... when the road disappears
if there's any more people around
when the tour runs aground
and if you're still around
then we'll meet at the end of the tour
- They Might Be Giants
We just might tour again though, to some other corner of the world. But for now, Sigurd and Sigurd have returned to cold and wintry, but oh! so beautiful and pleasant Norway. As I am writing this I am sitting in front of the fireplace, digesting a long overdue Christmas dinner and sipping a beer.
Any attempt to summarise these last months in a few sentences, I have found, would be futile and something of an injustice to the many places and people we have encountered – so many of whom would go unmentioned in such an attempt. In truth, I am mildly overwhelmed by the vastness and diversity of the experiences we've had, and wouldn't even know where to start. It's been a truly magnificent time, in a truly awe-inspiring country. I do hope to return some time (though not any time soon - it is not a myth that India is an exhausting place)
Seeing how I have nothing profound to say, I settle for telling a little anecdote from a few weeks back, first day of the new year, when we were making our way from Darjeeling to Siliguri. The mode of transportation in these parts of India – besides yaks and your own two feet – is mainly jeeps. So, we hopped on a communal, which is synonymous to cramped jeep bound for our destination. Sure enough, the jeep filled up quickly. At the point where there was simply no more space, or so we thought, a man jumps in on the driver's side and sits down on the driver's lap. Not only did he sit there, they also took turns on the wheel, or better yet, shared the wheel using one hand each. Who knows how they worked the pedals. The really disconcerting part was that they kept a rather loud argument going for the better part of the 3 hours or so that they shared the driver's seat. The fact that we found this amusing rather than horrifying or even surprising goes to show, I believe, that we have adapted to Indian life in a very real way and to an extent that, truth be told, I could not have imagined six months ago.
Anyway. One thing I would like to say in this last post is a big 'thank you' to everyone who's been following us on our travels through this blog. I hope the ridiculous number of hits, about 2200, is an indication that you've found the recounts of our adventures somewhat interesting and entertaining – or at least a worthy distraction from your respective jobs and studies.
Well folks, that's all, I hope to see you all soon. Oh, and if anyone's considering going to India (something I hope this blog might encourage) any time soon: please do. And make sure you try a bottle of Bagpiper Whisky: the 14th most sold whisky in the world - though only sold in India.
And so, with a sigh of pensiveness and a sip of the much longed for Norwegian beer, I end The Chronicles of Sigurd og Sigurd i India.
All the best
Sigurd & Sigurd
"No matter where you go, there you are."
– unknown
måndag 4. februar 2008
onsdag 9. januar 2008
Settling the Score
First thing's first - today is Sigurd S' birthday. A great big hurrah for that!
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: here are the scores in the various card games we've been playing on our journey (starting from when we left Pondi in mid-November)!
"The Idiot" - SS:37 SB:41
"Texas Hold'em" - SS:6 SB:8
"Playcard Scrabble" - SS:3 SB:0
"Gin Rummy" - SS:26 SB:35
A brief commentary: As evident, I won our little poker tournament. I also came away a W in The Idiot, though this was, unsurprisingly, a very close race. Sigurd S' clear victory in Playcard Scrabble was a bit of an upset, as an undefeated pre-season indicated this to be my strongest discipline. Still, the most surprising result would have to be my relatively solid win in Gin Rummy, a game in which bookmakers anticipated the score to be just as even as in The Idiot. So there you have it, the culmination of our primary pass-time activities the last couple of months.
On to current events: We have now come full circle and are back in Pondicherry, from where we set out about two months ago. We had a modest celebration of New Year's Eve in Darjeeling, a district more famous for its tea than its new year parties, then headed south to Calcutta. We spent a few fairly uneventful days there, mostly hanging out and shopping (my new year's resolution is to dress nicer. Somewhat pathetically I hope this will make me more of an adult and thus capable of entering the adult world of working life). Calcutta is a fairly nice city, better than its rumor at any rate. We met up with Kari and Jostein who were stopping by on their way to Thailand and exchanged stories about the crazy Indians we've encountered on our respective travels. Our circular tour of India was completed as we flew (I know, it's a bit like cheating, but I don't think we missed much on the eastern coast) to Chennai and hopped on a bus for good ol' Pondicherry.
