Borneo. July 20th-27th 2016.

I live in the midst of tall buildings, shopping malls and a very few pocket size patches of green.
The most predominant sound is of car horns and there is no getting away
 from a large share of India s  1.3(?) billion  people
I work here . My friends and family live here. I am privileged because I am secure and cared for... and  happy.
 Nonetheless, I am always planning escapes.
I look for open spaces, nature, birds, animals in their natural habitat and that is how Borneo came onto my horizon. The catalyst was the  Orangutan...second in intelligence only to human beings and sharing  96.4% of our genetic make up.

We Were Eye Ball to Eye Ball in a Primary Forest ...I was mesmerized. 

The Orangutans are an endangered  species; practically wiped out in Sumatra but can  be spotted in the rain forests of Borneo due to the efforts of the Malaysian Government that has brought about laws to preserve the forests which are the  natural habitat of the Orangutans.

I enjoy the planning of all my 'escapes'...I research , read and in this case watched a delightful video called Dunstan Checks In ....I am not going to relate the story, because I recommend you see it.

The Kinabatangan River is 560 km long and I travelled 90km of this in an almost soundless motorboat to get to the Sukau Rainforest Lodge which was my home for 3 nights ...a base...while I went  to look for the pygmy elephants...so different from ours... the highly energetic probosics monkeys..I could not stop marvelling at their agility and confidence as they swung from tree to tree,at what I thought were impossible distances...and the long tailed macaque.

 The Kinabatangan River  is muddy in appearance 

It is mandatory to wear a Life Jacket...however if you capsize..there are crocodiles and the banded sea krait..one of the most poisonous snakes..that you may need to contend with. 
You are advised not to trail your fingers in the water.

This is not a log.

Its a Crocodile.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

     Lunch time is lunch time.  We were all above ground level. I by climbing a flight of stairs
     and "they" on trees.
     Our foods were  similar and  ....different.
     We all enjoyed fruit.
     Mine were washed and "presented".
     Theirs were fresher....plucked and eaten straightaway

    Baby  Orangutans 
    at a rehabilitation centre.

Probosics Monkey.

         Borneo has some wonderful Nature Parks with an amazing assemblage of  trees and plants.    
           Some of these are peculiar to  the country.

The Corkscrew Tree ....inspired our corkscrews

The parks are huge ... ( Mount Kinabalu State park is 750 kms ) easy to walk around .... easy to just rest and reflect .

 My only complaint is that it is here where my camera crashed.
Maybe everything was too exotic for it. I am especially sorry on losing a particular favourite  that of  the Pitcher Plant.









                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Gomantong Caves - Borneo

The Gomantong Caves in Borneo are not for the faint hearted.

There are two cave complexes ..... " The Black Cave "-  Simud  Hilam - This is easily accessible and the one that I went to - the other is the "White Cave" - Simud Putih visited only by those with a fittess  level  better than mine.

They are high 40-60  meters and in a limestone hill.

I had no idea that I would be walking into a black cavern infested with bats and cockroaches their droppings immense humidity and a stench. The bats inhabit the caves during the day and fly out at night which is when the birds come in to their nests. The cockroaches are always there.

The importance of the caves is because of the swiftlet nests which are edible -  the birds  nest soup commanding  a premium especially with the Chinese.

Recommended Dress Code for the Caves :
1) Long Pants and Long Sleeve Shirts
2) Calf Length Socks and Shoes
3) Rubber Gloves
4) Face Masks

Ayur Veda

Ayurveda- 

- I  like what it means "Life Knowledge"

 -I like that its roots are Indian and that our Sages discovered this Life Knowledge and practised what they discovered.

-I like the disciplines that they imposed on themselves , giving them prowess over their minds and bodies.

- They were willing to share this knowledge and took disciples; but only if they were convinced of a level of commitment.

I am not one of them . I do however look for opportunities where I can partake in some of the practices.

