in the Admirals Lounge.

Arriving Miami

At 4 pm we boarded the plane for the three and a half hour final leg to Grenada.  We arrived at 8:20 pm to 28 degrees and clear sky.  We literally walked through immigration and were pleasantly surprised to see our bags patiently waiting for us beside the carousal.  We stepped outside, grabbed a taxi and arrived at Le Phare Bleu Marina.  It turned out the Blue Pearl was not anchored in St. George’s but Petite Calivigny Bay, about a two-hour boat ride from St. George’s.  Glen and Pam were there to meet us and we ended the day sipping beers and catching up.

Grenada Reunion - Pam & Glen

Blue Pearl - Our Home For Two Weeks

Our Home For Two Days

Paradise

Through the Channel - 100 kms Venezuela

It Is Time To Escape Winter

We've Got Snow Cold Feet.

Well it is time to go.  Christmas is all wrapped up and our New Year’s celebration has run its course.  We have had one bout of cold winter weather and more is sure to follow.  The cat is off to stay with cousin Charlie and brother Ted will take care of the house.  It is time to head south in search of sun, sand, and new adventures in the Caribbean and Mexico.

We have a loose plan.  We have one-way tickets to Grenada where we will join friends Glen and Pam on the Blue Pearl, anchored in St. George's, Grenada’s capital.  We hope they allow us to stay for a couple of weeks before forcing us to walk the plank.  Captain Glen has provided us with a possible itinerary that includes exploring Grenada by land and then by sea as we work our way northeast toward St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Weather, or cold beer & rum supplies could affect the eventual plan but it is good to have a starting point.

After the Grenada experience we plan to fly to Cancun and make our way to Belize.  We have never been there, and we're not sure how we will get there but our targeted destination is Ambergris Quays, just off the coast of mainland Belize.  We are told that the waters have the best snorkeling in the Caribbean and the entertainment scene is second to none.

After about a week we have to find our way to Mexico City.  Again, don’t know how this will happen but the plan is transit through Mexico City and bus to San Miguel de Allende, a historic city and home to artisans of all kinds.

Eventually we will make our way to Puerto Escondido in southern Mexico.  Puerto is on the Pacific side of Mexico and has been the winter home of my sister for the last sixteen or so years.  We have rented a condo for the month of February and have few plans except to relax and explore the area.  Our stay does coincide with the month long Puerto Blues Music Festival so we hope to be tapping our toes to tunes as we sip a few cold ones in the cooling evening ocean breezes.

As we get closer to March 1^st we will begin to search the Internet for possible flight deals returning home.  We are not in a hurry to think about coming home now but when the time is right, we will know.

Last Thoughts on India

We have been home for a few weeks now and busy with everyday life.  I promised myself I would make one last entry to our India Trip blog to cover the trip home and any remaining thoughts we had.

We arrived home safe and sound after about 20 hours of actual air travel including legs from: i) Bangalore to Bangkok, ii) Bangkok to Taipei, iii) Taipei to Seoul, and iv) Seoul to Vancouver.  As mentioned in our first post, this trip was Business Class via our Visa Card points.  After we made our original plans, we had to make a change and as a result, the last ten-hour leg from Seoul to Vancouver was in Economy, with a chance for an upgrade at the gate.  When we got to the gate in Seoul there was only one seat left in Business.  Deborah rode the last ten hours in a pod and I was in Economy.  I was just far enough back to see her but too low a class to walk up and visit her.  Due to her kind heart she made one visit to steerage over the ten hours to let me know she was doing fine without me.

I Got To Ride Upfront Half the Trip

I Couldn't Quite Touch the Seat in Front of Me

Hot Towels and Champagne at the Beginning of Each Leg

Deborah's Pod

The long ride home gave us time to reflect on our trip and crystallize some thoughts about the experience.  India is a great place to visit.  Having been once we would like to return and see new places (probably along the east coast) and revisit some others.  While having Jinder and Kal as our guides made the trip as great as it was, folks could enjoy an India experience without a Punjabi or Hindi speaker along.  English seems to be the second “official” language and most people we met had a working level of English.

