India Travellers Meet in California

wonderwomanusa · Sep 7th, 2003, 06:57

Bijapuri, WonderWomanUSA, Mrs. B (Tina) and Byron had lunch today, at Salang Pass in Fremont ("Little Kabul") California. The Afghan food was really good, as was the company.

<now if Photoshop will let me get this file small enough to upload, you'll get to see it!>

apsk121 · Sep 7th, 2003, 07:21

Nice !

bijapuri · Sep 7th, 2003, 09:32

true dat!
A good time was had by us, yakking about the early 1970's although I'm afraid we bored the new india hands, lolol!

bijapuri · Sep 7th, 2003, 09:38

WW- Byron and I were botrh mightily impressed by the coffee. Usually we doze off on our way back to SCruz, but not today. In fact I went for a bicycle ride after we got in! The rose ice cream was unbelievable as well.

- You will have to "come back after some time" and we'll take you to our fave dhaba- the Town Tandoori, in the same 'hood. Similar food but SPICEEEEYYYY!

Am very jealous your trip starts so soon. I can hear the North calling this Southie!

BiJ

wonderwomanusa · Sep 7th, 2003, 10:32

I am still pretty wired on the coffee, but it was HORRIBLE!

I'd love to try the dhaba ... it's an easy trip (takes just about one hour) so let's try to do that one of these days.

In my dreams, I'm walking on the streets of Delhi... weird.

steven_ber · Sep 7th, 2003, 16:05

Sounds great, not sure about the wallpaper, this new India hand would love to hear about the 70's from some old-timers.

These localised indiamike meetings could be caching on.

wonderwomanusa · Sep 7th, 2003, 23:37

That's a painted mural behind us .. very peaceful looking and (more and) better visible from the "Afghan room" (seating on floor cushions) across the way.

Nice collection of older things from Afghanistan on various shelves -- a lovely hookay, a very old rifle like those the tribesmen carried before they were given AK-47s, bits and pieces of the former lives of our hostess, who left as a small child in 1979.

So, are you going back to India this year, Steven? I'll be very happy to tell you some stories....

steven_ber · Sep 8th, 2003, 00:06

Probably in January, though the furthest west I will get will be Calcutta, the only members I know who are going over that way are Paan Wallah and Iain_C, anyone else?

I'm hoping Assam/Tripura will be like Rajasthan was in the seventies, if that makes any sense.

wonderwomanusa · Sep 8th, 2003, 01:54

I'll be in Kolkata, but probably a bit earlier than January, since I leave India from Delhi on 6 January.

I suspect that you won't run into a lot of other travellers in those Northeastern areas! It should be terribly interesting... though not very Hindu, I believe. Lots of Christians up that way. I suppose that's better than turning a corner and running into a group of head hunters, though!

paan wallah · Sep 8th, 2003, 04:04

high steven

I m not sure if I will make it to the north east in january...
I ll be arriving in trivandrum on december the 17th...
and you know from there it s a looooooong way up to assam,tripura and bangladesh

maybe some other indiamikers want to meet around this date
somewhere south??

IainC · Sep 8th, 2003, 04:19

Hello Guys,
I love this thread already! I hope that you all had a fantastic time meeting up and it is really great to see a photo of you all.
The rifle that the Afghans had before the AK47 was the short barrelled Lee Enfield No:4 .303, which British Army snipers were still using up until about 5 years ago. For those of you that are heading to West Bengal, Assam, Bangladesh in December 03-Jan 04, then I would love to meet up with you! I will be there also. Although I am quite sure that I will meet up with Steve before then!
IainC.

wonderwomanusa · Sep 8th, 2003, 06:05

That rifle was a lot older than the Enfields -- I've forgotten now what they are (but I saw a lot of them in Afghanistan in the 70s).

Iain, I'll probably be past Calcutta by early December, though ya never do know. Where do you plan to stay?

-m2- · Sep 8th, 2003, 06:42

those were locally made copies of some really, really old rifles. the barrels must have been 5ft long!

Samsara · Sep 8th, 2003, 09:46

<<In my dreams, I'm walking on the streets of Delhi... weird.>>

I thought you hated Delhi...! Too wierd, lol.

That restaurant looks great, love the mural.

By the way, I saw this great documentary, The Old Elephant Road, which was about searching for wild elephants and a possible corridor of elephants between far North East India (that corner that is in far Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, bordered by Burma where Steven_Ber is also going into it) and South East Asia. It was simply stunning, the various tribes, the stunning scenery (I was born in this area and the scenery in that doco was so eerily familiar - it was like going back in time! Very freaky.) So Steven_Ber, the further you get off the beaten track and more towards the Chokin Pass (that's how it was pronounced but I don't know how it's spelled - I have to look up this pass on the map...don't know if it's the same one as the other pass into Burma but I'm getting the feeling not - it was so remote that they needed various tribesmen of different tribes and elephants as transport to get there - really wild area).

