Chiong sua! (8 June)

Seriously, I really need to learn the names of the place I'm visiting. So the itinerary for today is just to scale a mountain and then visit a man-make lake. Sound simple enough right...

Was drizzling on the way to the foot of the mountain. After breakfast, the rain subsided and we carry on with our plan. The guide got onboard at the foot of the mountain and we went informed that the peak of the mountain is closed as it is summer and as a result of a forest fire. Thus, the hike became a 1 hour event from the a full day event. 

We soon reach the midway point, where we were suppose to trek on foot from there on. The weather was great, with a cool and refreshing mountain breeze. Since it was a 2km trek, and the path was pretty gentle, I guess everyone took it easy. Chit chatting, singing songs along the way. I even broke away from the group and went on a different path (only to get chased down)

We reached what we thought was the end of the "trek", a tower with a toilet and a great viewing point. As typical Singaporeans, we started our weird acts in all tourists attraction. Soon enough, we heard our guide call out to us. Apparently what we thought was the end of the trek is just the beginning of it.

 From the viewing point

Group pic at the end of the trek!...or what we thought was the end

So here comes the mountain path. Omg, the terrain was treacherous and slippery. The guys were armed to the toe with 2 x 1.5 litre water bottle and food, and some of us wore just slippers (I dun think I could have make it with just slippers). Midway through the climb, it started pouring...not just a drizzle, it was almost like a torrential rain. At this point in time, we were already scaling on rocks instead of paths, which made the climb all the more challenging. The only consolation we had was the spectacular view, the misty forest pic that always get posted online. The rain was intermittent, coming on and going off without warning. 

The trek up. Love the mist!

We soon got to the peak, where we were greeted by this heart-shaped lake. Spend some time there trying to replenish our energy, rehydrate and munch on some bananas. Ja, Jon and I tried to bash through to get closer to the lake, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Now...imagine our horror when we were informed that we had to hike down the same path

The love lake! <3

Midway through the hike up, Jon lost his slippers and was doing the hike barefooted. The downhill hike was especially tough on him, since he can hardly land on the gravels and stones to gain traction due to the pain, while the smooth paths were too slippery for him to walk on. The rain and win has gotten s lot heavier by this time. As a result, the rest of the gang hiked downwards first, while Ja, Jon and I took our time, with Ja lending his hand to Jon while I just covered the rear. You will not imagine the number of close shaves we had, from the near misses at the edge of the cliffs to the countless cuts on our hands as we steady ourselves on all fours. Without a doubt, this was the most physically challenging activity I had in my life...though it was quite rewarding at the same time

We finally made it to the gentle section of the hike, from there one, it was just a walk through the merciless rain to our bus. By this time, Jon could not walk on the path any longer, so I piggy-backed him for a short distance through the rocky path. Thankfully, our bus driver was kind enough to allow us to enter the bus in our drenched state. By this time, the soles on both my shoes has been completely torn off. Our original plan was to proceed on to one of the largest man-made lake in India. But given our state, we decided to just head by to our hostel to clean ourselves us. 

Washed up, did laundry, and went out for "lunch". It was around 5pm then, and dinner was supposed to be at 730. Ordered macaroni and ginger tea (to fight off the effects of being drenched in the rain). Went to the hypermarket and got myself a bar of snickers and some chocolate cookies before returning back to the hostel to meet Sumanahalli's auditor and our landlord for dinner. They were especially nice, ordering Chinese food knowing that most of us are Chinese, and even picked up the tab at the end of the meal.

So this is all for the day! Going to a wildlife nature reserve tomorrow...at 5am...

Mark

PS: Jon is so going to rewrite his itinerary for today for those coming on the second run

We do love our jumpshots! (7 June)

So we were to leave Sumanahalli today, but not before visiting the market. The original plan was to visit the market in the morning, before leaving Sumanahalli for Mysore. As usual, as the school bus needs to send the kids off to school, the day started a little later (but no complaints here, all available time goes to wifi)

Went to support (HIV) to pick up several patients to the hospital to collect their meds, which resulted in us running a little late. Nonetheless, we reached KR market with a little time to spare and Uncle Mazda gave us a short tour of the place. From the garlands, to the live poultry, to the fresh fruits along the way, the market felt more like a slum than a real slum. Crowded, messy and confusing.

Cow chowing down trash

The market looks more like a slum than a slum

The raw meat smells the worst!!!

