IstanBlue

I think there's something funny about a guy smoking in a jogger's park. And it gets intriguing when you find most men and women doing the same. And then you realize, for most people in Istanbul going for a walk in the park is no different from taking a stroll down the bustling city markets, having a cup of tea or smoking a waterpipe at one of the numerous joints in the side streets of the city. They are just going about their life doing what they like to do - and the list is not long - having tea or coffee, chit chatting either among themselves or with travellers, playing backgammon(arguably Turkey's national game), smoking and finally either buying something or selling it (depending on we are talking of a tourist or local) usually in some combination of each other. And if you happen to be in this park that I am sitting in at the moment (Gulhane Park - the city's largest and most popular park by the way) add making out to the list as well!

It's a Monday afternoon and I wonder how do so many young Turkish men and women manage to be in a park. It does say something about the employment rate or the attendance level in the Istanbul University! The park reminds me of the Central Park in New York City - prime location, very green, beautiful landscaping, well maintained - not as big but then Istanbul isn't as big as NYC either. The similarities between the two cities go a little further than the park. Both are very popular tourist destinations, Istanbul surprisingly is quite cosmopolitan and liberal as well, both a shopper's paradise and both quite expensive! (yes, that's right, gone are the days when Istanbul used to be the poor tourist's destination in Europe).

Turkey is often referred to as the most liberal Muslim country but you have to see it to believe it. Take a 360 degree look around you anywhere in the city and for every woman draped in a head scarf you will find three wearing a mini skirt, and its not just tourists I am talking about. What surprised me is that women can wear almost anything even to a mosque though to enter the prayer area they have to cover themselves up (the mosques provide scarfs and drapes to women). Even women who choose to wear scarves in public are very comfortable holding hands of their partners, cuddling and sometimes kissing in public (otherwise they have this park!).

It's my fourth day in the city and I am still struggling to assign a theme to the city, or at least to put it in words. I have so many, sometimes conflicting, characters of it ever since I stepped out of the Ataturk airport. For the first 20 minutes you drive along an international class 6 lane highway full of modern expensive cars, Mercedes and Volvo buses (there are too many buses in Istanbul by the way!) and you think well it's a pretty modern looking city and all of a sudden your bus makes a left turn to enter Sultanahmet, the main tourist area and you are greeted with a maze of narrow cobbled streets that has Europe written all over it, a maze only your driver can decipher (you will eventually get the hang of it in a couple of days). My driver happened to break the side mirror of a parked car while manoeuvring a tight corner on one such street.

Sultanahmet is full of mosques and monuments of religious and historical importance that cut across religions, countries, empires and centuries. Cross the Ataturk or Galata bridge and come to Taksim and you will be forgiven to think that you are in SoHo (without the sky scrapers). You will find a nostalgic tram in Taksim and a state of the art metro train service elsewhere in the city. No matter what you want to buy, Istanbul has something to suit your taste - from high street shopping in Taksim to haggle your way to death in the Grand Bazaar, and various intermediate options spread across the city. Grand Bazaar is unique in itself - over 5000 shops in 60 streets, it's a jigsaw puzzle daring you to take a shot at it. It will take you days to see them all but fortunately you don't have to as many shops sell similar stuff. Be prepared to bargain shamelessly and don't ever make the mistake of thinking that you found an original Gucci bag for a steal! The stuff looks nice but if the price is too good to be true, it most certainly is a fake. Leave the expensive stuff for authentic stores, Grand Bazaar is for trinkets and souvenirs, in other words, things that if you end up over paying for, won't haunt you in your sleep :) Most of what you find here will be available elsewhere in the city at a more reasonable price but you may have to look a little harder. But if you really like something at a shop and decide to check out other shops for a better price, make sure you have a way to make it back to the shop, as I said it's a maze - I got lost multiple times and in one case kept coming back to the same shop no matter how hard I tried to get away from it!

There is so much more to talk about Istanbul - the spice bazaar, the numerous mosques, the food (not necessarily in a positive way), belly dancing, backgammon, the special treatment meted out to Indians along with some other third world citizens at the airport, the beautiful weather, the cruises along the Bosphorus river, the carpets, the single tourist guy scam (topic for another blog!), the history and so on. But just like I had only 4 days to spend here, I am sure most of you have a limited time to read my blog so I will skip some of these for a later day. As I said before, I am not going to be able to do justice in characterizing the city but one thing is for sure that as much as the Bosphorus river tries to separate the European Istanbul from the Asian one, the cliche of West meets East finds its true meaning in Istanbul.

It's Not About The Bike... Or Is It?

