A question was posed to me when I got back from India.
'So what revelation did you have?'
Revelation?
Evidently, it really annoys me to compromise on the convenience and comfort I'd planned on.
There's not much of that to be had when travelling on a budget to begin with, so the key here is value for money - the most convenience and comfort my budget can buy. And that is the point of planning and consulting travel guides and gurus.
Of course, there's budget, and then there's shoestring. It appears to be the latter when you're tagging along with a pair of 20-something guys. Think 4 more hours in a taxi after a 4 hour night flight, as opposed to checking into a guesthouse and getting a good night's sleep. Think impossibly crowded rides with your 7-kg backpack in a rickety bus in the height of a south Indian summer.
Once, I slipped on exit while lunging out of one of those and a small high-pitched scream emitted from the conductor who happened to be standing along-side. That was amusing.
What's amusing also, was how little children kept wanting to shake our hands while adults just gawked. Guess they don't get too many Asian visitors.
Don't know if the lost sleep and series of bone-jarring bus rides to Tanjore (Thanjavur) just to see World Heritage-listed Brihadishwara Temple was worth it. Granted, it is quite different compared to the other temples that tend to come in a riot of colours.
On hindsight, I think I'd've liked to visit Tanjore's Maratha Palace as well, since the only palace complex we visited (Madurai's Tirumalai Nayak Palace) was somewhat disappointing (the it's-under-renovation-but-they-still-charged-full-priced-entry kind of disappointment). Madurai itself didn't much impress either.
More interesting was Trichy's Rock Fort Temple, perched high atop a rocky outcrop. Not the temple itself, but its over 400 stone-cut steps to the windy summit, which affords a 360-degree view of the surrounds. As we waited for the sun to set, a parade of people and animals amused - a few camera-toting tourists, lots of gawking locals, a few sure-footed goats, stripy squirrels scampering over the rocks and eagles wheeling around the temple.
But when the sun eventually set, it was blocked by a wall of clouds (probably thunderstorms) in the far west.
We had somewhat better luck with sun rises. In particular, the one at Rameswaram, an island on the southeastern tip of India.
But it's the little village of Dhanushkodi on this island that provided the most fun. We were there to see Adam's Bridge, described as a "chain of reefs, sandbanks and islets that almost connects Sri Lanka with India" that comes attached with its very own Rama legend, but it was apparently too windy to drive out all the way to the tip. No matter though, since the most exciting bit was riding on the roof of the truck!
So, the little truck took us to (almost) the end of the peninsula, which is apparently sparsely populated by fishing shanties. The ruins here are all that remains of a village destroyed by a cyclone in the 1960s. The railway even extended up here back then, but now, it's all just a great big expense of windswept sand and fierce roaring waves. An end-of-the-world feel indeed!
And finally, there's Puducherry. It's apparently a great attraction for French visitors because it used to be a French colony. The old French quarter by the waterfront, in particular, is quaint. Unfortunately, bedbugs attacked at one of the (more expensive) restuarants here. I'm scarred and will now develop an aversion to chairs with cushions. Wasn't too crazy about them to begin with, but now there's a very valid reason.
Food-wise, I'm regretfully unenthusiastic about Indian vegetarian, so apart from the clear mushroom soup served at Trichy's Banana Leaf, nothing to shout about. I'm told, however, that Rajesh's mother whips up some mean stuff, including Chicken 65, Mongolian Chicken and some sort of mutton stew. You can find Rajesh's mother in the suburbs of Puducherry. Alternatively, you can find Rajesh in Bishan. Not that he can cook. Alternatively to the alternative, you can survive on the tons of fresh fruit that south India offers. In particular, mangoes, chikus, coconuts and even palm fruits (the outsized version of our humble attap seed).
Oh, wait. Tea. They've also got very tasty milk tea! It's sold piping hot everywhere in small little cups. Burned my tongue on the first cup, but proceeded to have another - it's that good.
It's in India that I saw the demise of my trusty sports sandals (purchased several years ago in Vietnam for a mere $10). And despite the hardships, I didn't lose any weight during the trip. Bloody it. Must be the coconut overdose.
