This is India - The life inside the train.

Trains in India, everybody heard about them right? We were going to experience that and I must say that we had a little bit of concern mixed with excitement.
In our hands we had 2 tickets only - we were 3 persons - because there weren’t more tickets available and we were going to share one bed. We were travelling in Sleeper Class that is a carriage full of beds, one per person, and we paid 715 rupees that were approximately 10 euros for a 2000km trip.

We arrived at our place and in the beginning, we thought that we will be alone, but a few minutes later a group of students arrived and we started to talk with them. They really made us felt welcome in this wonderful country and we immediately started to talk about their culture, traditions, language and religions. They were so warm and pure with us, we can see the happiness in their eyes and we can feel how grateful they were to be there with us. As we were very different, with occidental look, the people on the train stared at us, especially me being a girl. Sometimes was uncomfortable, but I understood their side (way of thinking) and they looked without malice. We were new for them and different from what they are used to, so they just observed us.
The tiredness started to hit us and as we prepared to sleep, we understood that was impossible two people slept comfortable in that bed, “- It will be a long night”, I said joking. Luckily the ticket man arrived and gave us another bed because someone gave up. In my bed I realized the dimension of this trip, falling asleep was a little bit difficult and even the fatigue was not winning. At that time I was crossing the country and starting an amazing experience. Incredulous, Incredible, My dream, India.

We woke up the next morning with a smile on our faces; everybody was awake and full of energy, our friends were singing together, showing the different foods and teaching us how to speak Hindi (“Main tumsé pyar karti hun” that means “I love you”). A lot of things were going on at the same time, in the same place, not to  mention the sellers screaming with a strong voice as they pass by selling different things like food, shoes, bags, tobacco, toothpaste, bijouterie’s and blankets.
It was in the train that we taste and start discovering the Indian food. It was difficult, a little bit harder I could say. My first meal was so spicy that I started literally to burn from inside, but, luckily I had cookies, my salvation! The next meals I asked without spicy, but of course it was spicy, at least, less than normal and eatable. Besides this, the worst thing on this trip and very chocking for us was about the trash. We knew that India had a lot of pollution and trash, but not in that scale where half of the landscapes were plastics, aluminum, etc.… Every single time that they ate or drunk something they throw it in the window. It was so sad and unbelievable, I started to think about how many people was inside that enormous train and how many kilos were produced in one day. They also told us to do the same thing, but we were unable to do that, it was against our principals so we made our own trash hanging in the fan. They have to change their mentality and attitudes; they have to had environmental education and awareness, and start quickly to solve this big problem.

 That evening we were sleeping and suddenly we felt someone touching our feet very hard and clapping the hands, but we didn’t care and didn’t understand what was happening. The next day the same thing happened, we were at the door of the train seeing the landscapes, when one travesty touches our shoulder and start clapping the hands while saying something in Hindi. He/She had a colorful sari, a lot of makeup and strong man’s voice. Our friend immediately offers money for us as we stood there without understanding what was happening, but his expression was of fright and respect for that “lady”. He/She went away and our friend explained that if this travesty touch you and clap the hands you have to give them money otherwise she will put a spell on you. It was very strange to see how many people believe in that and how much money they earn to do that in all the trains... Indian beliefs.

It was already 31^st of December, the last day of 2014, and we were very anxious to arrive in Assam but the train was very slow due to the fog and it was getting late. We thought that we will arrive at dinner time, but that didn’t happen. It was already midnight, we can hear fire places and people screaming inside and out of the train while the train slowly passes by villages.
New Year’s Eve, inside one Indian train with Indian friends to start this 2015 with the right foot.

3 DAYS AFTER… 1 YEAR LATER… WE ARRIVED!

2000km, 3 days in train

Seeing the landscapes at the train doors.

Happy kid searching things in the trash.

Going in and out at the stations.

Muri masala, spicy spicy.

My fellows and our "dustbin"

The top bed, the best.



"Happy New Year"

                                           Stay tuned to get know our beautiful family.

This is India - First Day

On 28^th of December we arrived in New Delhi Airport, excited, curious and without believing that we were on Indian soil.

That adventure was starting and it was real.

Getting out of the airport we had to reach New Delhi's Railway Station to buy the tickets to North East of India, literally the other side of that country and we only had 3 days before the New Year’s Eve.