As for our impressions of India we must be “through the front door” and say one cannot ignore the poverty, air pollution, garbage, dirt, dust and cattle.  There is no denying that India has many problems.  There are far too many people living with very little.  Air pollution, garbage and road systems are huge challenges for the country.  The country's hard infrastructure has not kept up to the population growth but new construction appears to be ongoing.  Travel can be challenging but easily done if one is prepared to be patient and flexible.

Having stated the challenges, if that is all a visitor focuses on, they will miss seeing all the things that make India a great place. 

India is rich in history.  It was at the historical crossroads of the East and the West.  Various empires seized the lands, took the resources, and left their marks in architecture, art, religion and languages dating back to the Mongolian empire and before.  The French, Dutch, Portuguese, and Brits have all been a part of India’s modern history.

The variety and quality of the food we experienced was a definite highlight.  Most meals were authentic Indian.  Our experiences ranged from a homemade farm meal in Punjab, to highway cafes, to the historic Leopold in Mumbai, to modern fusions of Indian & western tastes.  The vegetables are as tasty as they are vibrant in colour.  The mystery food never failed to provide a unique and enjoyable taste.  The spice level was usually “medium” and there was plenty of naan and yogurt to cool the palette when the spices were strong.  Going without beef for a month was easy when provided with so many alternatives.  I think it would be easy to be a vegetarian in India.  It was most interesting to walk into a McDonalds where the only burgers were chicken or fish.

Certainly for us the highlight of the trip were the people themselves.  Even those with next to nothing appeared to be enjoying their lives as best they could.  Folks everywhere could not be more friendly and willing to help a traveler.  Jinder’s relatives and friends in Punjab dropped what they were doing just to ensure the visitors from Canada were treated well. 

Yes… vendors try to get as much as they can from tourists but they are simply making a living and doing the best they can for their families.  At the end of most hard bartering session there were usually smiles all around. 

India has the “service industry” down pat.  Again, folks cannot do enough for you and if there was one person assigned to do a task at home, there were two waiting to help in India.  While servers were certainly appreciative of a “tip” that is not why they worked so hard.  Servers genuinely want to meet your needs and I suspect were more than appreciative to simply have a job.  

Speaking of “people” we would be remiss if we did not comment on one of the most significant “highlights” of the trip.  Travelling with Jinder, Kal, Stan and Doreen was a highlight in itself.  You could not find four easier going, positive, willing, and kind travel companions.  The folks you travel with make or break an experience and ours was in everyway a success.

Until next time… what is that Linda … The Italian cycling group is planning a six-day cycling trek through the old Kettle Valley rail trails in August?  Count us in.

Bangalore

I am sitting in our Bangalore hotel room watching the sun go down as I write this final entry about our adventures in India.  Bangalore has been a great stop.  It is a cosmopolitan city but it is growing so fast the infrastructure has not kept up.  New sky train lines and high rises are under construction throughout the city.  The airport is a half complete supersized structure and the road leading into the city is undergoing massive development. 

Views From Our Hotel

There are currently 18 million souls living in the city and many are members of the wealthy, burgeoning middle class living in glass towers but many more are still sleeping in alleyways of the urban core.

Many folks have heard of Bangalore, there are some who know where it is, and even fewer that have been there but most people have telephoned Bangalore at some point.  Bangalore is one of the technical digital capitals of the world and is home to many international businesses’ technical call centers.  All of the major computer technology players are located in the city, not just call centers but innovative technical design companies.  IBM has a huge presence here.

I asked a businessman how Bangalore’s exponential growth came about in such a short time and he explained it this way.  Bangalore already had a plethora of technical digital expertise prior to the year 2000.  When the Y2K fears started to surface companies went looking for technical help and found it in Bangalore.  This resulted in companies relocating here and soon other professionals followed.  Bangalore has more foreigners than most Indian cities.

