Day in India: Dharwad Diary

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Hi guise..

Previously on Day's Travel Log Series
Part 0: Prologue
Part 1: Bangalore Diary
By the way, just a heads up, this series tend to get lengthy. So if you don't like reading it's OK. I hope you enjoy the illustration.
We didn't stay long in Bangalore. You see, Onie's graduation was on 20 October 2016 so we had to make our way to Dharwad as soon as possible. Onie arranged for a sleeper bus trip instead of taking a flight to Hubli (neighboring town). We had to be mindful of our spending. Plus, sleeper bus is a unique experience. Why throw away the chance to try it?

What happened was that we called for a cab to take us to the bus station. Unfortunately, our driver was new in town and he didn't know how to speak English. Even with my limited Hindi couldn't help him find the place we were heading to. The ride was supposed to take around 15 mins from our hotel but due to his rookie mistake, we barely made it to the station 35 minutes later. istg Onie was close to passing out. If we had missed our bus, that's it. We would have missed her graduation.

Long story short, we boarded the bus and headed straight to Dharwad. But the journey was tedious, even with us sleeping most of the time. 9 hours in a sleeper bus and only once stopping for a bathroom break. It was challenging, okay? We reached Dharwad the next day 20 October 2016.

SLEEPER BUS (Bangalore - Dharwad)
Departure 10:52 pm local time
Sleeper Bus is a very foreign concept to me. I can't imagine how anyone could ever pull off something like that until I set foot in one myself. WHAT A GREAT IDEA! The fix bunk beds inside the bus for single and couple/double bed. You have your privacy to sleep in peace. In the morning i open the curtain to see miles of wheat field painted in orange sun (through the window). It was peaceful. It was foreign.

Before reaching our destination, the sleeper bus passed by a few interesting locations. Some I managed to capture, the rest slipped by while I snored like a bear. FYI VRL Logistic was the name of the bus company.

VRL LOGISTIC's Depot
We stopped by the VRL Logistic Depot for a few minutes. We're still unsure why. Definitely not gonna ask..
They made a prayer(worship) place out of two beautiful trees. They were done in green sarees. Flower offerings were hanged on their thin branches.
[20/10/16 6:33 am local time]

VANASIRI NAGAR, DHARWAD
Before reaching Onie's residence in Vanasiri Nagar, we passed through Hubli, a somewhat township. The town is marked by Kittur Rani Channamma Circle, a warrior statue as tribute to the Great Warrior of Kittur. It's hard to appreciate the beauty of this landmark due to bustling cars and jaywalkers. Hubli is painted in dry red dust, a contrast to the green pasture we passed by en route. Moving through Hubli, we proceed to our destination and were dropped off near the Dharwad Toll Gate. We got on the Auto (three wheeled public transport) to head to Onie's house. The roads were dusty and filled with more Autos and motorcycle. It was a common sight in India. Once we reached Onie's house, we quickly fixed our breakfast and took a refreshing bath before getting ready for the big event later that evening.


SHRI DHARMASHTALA MANJUNATHESWARA (SDM) COLLEGE OF DENTAL SCIENCE
26th Graduation Ceremony (95 Undergraduates)
We wore our national attire, baju kurung. Dad wore Batik shirt. It's a pity that we didn't wear songket. The idea never crossed our mind.. [5:00 pm local time]
CONGRATULATIONS DR. ONIE - In the midst of the taller graduates (lol) I saw my little sister and immediately my eyes were brimming with tears.

THE GRADUATION CEREMONY started at 5.00 pm local time. Dr Anuja Joshi introduced the graduates one by one and the parents were asked to stand up when the graduate walked up the stage. The most memorable parent was this one guy from Punjab. He was so proud of his daughter that when it was her turn to accept the certificate, he stood up, shouted poem of praises to his daughter. I might have cried a little at the sight of his adoration towards his daughter. I think all parents shared the same sentiment towards the graduates. All graduates received their scroll and gold silver coin. (Onie corrected me saying that it was a silver coin, not gold).
After that, the Medical Director, Dr Niranjan Kumar gave one of the most impressive and engaging speech I had the opportunity to listen to. He was fun, articulate and gave out a sense of authority at the same time sounding more like a friend than a teacher. There were many interesting quotes from him but the one that really piqued my interest was
"Always be humble to your patients. You are not the healer. You are only the tool for nature to take its course".
The ceremony ended at 7.30 pm. We quickly retreated to Mayur Hotel. For the life of me, I couldn't recall the food served there but it was nice.

