Weirdest place in India?

wandering_kat · Apr 23rd, 2006, 22:02

Malana's mine - I think the only place in India i didn't feel welcome....

jens · Apr 23rd, 2006, 22:29

Maheshwar was a little odd. There was supposedly a hotel there that we wanted to go to but never found, with the help of quite a few townspeople. This included "the mayor", this guy who drove around on his motorcycle on his amazingly white, amazingly starched shirt who seemed to also be affiliated with many of the businesses in town and perhaps also apparently the only other "hotel" - a ramshackle place, even by our Pharaganj standards. There was the sari factory which had really nice sari's but was deserted and if you walked out back of it the were the huts with the not_for_show looms in them, surrounded by barbed wire. We ran in to two other tourists, who had been holed up in the "hotel" after military service "chilling out" for a couple of months. You just got this sense that there was a whole other story going on that you couldn't sort out. And of course as I've detailed extensively, Bandhavgar. "Odd" is one of the most subjective things of course, it's all only odd according to our own cultural standards and degrees detached from that at which we feel comfortable, depending on everything else.

New-South-Welshman · Apr 23rd, 2006, 22:51

Ballia in UP. On the border of UP and Bihar. Was so frustrating with getting where I wanted to go it now makes me laugh in hindsight.

PortieOwner · Apr 24th, 2006, 01:41

Weirdest? The Sheraton Hotel in Chanyakipuri. Doesn't seem to be a part of India at all. Clean, air conditioned, quiet, no smells.

Worst? Moradabad. Anytime anyone calls someplace "the asshole of the world" I ask them if they have visited Moradabad.

mmike56 · Apr 24th, 2006, 02:10

just, the Raw Beauty of India ...

Deshnok & Kashi ...

Peace

mmike56

DanielM · Apr 24th, 2006, 05:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by indiamike

I believe you ring the bell if you 'had a good time' and the staff is obliged to scream out 'thank you' afterwards.

But I've never seen a Pizza Hut (thats pronounce Peezah Hat, of course

) with a Bell in the US though. The servers there really scare me. Its like they dont know they are working at a second-rate Peezah chain.

And now, for the enjoyment of all, a Pizza related hindi joke:

What did one pizza say to the other?

Pizza haT!

Mangogirl · Apr 26th, 2006, 23:36

I think Puri is a weird place. There's lots of black magic going on in the fishing village and it's soooo hard to leave that place. First time I went there I only stayed for one week but the second time I stayed for a whole month! And it's not much to see or to do there (except for going to the bhang shop

)

In the parlour · Apr 27th, 2006, 00:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by abracax

All things considered, the weirdest place I ever went in India was the Big Kidskemp store in Bangalore. It's like entering another dimension of conspicuous consumption.

Good choice; this has to be my weirdest place, too. Toys-R-Us in the Twilight Zone.

picklepak · Apr 27th, 2006, 06:28

Auroville in Tamil Nadu is the weirdest place I've been in India. I remember a shallow grave in my beach guesthouse, lots of strange people, strange Auroville meditation rituals, locals (former foreigners) telling me how people "just disappear" around those parts, and Aurovillians who seemed less happy than other Indian folk. Oh well. Varanassi comes in second for me, because I don't understand it. And after six months in India I could only last in Benares some four days... too fruity for me.

JMurray · May 20th, 2006, 10:50

OK, my turn!

Among the weirdest places I saw were the bizarre bazars and choked chowks around the Red Fort in Old Delhi. One street on the west side of the fort was almost entirely auto horn shops. Not mere auto parts, but specifically auto horns! And as if the horns from the busy traffic were not enough, the people from the shops were out front beeping away at their horns as well.

Around the corner from there was a shop selling heads, hooves, and other various parts of goats. If anyone has a clue to what this is about, I'm sure curious.

