As we’re finding out, India can be a crazy place to backpack through, so we were extremely lucky to start in Bangalore, the southern city where my parents grew up and where much of my extended family still lives. And even better, my mom flew over from the U.S. to see us!
My parents were generous enough to get us a hotel for a week, an Indian cell phone, which has really come in handy for booking hotels and whatnot for the rest of our India trip, and as is standard practice for NRIs (non-resident Indians), a hired taxi to take us wherever we wanted each day. For two backpackers who were totally sick of researching, planning, booking, etc., we were more than ready to play puppets. Tell us what time to be ready, and we’ll go wherever you tell us.
That said, it had been 10 years since I had been in Bangalore and most of my fond memories have been clouded by the fact that I always, always, always, always got sick. On previous visits, I rarely got to do anything fun because I was too busy throwing up. TMI?
This time was different. I think traveling in Third World countries beforehand prepped me because I didn’t get sick!
So, armed with a robust immune system and a more well-rounded knowledge of the world we live in, I could finally appreciate nuances of Bangalore that I never before realized. For starters, the people are incredibly kind and mild-mannered (probably because it’s not a big tourist spot). The food is crazy good. The streets feel open and airy even with the notorious traffic. There’s greenery everywhere. The list goes on. The point is, the more I travel through India — I’ve previously never been outside Bangalore — the more I realize how special Bangalore is.
It was amazing to have a bit of a homecoming here — to see my family, including my 90-year-old grandmother, spend time with my mom, shop for Indian clothes, eat outrageous meals and most importantly, show Eaman what my motherland was all about.
So what does a week in Bangalore look like? Well, our days consisted of eating, shopping, seeing family and watching Animal Planet in our comfy hotel room. It was grand.
Welcome flowers.
To grandmother’s house we go…
Her cook made us fresh dosas.
My aunt and uncle live next door, and they whipped up some tender coconut juice and fruit salad for us.
A walk through my grandmother’s neighborhood.
Hundreds of Ganesha statues lined up for sale for the upcoming Ganesh pooja.
Psychotic monkeys who invaded my grandmother’s driveway.
We were always well-caffeinated in India. The filter coffee there is my absolute favorite.
And let’s not forget snacks…
We didn’t have a single bad meal in Bangalore — a feat we had never before accomplished in our travels. My mom took us to the best places, and from veg thalis and chapatis to chicken tikka and panner manchurian, it was all divine. Even the hotel’s breakfast buffet was incredible. But I never took pictures of the food, that’s how ravenous I was at each meal. And it was during this week that I forgot what it felt like to be hungry.
And one night, when we were too tired to go out, we ordered Domino’s in.
We couldn’t get over how such a big city could be so green.
The most fragrant jasmine in the world can be found just about anywhere in Bangalore.
A walk through Lalbagh Garden.
Around the city.
Eaman deserves a really big cookie for being so patient while I shopped for saris and salwars, Indian clothes I wear for weddings and parties.
My aunt and cousins.
Lunch at my uncle’s house, where we had my favorite dish — jasmine flour idlis, a specialty that’s not common at this time of the year, but somehow, my uncle managed to find some. We ate our meals on the traditional banana leaf “plate.”
My cousin Ashwini and me. The top picture is from 10 years ago. The bottom from a week ago.
Weekday temple visit.
Eaman also celebrated his birthday in Bangalore! We went to lunch at a 5-star hotel, played at an arcade and had a party, but all that deserves its own post…next.
The last part of our southern tour of Laos was a three-day motorbike trip around the Bolaven Plateau, a higher elevated chunk of land with cool temps, dramatic waterfalls, coffee plantations and friendly villagers. Touring the region by motorbike is no longer a secret, but it definitely hasn’t reached epic tourist proportions. It’s easy to feel alone on the road, and at times, like when your bike has a minor failure — like when we failed to realize our spark plug ignition wire tube thingy was disconnected — it can feel frighteningly isolated. (A car connoisseur I am not.)
On Day 1, we headed out from Pakse on a rented motorbike (60,000 Kip/day) to Tad Lo, a village-town with three waterfalls. We stayed in a gorgeous bungalow in a jungle facing Tad (means waterfall) Hang. (The staff, who I’d like to think were more lazy than unfriendly, were less lovely to contend with.)
The bungalow was beautiful but not sure how I felt about the guesthouse’s caged monkeys.
Rainy season makes for brown water.
OK, I know we’re a little jaded, but it’s hard to be truly amazed by a waterfall after seeing Iguazu Falls in Argentina. But we found a new way to have some fun: elephants!
The luxury resort Tad Lo Lodge is home to three elephants, who can take visitors on a 60-90-minute rides. Interacting with elephants has been high on my Asia-goal list, but I’ve been particular about giving my money only to an establishment with good practices. I was happy to see the elephants unchained and unenclosed. (Crazy how they won’t up and leave the premises.) And considering this was a less-touristed elephant-riding site than those in Chiang Mai or Luang Prabang — we had to practically wake up the receptionist to ask her about riding — at least these elephants aren’t worked 24/7. Most of all, I didn’t see the mahouts (elephant trainers) use any sort of sticks or prods.
With that in mind, Eaman and I hopped on a relatively young, gentle elephant for a 70-minute ride through jungle, forest and village, where the kids would come out to wave at us and shriek at the sight of the pachyderm. Though, I did feel a little guilty parading through the village on a fancy elephant ride I splashed out on.
After we dismounted, the mahouts could see the stupid grin on my face and my love for these elephants, so, since it was the end of the day, they let us feed the elephants mini bananas — for free! One of the elephants was too impatient for my one-by-one banana-peeling method, so he took the entire bunch right out of my hands and ate the whole thing.
Such a wonderful experience because it felt so natural. No official tour, no other tourists. Just the mahouts letting me take part in their daily routine.
The mahout gave ample time for snacking.
Elephant head.
Elephant butt.
Stand-off.
Day 2 involved relaxing in Tad Lo, making friends with the cheery Lao guy in the tourist information office, and high-tailing it to Paksong. (A more scenic route through the Bolaven jungle was unfortunately too dangerous in this rainy season.) And it’s a good thing Eaman went a little speed-crazy; we found a hotel just as the sun set. Dark roads and inexperienced motorbikers are interesting bed fellows.
Our “rustic” guesthouse in Paksong, where Eaman tried in vain find one channel in English.
Day 3 had us en route back to Pakse, stopping in between at the famous Tat (waterfall) Fan. It was a helluva ride to get there thanks to a muddy path, so I got off and walked, while Eaman pushed the bike. (It was then that we got our only injury: a minor, but bloody cut on Eaman’s leg.) Well, mist completely shrouded the waterfall. We saw one big cloud and heard some impressive roaring. That was just great.
But as it turns out, we had a reason to be there after all. On our way out of the waterfall area, a group of little girls ambushed Eaman, asking him to buy some of their famous Lao arabica coffee. We had no way of saying no, so we drank coffee from one booth and bought ground coffee to-go from another to spread our money.
I have no idea why Lao coffee hasn’t made a bigger splash abroad, because that stuff is good. Like, best-coffee-I-ever-had good. Our cup was bold but sweet with the condensed milk mixed in, and I’d like to think the flavor was enhanced by the beautiful setting, sitting on stools as we watched the rain and were served by a few adorable local girls.
In the end, we had to get some assistance from an old Lao man.
We arrived back in Pakse, cleaned up in a hotel bathroom as best we could and hopped on a 10-hour bus to Thakhek, Laos to start our exploration of central Laos…