The food was nice but I was too tired to record anything. It was our first Indian meal in India and it was so good. We left the dinner party early to rest. I hitched a ride with Onie's friend. It was so weird to see so many people still going around and about at almost 10 pm like they were having some sort of festival along the road. I don't know how to accurately describe the situation. There was hardly any street light. The area was lit up by the light from the Autos and motorcycle on the road but people were chilling by the road side despite the ongoing heavy construction nearby. Medec (Onie's friend) said that it was a common sight here. People liked to stroll at night and some of them didn't even have a house to go home to. Some still sleep in tents like nomads. Anyway, we made it home safely. We had our long awaited slumber for tomorrow we would be having a brief tour around the campus.


SDM COLLEGE TOUR [21/10/16]
We went for a quick visit to Onie's college, meeting some of teachers and friends. It was my first time going to a dental college and I must say, I was impressed. Onie said she was very lucky to be a student there because most of the knowledge she gained in class can be applied on numerous real cases that were referred to her during her housemanship. Dad was looking forward to performing Jumaat prayer with the locals but due to some conflict with our schedule and Onie's junior, nobody could take him around.
Anyway, one thing worth mentioning was the tallest cactus in the world preserved by the college. They even had the whole Guiness World Record certificate to commemorate the achievement. It was so tall that they had to brace it to the wall with metal loops. Afterwards we stopped by the Campus' Juice Booth frequented by the students. We had some orange juice and ciku juice to quench our thirst. I ordered a bottle coke as extra. We also ordered a serving of capati and butter parota. I had my first paneer butter masala and manchurian baby corn. They were delicious! I'm hooked on paneer ever since. FYI, paneer is a non-melting cottage cheese commonly used in Indian cooking to replace meat in vegetarian cooking. It tasted similar to hard tofu.

Onie booked us a flight to Delhi, way up north. We would have to go to Goa to catch the flight. So Onie arranged for a driver to drive us to Goa.

(we were waiting for the train to pass before we could cross the track)
TRAVELLING TO GOA [21/10/16, 3.50 pm]
At 3.30 pm, the driver arraged by Onie arrived at our doorstep, ready to take us to Goa where we were to board our flight to Delhi. I rode shotgun. We drove pass the vast field of corn, sugarcane, cotton and paddy. The greener countryside excited us. Life seemed calmer, slower in this part of the world. We entered Goa 3 hours later. We passed through the highlands laid as a border between the two states. I was dumbfounded by the several near miss with the lorries from the opposite side.We arrived at Goa International Airport safely, thank goodness. The time was 7.30 pm so we performed our prayer as soon as we got through the check-in and security checks. For future note, no praying area was provided anywhere in the airport. Best be prepared.
Touch down at Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport at 1.30 am. We were exhausted. Going towards the exit, we passed by this enormous wall piece, plated with what seemed like giant golden saucer and silver hands in traditional dance poses. Again, we waited for our driver to come at 7.00 am to avoid extra charges. So Subuh prayer was done at the waiting lounge. No prayer room, no biggie.

Oh god, that was long and tedious. one note I have to make is that I didn't see any chicken running around there. No cats either. But I've seen many pigs loitering around. They were so cute with round, plump buttocks. They were shy creatures to, always manage to slip away when we try to grab a photo of them. Cheeky bastards.

So that's it for my Dharwad-Goa entry. It's getting lengthy, eyh? I sure you enjoyed the illustration at least. I hate these the most because I was rushing to get them done there and then I barely manage to think straight. Oh whatever.

