Counting the days...I really miss home

I have visited Pench NP, Maharashtra site. It was really beautiful and even though in the same state as Tadoba, the greens are of a much greater variety. Because this park is in a more hilly area and the roads leading through the park have many many bends, I thought the park was bigger then Tadoba. In this I was wrong. It’s actually 2,5 times as small!!

Tomorrow I will go back to Chandrapur. My stay in Nagpur has been extended with a few extra days and many games of chess in the evening, which I lost most of the time.
I really have to work on my moves and on my patience. Since I don’t like to think too long before crossing the board, I got myself killed during the battles too early. I guess I won’t make a good soldier…

With every day that passes I want to go home more and more. It definitely was a time well spent, but 5 months away from family and friends is a lot tougher this time than when I left for Australia now almost 10 years ago. Of course that was for a whole different reason.

My moods swing from happy to annoyed and back. I need more personal space, something that is not always available in a country like India. I don’t know how the people do it, living with all family members in houses we consider too small for 2 people, let alone 6. I look at it with amazement and realize that for me this is not the way and I am very happy that I am born in the Netherlands with all its own non likable things. Nowhere is a perfect place, but at least in your own country you know how to behave in certain situations and also you know what the consequences of your behavior are likely to be.

I have learnt a lot about myself. Good things and bad things, sometimes by being alone and other times because of people around me. I tried to adapt to the Indian culture as much as possible within my limits. (I can’t change who I am and the way I act all the time.) I have learnt to eat the mild Indian food, which is quite spicy still. I now know I can make a nice deal when I want to buy something, although I doubt I will use this skill when I come back. I am better at keeping my patience in any possible way, but the most Indian thing I have to do at times is using the toilet and cleaning my bum with a can of water and my left hand.!!! (oh yeah, toilet paper not commonly available or the toilet gets blocked).

I look forward to the next 3 weeks, when I will see Shanoo, Suleman and the children again, will stay in my shed in Tadoba, have my so needed time by myself and enjoy Dutch humor when Claudia arrives. The latter will be on the 8th of September and I can hardly wait.

The other India

traditionele sari, ja ja

August is supposed to be the month for tarvelling. There will be less rain is according to the locals, but some travellers seem to have a different opinion. especially the ones that went to Kerala on the west coast.

I have been to Hydrabad and stayed there with a friend I met in tadoba. He has a house in Hydrabad and liked to show me more of the area. From Chandrapur we went by Gypsy, via Warangal, where there are some nice sights to be found (1000 pillar temple).

After 1 week in Hydrabad being driven around and have 2 trips with the ap touris services, I decided it was time to leave for Tamil Nadu. I had planned to take the train to Chennai and from there, step by step, move south wards. I got as far as Mahabalipuram and then moved back up and sidewards closer to Thailand, when I out of the blue decided to visit the Andaman,Nicobar Islands.

It was told that these bounty Islands where reallyrelaxed. Also more Israeli and European people would be there and that sounded great. The week I have had there was really relaxing and it was very nice to be able to speak in your own language every now and then or English to people who know what the words mean.. Had a great time and decided that it will be time to go back to reality and see what has happend with the educatioin project soon.

This week I will first be in Nagpur for a few days and then get the chance to go to Pench NP in off season. This is also aranged by Ravi. I am very lucky that this man crossed my path.

Looking forward to get home in 6 weeks time. A new house, my last year and not all the sounds, rudeness, smells and chaos that India brings. And a bath