Retrospective India Post, with Pictures ^_^
As promised; here are some pics of me looking a little frazzled in India:
I stayed in the city of Trivandrum in Kerala. You can see the Hindu Temple of the city, which we unsuccessfully attempted to look inside of- we sort of knew we weren't allowed. They let us walk around the outside and look through the door though.
This elephant ride was fun :D Even though I felt sorry for them. There were three of us on each one and afterwards it was told to lie down in the pool and we had to wash him and then we go to sit on its back while it sprayed us with water! This was part of my first weekend, where we went trekking in a Tiger Reserve. We didn't see any tigers (apparently it was out of season; I reckon it's because our Jeep Safari took place on a road and any tiger with sense is not going to be living next to a road!) and I think that's actually lucky. We did encounter leeches though and had to wear special socks and had to put salt in them- I managed to end up with one in my armpit though :O
These pictures represent my time in Goa- haha which was the following weekend. It took us twenty hours on a sleeper train, with toilets that were just holes leading straight on to the track. Every time the train would stop, you'd have to hold your breath. We got free food though, and it only cost £15!?!?! I pay double that to get to London and even then it has to be Off-Peak travel. Made up for the partying with some bleary-eyed sightseeing. Must say I was a bit sick of churches after Rome though.
We went to a beach called Kovalum to shop- I bought some lovely little elephant figures and a gorgeous, embroidered throw with elephants and sequins on it that I'm going to decorate my room at university with. This was my Henna tattoo, which was supposed to last for a pretty long time but I was working in a hospital and with all the alcohol hand sanitiser I used, it only lasted for a week. It dyed my armhair black though D: and it's a bit noticeable because i have pretty fair hair- so i'm waiting for that to grow out. I also had a tan around it after it had gone. Only my face, hands and ankles were exposed for the whole month, as it's best to cover up, so I only had a tan in these places!
Our next weekend was spent in Cochin, which is more of a tourist-oriented city than Trivandrum- we saw some Kathakali dancing which is the style Kerala is famous for. Then we moved on the a place called Allepey where we caught a houseboat to Kollam, which was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life- just chilling on a boat listening to music ♥
Our very last weeked was spent in a place called Kanyakumari, which is at the very tip of India- apparently on the beach you can technically see three different oceans (not that they look different to each other) It is probably the most beautiful and serene place I've been to in my life! There was a slight mishap where we went to the local waterpark and treated it like the usual UK waterpark- me and my friends were the only girls wearing bikinis- we kept our trousers on though to preserve some modesty. I think this was the place where a major culture difference was most apparent- the wave pool was segregated, which sort of sucked for our group- we had the whistle blown at us for sneaking into the boys side to splash around with the male part of our group. Covering up to go swimming was something that never even crossed our minds- although it seems rather obvious in hindsight! The only over time we encountered that was in the airports back from Goa, where the security check place is divided between men and women, and women get a special little curtain to hide behind in case they have to have the metal detector passed over them- surely men would like this privilege too... :D
Anyway, onto random pics to sum up:
I was sold this project as a volunteer project, although I came back feeling as though I didn't get up to much volunteering. The healthcare isn't free in India and we were placed in the richer hospital of the area (apparently those that double as medical schools usually are in India), but it was still a wonderful opportunity for work experience and to see how Medicine is practised differently in different parts of the world :) And tea was lovely. Admittedly, I found it hard to cope with the ten teaspoons of sugar (I have no sugar in my tea at home!) but I gradually got used to it, and whole milk, which I don't have at home, seemed to be my only source of dairy for the whole month. No cheddar cheese D: or Marmite.
I definitely realised how much I take for granted back at home such as air conditioning and hot water and cold milk. I also really missed eating meat every day- I never realised I like meat so much either. But despite these not-so-nice aspects, it was a life-changing experience for me. Now, it's like this non-existant pocket of time I spent reflecting on myself and my past and I really wish I was back there.
So if you have the chance to visit India, you definitely should! I need to go back and see North India! (Stop complaining you silly Commonwealth Games contestants!)
