4 November: Drones and Dancing

Bigger drone

Smaller drone

Drones are used in some areas of agricultural research - some people expect them to become more popular, while others think that they will remain a specialised niche option, particularly for the many, many farming families who have not yet achieved food security.  I had never seen one before; a couple of days ago I saw two in action!








Each drone has four propellers.  The larger, which looks like a mechanical dog from below, weighs around 5kg; the smaller around 2kg.  When in the air they sound like hoarse lawnmowers.

We stood well back from the drones...just in case they dropped from the sky!

The bigger drone flies up to 100m (the legal limit in India) but here it's about 60m up

The smaller drone flies to about 30m...it's eerie enough to have been a good prop for Hallowe'en!

Icarus drone moment

The station is growing basmati rice, largely for research purposes: basmati grows well (with a strong aroma) in other areas of the Punjab, and further south in some parts of Haryana, but not around Ludhiana.  I'm looking forward to seeing it in the field in Haryana - apparently the aroma is noticeable.

Basmati

The workshop dinner was a traditional Indian celebration - we started around 6.30pm with drinks and lots of snacks.  After an hour or so of chatting the dancing began.  I have never seen so many men, of all ages and abilities, enjoying themselves dancing before.  My colleagues threw themselves onto the dance floor - one of the workshop coordinators explained, "When you are dancing there are no rules.  At work you have people above and below you and there are rules about how you interact with them.  On the dance floor you can do whatever you want!"  The most common dancing moves seemed to be big arm sweeps - a combination of it-was-this-big and I'm-an-aeroplane plus drumming involving the whole arms and shoulders.  There was also plenty of fancy footwork and the occasional twirl.  

The sense of joie de vivre was palpable - and not (only) fuelled by alcohol: most of my Sikh and Muslim colleagues don't drink, and they threw themselves into dancing as or more enthusiastically than anyone else.  Some of the workshop participants were very shy and didn't dance much (though no one could escape without at least one dance - it would have been rude!) but one Afghani colleague in particular clearly thoroughly relished the opportunity to dance.  He said it had been 13 years since his last dance.

Around 9 we had dinner - a buffet of curries, some vegetables, rice, curd and breads.  I am getting good (to the sadness of my colleague B who was behind me in the line) at ignoring the standard naan and picking out the tasty besan (chickpea) flour breads instead!

After dinner the dancing recommended.  A few of us went back to the hotel early but the party continued into the small hours.

Today we are up early for two treats: Amritsar and Wagah.  

3 November: Punjabi dancing

Today's blog entry has been delayed by last night's workshop dinner, which was absolutely the most fun I have seen any group of people have at a work event, and which surpassed in enjoyment many social events as well.

I left at 10, when the party was just getting started.  I think there'll be some very tired people this morning!

2 November 2015: Delhi to Ludhiana

Chips with my lunchtime sandwich: talk about portion control!!

I worked in the hotel yesterday morning, and in the afternoon headed to Ludhiana.  The hotel driver, who took me to the train station, and I remembered each other from my last visit; to celebrate he added an extra degree of excitement to the drive by showing me photos of his wife on his phone.

At the train station there were X-ray machines, where people were feeding their bags through.  It's very common to have to have things X-rayed, so I (thinking I was assimilating beautifully) dutifully fed mine through and went round to the other side of the machine to discover that  (very unusually!) there was no one approving the bags - and, in fact, plenty of people weren't getting their bags X-rayed at all.  Just when I think I'm figuring out India...  Then I went up an escalator to the platform overpass (displeasing a porter when I undercut his "cheap price" by pointing out if I carried my own bag I'd save even more money!) and hiked down some stairs to find myself on the platform very near to where I'd started on the escalator.  Perhaps Delhi railway station is better signed in Hindi than it is in English.

Laing's Law of Railway Platforms states that you will always walk to at least one, and possibly both, ends of the platform before you find where your carriage will arrive.  A corollary to LLRP is that this is an excellent way to stretch the legs and railway platforms are generally very interesting - and flat, which makes the people-watching more fun when hauling a suitcase.

If your reference point for arriving anywhere by train is Patna at 10pm then everything else (outside Delhi, Mumbai, etc I assume) seems quiet.  My Punjabi colleague, B, (who studied in Ludhiana) thought the station was heaving; I thought it was Sunday-night quiet.  I'm looking forward to seeing something of the city with B over the next couple of days!