Let's face it, only Lance Armstrong can dare say that it's not about the bike, for the rest of us mortals it's as much about the bike or may be more than it is about us. Consider this scenario for example - I am stopped at a red signal, standing next to a Honda Civic and am drawing more attention than the car from people around me. Is it about the bike? Hell ya! Hopefully by the time you are finished reading this post you will realize what makes the bike more noticeable than a Honda.

(More photographs at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=198483&id=528135688)

When I took a fall from my bicycle about a month ago or so, most of my friends asked me to be safe... when I had a close call with one of the BEST buses last week again people reminded me of safe cycling... same thing happens when I tell them that I ride on the express highways as well. The fact that I ride at night sometimes also troubles the people who care for me. These things lead people into thinking that I am not a safe rider. Quite on the contrary in fact. I consider myself among the safest cyclists in the city. Let's start from the safety equipment - I use a high quality imported Helmet to protect my head, cycling glasses to prevent my eyes not just from pollution and particles but also to increase visibility in rain, gloves to reduce the impact of handle vibrations and to prevent abrasions from a fall, professional grade knee guards and elbow guards to prevent injuries during a potential fall or a vehicle hitting me while moving too close, a powerful headlight to help me see and help others notice me at night, a flashing tail light to let other drivers see me, reflective tape on the wheel along with the regular reflectors and a reflective band on my ankles that also prevents the pants from getting tangled in the cogs. Now let's talk about riding style - first of all I consider myself as just another vehicle on the road and I follow all traffic rules. I stop at red signals, I stick to my lane, make appropriate signs while changing lanes or turning and maintaining the right speed.

I think every car driver or motorcyclist or bus driver is used to watching cyclists go at slow speeds and then change directions all of a sudden to land up on their way... and that's what they are expecting from every cyclist now so when they find someone who is actually behaving like a cyclist should, they just don't know how to react. They still honk at you from miles away even if you are two lanes apart. I think what hits the other vehicles the most is the fact that I can go pretty fast and sometimes faster than them depending on the road condition and the traffic. I have had motorcyclists and car drivers make remarks at me while overtaking, without realizing that they are barely at the same speed as me or slower if I am the one doing the overtaking.

Then there is something to be said about watchmen and security guards... I am not sure why these folks happen to not like cyclists so much. I have had trouble with them at my office parking, at Vihar Lake, at IIT Powai and so on... I would like to think that I am making the least amount of trouble for them of all people they come across but it's probably about them wanting a vent for their day to day frustration and a cyclist is probably less likely to retaliate than a car driver... size does matter after all.

The people who seem to enjoy my presence on the road the most are the street kids. They will admire all the major and minor details about the bike (whatever they can notice)... the most common ones being the gear system and the disc brakes. I have had strangers (mostly other cyclists) or kids ask me about the price of the bike or where I bought it from. The kid that works in my neighbourhood grocery store rode past me one day and asked me if I live in such and such building... every time I go out to ride at least 5-10 kids wave at me or make some funny comment... sometimes they will ask me to give them a ride... some of them would even try to tempt me to race! You look at their behaviour, compare it with the behaviour of other people and can't fail to realize that the craze for cycling is primarily limited to teenagers in India and most of us just loose respect for it as we grow up as if to say, if it doesn't run on petrol then it doesn't deserve my respect.

It's not about the bike to the extent that the fanciest of the bikes is pretty useless if it sits in the garage or at home all day. And to be able to ride consistently and over long distances in a city like Mumbai you need to make sure that the ride is not just safe but convenient also. This implies getting a ton of accessories for the bike, some of which are pretty expensive. For example, the headlight, the gloves, the lock, the helmet, the protective guards, each one of them costs more than the last bike I had (an Avon Muddy Montage during my IIT days). I can't imagine myself spending that kind of money on accessories for a barebones bike like I had before. But more than safety, more than convenience, it's the motivation that actually gets you riding... and this is where it becomes all about the bike! There is so much to look forward to when riding it... the lightweight that helps me carry it through the stairs to and from my home on the 3rd floor, the 24 gear system that makes going up the inclines a breeze and speeding past the arrogant motorcyclist or the obnoxious bus driver possible, the disc brakes that lend you confidence during the rains or at high speeds, all coming together in a beautifully designed and impeccably manufactured machine that almost seems to promise to last forever. Add to it the feel good factor of doing good to the environment, staying healthy and adding some fun to your exercise regime.

