India_2015- The climb

Tirupati: the spiritual capital of Andhra Pradesh (state in India), and one of the holiest sites in India. (I highly recommend reading about this city before reading further. I'll give a small summary about the city anyway.) Tirupati is a city at the bottom of the Seshachalam Hills, in Andhra Pradesh. Tirumala is a town at the top of those hills. Tirumala is the most visited holy-place in the world; about 50,000-100,000 visitors a day and up to 500,000 on special occasions. The basic history is that the Hindu Gods: Sri Rama, Sita Devi, and Lakshmana resided here for sometime. Then, the town was established in 6th century AD, and continuously grew with the help of various kingdoms.

 Above and beyond all of that, the Tirumala Vekateshwara Temple is what people come to see. There is so much history, holiness, and practice behind this temple and town, everything about it is astonishing. 

To get up to Tirumala, people either take a bus, their own vehicles, or walk up 3550 steps (about 9km or 5.6 miles). Walking up could be the best hike of your life. For some people, it's the greatest number of stairs they've climbed in a day. For others, it could the most auspicious or accomplished day of their life.  Just... mentally prepare yourself. 

Up on the mountains, right in the middle, there's a white colored temple. See it? Hmm? That's where we're going. The only rule is no shoes. We're going barefoot ladies and gentleman! 

You'll start at the bottom at a place called Alipiri. Here you can drop off any luggage and belongings. Before climbing the first step, you'll say your prayers and wishes. Now in the beginning, you're full of energy, so you may end up going faster than you need to. And it's not a race so just take your time. By the way, this whole adventure could take a minimum of three hours. You see those red and yellow marks on the stairs? Some people smear a red and yellow powder (which has religious significance) on each every single step. Other people even light a small candle on every single step. 

This is what the stairs look like pretty much up to the top. There's a roof above you the whole way up. Apparently there are lights at night too. There are even prayers you can say while you're walking up. (it's the yellow paint on the pillars on the left and right side of the the stairs.) I realized it halfway through the climb...

step 1000

Up to this point, you'd be pretty tired. You would be thirsty, maybe hungry, who knows. Most people start climbing early in morning, so you'd have reached this point around breakfast or lunch time. Don't worry about food because every like 200 steps, there are water/food shops. Make sure you have money because you'll be loading up on refreshments and food fast. Bathrooms, I wouldn't say they're the cleanest, you know? 

 It's actually super fun to walk up, especially if you go with a big group like we did. We had 20+ people in our group, so it was fantastic. This is the view somewhere between steps 1000 and 2000. It gets even better the farther you go. Another thing, I recommend you don't carry anything with you. You can check in belongings at the bottom, and buses will bring it to the top. I had my camera bag with me, and it was a nuisance by the end.

step 2000

Yay! The hard part is over! Now comes the serious walking part. The stairs start to level off and you start walking with a few steps occasionally. At one point, you end up walking on the road next to cars for about a kilometer.

The wildlife while walking up is wild. You'll definitely see some monkeys somewhere along the way,. You'll even pass by a small zoo with a few animals in it. 

It was a great endeavor for my body to go through. It was burning hot and humid while the sun shone down to make the floor too hot to stand on for long. This was the view on one side if while you're walking on the road. The path on the road still has the roof and everything, but you're just walking next to cars who are either going up or down the hill. 

 This is the end of the walk on the road. We took a 20 minute break here, just to relax. There's a beautiful view right on the left here, and its great for pictures. Up ahead are a 1000 more steps, and I'd say its exhausting. There are only steps until you reach the top, no more walking, so take it slow.

This is the start of step 2800, and it's the start of people climbing up on their knees, called the "mokalla parvatham". It's optional... In this picture, you can see people start to climb up on their knees at the bottom left, but I didn't passed anyone who actually finished on their knees. 

It's a little hard to see in this picture, but there are rocks stacked on top of each other, everywhere. No, it's not naturally formed, people actually stack them for a reason. In truth, it's pretty cool because people start stacking at the very bottom of the hill, even before the first step. It continues all the way past the last step. It's amazing because I tried looking for rocks not stacked, and I couldn't find a single one. That's how many stacks there were. I learned the people who stack climb the hills to wish for a better life and they stack the stones in hopes of a house better than the ones they own. 

step 3000

530 more steps to go! I took on a personal challenge to not sit down anywhere during the climb, and I didn't until I passed the very last step. It felt so good to sit down after standing and walking for 4.5 hours. 

On the very last step, you do a small prayer and then you're done! Wohooo!! From there, you can either walk to the Venkateswara Temple (that's what most people do), go to eat something (that's what we did), or go to your hotel room and freshen up. 