I think I'm both scared and excited 

As the bus has left us, we were suppose to take a public transport back to Sumanahalli on our phone. Jon has previously gave us many harrowing stories abt taking public transports, from buses never stopping and passengers having to jump on and offboard. Luckily it was the off peak period and we were at the interchange, so we were spared all of that. Bus conductors are usual in most countries (especially developing ones), but having separate compartments from male and female passengers was still a first. The ride was as bumpy as it could, my ass was flying off after going past every hump.

They still practice having bus conductors 

We were soon back to Sumanahalli, where we had to collect our bags and leave for Mysore. Father George gave us a bag of mangoes for our trip. Of course, before leaving, we had to do jumpshots, and this became a trend for the rest of the day (and I presume for the rest of the trip). The bus was surprisingly comfy with air conditioning. A little squeezy but I had worse before. 

The first of many jumpshots. We are such naturals at it

Lunch at KFC! Seeing KFC is tantamount to seeing water in a desert. A group of us shared a bucket of fried chicken, and I went to a nearby cafe for some cool quality coffee (seriously, food is like the only source of comfort here), and we were soon on our way. Our first tourist attraction was the Mysore palace. The perks of having an Tamil on the trip is that we can pass off as locals. The local Indians pay abt 40 rupees to enter but the foreigners are charged like 200 rupees. So we pass off as local Indians (as impossible as we look...though Jon said just to keep repeating that we are from moneepuu). As we entered, G was caught with a camera, but things were quickly settled with a 10'rupee gift to the security. Without a guide and knowledge of the language, we were basically flying blind in the palace, so we just came up with our own history of the place (some archduke etc etc) and smoke each other (the palace is the first institution in India to have ceiling fans blah blah blah). No tourist visits by Singaporeans is complete without jumpshots, so we did a couple in full view of the India locals

Another one in front of Mysore palace. I really like this one! :)

An hour later, it was back to the bus, and on our way to the next state (I'm still having a lot of trouble with Indian names...took me 2 days to remember Sumanahalli). A long ride where we past time with our playlist (they had to go play like my Cantonese songs, batman theme and the imperial march -.-). But oh well, we reach eventually. Was originally suppose to be 2 rooms, one for the guys and another for the girls, but it became one for everyone. The only improvement from Sumanahalli is that this place has hot water, though u need to fill it with a pail. Went for dinner at a roadside stall after dropping our bags...and it seems so natural to talk abt how violent our diarrhea will be the next day. 

Mark

A full fledged tourist in India 

Last day at Sumanahalli :( (6 June)

Technically, there's another day tomorrow, but we're leaving tomorrow and this is supposedly the last full day of activities. So the plan for today is to engage the kids at the St Joseph convent school.

As usual, the kids were damn excited to see us! We were suppose to be there for flag raising, but I think we missed it. So we went straight into computers lessons, teaching the higher grade students how to use Microsoft word and PowerPoint. I actually doubt thru retain much of it, but it's still good to be aware that such programs exist and what possibilities they bring. The students range from the demure angelic and ever-eager to learn girls to the devilish clowns in class that nearly made me snap at them.

PF in action!

One of the 3 kids I'm coaching 

Midway through, we joined the students for lunch, where I sat among a group of little girls. As usual, I gobbled up lunch quickly and ran around to play with the boys, trying out a little of their cricket, trying to topple a stone wall from afar with a ball and being made used of to borrow the volleyball. The lower grade boys were obsessed with my height, which resulted in me having to carry them up and down (that little paternal instinct leaked out)

All enthusiastic to get in front of the camera!

So demure looking!

After lunch was back to computer lessons, where we continued to conduct classes while the principal round up the school for a little surprise. After being segregated according to their age group, we each went to the group and tried to engage them a little. Since we were supposed to talk abt dreams, I went around asking every kid in the group for their name and what they would like to do when they grew up. Common answers among the girls include teacher and doctors, while the guys almost unanimously wanted to be police officers. A few interesting ones include being a sister and engineers.

Broke up into grps to share about their dreams and ambition

The highlight of the day was definitely the balloons. The plan was to give everyone a balloon, write their dreams down on the balloon and then release it as a school. So each of us took like 30 balloons each and started giving them out to the kids (it really felt like being Santa). Given the the rain was coming, we decided to skip the writing off dreams and proceed with the release of balloons. After a thankfully short speech by the principal, everyone released their balloons together, and the sky was filled with a myriad of colors as the students let loose as their dreams took flight. Our day at the school ended with a short interaction with the students, where I engaged them in simple sports like volleyball and dodgeball. 