Corridor of mirrors on the left to the hallway; mirrored bathroom on the right.  Shiny!

The hotel is very pleasant, and they clearly got a good deal on mirrors - it's all grey walls, grey mirrors and grey marble in the rooms.  It's a bit offputting to see so many Alixons but the upside is it's easy to do my hair, put on makeup, etc.  No hiking to the tiny mirror dangling over the lavatory here!  There are no mirrors on the ceiling though - it's Not That Sort Of A Hotel ;-)

Strangely fascinating...

I crashed last night and skipped dinner.  Unwinding in my room I discovered yesterday's sport was the NY marathon live on TV.  It made surprisingly riveting television to watch very fast people run 42 km as I lay on the bed.

One of India's finest gifts to the world is the tikka masala corn chip!  I have only just discovered them; they should be a global phenomenon.

How's that for an unexpectedly arty shot!  Ludhiana at dawn from the top floor gym

No walking outside for me this morning, and apparently sunrise is later here than in Delhi (we are further north).  I found the gym on the top floor of the hotel, and the exercise machines facing out. I was looking forward to watching Ludhiana wake up but was too early - only got a glimpse at the end.  I'll just have to sleep in tomorrow and try later!

Ludhiana waking up...

1 November 2015: Delhi

For some reason at Delhi airport there are baggage-men, who reorganise all the luggage on the carousels.  They start out by re-aligning bags so the handles are (marginally) easier to reach, and tossing around (but not actually removing) those plastic bins rucksacks and prams travel in.  After the first rush of luggage has eased they move onto clustering bags together (holding one bag steady for a short while until a line of bags groups behind it).  I'm not really sure either activity really helps facilitate luggage reclamation but they always seem to be there.  It's really annoying when they grab my bag to use as the cluster-forming bag, though; particularly when I was 30 seconds away from leaving the airport!

That bag in the orange-shirted man's hands is MINE!  So close...

The best way to get over a couple of long flights that I have found to date is to kick back on a large comfy bed with lots of pillows (bonus hotel upgrade recommended!), and enjoy masala chai while watching your footy team give the world a masterclass in how to play rugby retain the world cup.

Footy and chai J

This morning was pretty hazy - there was lots of Atmosphere in Lodhi Gardens.  It was a lovely cool morning for a walk.

It's noticeably wetter and damper than it was in early September, but the die-hard yoga people are still doing their open air classes, now with tarpaulins under their yoga mats.

One of the official Yoga Stations in Lodhi Gardens

There was also a laughter club: they do a few minutes' physical exercise (usually moving arms, torso, neck and head) and then roar with laughter for a few minutes, then repeat.  Even knowing there's no joke it is very cheering to be walking past people laughing so loudly.  It sounds very happy.

The man in the front is doing his own yoga.  In the background is the laughter club

Fitting in

Sparkly thongs are inexpensive and surprisingly comfortable.  Plus, sparkly!!

But wait!  Something is missing!!!

That's better J

How to transport soil sampling equipment from Brisbane, Australia to Pundibari, India

You may need to do soil testing in India.  In case this ever happens to you, here is a handy guide to escorting bulky semi-valuable soil sampling equipment to India.  

Aim

To take to India the equipment necessary to extract soil cores of up to 2m which will be difficult to source in region.

Materials

I traveled with a 2m long hollow metal tube (about 5cm diameter) with specialised tips to each end (approx weight 5kg) and a mallet with a neoprene-coated contact end (AKA a donger, approx weight 10kg).  

All packages ready to leave home!

Method
1. Wrap your gear up well before you leave home.
For the coring tube I taped together 2.25 poster tubes, packed the core well with packing peanuts, and wrapped the whole lot up with packing tape.  The donger I wrapped in an inner layer of bubble wrap, with extra on the neoprene business end, then a middle layer of butchers' paper and an outer layer of packing tape.