We went to the Venkateswara temple after eating and freshening up at the hotel room. I've been to the temple before, so I remembered the extreme rush inside. Let me just tell you how powerful the temple is. Thousands and thousands of people go to the temple each day right? And the temple can't expand to fit everyone everyday right? It's probably big enough to fit mayyybe 300 people at a time. With thousands going in and only a few hundred allowed inside, there's bound to be a waiting line. We went at night so we only had to wait for two hours. I've heard stories of our cousins waiting for 4 or 6 or even 8 hours to get inside the temple! Beyond all of that, you only get to see the God for 30 seconds max because there's going to be pushing and shoving. Haha, the pushing and shoving is ridiculous when you're inside the temple. Our rule is, if someone pushes you, you push them back harder! ;) But 3550 steps later, we're just all here for the religious part.

India_2015- Functions

Festivals and functions! Woohooo! This is where the Indian party is at...weddings, religious ceremonies, baby showers, and birthday parties, etc. Decorations, preparations, food, everything is important. Yea, it takes hours and hours to get ready for such events, but it looks beautiful by the end.   

These yellow flowers tied onto a string are called garlands. Garlands are usually put around someones neck, but these were hung around the exterior of the place. It took a long time to hang up all of those garlands, but think about how fantastic it would look? 

Funny story... after a function I went to, all the kids ripped the garlands apart and threw the flowers around like confetti. They even played some hoops with the flowers. It was pretty funny because that ended up in a flower fight and rolling around in the flowers. The kids had yellow and orange stains all over their dresses.  This is what the floor looked like after that fiesta was over. Hey, at least the kids had their fun!

So the function we went to was in Bangalore, and it was one of our relatives "seemantham", which is similar to a baby shower. Baby showers in India are similar in some ways of those in America (where you theme the place pink or blue, decorate it, and enjoy food). But in India, a baby shower is called a "seemantham" which is an important traditional ritual. "It's a ceremony that marks a woman's passage into motherhood". Basically, the women seeks blessings from the lord, family, and friends for a healthy baby and a happy life. In some places, seemantham's are performed for not only Hindus, but for Muslims and Christians.

Food has become a big deal at any Indian function in general. The host can't make all the food themselves so they get someone to cater. There are so many choices within the appetizer, main course, and dessert. At the function we went to, the food served was north-south indian styled, so they served a mix of north and south indian food. Some of the items were also made on the spot. And I ate until I couldn't anymore. Like seriously, there were 5 different flavors of ice cream, all new flavors for me, and I wanted to try them all, but I was way to full to even drink water. It's not very healthy to overeat, but you only go to Indian functions once in a while... you know? Although, Indian food is very healthy, except for the oily and buttery foods, everything is fresh and not processed. So it's alright if you eat a lot...

The food area was on the terrace, and I thought that was pretty cool. They brought these red curtains/walls, carpet, and all the food up two flights of stairs. Lots of work but it was very comfortable and spacious. These were the fancy walls up there, grand right? Ok so the day started off with everyone getting ready and dressed. Then all the relatives and friends arrived. Once everyone was settled and ready, the seemantham ceremony happened. Snacks and drinks were being served throughout the ceremony. I took pictures of the ceremony for sometime, which was pretty cool, but it's tough to ask everyone to look at you for a picture. A little while after the seemantham finished, lunch time!! We all overate our lunch and desert up on the terrace. Then the kids had their own hallelujah time (which included the flower party). A lot of the friends left after lunch, which left the cousins/family behind to clean-up and chill. By dinner time, the adults went out for dinner and the kids... we just had fun together. Indian functions are known for all these things, trust me. 

Yess dress up time! A girls favorite time, well, most girls. For big evens, all the girls get mehndi done on their hands. Mehndi is a herbal paste that you put on your hand as a design and it'll stay on for weeks. For big functions, a mehndi person comes over to put mehndi designs on all the girls. It takes a lot of time and money, plus it's like a huge party. Then all the girls sleep with it on to dry the paste. It washed off in the morning and the paste leaves a dark red stain that will stay for weeks. The redder, the better. Haha, this is my cousins hand modeling her mehndi for me.

But mendhi isn't important, the dresses and jewelry are. Indian traditional clothing is over-the-top fancy. Ladies wear sarees, and i'm sure there are more saree designs and styles than there are women in India. Like, that's how many designs and colors exist, if that's even possible. There's also the half-saree, which is what I wore for the function. This is a close-up of my half-saree in this picture. The detail and depth of field is what I love the most in this picture. It's a great close-up of the material and design. The depth of field is great too because only the middle part of the picture is focused. 

The top left picture is of a half-saree I wore for a different function and I kept taking pictures of the dress because it looked so photogenic in pictures. And I don't know why but I loved taking pictures of the tassels especially. The bottom left picture is of my hand. Yea, pretty cool because it takes skill to snap a picture with only the left hand. Did I mention how important jewelry is? Females always wear jewelry but you must wear really nice jewelry for functions. I'm talking expensive and grand. Some of the jewelry included is: a necklace, earrings, bangles, a bindi, a ring, maybe an anklet, and maybe a belt. (There are the maybes because not everyone wears them all the time.) There are tons and tons of varieties and designs of each, which makes jewelry very important.

