Awesome Blossoms: Horn OK Please (27 page)

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

By Ashok Kumar

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One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.

- Thomas Jefferson

The Globetrotter

‘C
hallenges and opportunities do not come unattached. With every challenge you see an opportunity and that’s what the journey is all about’ – right from my childhood days, these words are deeply etched into my mind. I don’t remember how, I don’t remember when, all what I remember is where.

My favo
rite subject at school had been Geography because for me it was like ‘virtual travel’. Never even once did I shun from picking up the book and trying to memorize the names of the capital cities for an exam that would be around the corner. Because to me, it all came naturally: the people, the places, the cultures, the traditions: this great potpourri, that brought on the table amazing blends over the years, always mesmerized me. As a child, I always had a desire to see and feel as to how different places were from the way in which they were portrayed in the books. Did the monstrous mountain ranges really exist? Did the volcanoes erupt and spurt out the yellow, hot liquid? Were the seas really that deep and had creatures dwelling in their depths? Questions were many, but answers were none.

Little did I know that in the later years of my life I would end up enjoying the jaunts that I would undertake as a part of my professional career. Little did I know that I would end up with a nickname of ‘globetrotter’ that my son would lovingly adorn me with. Little did I know that my childhood dreams would be realized in the most amazing way that a person can think of! Little did I know that I would be going to places, meeting people, eating local food and on top of that, writing travelogues…like this one!

So, buckle up, dear reader, and fasten your seat belt; for this is going to be nothing short than a roller coaster ride!

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Let me start with my favorite destination that I visited recently, Peru.

My journey through South America has taken me to new lands. Having done my almost regular trip to Chile, Peru beckoned. Excitement was all I felt as I made my way to Incaland. Funny I think, as I recall a local Peruvian later told me how people know of Machu Pichu but the mention of Peru is met with an astounding look! I had but a week to not only to make the best out of my trip but also to ride up to 14,000 ft to indulge in some training on a Copper concentrator that my company is building in the Peruvian Andes. Yes, heard it right! My job takes me to places!

For a non- South American, the appeal of Peru starts and ends with Machu Pichu, the Lost city of the Incas. That’s exactly what I did. Arriving into the historical city of Cusco (pronounced Cosco if you are an Inka) is an experience in itself. Perched at 11,000 feet, you start to feel the high altitude and physically fit or not, shortness of breath is not an uncommon phenomena. Cusco is the capital of the Incas.

The Inca Empire had over 9 million citizens in the 14th century. That is truly amazing. You start to get a sense of their advanced way of life and their administrative structure when you consider that magnitude. Cusco was the city that Spanish conquistadors got to, led by Fransciso Pizzaro and his band of 177 men in 1533. Machu Pichu was their second capital and was a residence to the elitists; philosophers, noblemen and a school that was an equivalent of a Brahminist society. That was however never discovered by the invaders. Cusco and all cities in the vicinity bore the brunt of the invasion. Injected with diseases unknown to the Incas, a vast majority of them perished.

What is truly amazing and awe inspiring is the journey from Cusco to Machu Pichu. Contrary to the popular belief, you actually travel downhill from Cosco. From 11,000 ft to 8,000 ft. A 90 minute car ride to Ollantaytambo, then a 100 minute train ride in
InkaRail to Aguas Calientes station and then a 20 minute bus ride to the top. That’s when it strikes you. The majestic fog covered mountain stares at you and that is when the grandeur of the Inka Kingdom truly comes to light. Everything seems insignificant at the first sight of the magnificence. The reality and the realization of the architecture, the terraced slops for agriculture, the highly advanced solar clock, the sun temple, it’s all surreal. The Inka
Pachakuti watches over you as you explore the area with a million camera flashes popping.  The architecture, especially the masonry by means of interlocking keys in the stones and how they have withstood the centuries is not something you would expect in that part of the world. As everyone says and agrees, “It’s once in a lifetime experience” and no, it is not over rated at all, unlike the Niagara Falls, may be.