I wish I had taped this documentary - but I turned on the TV just in time to see it - didn't realise it was going to be on and I don't have a video recorder anyway. It went into the history, tribal histories, and ecological history of the whole area - wow, it has to be one of the best documentaries I've seen. If you do a search on google "the old elephant road" you'll find some stuff on it - it's a film made by environmentalists and wild elephant experts and a French filmmaker - the wild elephant is really under threat in India and their migratory corridors are disappearing. But apart from that, the film had so much stuff on who were some of the tribes in the area (some are tiny and are deep in the jungle and forests - and they only way to found out about who they were meeting along the way sometimes was to ask, "what is your tribe". Some of them are still animists and living a traditional tribal hunter/gatherer lifestyle as they were/are living way out of the reach of anyone, including missionaries. You wonder what will happen to these people...let alone the elephants and also the other wildlife in the area. The whole area should be made a giant national park in my opinion - with very restricted access except for the tribes already living there. The people who made this film, I think there's a fund connected to it, to do with saving the elephants. The scenery in the area is lovely in the remote parts still, rivers, jungle, forest and surreal backdrop of the snowy Himalayas in the background (just like I remembered!).

vinayverma · Sep 8th, 2003, 15:11

Seems great..and I envy you all

Anyway we can have one in Delhi too ....soon

I'm always 'ON' for one anytime.
For North East, make sure you have all the permits done (I'm sure you all know about it). The weather is going to be great during Nov-Dec-Jan. States to be avoided (or restricted to main cities ) are, Mizoram, Assam, & Nagaland.
I have few friends in NE right now, shooting a film. Will get more real-time info as they get back to Delhi by last week of Sept.

WW: About head hunting tribe, Yes there is one (I know off) in Nagaland and they play this 'game' once every year.

Cheers
Vinay
Delhi

Sep 7th, 2003, 06:57	#1
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,568	India Travellers Meet in California Bijapuri, WonderWomanUSA, Mrs. B (Tina) and Byron had lunch today, at Salang Pass in Fremont ("Little Kabul") California. The Afghan food was really good, as was the company. <now if Photoshop will let me get this file small enough to upload, you'll get to see it!> Attached Thumbnails

Sep 7th, 2003, 07:21	#2
apsk121 Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Mohali, Punjab Posts: 25	Nice ! __________________ http://www.g2003.tk

Sep 7th, 2003, 09:32	#3
bijapuri laid traps for troubadours Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Priustan Posts: 2,601	true dat! A good time was had by us, yakking about the early 1970's although I'm afraid we bored the new india hands, lolol! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential. Barack Obama lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/ Utube fuzzy logic: http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

Sep 7th, 2003, 10:32	#5
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,568	I am still pretty wired on the coffee, but it was HORRIBLE! I'd love to try the dhaba ... it's an easy trip (takes just about one hour) so let's try to do that one of these days. In my dreams, I'm walking on the streets of Delhi... weird. __________________ The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

Sep 8th, 2003, 15:11	#15
vinayverma Maha Infrequent Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 1,295	WOW !! Seems great..and I envy you all Anyway we can have one in Delhi too ....soon I'm always 'ON' for one anytime. For North East, make sure you have all the permits done (I'm sure you all know about it). The weather is going to be great during Nov-Dec-Jan. States to be avoided (or restricted to main cities ) are, Mizoram, Assam, & Nagaland. I have few friends in NE right now, shooting a film. Will get more real-time info as they get back to Delhi by last week of Sept. WW: About head hunting tribe, Yes there is one (I know off) in Nagaland and they play this 'game' once every year. Cheers Vinay Delhi __________________ If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

Sep 7th, 2003, 09:38	#4
bijapuri laid traps for troubadours Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Priustan Posts: 2,601	WW- Byron and I were botrh mightily impressed by the coffee. Usually we doze off on our way back to SCruz, but not today. In fact I went for a bicycle ride after we got in! The rose ice cream was unbelievable as well. - You will have to "come back after some time" and we'll take you to our fave dhaba- the Town Tandoori, in the same 'hood. Similar food but SPICEEEEYYYY! Am very jealous your trip starts so soon. I can hear the North calling this Southie! BiJ

Sep 7th, 2003, 16:05	#6
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,646	Sounds great, not sure about the wallpaper, this new India hand would love to hear about the 70's from some old-timers. These localised indiamike meetings could be caching on.