Us giving out balloons! Really felt like Santa for the day

We went back to complete our mural painting, and waited for the next activity at support (which houses HIV patients). They were sending off one if their long term staff and we were invited to attend as well. Members of staff and Father George offered kind words to the leaving sister while we were suppose to put up a short perform (which we didn't prep at all). It got a little emotional, with all the sisters sobbing and offering hugs. At last, we decide to sing 'I'm Yours" (thankful for the last night sing-along session in bunks) and luckily I happen to have lyrics on my phone. Thank god for musically talented HY and Jon on their ukuleles and Ja on his guitar. Dinner came soon after and was served with ice cream. At this point in time, anything cold and sweet is greatly appreciated. We stayed at support for a while longer and had sing-along sessions there with the girls (their bunk is at support). The indians wanted a dancer and naturally C got all our votes (and i got it down on video :p). Took a late night walk back to our hut (the only good thing abt our hut is its location!)

Dancer from support

Father George and the other sisters

Dancing PK! Support vs Singapore!

Mark!

Starting to miss this place

PS: I really love the kids here

Out of Sumanahalli (5 June)

The itinerary for today is a full day out of Sumanahalli, where we were supposed to spend the day visiting the slums and the commercial areas in Bangalore, away from Sumanahalli. The day started out slow though, with our driver delayed by having to send the Sumanahalli kids to school

But we soon got on our way, where we visited an area that was set up in the outskirts of Sumanahalli, an area built by Sumanahalli to house those that have recovered from their illness and attempting to place them back into society. Went into one if the schools while they were having classes, and sang "Twinkle twinkle little star" (dun judge, it was impromptu). Sadly, the kids didn't seem to understand it and were more excited when we said "goodbye". We went further into the slums, which wasn't as bad as I imagined. There wasn't the dilapidated attap houses, or the abundance of beggars on the streets. On the other hand, most had shelter (though a little rundown but definitely livable). 

Classroom!

Built haphazardly...

The kitchen

The living room

Moving on, we visited a real slum. The previous one was more like a official shelter, while this is the real thing. Still, it wasn't as bad as I imagine, though there were like cows sharing shelter with people, dubious greenish puddles of water which we steered clear. One of the Sumanahalli elder served as a guide to our slum visits, where he brought us to the different areas like the clinic, day care centre and schools etc. Here's the funny thing. Though they were living in slums, they were very warm...and for a lack of better word, very human. Most were very forthcoming when it comes to taking photos, and were delighted to see themselves on our camera. Of course, some of the elderly folks rejected it. Oh! And ya ya, I got a parrot on me too! :)

A real slum

Cows and man living side by side

Earning a livelihood in the slums

Many excited to pose for the camera

Another school in session

Leaving the slums, we were to have lunch at a local hotel. But the driver suddenly suggests lunch at his house. Apparently, the area was originally a city slum, but in an effort to remove the slums from the city, the government upgraded a lot of the facilities. We were served in disposable plates, which came in the form of a knitted mix of paper and leaves (sorry, but it's a little hard to describe. We were told that it was not welcomed in their custom to share plates, and thus were served disposable ones. Lunch was homely, though the curry was slightly too hot for the stomach. 

Lunch on disposable "plates"

Got my Indian markings (or whatever u call that)

Next up was a visit to "Mobility", where they create prosthetic limbs for the disabled. We were required a pay a small fee, though some of us thought it might be more like a bribe. So we were given a tour around the facilities, with one of the staff from corporate communications serving as our guide. I must say that they do have very well-rounded facilities, with playgrounds to keep children entertained, a training ground for patients with newly-installed prosthetic and slopes instead of stars.

Dinner and the visit to Commercial street was next up on the agenda. Sadly, we were informed by our drivers that they had to return by 730, so it was either Hardrock cafe or commercial street. Eventually, we came to a common consensus to have dinner at Hardrock cafe and make our own way to Commercial street and then back to Sumanahalli. Oh gosh, we ate as though it was like the final day and we were celebrating (I guess this is wad 3 days of curry rice will do to you). So it was like steaks, burgers, pasts, cheesecake, ice-cream and pitchers! Really spent quite a bomb...I think the bill came up to abt $20 per person

Gave in to temptation just on our third day :/

XL joined us after dinner, and we took our maiden auto-rickshaw ride to commercial street. Though we negotiated for 60 rupees, we ended up paying 100 rupees due to a lack of change. So we just walked around the street...shopping has never been my kind of thing. I guess the highlight of commercial street came when we were abt to leave, where we had to bargain for the auto-rickshaw ride back. I guess we were a little overbearing, trying to squeeze 6 into an auto and avoid paying more. Ultimately, we managed to settle for one and a half, though we were slightly scammed when the meter went much higher than expected.