The area around Cusco which accounts for the rest of the Empire boasts of Pisac, a city where the farmers delved. This is the place where they discovered over 5,000 Inka mummies. A city which was one of the many cities that were raided by the conquistadors still retains the original drinking water fountains. I felt like Tintin in ‘Prisoners of the Sun’. I was half expecting a Llama to spit in my face.

Cusco is the heartland of the Incas. Inca-pharma, Inca-foto, Inca-cola , it’s all about the Incas.

Peruvian people and food are simply wonderful! That’s how I can summarize. Peruvian food with its own blend of spices would appeal to an Indian tongue and when accompanied by the lovely Peruvian hospitality, it tastes even better. 

Rest of Peru? Well from what I have seen on my way upto the mines is another impoverished third world economy. Peru with its Copper and Molybdenum reserves should find a way out of the misery of its people and follow Chile’s example. Overcrowded urban centers in Lima, Arequipa, Trujillo and Cusco make up for probably around 60% of the population and it is uncertain if the existing infrastructure can continue to sustain this growth. To sum up, Peru was an ambrosial experience in true sense. Right from the ruins of the Machu Pichu to the city life, it makes you wonder, and it is full of wonders.

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My next destination on the list was Alaska.

Alaska is not in the US, it certainly doesn’t appear to be. When a state twice the size of Texas and with a population of just fewer than 700,000 is way up there, it’s hard to fathom what’s in there. What’s there is the sheer beauty and magnificence of nature? When you think of a painted landscape of flowing rivers, mountains, cascades, trails, that is in essence the microcosm of Alaska.

Reality strikes however when you fly into Fairbanks, the second largest city in Alaska and that reeks of being fairly ordinary and I overheard people calling it a crummy town. While that may be true, an ugly pit stop is hardly a deterrent to what lies to the north, south, east and west. Of all the wilderness area designated in America, over 60% lies in Alaska. Eskimos and the native Alaskans, the Athabascans still live off the land. Strewn in many remote outposts across the state, they do enjoy many of the benefits that the state has to offer. But when I met a few of them in Fairbanks, they didn’t exactly come off as people enjoying life. Far from it, in fact. May be these are the citizens who chose to leave the wilderness and chose the urban life. The whites I came across are the ones who came over for a brief stint from the upper northern states and never left.

The impressive thing is the attitude on how the locals perceive their state as a natural reserve and they are fiercely proud of what they have. They thrive in the winters too when temperatures dip below zero Fahrenheit. Dog mushing sleds are the order of the season. When I heard politicians bickering about taking guns away from people, I came away from Alaska thinking why paint everyone with the same brush and basically take away means of livelihood from these folks who hunt during the summer to provide for winter.

Wild life of course abounds and it would not be uncommon at all to see a big moose crossing the highways, big guys for sure and I am told, the best option is to run when confronted. And grizzly bears thrive in the lands here and finding their ways to eat the wild berries, they are visible too. Denali looks like a safe haven for these guys and looking at the way the reserves are maintained, there is hardly any doubt they will be disturbed.

Speaking of the environment, there is a whole peninsula designated by the National Petroleum Service as a reserve. So this is the land many are after. Seemingly this will provide enough oil for generations and make us fully self-sufficient instead of dealing with not-so friendly nations. Drill! Drill! Drill! Is the call from many quarters. I was convinced of this before but when you get to feel the fragile Tundra you may change your minds. Just inches below the surface, you actually feel the presence of perm-frost, a think sheet of ice even in the summer. Guess what happens when you start drilling, not only the obvious melting of the frost but imagine the species of flora and fauna it helps sustain. It’s a resort for sure for oil, but a last one at that.