The maximum I ever rode on a bicycle in a day all my life was probably 10 kms or less. Since I got this bike 3 months ago, I have already stretched that number to 70kms and I feel I can push it beyond 100. I ride at over 50kms an hour at times, feel great about overtaking cars while doing that, enjoy the Mumbai rains more than I ever did, feel young and childish enough to want to do stunts I never tried as a kid, dream about riding down to Lonavala on a rainy day or participating in the next Mumbai Cyclothon. I have seen more corners of Mumbai on the bike in 3 months than I did otherwise in 2 years. It's making me fall in love with the city all over again.

It's definitely about the bike.

Nature's Beauty. Nature's Wrath

Photographs at picasaweb.google.com/himanshu.saraf/TrekkingInHimalayas

 

This was the 7^th day of my Himalayan trekking expedition to Sar Pass. We started off with two days of conditioning at the base camp in Kasol at 6500 ft, then climbing to the next higher camp of Guna Pani at 8000 ft, followed by Faul Pani at 9500 ft and then Zirmi at 11,000 ft on the 5^th day. Yesterday, we had set out for Tila Lotni at 12,500 ft. This was supposed to be the toughest of all camp sites with very low temperature, high probability of rain and snow and a difficult path to traverse. This however was also the camp that would lead us to our ultimate destination, the Sar Pass at 13,800 ft. On our way to Tila Lotni, we met, to our surprise, the group that had left a day ahead of us for Sar Pass and should be ideally on their way from Tila Lotni to Sar Pass. We learned from them that the weather in Tila Lotni and Sar Pass that morning was so bad that they were advised by their camp leader to drop the idea of crossing Sar Pass and return to the base camp instead. They were all heartbroken obviously for not being able to complete the trek but they were still singing and chanting slogans on their way back. They wished for us to be able to cross Sar Pass and I jokingly said that we would pass it twice, once for us and once for them!

 

We had met the guide from the other group a couple of days ago in a lower camp and I had taken a few of his photographs. So, he recognised me and started talking to me. I asked him how cold it was up there and if one jacket was enough. He told me that the sole fleece jacket I had won’t be enough for the cold weather at Sar Pass and he suggested that I take his jacket. I tried to refuse but he insisted. I still didn’t want to take his jacket with no way of returning it, so he wrote his name on the sleeve and asked me to leave it at the tea stall at the first camp after descending from Sar Pass. I had to think thrice before taking it as every gram that was added to the back pack meant I will get tired faster on my way up. As it is, my backpack was already more than twice the recommended weight due to my tripod and other camera equipment. I still took the jacket thinking it will serve as a backup in case someone in the group needs it or the weather turns really bad. Regardless, I am still amazed by the simplicity of the people that live in the mountains and the level of trust they demonstrate even in strangers… wish there were more people like him in the cities.

 

We reached Tila Lotani in the afternoon but not before encountering rain and later on hailstones on the way. Some of us were quite unprepared for the rain and I ended up lending a rain sheet that I had brought to cover my camera bag to one of the girls who didn’t have a rain jacket. There was another girl who was using her regular jacket, which was not water resistant and to make matters worse she was climbing bare footed as she found her shoes too uncomfortable. This would prove to be a mistake later on.

 

It was close to 3 pm by the time we reached our campsite. We were quickly briefed by our camp leader about our schedule. It was simple - tea at 3 pm, soup at 4, dinner at 6, sleep by 7, get up at 3 am for bed tea, 4 am breakfast and start climbing at 5 am if the weather permits. We spent a few minutes outside to soak in the beauty of nature around us and admire the scenic vistas however the cold wave hit us pretty quickly and most of us chose to stay in our tents for most part, unless we had to come out to get tea or soup or dinner. After dinner I came to know that the girl who was walking barefoot had started vomiting and needed some medical attention. She had not been eating her meals properly either. Another girl had trouble breathing and had to be administered oxygen through a cylinder. One of my tent mates started complaining of a severe headache and nausea and he later decided not to continue with the trek and go back to lower altitude instead. We went to bed by 7 pm or so hoping for clear weather the next day so that we can be allowed to traverse through Sar Pass.

 

Nature had different plans though. It snowed all night and we woke up at 4 am (the bed tea was delayed because of the snow it seems), the entire campground and the surrounding mountains as far as we could see were covered with snow. It looked stunning but we were apprehensive of our chances to climb further up. The snowfall stopped in the morning and the camp leader felt that the weather has cleared and he allowed us to climb. He however advised the two sick girls not to climb but left the choice with them if they wanted to risk their lives by joining the group. They chose to climb. Pretty brave… might not be too wise in retrospect but courageous nonetheless. So for the first time in 7 days we started trekking in snow… and what snow it was… several inches of fresh powder… had I not been on a trek I would be tempted to snowboard there! We were accompanied by two Sherpas and we were ordered to obey their instructions at all cost. One of the instructions was to walk in a single line and only put our foot in the marks of the person in front of us.