^_^
I stayed in the city of Trivandrum in Kerala. You can see the Hindu Temple of the city, which we unsuccessfully attempted to look inside of- we sort of knew we weren't allowed. They let us walk around the outside and look through the door though.
This elephant ride was fun :D Even though I felt sorry for them. There were three of us on each one and afterwards it was told to lie down in the pool and we had to wash him and then we go to sit on its back while it sprayed us with water! This was part of my first weekend, where we went trekking in a Tiger Reserve. We didn't see any tigers (apparently it was out of season; I reckon it's because our Jeep Safari took place on a road and any tiger with sense is not going to be living next to a road!) and I think that's actually lucky. We did encounter leeches though and had to wear special socks and had to put salt in them- I managed to end up with one in my armpit though :O
These pictures represent my time in Goa- haha which was the following weekend. It took us twenty hours on a sleeper train, with toilets that were just holes leading straight on to the track. Every time the train would stop, you'd have to hold your breath. We got free food though, and it only cost £15!?!?! I pay double that to get to London and even then it has to be Off-Peak travel. Made up for the partying with some bleary-eyed sightseeing. Must say I was a bit sick of churches after Rome though.
We went to a beach called Kovalum to shop- I bought some lovely little elephant figures and a gorgeous, embroidered throw with elephants and sequins on it that I'm going to decorate my room at university with. This was my Henna tattoo, which was supposed to last for a pretty long time but I was working in a hospital and with all the alcohol hand sanitiser I used, it only lasted for a week. It dyed my armhair black though D: and it's a bit noticeable because i have pretty fair hair- so i'm waiting for that to grow out. I also had a tan around it after it had gone. Only my face, hands and ankles were exposed for the whole month, as it's best to cover up, so I only had a tan in these places!
Our next weekend was spent in Cochin, which is more of a tourist-oriented city than Trivandrum- we saw some Kathakali dancing which is the style Kerala is famous for. Then we moved on the a place called Allepey where we caught a houseboat to Kollam, which was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life- just chilling on a boat listening to music ♥
Our very last weeked was spent in a place called Kanyakumari, which is at the very tip of India- apparently on the beach you can technically see three different oceans (not that they look different to each other) It is probably the most beautiful and serene place I've been to in my life! There was a slight mishap where we went to the local waterpark and treated it like the usual UK waterpark- me and my friends were the only girls wearing bikinis- we kept our trousers on though to preserve some modesty. I think this was the place where a major culture difference was most apparent- the wave pool was segregated, which sort of sucked for our group- we had the whistle blown at us for sneaking into the boys side to splash around with the male part of our group. Covering up to go swimming was something that never even crossed our minds- although it seems rather obvious in hindsight! The only over time we encountered that was in the airports back from Goa, where the security check place is divided between men and women, and women get a special little curtain to hide behind in case they have to have the metal detector passed over them- surely men would like this privilege too... :D
Anyway, onto random pics to sum up:
I was sold this project as a volunteer project, although I came back feeling as though I didn't get up to much volunteering. The healthcare isn't free in India and we were placed in the richer hospital of the area (apparently those that double as medical schools usually are in India), but it was still a wonderful opportunity for work experience and to see how Medicine is practised differently in different parts of the world :) And tea was lovely. Admittedly, I found it hard to cope with the ten teaspoons of sugar (I have no sugar in my tea at home!) but I gradually got used to it, and whole milk, which I don't have at home, seemed to be my only source of dairy for the whole month. No cheddar cheese D: or Marmite.
I definitely realised how much I take for granted back at home such as air conditioning and hot water and cold milk. I also really missed eating meat every day- I never realised I like meat so much either. But despite these not-so-nice aspects, it was a life-changing experience for me. Now, it's like this non-existant pocket of time I spent reflecting on myself and my past and I really wish I was back there.
So if you have the chance to visit India, you definitely should! I need to go back and see North India! (Stop complaining you silly Commonwealth Games contestants!)
^_^