Donger and soil corer ready to travel.  Magazine included for scale

2. Adjust your suitcase to ensure that your total weight is still below 25kg, making sure not to omit the first aid kit, DEET supplies, bedsheet, etc, with which you must travel.  The good part about travelling "light" now is that you will have additional space and weight available on the return journey J

 3. Order a maxi taxi to get to the airport.  Expect surprise and bemusement from driver as he sees you struggling to the car with your suitcase, donger and tube; don't worry, you will be used to this reaction by the time you get to Pundibari

On the way to the airport at crack of dawn you may be in the mood to appreciate the start of another fine winter's day in Brisbane.  Or you may be thinking about coffee

Maxi taxi...simple and comfortable for passengers

4. Once you've checked in your suitcase and got boarding passes, take the corer and donger to the Oversized Luggage drop off area.  Wait for it to get x-rayed and wave it farewell.  You'll probably have mixed feelings, given its bulk, about whether you DO actually want to see it again in Delhi.  Of course, that might be the lack of coffee.

Donger being accepted by Brisbane OS luggage handlers

5. Once you've landed and cleared immigration you'll have a bit of a search to find the OS luggage collection point.  You'll know it by the bored man supervising people frantically rescuing their XL TVs and righting the boxes which appear to have traveled upside down without much heed being paid to the "Fragile" and "This way up" stickers.  And the occasional package which, thrillingly (it's been at least 15 hours since you left home), looks like a gun but turns out to be an extremely well wrapped umbrella.

Collect donger, corer and your suitcase, and head to the emigration gates.

Delhi OS luggage collection

Some people must really love their umbrellas

6. Traveling is harder on soil equipment than it is on people: you'll probably find that you need more packing tape before you can go any further.  This is an excellent opportunity to go shopping!  India is a wonderful country: where there is packing tape there are also shoes.  Get both.  Encase donger and corer in an additional layer of tape.  Enjoy shoes.

7. When you head back to Delhi airport (BTW Delhi domestic is a surprisingly good place to shop...allow extra time for potential delays clearing security AND for browsing before boarding) you'll find that the soldiers posted outside are surprisingly relaxed about letting you in with what looks like a couple of large, heavy (well wrapped) weapons.  They might be slightly confused ("A hammer, Madam?  Not a sitar?  No problem, Madam, enter please,") but very cool about letting you in.

Donger being accepted at general OS luggage collection point

After you check your suitcase you will have at least FOUR extra people to assist you and take you to the OS luggage drop off.  You'll be able to drop the donger there, but will find that the standard OS luggage drop off is only for (relatively) small OS luggage, and a 2m corer is too large for OS luggage.

We search for the XL OS luggage department

Most people (including most of those who work there) at Delhi airport don't know that there is a second OS luggage drop off point, for XL OS luggage.  It is good to make sure that your assistants don't all melt away at this point as you search for XL OS.

Do not be alarmed if the XL OS collection people seem surprised that you are hoping to see your luggage again in a few hours.

Soil corer eventually delivered into the care of XL OS luggage 

8. When you arrive into Bagdogra airport you'll have a mentally stimulating quarter hour between collecting your suitcase off the carousel and seeing your donger and corer appear.  This will give you an opportunity to reflect on all the ways luggage can be lost or damaged in transit,on how easy it will be to claim a donger and corer on travel insurance, and on the meaning of life.

It really is worth waiting close to the carousel entrance, as both donger and corer are too large to stay on the carousel as it bends around.

Donger arriving into Bagdogra at last

9. It turns out it IS possible to put a 2.2m long package, and a donger, and two suitcases (only one mine!) into a small hatchback with four people in it for the four hour drive from Bagdogra to Cooch Behar.  However you will not be able to travel in comfort: probably two of you at any one time will be sharing space with the corer.  It is particularly desirable that the driver is not impeded by the corer: insist on this, even if it means contradicting your very kind Indian colleagues.

10.  Once you have the equipment at Cooch Behar you'll need to transfer it to the world's smallest minivan to drive to Pundibari.  This is only a 30 minute drive, which is a Good Thing as the road is falling apart fast and small minivans do not have much in the way of suspension.

11.  Store your equipment in a spare corner of the university you've delivered them to, and reflect on the fact that you'll have to repeat the process a couple more times in the next six months.

Discussion and conclusion
Packing tape was vital to the success of this enterprise.  Initial estimates of the amount required were insufficient however it is very easy to buy packing tape in Delhi.

Look for packing tape in a market.  Markets give you a wide range of shopping options all in one handy location.  