Just as I thought the day has ended, there was dinner/supper waiting for us, so we forced a little food down, kind of need to show some respect that we had the food. Haha, the day seems to end later and later. It's almost 1am! 

Nights

Mark!

PS: I think I forgot to mention that Sumanahalli means "The village of people with good hearts" 

Results day! (4 June)

At least for the rest of them. Haha, the nus guys are suppose to get their results today, and by the looks of it, most of them did extremely well. I guess it's the good karma :)

Hmm, so the plan for the day was actually to visit the mobile clinic and watch the changing in dressing, and for the second part of the day, we spent the day at the leprosy area, doing up individual photo frame from the patients and then a mural painting for the infrastructure 

So first up was the visitation to the mobile clinic, where leprosy patients visit it to have their dressing changed on a regular basis. There were 2 sisters and a German nurse who is volunteering. We were supposed to observe and then do dressings for some of the patients. To be honest, most of the limbs don't look like limbs anymore, but it still needs to be cleanse as the wounds never heals. So we went to Ave Marie (where they house the leprosy victims). There, we were suppose to help some of the patients to dress their wounds. So L and G went in first. Eventually, I did went in as well, but my eventual conclusion is to leave it to the professionals.

Changing the dressing for the lepers - a job best left to the professionals

Up next is the handicraft session, where we took Polaroid photos and created a photo frame for them. The group was split into 2, one to take the phobia and to offer themselves as models, while another group worked on and beautifying the photo frame. Given my lack of creative touch, I relegated myself to just helping out with the masking tapes and some simple craftwork.

Photoframe for individual patient in Ave Marie 

Yep...we made quite a lot

Went for lunch after that, and then proceed on with the mural painting. Given that I was the only one tall enough (who says being tall is an advantage?), so I did mostof the cleaning and the sanding of the wall while others tried to get the right colors out and the rest did some work for the patients.

Midway through was the sumanahalli AGM, where we were invited to attend it (I had to attend with paint-filled hands). Looking at the different presentation provided good insights on the scope of Sumanahalli humanitarian efforts. Also learn that the priests snd the sister took not only the vow of chastity, but also a vow of poverty. After that was back to the mural painting, where we touch it up with another coat of paint. The paint actually melts through the plastic cup...making me worry a little abt leaving the paint on my hand for that long. Eventually, it was between an overdose of thinner or paint, so I guess a mix of both up then.

While waiting for the soccer session with Father George, we went to the pagoda to kill time, where HY entertained us with her ukulele while we sang along. Hmm...I totally feel like picking up my guitar again! So we were soon invited to soccer with Father George at Ave Marie.

So it was a 5v5 match. Haiz...sometimes when presented with a challenge, u have to meet it headstrong even if u have 2 broken toenails. But ultimately, it was fun (we lost but it wasn't a total walkover) and a great way to interact with them (for guys, sports is a universal language...most guys). The girls had a go with touch rugby too, and I must add that they were seriously violent.

The few of us with Father George

Dinner came late at around 930. I usually dun eat much after exercising, so just carbo load with plan rice. Met Father George there, we offered to bring us for ice cream after dinner. That place was suppose to be the Starbucks equivalent in Singapore. So each table shared an ice-cream (had a banana float at my table) before sending us back to the dorms

Glorious ice-cream!

Tmr will be a visit to the slums and other places out of Sumanahalli! Quite excited to see the rest of Bangalore! :)

Mark

PS: Quote of the day from the AGM: Sometimes, our circumstances can beautify our life, but it takes courage on our part :)

And I thought living conditions couldn't be worse (3 June)

Haha, as a Singapore, and having my own share of stories on how dilapidated living conditions (in the army are), this has to be a new low (apart from Tiger Hill, nothing could be worse than that). No Wifi, no hot water, no power socket says it all

Alright, enough with the complaints, go back to the start. As I firmly believe, the people on this trip should be nice, and boy was I proven right. A number of them are very seasoned travelers, having led YEPs to other countries etc. Been a great time sharing our experiences and getting to know each other better on our way to Sumanahalli.