The sages spent a lifetime in pursuit of life knowledge.

A week was all I could afford of both time and money at Carnoustie - An Ayurveda and Wellness Spa Resort near Kochi.

“Spa” these days is a very loosely used word...there are no Beauty Parlours, no Hair Cutting salons.. they are all “spas” . 

Every hotel boasts of one... Carnoustie has fallen into the same trap.. ....and I wish they would remove that part from their name...and leave it as an Ayurveda Wellness Resort which it definitely is.

Staying here I discovered many things about myself.

Firstly I think I like luxury..no no scratch that I know I Love luxury.

Luxury means different things to different people.. opulence, extravagance,  or for some never having to get up to fetch a glass of water for themselves.

 For Calvin Klein and myself Space is the pre requisite

-30 cottages in 30 acres of land..with one side of the the 30 acres ending at the Arabian Sea.

          

             The Beach was exclusive to the residents  of  Carnoustie

-A cottage with an emperor sized bed, a seating area and a bath, in just under 2000sq ft  

-A deck with a lounger, overlooking an expanse of green. The odd bird would come and

 perch on the railing for a while, not find you of much interest and fly away.

A paddle  pool...to cool off... parts.

     The Birds were attracted to my Orange Shoelaces ....Briefly

- And yes Cleopatra bathed with Asses Milk, but my bath had rose petals.

The walk to the beach was past a Spice Garden.

A walk to any place...the dining area, the yoga centre, the swimming pool was through forests of varieties of palms,

   

birds of paradise and orchids in potted plants tied to the barks of trees. 

I was always able to find my way to my cottage. It was the only one with two champa trees growing side by side ..one with white flowers and the other with red.

Carnoustie has two full time Ayurveda doctors and an Allopathic medical practitioner..all of whom live on the premises.

I was examined by the Ayurveda one who analysed me as a combination of  ”Pitha’ and “Kapha”

The intrinsic composition of the”  Pitha”is : Bold, Aggressive (not true for me)Intelligent, Witty adventurous( yeah..could me)

Kapha: is  friendly, calm, dependable ,honest and joyful.

The doctor and I both agreed that I am  60 (Kapha) and 40 (Pitha) . 

The treatments... massages, and a vegetarian diet was prescribed accordingly.

Yoga was at 7.am and at 5.pm.

I was told to attend both sessions..and assigned to a level just above beginners. 

The breathing and the balance positions is what kept me above the beginners level. The stretching to clasp your feet with your head on your knees and the Surya Namaskar is what brought my grades down.

This was the life knowledge for me.

I lost  ½ Kg in weight and a few frown lines.

It was great...and I will put Carnoustie into my budget to go back.

Athens - Turkey Part II

May 27th to June 8th 2015

Turkey : Was always a  thundering of hoofs and  the Devrish Dancers country for me. My imagination was charged by its  two great empires and the charismatic Kemal  Ataturk .  I expected  palaces, fortresses , churches and mosques; and, a European and an Asian side.

 I was eager to see the Topkapi dagger, encrusted with two almost identical pear shaped  emeralds , the  86.6 carat diamond

86.6 carat diamond - photographed with my mobile

the church  in Ephesus where Mary mother of Jesus Christ spent her last days..after all Bible History was one of my school leaving subjects...

and  last but not the least I wanted to check out the locations of the two James Bond movies that had been shot here. 

I do believe that I  could hear the Bond signature tune as our flight touched down…and not realizing that I was about to have my own James Bond moment.

  I landed at the same time as two Haj flights… The city was in a frenzy…The Elections were a few days away and there were huge crowds everywhere. No matter which way my airport pick up car turned it could barely crawl.

One of the things that I have noticed in my travels is that the driver that is sent for the pick up is a mature man..a family man type…. non risk taking. 