I can undersand how foreigners like it here.  The weather is appealing.  As soon as we got off the plane from Kochi we entered the dry warm air of the interior and were relieved to have left the heavy humidity of the coast.  Temperatures were around a high of 26 degrees and a low in the high teens.

Tuk Tuk - Our Favoured Form of Transport

Our first evening was spent celebrating Jinder and Kal’s 24 wedding anniversary.  We had a great meal at the number one Trip Advisor rated restaurant, Tandoori.  We enjoyed fabulous Indian food and even better gin and tonics.  After we left the restaurant around 11:15 pm, we also had the best Tuk Tuk race of the trip.  Jinder, Stan and Doreen boarded a shiny new Tuk Tuk and whizzed past us shortly after the  start of the journey back to our hotel.  Jinder let out a victory whoop as they screamed by.  I believe it was Deborah who said to our driver, “you’re not going to let them beat you are you?”  Our man didn’t say a word and wound up the little engine as much as he could but to no avail, the newer machine was simply much faster.  Eventually Jinder’s Tuk came to a stop at a red light ahead.  Our man maneuvered past the four lanes of traffic to the extreme outside.  He accelerated as he approached the intersection and we screamed as he blasted through the red light.  We had cars crossing in front of our nose and scrapping our rear as they sped by on their green.  We had little chance to do anything but check our shorts before we were home.  The victors gave the losers the suitable jeers when they arrived.

Twenty-Fourth Anniversary

The Hotel Had a Cake Waiting in the Room

Our second day was all about shopping in the morning and pool time in the afternoon.  Many purchases were made but most notable were Stan’s choice of suit, Deborah’s Indian party dress and Kal’s multiple colorful sarees.

Too Much Butter Chicken

Stan's Shopping Is Done

He Married a Super Shopper

Just Outside of the Wall on Right, 10 m down, Poverty

Jinder’s Bangalore business partner Vivek hosted us to evening meal at the Barbeque Nation restaurant in the evening.  The Barbeque Nation was exactly as it’s name implied, all kinds of Indian food barbecued at your table as well as a buffet containing more dishes and a dessert bar.  The barbeque chicken, shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and vegetables just kept coming, long after everyone was stuffed.  No one could understand why such waste was taking place when someone finally read the notice on the table.  There was a small sign mounted on a small brass flagpole sitting in the center of the table.  The sign read, “as long as this flag is still standing, the food will keep coming”.  We finally clued in and bent the flag over and the feeding ceased.

The Food Just Kept Coming

Then We Read The Sign

The Food Finally Stopped

Street Dessert - Betel Leaves & Sugar & ?

Our Hosts - Vivek & Vlonda (sp?)

After an early breakfast the boys spent our last day golfing at the Bangalore Golf Club.  It is a private club and Vivek gifted us 18 holes of golf and joined us to sign us in.  He could not join us, as he had to work.  The course was established in 1876 and is in the heart of old Bangalore.  We each had our own caddy.  The caddies selected our clubs and gave us great advice on how to successfully play the course.  I can’t say their advice was truly reflected in our scores but we learned a lot.  We were all very pleased to have survived the first tee.  Number One calls for a shot across the members parking lot covered by a wire mesh.  We can proudly say we all cleared the net.  I am not sure we will ever have such an experience again but it will be a memory of a lifetime.

People Watching is Always Fun

After a few cold Kingfishers it was back to the pool in the late afternoon and soon our little group began to break up.  Jinder and Kal left at 6 pm.  Deborah and I have a cab to the airport scheduled for 10 pm and Stan and Doreen will leave the hotel at 11:30 pm for their 3 am flight.

That is it for now.  Hopefully I will find the time for one last post to sum up our total Indian experience.

Off to the airport.