Sublimity…

While India may be one country politically, in geography it is often referred to as a sub-continent, and there’s no shortage of reasons why this terminology is appropriate. First off, the land area is huge (not much smaller than the “continent” of Oceania which is basically Australia) and contains a huge diversity of natural environments (everything from deltas to deserts and jungles to alpine peaks). However, I think that the fact that the region is essentially isolated from its neighbours by nearly impenetrable desert, mountains and ocean along its entire border is what really grants it sub-continent status (and the geologist in me has to point out that not that long ago – only a few million years – it was its own continent, drifting alone in the Indian Ocean).

Given that every single other habited continent has multiple countries on it, it seems odd that this one has only one (true, technically there are 4 others, but they don’t have the size or diversity, and are all are on the edge of the sub-continent, so I think I can justifiably say that they are insignificant in comparison – the sub-continent is called India after all…). Despite the range of environmental diversity, the social and cultural diversity of the country is much larger – hundreds of languages, thousands of cultures and millions of different lifestyles. Given all this, and the way chaos reigns here, it’s absolutely astounding that this country manages to stay together, most everyone would agree that in many ways it makes more sense to have several separate countries.

If India was ever going to be majorly split (ignoring all the constant border spats with Pakistan and China – as sensitive as the issues are, the areas in question are relatively small), it would likely split in half, north and south. The north you have the mountains and great plains, where the ginormous population mostly speaks (or at least understands) Hindi, where the people are mostly Hindu – but with major Muslim influences. Compare this with the southern part, lush tropical coastlines and dry inland plateaus, inhabited by people who speak languages completely unintelligible to a Hindi speaker (which is why English is the only truly national language of the country, it’s the only way South Indians and North Indians can communicate) and whose culture is still Hindu, but different than in the north, much more influenced by Christianity than Islam. There isn’t really a sharp line separating these two regions, over the millennia there has been substantial intermixing, but somewhere in the 2200km between Delhi and Chennai (likely around the MP/Maharastra border), you start to feel like you’ve entered another world.

However, my impressions of “India” are almost entirely based on North India. Between the 11 months I lived in this country 10 years ago and the 9 months I’ve been here so far this time, I’ve spent a total of 3 weeks in the south. To make up for this, ever since arriving in October I’ve been wanting to go back and explore around more, but given the size of it (distances between places, and size of area to explore) and climate considerations (it’s too hot most of the year, and also wet for a significant portion), I haven’t done it yet. However with work commitments now done, I’ve got 3.5 months before I leave to explore, and while the first part of that is still likely to be hot and wet, I figure that by the time my parents leave near the end of August, it’ll be pleasant enough to make the trip down. Plus, if I leave it any later, it’s just not going to happen due to lack of time, so it’s September or bust.

So I once again pulled out my trusty trip-planner (AKA “the book”, Lonely Planet) and read through all the parts on Southern India. Some places from our trip 10 years ago seemed like they’d be worth repeating (Ajanta, Ellora, Kerala) but there were quite a few places I’ve never been to that looked appealing. Overall, this trip is going to cover a lot more new ground than my December adventure in Western India, and I’m excited for that. Given time constraints and the amount of distance to cover, this one looks like it will be a little more rushed than the previous one, but on reflection, I think my December trip was a little slow at times, and there were certainly instances I was sitting/wandering around in places because I’d planned too much time there, and would have been just as happy moving on sooner (if it hadn’t been for my train reservations, I would have).

I think the best (and neatest) way to describe the trip is to show it to you – give you a sense of just how far I’ll be going, and the number/diversity of places I’ll be stopping through. A picture (map) is worth a thousand words, so here it is, and for those who want to know more, the words follow (actually less than a thousand for a change!)