But leaving apart these issues, Alaska is a heaven. It is a place where beauty resides in bounty. If you go deeper into its heart, you will find true sense of love in the lap of nature, raw and wild, untamed…

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I had always wanted to go to the continent which was so diverse with all its topological wonders and hence, the next destination I chose was South Africa! South Africa is indeed very interesting. Since the end of apartheid, the country has exploded into chaos. While taking a drive around the countryside, the fields and meadows resemble India in so many ways. You see people walking along the road in the middle of wilderness, stark poverty evident everywhere. While this country is not a classic 3rd world country, it is more like a two and half! We have been asked by security experts not to be complacent or travel alone. Crime is quite prevalent and Johannesburg, the largest city of the country is pretty overwhelming for first timers.

My next door neighbour at the apartment block was a South African of Indian origin. He was telling me how his forefathers travelled across the Indian Ocean in 1861 from India to work on the sugar cane plantations outside Durban.

Working 6 days a week leaves only Sunday to explore. Last Sunday 3 of us (Myself, a Canadian, a New Zealander) managed a trip to visit a Zulu village, where the Zulus still live as they did way back at the turn of the 20th century. Very interesting to see how they go about their lives. Other weekends, we planned to go to a crocodile farm and on an African safari.

Meanwhile, another interesting trip came up. It was a beautiful drive by the African savannah before entering the St Lucia estuary. This place is at the southern end of the Mozambiquan coastal plain and is classified as a World Heritage site (Inaugurated by Nelson Mandela “Madiba”) in 1995. Taking a boat on the river you can see that the water is full of hippos and crocodiles. Lazing around in the sun, hanging out in water, these are abounding. It is just over 200 kilometres from the South African borders of Swaziland and Mozambique.

A little fact that I found out about Nelson Mandela told me that he actually married the Mozambique strongman, Samora Machel’s widow. The lady has the unique distinction of being the first lady twice!

Just three weeks in this country and while my travels had not been extensive, the time still allowed me to get a fairly good perception of lifestyle and dynamics in the current South African society. I got the opportunity to speak with several people from varying nationalities. The repeatedly flashing pictures of people living in shanty towns on a bare subsistence are extremely visible throughout the country. The native folk are extremely friendly and take pride in what they do and graciously accept any kind of tips. The same is to be said of the White minority; nowhere do the common white people appear to be dictators or the despots they were made to be. The common folks have been fairly friendly to us foreigners. So at a grass roots level, the true citizens are integrated, but cultural and economic differences do make the society appear stratified.

Tourism is the only industry that thrives here while locals make their livelihood on the cane and pineapple plantations. Poverty is very visible but for a person who grew up in India, it’s not all that shocking. Europeans come to African not only to watch the big game but some of them have been known to indulge in game hunting. Game hunting primarily refers to hunting of the Big five (African elephant, Lion, Leaopard, Cape Buffalo and the White Rhino). Game hunting packages cost as much as $25,000 for a 12 day trip.

While there is plenty of game to watch, I am not sure if some of the power-hungry, corrupt African dictators are not more dangerous. When you look north from South Africa, Zimbabwe (Mugabe) and the chronically tribal warfare infested countries of Burundi, Rwanda and Angola stand out. And with Western hired guns to add fuel to the fire, Africa continues to sustain its sobriquet of the “Dark Continent”.

Talking to an Indian South African guy, he told me how bad it was pre 1994 during the days of Apartheid. No right to vote, mo permission to enter white neighborhoods, eating in different sections in the same restaurant…Terrible...I wonder why they think it’s okay to treat a person of a darker color differently. Bloody shame!

The visit to the Umfolozi game reserve would be considered as a once in a lifetime opportunity. The massive 500 hectare wild life reserve opened up in 1895 to create a reserve for the great white southern Rhinoceros. The white hunters had been shooting them for game for several years and it took them a few years to realize that the rhinos were dwindling in numbers owing to the fun these white men had. This necessitated opening of the game reserve; subsequently followed by introduction of major wild life into the park. And one thing that surprised me immensely was the fact that the animals are not fed. They are in open country and are wild animals, pure and simple. Therefore they have to hunt their own food and survive the jungle and be part of the food chain.