Sep 7th, 2003, 23:37	#7
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,568	That's a painted mural behind us .. very peaceful looking and (more and) better visible from the "Afghan room" (seating on floor cushions) across the way. Nice collection of older things from Afghanistan on various shelves -- a lovely hookay, a very old rifle like those the tribesmen carried before they were given AK-47s, bits and pieces of the former lives of our hostess, who left as a small child in 1979. So, are you going back to India this year, Steven? I'll be very happy to tell you some stories....

Sep 8th, 2003, 00:06	#8
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,646	Probably in January, though the furthest west I will get will be Calcutta, the only members I know who are going over that way are Paan Wallah and Iain_C, anyone else? I'm hoping Assam/Tripura will be like Rajasthan was in the seventies, if that makes any sense.

Sep 8th, 2003, 01:54	#9
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,568	I'll be in Kolkata, but probably a bit earlier than January, since I leave India from Delhi on 6 January. I suspect that you won't run into a lot of other travellers in those Northeastern areas! It should be terribly interesting... though not very Hindu, I believe. Lots of Christians up that way. I suppose that's better than turning a corner and running into a group of head hunters, though!

Sep 8th, 2003, 04:04	#10
paan wallah kitchen guru Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: universe Posts: 344	high steven I m not sure if I will make it to the north east in january... I ll be arriving in trivandrum on december the 17th... and you know from there it s a looooooong way up to assam,tripura and bangladesh maybe some other indiamikers want to meet around this date somewhere south??

Sep 8th, 2003, 04:19	#11
IainC Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London Posts: 194	Hello Guys, I love this thread already! I hope that you all had a fantastic time meeting up and it is really great to see a photo of you all. The rifle that the Afghans had before the AK47 was the short barrelled Lee Enfield No:4 .303, which British Army snipers were still using up until about 5 years ago. For those of you that are heading to West Bengal, Assam, Bangladesh in December 03-Jan 04, then I would love to meet up with you! I will be there also. Although I am quite sure that I will meet up with Steve before then! IainC.

Sep 8th, 2003, 06:05	#12
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,568	That rifle was a lot older than the Enfields -- I've forgotten now what they are (but I saw a lot of them in Afghanistan in the 70s). Iain, I'll probably be past Calcutta by early December, though ya never do know. Where do you plan to stay?

Sep 8th, 2003, 06:42	#13
-m2- . Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: . Posts: 1,577	those were locally made copies of some really, really old rifles. the barrels must have been 5ft long!

Sep 8th, 2003, 09:46	#14
Samsara Sentient Being Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 507	<<In my dreams, I'm walking on the streets of Delhi... weird.>> I thought you hated Delhi...! Too wierd, lol. That restaurant looks great, love the mural. By the way, I saw this great documentary, The Old Elephant Road, which was about searching for wild elephants and a possible corridor of elephants between far North East India (that corner that is in far Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, bordered by Burma where Steven_Ber is also going into it) and South East Asia. It was simply stunning, the various tribes, the stunning scenery (I was born in this area and the scenery in that doco was so eerily familiar - it was like going back in time! Very freaky.) So Steven_Ber, the further you get off the beaten track and more towards the Chokin Pass (that's how it was pronounced but I don't know how it's spelled - I have to look up this pass on the map...don't know if it's the same one as the other pass into Burma but I'm getting the feeling not - it was so remote that they needed various tribesmen of different tribes and elephants as transport to get there - really wild area). I wish I had taped this documentary - but I turned on the TV just in time to see it - didn't realise it was going to be on and I don't have a video recorder anyway. It went into the history, tribal histories, and ecological history of the whole area - wow, it has to be one of the best documentaries I've seen. If you do a search on google "the old elephant road" you'll find some stuff on it - it's a film made by environmentalists and wild elephant experts and a French filmmaker - the wild elephant is really under threat in India and their migratory corridors are disappearing. But apart from that, the film had so much stuff on who were some of the tribes in the area (some are tiny and are deep in the jungle and forests - and they only way to found out about who they were meeting along the way sometimes was to ask, "what is your tribe". Some of them are still animists and living a traditional tribal hunter/gatherer lifestyle as they were/are living way out of the reach of anyone, including missionaries. You wonder what will happen to these people...let alone the elephants and also the other wildlife in the area. The whole area should be made a giant national park in my opinion - with very restricted access except for the tribes already living there. The people who made this film, I think there's a fund connected to it, to do with saving the elephants. The scenery in the area is lovely in the remote parts still, rivers, jungle, forest and surreal backdrop of the snowy Himalayas in the background (just like I remembered!).

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