View fullscreen map »

So here’s the plan (in words):

Madhya Pradesh:

• Aug 26 – Gwalior: A big imposing fort provides the main attraction here
• Aug 27 – Khajuraho: Takes all morning to get here, but once you arrive Khajuraho gives you a taste of some of India’s most famous temples. Conservative India sure didn’t carve these ‘erotic’ buildings
• Aug 28 – Khajuraho: Take in the rest of Khajuraho (too much for one day) and then head back to base camp at Jhansi
• Aug 29 – Orcha: A cluster of spectacular abandoned palaces just outside of Jhansi that are a must see for any Indian tourist
• Aug 30 – Bhopal: Spend the morning getting there, and then the afternoon exploring the city (infamous for the cyanide disaster back in the 80′s)
• Aug 31 – Sanchi: Some of the first (and best) Buddist stupas in India are located just outside Bhopal
• Sept 01 – Bhimbeteka: Ancient caves filled with paintings from 12,000 years ago, then on to Indore
• Sept 02 – Omkareshwar: A spiritual island in the Narmanda River, supposed to be a lively place
• Sept 03 – Mandu: Deserted remains of an Afghan-style citadel perched out on a remote plateau – “enchanting…”
• Sept 04 – Mandu: More time to appreciate Mandu at a relaxed pace, wander around the ruins
• Sept 05 – Indore: Back to Indore to catch a train on to Mumbai

Maharashtra:

• Sept 06 – Mumbai: I’ve heard so much about it but never been, so I figured I couldn’t leave India this time without seeing what the ruckus is all about
• Sept 07 – Mumbai: Any city this big needs more than one day to appreciate
• Sept 08 – Ajanta: Stunning murals painted in caves carved out of a sheer cliff by Buddist monks using spoons (no joke)
• Sept 09 – Ellora: 34 temples cut out of a rocky hillside – a true stunner
• Sept 10 – Dhalatabad: The fort to end all forts, built by a former Sultan of Northern India who moved his capital (and force-marched all its inhabitants) from Delhi to this hilltop fortress 1100km away

Andra Pradesh:

• Sept 11 – Hyderabad: Though a big city, there’s a lot to see and apparently lots of charm in this southern metropolis
• Sept 12 – Golconda: The ruins of a huge fortress just outside Hyderabad

Karnataka:

• Sept 13 – Hampi: The ruined capital of the largest Hindu empire in all of Indian history, now inhabited only by boulders
• Sept 14 – Hampi: “The Book” says you could spend a week in Hampi, so I figured I’d need more than one day
• Sept 15 – Bangalore: I’ve heard a lot about ‘Silicon Valley East’, now I want to see what it’s all about
• Sept 16 – Bangalore: A city with such prosperity promises to have a huge diversity – what I like to explore most
• Sept 17 – Mysore: Colourful, lively Mysore, with a palace full of wonders (and luckily an awesome light show on Sunday nights)
• Sept 18 – Mysore: Some time to relax and soak up the rest of Mysore
• Sept 19 – Halebid & Belur: Half-finished remains of some spectacular, completely unique temples
• Sept 20 – Mangalore: Train trip down through the hills to the coast, and some time to explore this different world

Kerala:

• Sept 21 – Cochin: The hub of Kerala, lots of sights, events, and basically fun
• Sept 22 – Quilon: Starting point for exploring the backwater canals that crisscross rural Kerala, and exploring the unique lifestyles found here
• Sept 23 – Varkala: A day on the beach, supposed to be a little less touristy with better scenery around
• Sept 24 – Padmanabhupuram Palace: A fabulous teak palace displaying the pinnacle of Southern luxury

Tamil Nadu:

• Sept 25 – Kanniyakumari: Last point before Antarctica and the meeting point of 3 seas, there’s apparently some neat temples too
• Sept 26 – Trichy: Hustling city with flare, but the highlights are two magnificent temples (on perched on a sheer pinnacle of rock)
• Sept 27 – Pondicherry: As continental as you get in India, this former French colony provides a unique experience
• Sept 28 – Delhi: Parachute (hopefully not literally, but I’m not sure I trust discount airlines in this country…) into Delhi from Chennai and soak up my last taste of India in this city that constantly astounds me

34 days, 8 states, 5450km (straight line, it’s going to end up much more than that) and more diversity than you can possibly imagine all combine to suggest that this is going to be quite the adventure – but that’s what I’m looking for!

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