Adieu

Terima kasih kerana sudi singgah dan membaca entry ini. Silakanlah merapu di ruang komentari bersama saya. Yeaha~

Day in India: Bangalore Diary

Monday, November 14, 2016

Hi guise,

So I'm finally doing this huh? Anyway, I'm typing all my journal because my handwriting is awful. Apology in advance. I wrote my journal on the go. Grammatical error is inevitable.


At the age of 27, I, Deaday has finally embarked on a new adventure, TRAVELLING ABROAD. So naturally, I'm pissing my pants right now (figuratively). I'm taking MAS flight MH0104. I'm wearing what I think is my best blouse together with my trusted scarves, Mark & Spencer Relaxed Skinny Jeans and those spartan sandals again. I must say, I look good.

My flight will depart from KLIA at around 9:50 am. I don't know what else to do than writing on this journal. 30 minutes have passed since my previous sentence. We are now waiting for take off. Apparently the airway is congested due to weather issue over the Indian Ocean. The time now is 10:20 am. My mom has fallen asleep. Dad has been reading the flight brochure for the second time now. 

The aircraft is somewhat calm despite the children complaining about everything. I feel sorry for the cabin crew. During delay, they had to work extra hard to keep everyone happy. Of course nobody's happy during delays. But what do I know? I'm a first time flyer. OK! Time to take off. Bye Malaysia. Take us away, Captain
[10:23 am]

I sketched random things while waiting to board the plane like the view from Anjung Tinjau and the kid we met at the boarding hall. She was so friendly. My mom and dad were pleased. They love kids.


SEAT 22c : BRUNCH IS SERVED
So I was kinda stupid to think that I would be able to paint in flight. PRESSURE! Didn't you learn anything in Physics 101, Day? I make do with pencil sketching for now. OOOoo! The food cart is here. The smell is maddening. I'm having the non-vegetarian meal:
- Chicken curry & prata
- Papaya, pineapple & honeydew
- Corn custard dessert
- Apple juice & Spritzer mineral water
[19/10/16, 12:01 pm]

We touched down at Bengaluru (Bangalore) International Airport. I don't remember the exact hour but it's probably around 11 am local time. I don't remember. Everything was blurry and nerve wrecking. The immigration officer was stern, scary looking. I stuttered when he asked me our itinerary in India. Gosh.. I can't think of anything. But I made my way pass the officer not long after and we proceeded to the arrival gate after claiming our belonging. Onie and her friend Augustine were already waiting for us. Not caring for anything, I desperately asked for a cup of coffee so we went to Cafe Coffee Day (India's equivalent to Starbucks? IDK). I ordered a large cup of iced Americano. Iced! And he gave me hot Americano. When I asked "Is this iced Americano?" sarcastically of course and he was like "yeah," And that's it. It was so bizarre but I was too tired to deal with it at that time. I just wanna go lie down somewhere so Onie did exactly that. The taxi took us to Sri Laxmi Hotel in Bangalore. After nap and prayer, we set out for sightseeing.

A VERY LATE LUNCH @ LAN THAI (5TH AVENUE MALL)
It's funny how we are now in India, walking and breathing the smell of India, choose to have our first meal at a Thai restaurant. And you ask me about India's smell I would say it is surprisingly pleasant. Why so? Because you can always smell delicious curry wherever you go. My first few hours in India has been deliciously inviting but I had quite a few warning about eating street food here so yeah, maybe not now. 
I'm having Seafood Pad Thai and Bubble Milk Tea. A very homely choice. I love Thai food and Lan Thai is as authentic as a Thai food can get (at least on a Malaysian standard). We are heading to the streets for a shopping spree and I'll need all the energy I can get from these delicious food. Laterz..
[3:30 pm local time]

From the 5th Avenue Mall at Brigade Road, we crossed the road to a nearby Converse boutique. I'm a big fan of Converse sneakers but never bought one for myself. I don't know why. To me they're damn expensive. It's expensive still but I feel like if I don't buy one for myself, I'll regret it forever. So I bought one. The store keeper was a young man around my age. I was startled when he suddenly grabbed my feet and tried to put the shoes on me. My dad was like "What the hell.." but it was so sudden. Anyway, it was getting waaaay too weird so we left soon after payment was made.