Jung Mi · May 20th, 2006, 12:34

Osho commune in Poona....

edwardseco · May 20th, 2006, 14:13

Lots of good places cited here, Osho & the fishing village in Puri are my favorites. However, I came across a desolate place near Ahmednagar City known incorrectly by the locals as Chand Bibi's tomb. On top of a mountain it was desolate beyond Ladakh, complete isolation..

Bodhisattva · May 20th, 2006, 15:03

[quote=PortieOwner]Weirdest? The Sheraton Hotel in Chanyakipuri. Doesn't seem to be a part of India at all. Clean, air conditioned, quiet, no smells.

Pity that you haven't seen the rest of my country to fully understand your comment, or you would have known that there really are many places which contradict your 'idea' of what parts constitute India.

Hmm... I think the Kamakhya temple in Assam and the villages surrounding the temples...I heard so many stories about ardent black magic practises..and some of the rituals were positively scary. And of course I was (un)lucky enough to see the animal butchering once..by the supposed Brahmins over there, who supposedly are tantrics themselves.
umm...I thought no one could get to Malana without getting into major trouble with the locals out there....

Osho commune not because it's weird, just because it's a sham...lol
Aghori pandits in Rajasthan....creepy...

freenote · May 20th, 2006, 19:01

Weirdest , for me it has to be Puri in Orissa .You start with the beach and the Lifeguards . Lifeguards ,not as we, in the u.k know them .I am not sure if they can swim ,but if you need any help ,there the guy's to sort it for you . Then you have the local deity ,JAGANNATH .Those wide staring eye's get me every time

The main road to the temple ,the grand road ,is big enough to take a 6 lane highway , and apears in continues hustle and bustle.Big enough to for Jagannath i suppose .Strange place

capt_mahajan · May 21st, 2006, 17:52

the weirdest places are always those which are desperately seeking western customs to sell, sell, sell! Including mothers day,and halloween!

am waiting for the day when they celebrate the fourth of july by having a sale. Buy one brain, get one free!!!

Apr 23rd, 2006, 22:02	#31
wandering_kat All India Permit Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Cape Town Posts: 342	Malana's mine - I think the only place in India i didn't feel welcome.... __________________ *Sorry, but my karma just ran over your dogma*

Apr 23rd, 2006, 22:51	#33
New-South-Welshman Drunk Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, NSW Posts: 1,376	Ballia in UP. On the border of UP and Bihar. Was so frustrating with getting where I wanted to go it now makes me laugh in hindsight. __________________ Mr. Burns "Non-violence never solved anything!"

Apr 24th, 2006, 01:41	#34
PortieOwner Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 351	Weirdest? The Sheraton Hotel in Chanyakipuri. Doesn't seem to be a part of India at all. Clean, air conditioned, quiet, no smells. Worst? Moradabad. Anytime anyone calls someplace "the asshole of the world" I ask them if they have visited Moradabad. Last edited by PortieOwner : Apr 28th, 2006 at 05:14.

May 20th, 2006, 10:50	#40
JMurray Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 55	OK, my turn! Among the weirdest places I saw were the bizarre bazars and choked chowks around the Red Fort in Old Delhi. One street on the west side of the fort was almost entirely auto horn shops. Not mere auto parts, but specifically auto horns! And as if the horns from the busy traffic were not enough, the people from the shops were out front beeping away at their horns as well. Around the corner from there was a shop selling heads, hooves, and other various parts of goats. If anyone has a clue to what this is about, I'm sure curious. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by JMurray : May 20th, 2006 at 14:16.