Returning to Pondi feels a bit like coming home: we've moved into the house we used to live in, where we are kept safe from harm by our charming security guards. We're hanging out at our favorite restaurants and are making the most of our last sunny days in India. Though it is, naturally, a bit empty here without our friends, we've received warm welcome-back's not only from our guards but also a number of waiters and shopkeepers. One of the guys from our internet joint, where I'm sitting now, was pleasantly shocked to see us again and told me he always thinks of me whenever someone says 'cheers' when exiting the shop.
Still, it is with a light heart and great anticipation I prepare for our departure from India tomorrow. Gandhi (yes, Frode, again with the Gandhi quotes), when asked about his thoughts on western civilisation, famously quipped: "I think it would be a good idea". Personally I think the Mahatma was overly negative in this statement. Not that I blame him for having a bit of an attitude, after all he did tend to come across people who were, I dare say, less easy-going than your average westerner ('easy-going' - get it?). Though the West certainly has things to learn from the East, the opposite is surely equally true. As for me, I am happy to be on my way back to the comfortable, clean, efficient, less noisy, less chaotic and far more logical ways of the West. In other words, I'd say our departure is perfectly timed.
I might be back with some remarkably insightful retrospective comments when I'm safely home, but as for now: see you soon!
Sigurd B
No one wants to pay to see your day to day
and I'm not buying it either
but I'll try selling it anyway
- Rilo Kiley
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: here are the scores in the various card games we've been playing on our journey (starting from when we left Pondi in mid-November)!
"The Idiot" - SS:37 SB:41
"Texas Hold'em" - SS:6 SB:8
"Playcard Scrabble" - SS:3 SB:0
"Gin Rummy" - SS:26 SB:35
A brief commentary: As evident, I won our little poker tournament. I also came away a W in The Idiot, though this was, unsurprisingly, a very close race. Sigurd S' clear victory in Playcard Scrabble was a bit of an upset, as an undefeated pre-season indicated this to be my strongest discipline. Still, the most surprising result would have to be my relatively solid win in Gin Rummy, a game in which bookmakers anticipated the score to be just as even as in The Idiot. So there you have it, the culmination of our primary pass-time activities the last couple of months.
On to current events: We have now come full circle and are back in Pondicherry, from where we set out about two months ago. We had a modest celebration of New Year's Eve in Darjeeling, a district more famous for its tea than its new year parties, then headed south to Calcutta. We spent a few fairly uneventful days there, mostly hanging out and shopping (my new year's resolution is to dress nicer. Somewhat pathetically I hope this will make me more of an adult and thus capable of entering the adult world of working life). Calcutta is a fairly nice city, better than its rumor at any rate. We met up with Kari and Jostein who were stopping by on their way to Thailand and exchanged stories about the crazy Indians we've encountered on our respective travels. Our circular tour of India was completed as we flew (I know, it's a bit like cheating, but I don't think we missed much on the eastern coast) to Chennai and hopped on a bus for good ol' Pondicherry.
Returning to Pondi feels a bit like coming home: we've moved into the house we used to live in, where we are kept safe from harm by our charming security guards. We're hanging out at our favorite restaurants and are making the most of our last sunny days in India. Though it is, naturally, a bit empty here without our friends, we've received warm welcome-back's not only from our guards but also a number of waiters and shopkeepers. One of the guys from our internet joint, where I'm sitting now, was pleasantly shocked to see us again and told me he always thinks of me whenever someone says 'cheers' when exiting the shop.
Still, it is with a light heart and great anticipation I prepare for our departure from India tomorrow. Gandhi (yes, Frode, again with the Gandhi quotes), when asked about his thoughts on western civilisation, famously quipped: "I think it would be a good idea". Personally I think the Mahatma was overly negative in this statement. Not that I blame him for having a bit of an attitude, after all he did tend to come across people who were, I dare say, less easy-going than your average westerner ('easy-going' - get it?). Though the West certainly has things to learn from the East, the opposite is surely equally true. As for me, I am happy to be on my way back to the comfortable, clean, efficient, less noisy, less chaotic and far more logical ways of the West. In other words, I'd say our departure is perfectly timed.
I might be back with some remarkably insightful retrospective comments when I'm safely home, but as for now: see you soon!
Sigurd B
No one wants to pay to see your day to day
and I'm not buying it either
but I'll try selling it anyway
- Rilo Kiley
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