The trip to Sumanahalli was without much of a hiccup, though it was a really lengthy journey. As written above, living conditions was below expectations (Jon did say to have zero expectations...and I thought I'm a really easy-going person alr), but it was nothing we wouldn't deal with. Then again, the whole experience is made better by my more musically talented roommates (Jukebox!)

To Sumanahalli on the magic school bus!

Sumanahalli - village of people of good heart

Day 1 started off late with breakfast (I think it was close to 4am by the time we settled down at Sumanahalli), where we were greeted with some authentic indian food (Poori)...grinded rice with flour which tasted great. After breakfast was followed by an inauguration ceremony, which was attended by a couple of MBA students and occupational therapist. The MBA students were fiery to say the least, shooting questions with regards to the financial status of Singapore etc (Yoohoo...finance student here). Then came the inauguration ceremony, where were we given a talk and a presentation by those in charge (Father George etc). The inauguration ceremony was rather unique itself, where they lit up a five sided candles. We were also presented with roses from the occupational therapist (Yay! I seldom receive flowers)

The inauguration ceremony 

So the day consists of visits to the various arms of Sumanahalli, such as the leprosy homes, the school, the HIV home and a vocational training house for street boys. It was great learning how the organisation tried to support themselves through various means and be self-reliant, and how helping others go beyond just provided physical and financial assistance. A larger part goes into inculcating self-worth and reintegration into the society. As Angel puts it, "It is not just about saving lives, but about saving souls". There is something very heartening about 2 HIV patients getting married and starting a family (Sometimes, the risk that you are willing to take can turn something awful into something beautiful)

The leprosy home - Ave Marie

The St Joseph School

Bosco - where they pick up street kids and pass them skills 

Garment factory where self reliance is being promoted

Like the guys here said, diarrhea in India is a given. So most have been complaining about the queasy feeling or the bubbling in the stomach. Not too sure if it's just in the mind, but I do hope that everyone will be safe and healthy. This trip is too awesome for someone to fall sick!

So looking forward to the mural painting tomorrow...though painting is definitely not one of my forte.

Mark!

India! Here i come again!!!

So this is like the sequel within the sequel. Just as I wrapped up my travels in Cambodia and Vietnam, I'm about to embark on another adventure, a social tourism trip to India.

The weeklong prep had been rather hectic. I guess we were too slack and didn't do much planning for the trip. It's been a rather crazy week, having to attend a meetup and M and N's wedding the day immediately after I touch down from Hanoi (I'm like half dead and totally in a I-just-want-to-slack-at-home mood) but what needs to be done needs to be done. So the week was spend running around the country, collecting bedsheets from C at Simei, borrowing a Polaroid camera from Y at the Expo, packing and doing up PowerPoint presentations, going to boys home like thrice in a week (I admit it's a slight overkill...but I really learn to love going there!) and then inserted lunch/dinner with YL and YP is whatever pocket of time that is left. Super busy, but it always beats idling around.

Just to touch a little on the trip. I've always been skeptical about how effective such trips are, as I see them as being cost ineffective. In a way, I'm paying $400 to fly there and back, doing like 3-4 days of work. Assuming my daily labour reaps like $30 of value, I'm in essence paying $400 to fly there, and contributing only $90-120 worth of work. Might as well donate the air ticket to them, and like what every economist would tell u, cash is the best incentive as the people can decide how to maximize their utility individually.

So my purpose here is actually to observe. Less of an altruistic motive, more of just satisfying my curiosity. I've been to India before, and this is a place I have no confidence of traveling alone. So this is a golden opportunity to take a look at the inner workings of the country. The social tourism part is an added advantage, allowing me to understand something that you will never find in Singapore (Singapore has poorer people, but we don't have the poor and destitute). Just before people start tearing me apart for sounding a little heartless and callous, I still do believe in helping others, I just don't believe that it's the best way to. We are all entitled to our own personal view of this world. So for me, I am just there to observe and understand, and at the same time, help others. Which i think might be slightly different from the other participants, who might be there to help others, and at the same time, observe and understand.

I'm both excited and a little worried. Excited because India is such an exotic place, and I'm sure wonderful things will happen along the way. Worried because apart from SW, I don't actually know anyone from the group. After cultivating a taste for traveling on my own, the prospect of traveling with others, and in this case, mostly strangers, sounds a little daunting. But I'm confident that most of them are v nice people...I shall try harder to be nice too :/

The flight is in a couple of hours. My next post is likely to be from India! :)

Mark

Heading out again