Thakek

View outside my hotel door of the carpark (with stunning poinciana trees in full blush) and Mekong behind

Thakek is the largest city in Khammouane Province.  I've driven through it a lot - it's at least a third if not a half of the way from Vientiane to Savannakhet - and there are a couple of good lunch options there.  I never thought it was more than a pretty dusty halt on the main north-south road but, it turns out, once you get away from the highway and head towards the Mekong, into Thakek proper, it's a lovely little town.  I imagine Savannakhet used to be similarly laid back and in a state which appears to be about three monsoons off decay before the Vietnamese money (through the casino, SavanVegas, yes truly) started rolling in.  Oh, and the dinosaur museum drawcard.

Along the Mekong outside the hotel

The hotel was right on the Mekong - the perfect place for an early morning walk.  Many, many people in Thakek exercise in the mornings - it's a great way to practice my extremely limited Lao - I kept walking after each "Sabaidee!" so as not to embarrass myself!

Tables set up for beer and snacks...much of Laos is just perfect for a sundowner on the Mekong!

The outdoor furniture here, as in many other places in Laos, is concrete tables and stools with tiled tops (again with the tile obsession!).  These are easy to clean, hard to damage and don't go anywhere - they're extremely heavy and difficult to move.  They are, also, a little hard but the second and subsequent BeerLao help with that!

Thakek town square at first light

There's a town square in Thakek - it looks French vintage to me and is so similar to the one in Savannakhet I was surprised not to see a church surviving in this one too.

French provincial buildings on the square, with fancy modern cars

There are several magnificent older style French buildings still standing.  I've no idea what they're like inside but they look amazing from the outside.  Some seem to be used as private homes.

This building near the ferry terminus is now a pub...looks amazing; I wish I'd had time to pop inside!

Unusually, the village we visited on this trip was right on a reasonable-sized river - in fact the communal meeting area was built out over the river.  It was a beautiful space with lovely cool breezes, although the rockets being let off all around (we visited just before the official rocket festival but people have to test their rockets before the big day!) were a bit disconcerting as a background to our talks with farmers.

View from the village meeting pavilion.  Rocketeers in the foreground on the pontoon

We had two vehicle challenges on our day away from Thakek - as we were driving out in the morning something in one of our three vehicles (unfortunately the minivan with the most people in it) snapped, a whole lot of liquid gushed onto the road, and apparently the steering went.  Fortunately we weren't going fast, and we were still in town!  We pushed the minvan to the side of the road, repacked everyone and everything into a slightly squishier arrangement (it was a good thing there was only one falang lady and four Lao ladies, as the falang definitely took up more space!) and headed off to the village.

When it came time to leave the village and drive back to Thakek our poor driver discovered a puncture (again, good thing it happened when it did!).  We all sat round under a huge tree, fanning ourselves and making the water last while our driver replaced the tyre with great professionalism (no swearing!) and speed.  This was the first time I'd seen concrete-and-tile benches all around a tree.  If only they came with cushions too...

Such a variety of contrasting tiles so beautifully fitted together

A quick trip back to Laos...

I had a very short trip to Laos in May.  In Vientiane it was hot, with no sign of  the wet season yet.  I met with one of our research stakeholders and did my usual walk around the approximate location for 15 minutes trying to remember just exactly where the building is.  I've been coming here fairly regularly (2-3 times a year) but for some reason can never remember the location well enough to direct a tuk tuk driver.  By the time I turned up at the meeting I was definitely glowing!

On my wanderings I passed a new building.  I'm unsure if the fancy elevated pathway between the wings is deliberate or an accident of construction?

I also checked in on the extremely narrow building going up opposite my hotel...I'm guessing it's to be another hotel.  The builders are using a wheelbarrow attached to a motor to lift loads of bricks: the scary part is when the wheelbarrow gets five stories up and someone leans out to catch it and bring it in!

Building going up - May 2015.  The wheelbarrow hod is just beneath the first floor

It's come on a long way since February this year and the pile of bricks out the front has all but disappeared.  There's a lot of hard labour that's gone into in this hotel...

Building in February 2015

I took one of my favourite walks on sunset...down one of the little laneways with a restaurant I visited in February with L&R&A, a temple up ahead, a(nother) construction site on the right, and a motorbike up ahead.  Very Lao!