 

This one is one of my favorite pictures in this post. Why? Because it looks like a set-up wallpaper. I realize now that I must've looked pretty funny while taking the picture. I was sitting on this wooden box sorta thing, which is the wood you see in the picture, and I sat there trying so hard to keep everything in place and to get the right angle. I wanted the bangles to stand up but it was tough.  And I tried waiting for the right moment to get the sunlight shining. Either way, I love the set up and the color scheme blending so well together. 

All in all, you should get yourself invited to some sort of Indian event, if you haven't already. Definitely worth experiencing! The grander, the better! :)

India_2015- Transportation

Transportation in India is becoming a serious problem. Not much in villages but more in populated cities. We all know India has a population of over a billion, so how do people go places in such a populated areas? The secret is in it's public transportation. 

In villages, people ride on bicycles or motorbikes. Sometimes, that's all they can afford. If they have to go far, they take the bus or train. Not everyone needs a car like people in the U.S. All the stores are a walkable distance, so you don't need to get in a car to go shopping. It's actually extremely convenient to have stores at a walkable distance. If you live in bigger towns or cities, a motorbike is more common than a car, but people are getting use to cars now.

I took this picture in a village, and remember how I said that there are so many animals on the roads? Yea... literally, there are animals walking on the roads. Pretty cool huh? They become a nuisance if there are too many on the road and they refuse to get off. Once, we were driving and a large herd of cows were crossing the road. The cows completely blocked the cars on both sides of the road. It was something i've never seen before. There was another instance where a cow just stopped in the middle of the road. That was a little chaotic because there was a lot of honking involved. The vehicles were going around it but the poor cow was stuck in the middle. That's how hectic the roads can get...Welcome to India guys. In order to be an average driver, you must have the ability to drive through a marathon in the opposite direction and have no common sense. Enjoy!

This is called an auto-rickshaw. People go on these all the time, but they're getting expensive now. You get their attention just like a taxi; by signaling your arm as if you're swatting a fly. Once you get their attention, you ask them if they can take you to point x. If yes, you jump in and they start a meter to measure the number of kilometers.
The layout inside an auto is almost like a car. It's a three wheeler, so there's only one seat in the front for the driver. In the second row, there's enough space to fit about 3 passengers. The back seat shown in this picture isn't always open.  Despite that, we try to fit as many people as possible in the vehicle. There could be up to 10 people sitting in there. It's not safe but it's not against the rules... Welcome to India guys. Where there is no max. number of people in an auto-rickshaw.

Kids in India take the school bus, just like in the U.S., but there are other options too. Some of them walk, some ride a bicycle, or some even take the public bus. Public buses are pretty crazy there. It's always so crowded and full. There's never a spot to sit, and sometimes people are hanging out of the bus. Sounds pretty dangerous right?
Yea driving is like a video game. You're just trying to win and get to your destination as fast as you can. You do what you gotta do. If you're behind a slow driver, you push the honk button and swerve around the car. You push the honk button whenever you're making a fast turn. You push the honk button at people crossing the road. So pretty much, you're pushing the honk button 85% of the time. Like, honking should be the first priority, not driving. I betcha, Indian car companies are developing the technology of honking, not cars and engines. It doesn't matter how fast you go, just honk like a goose. That's how you win the race. Welcome to India guys. This is where you'll learn to be impatient on roads and get ear-check ups every few months from honking!

Nevertheless, India has developed in its transportation system. Hosting so many people, they added one more system to make moving around easier, especially in big cities. What did they create? They created a metro system above ground. I've only witnessed it in two cities, Bangalore and Chennai. It took them years and years to plan and construct. I'd say a little more than 10 years. The metro stations actually look very well developed and thought out. Each station has a cool exterior design, and the finishings are well executed.
. The metro actually gets full around rush hour even though it's a rather new way to move. It's a much better option than getting stuck in traffic in cities, and traffic gets reallly bad. It would take you an hour to move 3-4 kilometers.  Welcome to India guys. This is your only improved escape from the busy world underneath the metro rails.

This metro was in the city named Bangalore. It's a busy and crowded city with awful traffic. We had to visit a relative across the city and thank goodness India developed the metro. It took us half an hour to get across, but it would've taken us an hour by car.
The cleanliness inside the metro and the station took me by surprise. I honestly though I was in some other country when I was inside the metro. This makes those public train station look pretty dirty and old. The scene from the metro is quite beautiful. You can see the stubborn traffic below out to the entire city from the window. The metro is even high-tech... the paper tickets are now black scanned chips. Maybe in the future, metro will become more popular and eventually become super crowded.  Welcome to modern India guys. This is where you must take the metro; it's the only way to go somewhere under an hour.

On the bright side, transportation in India will never get boring. There's always the beautiful scenery to look at from trains. If you're going through a city, there's always so much to see on either side of you. You can watch the reckless motor-cyclers driving by or the venders selling fruits off the road. There are also street vendors who come to your car door at traffic lights to sell flowers. Or, just watch the driving style and get ready to tell the driver to slow down. 

Welcome to India guys. You'll never get bored on the road in this busy country.