May 20th, 2006, 12:34	#41
Jung Mi felicitated member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: S. Korea Posts: 60	Osho commune in Poona.... __________________ ΞΞΞΞΞΞ

Apr 23rd, 2006, 22:29	#32
jens Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: US Posts: 109	Maheshwar was a little odd. There was supposedly a hotel there that we wanted to go to but never found, with the help of quite a few townspeople. This included "the mayor", this guy who drove around on his motorcycle on his amazingly white, amazingly starched shirt who seemed to also be affiliated with many of the businesses in town and perhaps also apparently the only other "hotel" - a ramshackle place, even by our Pharaganj standards. There was the sari factory which had really nice sari's but was deserted and if you walked out back of it the were the huts with the not_for_show looms in them, surrounded by barbed wire. We ran in to two other tourists, who had been holed up in the "hotel" after military service "chilling out" for a couple of months. You just got this sense that there was a whole other story going on that you couldn't sort out. And of course as I've detailed extensively, Bandhavgar. "Odd" is one of the most subjective things of course, it's all only odd according to our own cultural standards and degrees detached from that at which we feel comfortable, depending on everything else.

Apr 24th, 2006, 02:10	#35
mmike56 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Reading, Berkshire - UK Posts: 200	just, the Raw Beauty of India ... Deshnok & Kashi ... Peace mmike56

Apr 26th, 2006, 23:36	#37
Mangogirl Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 106	I think Puri is a weird place. There's lots of black magic going on in the fishing village and it's soooo hard to leave that place. First time I went there I only stayed for one week but the second time I stayed for a whole month! And it's not much to see or to do there (except for going to the bhang shop )

Apr 27th, 2006, 06:28	#39
picklepak Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 274	Auroville in Tamil Nadu is the weirdest place I've been in India. I remember a shallow grave in my beach guesthouse, lots of strange people, strange Auroville meditation rituals, locals (former foreigners) telling me how people "just disappear" around those parts, and Aurovillians who seemed less happy than other Indian folk. Oh well. Varanassi comes in second for me, because I don't understand it. And after six months in India I could only last in Benares some four days... too fruity for me.

May 20th, 2006, 14:13	#42
edwardseco Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Land that shakes and bakes. Posts: 3,923	Lots of good places cited here, Osho & the fishing village in Puri are my favorites. However, I came across a desolate place near Ahmednagar City known incorrectly by the locals as Chand Bibi's tomb. On top of a mountain it was desolate beyond Ladakh, complete isolation..

May 20th, 2006, 15:03	#43
Bodhisattva Hippie Goddess Join Date: May 2006 Location: On the road... Posts: 58	[quote=PortieOwner]Weirdest? The Sheraton Hotel in Chanyakipuri. Doesn't seem to be a part of India at all. Clean, air conditioned, quiet, no smells. Pity that you haven't seen the rest of my country to fully understand your comment, or you would have known that there really are many places which contradict your 'idea' of what parts constitute India. Hmm... I think the Kamakhya temple in Assam and the villages surrounding the temples...I heard so many stories about ardent black magic practises..and some of the rituals were positively scary. And of course I was (un)lucky enough to see the animal butchering once..by the supposed Brahmins over there, who supposedly are tantrics themselves. umm...I thought no one could get to Malana without getting into major trouble with the locals out there.... Osho commune not because it's weird, just because it's a sham...lol Aghori pandits in Rajasthan....creepy... __________________ All our best men are laughed at in this nightmare land......

May 20th, 2006, 19:01	#44
freenote senior member refused Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: cornwall UK Posts: 1,531	Weirdest , for me it has to be Puri in Orissa .You start with the beach and the Lifeguards . Lifeguards ,not as we, in the u.k know them .I am not sure if they can swim ,but if you need any help ,there the guy's to sort it for you . Then you have the local deity ,JAGANNATH .Those wide staring eye's get me every time The main road to the temple ,the grand road ,is big enough to take a 6 lane highway , and apears in continues hustle and bustle.Big enough to for Jagannath i suppose .Strange place Attached Thumbnails

May 21st, 2006, 17:52	#45
capt_mahajan (in charge of navel affairs) Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 10,105	the weirdest places are always those which are desperately seeking western customs to sell, sell, sell! Including mothers day,and halloween! am waiting for the day when they celebrate the fourth of july by having a sale. Buy one brain, get one free!!!

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