 

This was it… this is what I came for here… to me the previous 6 days were a prerequisite I had to meet to qualify for this day… trekking in fresh snow in the Himalayas, vast stretches of untouched snow in front of me, no roads, no trails, no foot prints… just a sea of snow… as far as I could see. I was ready with my camera in anticipation of sceneries I had never seen. I didn’t know what to expect but I was expecting something unexpected certainly. The climb was steep and within minutes we were sweating in the freezing weather. The sun was still rising behind us and we slowly and steadily climbed 500-600 ft when it started to snow again. We however kept on climbing, on several occasions the sherpas had to help people climb, as it was very steep or slippery. As we were going up I couldn’t fail but notice that although the sun was rising it was getting darker slowly. There was a thick cloud cover all over the sky and the sky gradually turned from blue in the east to grey and then eventually black towards the west. The whole landscape could easily be painted on a greyscale… the only colours perhaps were of or clothing and bags. The snowfall was getting heavier by the moment and it was getting windy too, resulting in a chill factor. We were starting to feel cold now, specially on the exposed body parts such as nose and lips, and for me fingers as well from operating the camera. This was the time I thanked from my heart the guide who gave me his jacket. I don’t think I could have managed without it; the weather was much severe compared to my expectations when I was planning for the trek.

 

By the time we ascended a few 100 ft more, we were staring at a snowstorm that was looking to get worse. The wind was so strong that one guy lost his rain jacket out of his hands to the wind! We had somehow made it t almost 13500 ft and were just a few hundred feet away elevation wise from Sar Pass, though distance wise it was still another 2 kms or so I think. We could see in the distance where we were heading and it was not a pretty sight… a snow covered mountain, totally eclipsed by the snowstorm and the frightening black skies… it reminded me of a scene from the movie Lord of the Rings. We were standing at the top of a wedge shaped mountain with a deep valley on one side and a slippery slope on the other side. Just the thought of a wrong step in either direction was enough to make your legs tremble for a second. The sherpas told us that the weather is bad here; it’s worse at Sar Pass and will get even worse as time progresses. All of a sudden there was a question mark on the feasibility of our expedition. Some people were suggesting we go back while others wanted to go ahead since we had already come such a long way and I agreed with them. Standing at that point, for a few minutes while the sherpas were talking to the group leader, I couldn’t stop thinking how moments like these define your true character, what you really are, what life really means to you and what you live for. Whether someone wanted to continue on the trek or go back to the camp was a manifestation of the above. There was a woman who had some family issues back home and she couldn’t be any happier if we decided to go back. Another girl who was feeling very cold and was in a very bad shape physically still wanted to go all the way. I remember her telling me a few days ago that she feels that although she is happy there is no purpose to her life… that would explain her choice. For most part, it was someone’s love, anticipation of meeting someone back home, going back to your family or the life you so cherish at home that drives you to go back from such a point. At the same time, the sense of accomplishment, an extreme liking for adventure and exploring what’s ahead of them, the desire to do what most others can’t, a sadistic pleasure derived by subjecting yourself to extreme conditions, trying to hurt yourself because you want to hurt someone else or just simple ego that they will look weak if they go back… are the primary reasons that people push themselves to keep going. I am not sure what were my reasons, I am not even sure whether I had a stronger desire to traverse Sar Pass or not to go backward but one thing was very clear in my mind – I wanted to move ahead and face that storm, irrespective of the consequences. I had thought of the worst and for some reason it didn’t bother me.

 

My chain of thought was broken by a discussion among people around me. Turned out that one girl had started feeling very cold and was finding it hard to cope up with it. Another girl, who was on oxygen previously got too scared and had started crying. We told our group leader that we want to move ahead, the group leader had a talk with the sherpas and the sherpas eventually told him that they will not recommend moving forward because of the bad weather and if the group wants to go ahead it should do so at its own responsibility. The fact that there were quite a few people in the group who weren’t well prepared for conditions like these, that some people wanted to go down anyways, and that two girls were in bad shape was enough to make the group leader take the call to go back.

 

So, within 300 ft elevation and a few kms distance of our destination we decided to go back. Most of us were dejected at not being able to achieve in theory what we came for, but for most practical purposes we had done what we set out for – experience the beauty of nature in one of the purest forms, while damaging it in the least possible way. I am not sure what the final 300ft had in store for us, but not knowing it doesn’t in the least take anything away from what we had experienced in traversing the 7000 ft till that point. If anything, nature has given me a reason to go back there and finish what I have left out this time.