Already in the Train Station we asked to the security guy where we could find the Tourist Ticket Counter and he told us that we should take a tuk-tuk to go to the Government Tourist Offic. That was the place that we could get what we wanted. Today, i stil remember that face, a very kind man that was helping and welcome us.

He provided us the tuk-tuk and we went to a small office where we clearly could see that was NOT from the government. But it was India right? We didn't knew how the things worked there and we just wanted to meet with our friends in Assam.

They sat us in a small room and given us Chai (the typical drink from India – tea with milk and spices) while we waited for Sasha, the man that was going to help us.

The trains were full, we didn't had space in any train and the man started to be upset and nervous, we noticed that something changed in that room and we didn’t knew what it was.

He started to talk in other possibilities, like "go by flight" but it was very expensive and we didn’t wanted it. «So, we have to wait in Delhi until we have a train to Assam and spend there the New Year’s Eve?»

As we called to our Indian friend to explain the situation and asked what we should do, the man was in and out of the room and no longer wanted to help us. In the phone we heard:

- «That is fake, get out!».

 We looked to each other and we thanked the guy for his time but at this point he just doesn’t care. For sure that wasn't a Government Tourist Office! We left and caught the tuk-tuk and the driver asked us:

- «What are you doing in that place? That one is a fake government, they just want to sell you the tickets and they charge more for that! If you want to buy train tickets I take you to the right place.»

We were annoyed with that situation and at the same time shocked. As the tuk-tuk stopped and the driver said that that was the place we immediately noticed that was another fake government house because it had the same letters: I.T.D.E.

We got in without saying nothing to the driver that we knew that was the same place and there they started with the same attitude, rude and aggressive. They just wanted to sell it too hard and take our money but we said that we would come back the next day to see if we already had trains available.

Let’s face it, we have been cheated!

We decided to go immediately back to the Paharganj Train Station and since that moment we decided not to trust anyone, no more!

We started to look for the Foreign Tourist Reservation Counter by ourselves but the train station was SO big and we couldn't see the indication to that Counter. One Indian guide offers to help us and we just accepted it because he was with tourists and he seems truthful. We found it, finally. After one day flying and going crazy from one side to another we were very tired and the last thing that we wanted to hear was that we had a train to Assam.
- «YES, you have a train in the next morning at 06:45 AM.» he said.

We couldn't believe it; we were going to Assam and reach there before New Year’s Eve!

To catch this train we had to go to Anand Vihar Railway Station but before that we wanted to see something in New Delhi and nearby there was a market street. We went there to spend some of the hours that we had left until our train but immediately we gave up and went away. Because we were full of bags, a lot of people came to speak with us trying to sell things, asking if we needed hotel, where we were from and so and so.. Very annoying and this is the last thing that we wanted to finish that long journey.

The train station was full of people, it was about 10:00 PM and the floor was full of people sleeping with big blankets and bags around. We did the same, we had plenty of hours left and we were very tired. The floor was cold, the silence was annoying and the train got late 3 times because of the fog.

At 18:00 PM from the next day (29^th of December) we finally did it. We were already on our way to meet our friends.

This is India..

First tuk-tuk trip

Chai in the Government Tourist Office

Street market

Anand Vihar Station

Pocora, delicious fried popatoes with vegetables

                    More to come.. Soon.

ClotheCycle

O ClotheCycle é uma loja de roupa em segunda mão que tem como conceito reaproveitar e reciclar peças de roupa.

Aberta de Sexta a Sábado, das 21h às 00h, no Tubo d'Ensaio.

  

Modelo: Sara Limede
Design de moda: Carla Silva
Iluminação/Make-up: Sonia Domingues

Jardim Zoológico de Londres, o zoo científico mais antigo do Mundo

O Jardim Zoológico de Londres, gerido pela Zoological Society of London, é o mais antigo zoo científico do mundo.

Foi inaugurado em 27 de Abril de 1828 tendo a intenção original de ser usado para estudos científicos.

Charles Darwin era pesquisador do Zoológico de Londres e costumava visitá-lo regularmente para aprofundar a sua teoria da evolução das espécies, sendo mais tarde publicado a primeira edição de "A Origem das Espécies".

Eventualmente, em 1847, o Jardim Zoológico de Londres foi aberto ao público e hoje em dia alberga uma colecção de 755 espécies de animais, com 15 104 indivíduos, fazendo-a uma das maiores colecções do Reino Unido.