We went to Garuda Mall, a few blocks away to search for phone spare parts. I don't know. I just tagged along. But while at the Mall, I went to Forever 21 store and nabbed myself a jacket. A very cool looking green jacket. (It looks cool to me. Heyy..)

After calling for a take out from Lan Thai, we headed back to our hotel. We rested for a few hours because later that night, at around 10 or so, we boarded our sleeper bus to Dharwad. Basically we were travelling from the the southern end of Karnataka state to its northern end. India is massive. Fuh.. But that's a story for another day.

Adieu

Terima kasih kerana sudi singgah dan membaca entry ini. Silakanlah merapu di ruang komentari bersama saya. Yeaha~

p/s:
Rasa cam Cinderella hahahaha getis

Goodbye, Kembang

Friday, November 11, 2016

Hi guise,

Tanggal 11/11/16, Kembang, our family pet has passed away.

Kembang dah tua sangat dah. Kalau nak kira umur dia pun aku tak ingat dah bila dia lari dari rumah lama dia pastu join duk ngan kitorang. I was the closest to her back when I lived with my parents. After moving out for matriculation, I was no longer her favorite sister. Adik aku yang kecik tu kawan baik dia.

She loved Nabe so much. They played hide and seek together. Talk to each other. Sleep together. It went like that for a while. When Nabe had to go to a boarding school, Kembang was left at home with Umi and Abah. She missed Nabe dearly. Mom told us of how she would eagerly jumped at Nabe whenever Nabe came home on the weekends.

We knew her time was near. She was so old. So weak. She had lost most of her weight. We knew that we were going to get that call from home about her death. But my sisters and I (Cauda and Onie) had less than a week to get home and we were updated through the Whatsapp about her declining condition.

"Kakak, Kembang dah takleh bangun. Badan terketar-ketar. Bukak mulut nak makan pun tak boleh"

I was worried but I prepared myself for the worst, it's her time to go. She's so old. So weak. It's almost her time. We had Nabe updated us on Kembang's condition from time to time hoping that she would make it to next week when the family is there to send her away. But at 3:17 pm Nabe updated us the news.

"She has left us"

Nabe texted. I knew for a certain that all four of us were fighting back our tears. Kembang was not just a pet. She's a family member. I know it sounded like nothing but seriously, she's the only family pet we ever had (if we don't count Chiko, the one eyed cat I used to help feed and dad discarded her somewhere because she wouldn't stop breeding. I know. I still have beef with my dad on that matter)

I was consoled by the fact that she died with Nabe by her side. They were best friends. It's only nature to have Nabe bury Kembang. Don't be too sad, Adik. We know you did your best. It's her time to go. 





Adieu, Kembang. On vous aime.

Her final hours..

Rigor mortis..



Shared Dreams

Monday, November 07, 2016

Hi guise,

A few years ago, we made a pact..
Us two walking the earth..




It's time for me to live up my dreams albeit your perpetual absence. I don't plan to reminisce about our young dreams. I'm not upset. In fact I'm relieved. It is still my dream, with or without you. Life moves on. We've crossed our paths once. I don't plan to stop my journey just because you take a different route. I'm happy for you as I am for me.

Congratulation on your wedding. I know this might not reach you but still I wish you all the best in life.

Now Day.. Pack up your things. We're going on an adventure.

Adieu

p/s: Kicking off the travel journal to India, weeehuu!!

Terima kasih kerana sudi singgah dan membaca entry ini. Silakanlah merapu di ruang komentari bersama saya. Yeaha~

Day,


Part time normal, most of the time comic enthusiast. Almost always borderline crazy. Still experimenting with comic blogging. An engineer with a vision to not be taken seriously. Everything you read on this blog doesn't represent my gender, religion or profession as a whole. Other name you might associate with me are Deaday, DayGoon, JaeminGoon and *cough* Mona *cough*