Chandni Raat Mein Nauka Vihar

More photographs from the trip at: http://picasaweb.google.com/himanshu.saraf/Kerala

For my English readers, the title means "Boat ride in a Moonlit Night". For those who have studied Hindi as a subject in high school specially from CBSE board are probably familiar with the title as one of the sample essays at the end of the Hindi textbook or in a guidebook. I think it was in Grade VI or VII that I came across this essay and had since forgotten this phrase till yesterday when I found myself taking a boat ride in the backwaters of Kerala. I was a little late to arrive in the town of Allepey and by the time I got into a boat it was getting dark and I had missed the sunset. My disappointment however turned into delight soon after when I realized that it was an almost full moon night and I witnessed the picturesque rising of the moon at the horizon with the backwaters and the coconut trees in the foreground. The situation immediately reminded me of this long forgotten phrase (strange is the functioning of our memory I must say).

For a few minutes I smiled at the thought and then I felt I should share it with someone who was familiar with the essay. I didn't have the phone numbers for any of my high school class mates so I called some of my more recent friends, hoping they would have heard of it. So, I called one of them, asked her if she has studied this essay in school and upon confirmation told her that I am doing the same in the Kerala Backwaters and even before I could wait for a reaction from her, she goes, "You are boating in the backwaters alone?? How sad!" Apparently she thinks Kerala is the most romantic place on Earth and is only meant as a honeymoon destination and not a solo trip. I begged to disagree and called up another friend and explained the context to her just as I did to my first friend. She was a little less upfront in letting me know how sad my life was and put it as, "how can you manage to go to such a place alone?" followed by "it's great!" Well, better than the first response at least. Then I get a call from my old roommate who didn't know I was in Kerala. Needless to say he was surprised to know of it too... but he is not a very expressive person so his reaction was limited to, "What are you saying? ... all by yourself?..." turns out that this was going to be the most encouraging response I was to get, later confirmed by another expression of shock I received on gtalk from a friend who already knew I was coming to Kerala alone and had turned down my offer to accompany me. I am not even going to tell you how my Mom reacted when she learnt that I am in Kerala by myself.

So, what is it with God's Own Country and single travellers? Are they like two north poles, oil and water, Ivan Lendl and the Wimbledon Championships that are just not meant for each other? I can understand when someone says that Kerala is a romantic place but then have all singles been permanently banished from romantic destinations? I have had my friends visit Paris or Switzerland during their internships or while making flight connections in Europe but no one really went after their lives. What is so special about Kerala that I am getting such a beating from everyone for making this blunder? So, when I asked the first friend who called Kerala the most romantic place on earth that what makes it so romantic, she was like... I don't know... my friends tell me so! Of course I can't go chasing her friends for that now... on a little more interrogation she admits that she is excited about Kerala because she can go to a good spa there. Good, but why is going to spa a romantic activity and you can't go for it alone? It turns out she wanted to go to Kerala on her honeymoon so that she wouldn't have to pay for the spa! So much for romance... I intend to conduct similar interviews with the other people who questioned my decision to go solo.

I was in Kerala for 3 and a half days and that doesn't do any justice to the place even remotely. So my observations/comments about the place should be taken with a grain of salt. Kerala is indeed an extremely beautiful place with great weather, picturesque sceneries all around, friendly people and a tranquility in the air that makes you feel at peace with yourself. I am sure there are a lot of activities that you might want to indulge in with your significant other but I find it hard to comprehend what it is that should stop a single guy or girl from enjoying the aroma of a tea garden at Munnar, an elephant ride in the Periyar National Park, learn about the plantation of spices in Thekkady or witness a unique boat race in the Allepey backwaters. Whatever little time I spent there was worth it for me and had it not been for all the people reminding me that I am traveling alone, I wouldn't have missed the company of someone special to be able to enjoy any of it.

I am not upset with what people say or opinions they hold - to be honest I knew this reaction from people even before I left for the trip - but I am sure there are many like me who wish to visit Kerala or should visit Kerala but they don't just because it's been tagged as a honeymoon destination and forbidden for singles. I met two single girls from London who were on a week's trip to Kerala and they were having a great time (no they weren't on their honeymoon!). I don't think God intended that His country should be enjoyed only by those who come in pairs... and there is no reason we should try and make it that way. So, to all those lone travelers out there - Pack your bags! God's Own Country awaits you :-)