Indian traffic

Let me talk about Indian traffic. The first time I've experienced this kind of (on the first view completly chaotic and mad) traffic in Colombo, Sri Lanka many years ago and thought it's time to die now. But fortunatly it was not and being here in South India now renting a scooter (for 1€/day) I was surprised to see how much I enjoy being part of this flow of vehicles.
It is a bit like those games you play in school, an obstacle course (Hindernislauf) and sometimes it reminds me to skiing as one has to constantly look out and find the best way from A to B. As I mentioned before, I've never felt unsafe so far and it is always interesting and fun. But I am also aware that I am far from being used to driving this way and that it is highly important not getting too comfortable and confident as there is always the chance of something big falling down the vehicle infront of you, a cow crossing, a man standing in the middle of the road, people driving on the wrong side or a huge bus driving dangerously close to you while overtaking.

In Auroville though, the hippy-village where Laura stays, its fun to jump over the hills of the dirt roads, to drive through lakes of water (and loose shoes while doing so) and give rides to women, children and dogs.

I will definitly miss all of that.

Pondicherry: Hippies, ants, raw meat and the French.

In India, one has to be ready for everything.
Yesterday, my bread was eaten by one million of tiny ants. For a second, I thought about the option, to let them disappear and eat what they've left over; but then... I threw it away. After this, I scared a crow (not intentionally) who as a result let go of some raw meat which fell directly on me. And today, I went to see Laura in her new home in Auroville and got lost on the way home (it IS a labyrinth like little village). I asked a few people to the way to Pondi and they all pointed in the same direction. I realised after a while that that was not the way I wanted to go but thought that this would be the short cut. Well, it was not. They sent me to the motorway, where I was driving ages and for miles to end up in Pondi centre which was not exactly where I was living either. It was my fault, I should have mentioned the beach-road. Anyways, this was the first time I could experience the real Indian traffic, as the centre of town is much bussier. And, I have to say, I like it! The weird thing is that I never felt unsafe and actually do enjoy using the horn so much. After what felt like an hour later, just before the turn to my road, I got distracted by a goat in a Motor-Riksha (tuk tuk) and - missed it.

On the road again!

After spending more than a month in industrial Gurgaon, gathering a lot of information for our project by interviewing, making surveys and researching, Laura and me were happy to make a move to the 'pink city' Jaipur a few days ago. Here, in the old town, one can see the 'full package' of real Indian life - traditional craft makers, traders and service providers are everywhere and a walk through the small streets is more exciting than the best documentory.








We went to the traditional area of the gemstone polishers where men (and some little boys) were sitting in their small stalls on the floor, often green of stonedust, concentrating on the cutting of the stones. People were friendly and smiled at us, and, when asked, agreed straight away on being photographed. In another little stall, sari-makers were working on stitching and glueing crystals on the fabrics which often takes more than a day to finish. In between, goats and chicken dominated the little street which looked like one of the poorer areas of the town.















In this quater, we came to talk to Amir, a son of a gem trader who really want to become an art teacher, who brought us to his uncle's shops (without pressuring us to buy) and then gave us a crazy ride on his motorbike back to the centre.

Yesterday, we visited a great project for streetkids called 'Ladli' http://www.ladli.org/, where girls are given a peaceful and protective shelter and were thaught to make jewellery. It was a heartwarming experience to see the happy faces of the girls after reading about some of their horrible childhoods.






Another day, a friend of Laura brought us to a gorgeous palace 40min out of Jaipur which has been used as the setting of a 'bollywood series' and we could watch the actors running around, fighting or just waiting. Later in the evening yestereday, we went up to the 'tiger' fort on the hill where we had a fantastic view of the surrounding lights of the city and the redish moon in pleasant silence.


And tomorow, we fly south to PONDICHERRY!! Sea, more sun and french food..:)