It was either Technical Drawing or Home Economics. I chose Technical Drawing and like most things in high school, I sucked at it. My lines were wobbly, my text never straight and my circles despite the sharp Staedtler compass set never perfect. When we were past drawing squares and circles, we came to a unit called Perspective Drawings. And for the life of me then, … Continue reading Perspective
It’s not everyday that you find yourself being offered tea and fire-popped corn by a Naga Angh (headman) in his opium den. And when that happens, do you? – a) Say no thanks (and risk offending the chief of a once-were-headhunters tribe)? b) Take the tea and say thanks. (and hope that the tea is not laced with something)? c) Ask if you could try some … Continue reading The Tranced Villages of Nagaland
Woke up to someone khaakh-ing their lungs out outside my window (what’s with men retching and spitting early in the mornings?). It was freezing in the night and took me a long while to get to sleep and now warmly cocooned in a tangle of dust-mite infested blanket, my big shawl, my neck shawl, socks which must have come off at some point and a … Continue reading Day 7: Burma to Hindustan
They say nothing special about Kalaymyo. Just another small town on the way. But sometimes it’s the small, unassuming places that stay in your memories forever. The ‘hotel’ was a family owned affair complete with a niece on reception, a cousin in the kitchen, a son who continued the business and a mama grandmother who sat in her chair in the foyer, cleaning vegetables and … Continue reading Day 6: Burma to Hindustan
Your eyes lock and it’s too late. You’re hooked. I get caught once in a while. Taxi drivers bickered and pushed each other to get the first customers just as the bus doors opened at Bagan bus station. Over the heads, I made the mistake of looking one in the eye. That was it. I knew he wasn’t going to let me go. With no … Continue reading Day 3: Burma to Hindustan
The ‘guesthouse’ was on the 7th floor and communal breakfast served on the 8th. The cheapest sleeping space I could get in Rangoon. Cheapest being 35USD totaling to $70FJD per night! Despite the crammy rooms, the breakfast area came with abundant sunshine, tinkling chants from the nearby pagodas and a 180 degree view of the city. Suruj would have said it’s good start. Waking up … Continue reading Day 2: Burma to Hindustan
This trip has been coming for some time. One of the last countries to open its doors to the world, Myanmar offered more than just intrigue to my nomad heart. It shares its borders with one of my favorite countries, India. And it came off a blog post last year when I first thought about crossing over to India overland from Burma. Google searches for travel … Continue reading Day 1: Burma to Hindustan
Where is Shyamni? 