The Man that holds the placard at the airport entrance and helps you with your luggage is usually young, energetic and a " take charge"  type. This was the case in Istanbul as well. 
My " In charge “ suggested that if we wanted to get to the hotel within the next hour we should dump the car..share my luggage between us..walk 500yards to the metro station , jump into a train and after six stops we would be  within a  mile and half of the hotel. Thereafter, we could cab it..or walk again!

Daniel Craig, flew over rooftops on a motor cycle…and I strode through streets lined with shops of wholesale textile and leather dealers and jostling crowds. Daniel Craig perhaps had some important documents on him and I clutched my hand bag and carry on luggage. Our pace was brisk…I think..and my “incharge” …tall lanky with a spiky hairstyle, and an earring..kept looking over his shoulder to ensure that I was right behind him.

There is nothing not to like in Turkey…. The Tulip season was over but the roses were in full bloom.

 Turkey has a fascinating history, architectural marvels ,rock formations that need to be seen to be believed.

Entrance to Hagia Sophia

 

Cappodocia

They have great water bodies. 

I cruised on the Bosphosus...saw the Sea of Marmara 

and had lunch overlooking the beautiful greeny blue Aegean Sea. 

The Turks care for their water bodies and are holding on to their traditional skills of carpet knotting and weaving; pottery..nurturing them via institutions that teach and assist the craftsmen, infusing technology where required.
 

 A garment factory that I visited.. a 100 machine shirt plant had the latest equipment… actually  everything short of robots.

 It’s a Muslim country..but religion for them is a personal matter..and their concerns with  the current  neighboring unrest are more  economic rather than Shia and Sunni. 

Wow and Interesting moments....

Istanbul:  is a bustling city with modern dwellings and buildings that reflect their history.

There is plenty of choice…be it hotels , food or fashion….. There are malls with all the International brands and some great local ones….and there are bazaars

Spice Market

WOW.. 

Hands Down for me it’s the Blue Mosque, The Hagia Sophia and the underground Cistern

Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Entrance to the cistern

INTERESTING...

On my first day my guide met me in the lobby of my hotel with a huge bouquet of flowers..and a Welcome. Everyone stared and I said goodness, they must be thinking   which   film star. My guide replied: actually many people confuse me for Aamir Khan. …a second look…there was a resemblance . His favorite movie was… no guesses …  Three Idiots .

EPHESUS

WOW...

The Ancient City of Ephesus..

goes back I believe to 10 BC and  yes,  it is in ruins . None the less it tells its  story. 

The Theatre, The library, double walled  in order to ensure  that their 12000 scrolls were protected from damp..humidity. 

The Library

Great importance was  given to hygiene. There were baths at the four entrances of the city..and no one could enter without first cleansing themselves.

Toilets for those that could not afford to build their own.

Interesting : 

Lots of cats wander around the ruins…they are not pets..not wild or dangerous. I was told that they keep rodents and snakes away!

On the look out....

The Temple Of Artemis : one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world..did not take my breath away..a lonely column  in a field on top of which a bird was building its nest.

Temple of Artemis

Church dedicated to Mary. 

This does not fit under either wow or interesting. 

It is small..and  you can walk through it in less than five minutes. Guides are not allowed, a priest sits quietly in a chair with an inobtrusive presence.  You are encouraged not to linger..pray or prostrate yourself as we do in our temples. Candle lighting , drinking and collecting the holy water is all outside the church.

I did none of the two…but felt good for a long time afterwards

Cappadocia…

is a complete  WOW ...

 Above the ground ..the pigeon homes some of which are inhabited  by  the locals.

Below the ground..a whole underground city..which many a time you have to double up to pass from one chamber to another. 

Dining room underground

Not recommended for those who are unable to touch their toes!

A hot air balloon ride...
yes this is offered in several countries, but for me it was a first and a heady experience. What spoilt it a little bit was a Chinese girl who muttered..Danger..Danger..whenever we passed by another balloon or neared a rock formation. 

Why on earth she did not get her horoscope done before coming..I will not understand!