Kenneth goes to India

Google Cheat View

2009-04-01T12:31:00.000+05:30

Cheating husband caught on Google street view. Link.

Favourite Portraits

2009-03-30T06:08:00.002+05:30

Now that I'm back in Singapore, the hardest part of sorting through, discarding and editing all the photos from my trip has ensued. Here are a few of my favourite portraits:

Off Thread: Google Earth Street View

2009-03-20T00:54:00.004+05:30

Google earth's controversial street view is now live for London and 20 other cities. It's pretty amazing, the sheer volume of data this project must have generated. This, for the record, was my favourite haunt in London- Lahore One on Commercial Road. Pakistani food. Best Chana Masala I've ever had (and trust me, I've searched far and wide). The sheekh kebabs are excellent too. At one point my housemates and I were coming here once a week. They even gave me T-shirt (which was 5 sizes too tight- ended up using it as a cloth)

And this is Cafe TPT in Chinatown. Another regular haunt.

Route Map

2009-03-18T10:03:00.003+05:30

Found these maps to illustrate where I've been. I started out in Calcutta, going to Varanasi for a long weekend (10 hr train ride), flew to Delhi (2 hr flight), trained to Agra (4 hrs), Agra to Jaipur (4.5 hrs) and Jaipur back to Delhi (5 hrs). From there I trained to Shimla (kind of on the right of Amritsar on this map) (10 hrs).

From Shimla, in Himachal Pradesh state, at the bottom left of the map, the road trip took me to Sarahan, Sangla, Chitkul (bottom right), and then up towards Kalpa, Nako, Tabo and Kaza. As the pass that brings you all the way around the big loop is only open mid April-ish, we had to drive all the way back the same way we came from, 2 days in total, or about 450km (average speeds on the windy narrow roads are about 20-30km/h)

Back in Singapore

2009-03-18T09:44:00.002+05:30

So I'm back in Singapore now, waiting to get some stuff for work sorted, and should be starting work in a couple of weeks. I'll be continuing to post updates over here as I edit and sort through the 2500+ photos I took over the 2 months, and then I'll decide what to do with this blog.

Road to Kaza and the Curious Cow

2009-03-18T09:28:00.006+05:30

Here's another picture of the curious cow.

World's highest petrol station! In Kaza, 12 km from Ki Monastery.

The drive to Kaza was pretty amazing. Along the Spiti valley, next to the river, one side of the mountains lies in the rain shadow and looks like a desert, whist the other side is completely covered in snow. Thus, on the road, looking out the left window you see snow, and out the other window is a completely different landscape. Bizarre! Lots of other bits of secondary school geography suddenly made sense as well- glaciers and U-shaped valleys, terminal moraines (remember that?!?), rivers and sedimentation patterns- really cool to see it in real life.

Tibet

2009-03-16T12:58:00.002+05:30

Well not quite Tibet, but this was the closest I could get to the Tibet border, which lies on the other side of the mountain. Just a little further on the valley there is an ITBP (India Tibet Border Police) camp and a few small villages further up, and then the Tibet Border Police. Speaking to some of the locals, it's an 8-9 hr hike to cross the border and locals need special written permission to cross it, previously only available from Delhi, but now you can get the letter of authorization from Shimla. Stuff in Tibet is apparently much cheaper, but the border police control the flow of goods across the border, limiting it to small quantities of household goods (vacuum flasks, cutlery etc). Foreigners need an Inner Line Permit, available from Recong Peo (takes an hour to get done) to travel the road closest to the border. Costs 150 Rs.

Dhankar Village and Monastery

2009-03-16T12:43:00.003+05:30

Another cool monastery at the top of a mountain, also very very old.

The monastery is on the left of the picture, with some houses above it on the right. The rest of the village lies below.

House above the monastery

Kids (those little specks on the bottom left of the photo) walking from the old part of town to the new part along the road.

Indians are crazy about cricket.

Really want to get myself a bike licence. Next trip to India- the road trip from Manali in H.P to Leh in Ladakh. Best done around September. The drive itself takes 2-3 days. Any takers?

Curious Cow

More Technicolour India

2009-03-14T11:50:00.001+05:30

Nearer Shimla and Hatu Peak

2009-03-14T11:46:00.002+05:30

These were taken on the first day out of Shimla and at Hatu Peak, near Narkanda, at an elevation of about 3400m.

Kinner Kailash and Kalpa by moonlight

2009-03-14T11:33:00.002+05:30

I've stopped bringing my tripod around when travelling- hate using them and never do so, and lugging the extra weight around ain't fun. But every once in a while, a scene opens up that leads you to curse the omission of the metal tubes. These were taken with the camera plonked on the top of a small pillar, propped upwards by a T-shirt and mobile phone. These exposures were taken at the maximum auto shutter setting possible on the D700 of 30s, at F8 or so. I did, however take exposures up to about 240s (counting out loud) at F22 in bulb mode with my finger held on the shutter button, trying to keep as steady as possible. Not fun. Not at -2 deg Celsius with a breeze in your face. Those longer exposures had quite a lot of blurring of the clouds- but not enough to have that lovely creamy effect- and so weren't as successful as the shorter exposures. Note to self: purchase a remote release cable at the next available opportunity. And an 8 stop ND filter too.

Back in Shimla

2009-03-14T11:23:00.003+05:30

9 days and about 900 km later and I'm back in Shimla. The countryside was amazing- some of the nicest scenery I've ever witnessed. Sad to say, my time in India has come to an end- 10 hr bus ride to Delhi tomorrow morning, and I fly back to Singapore the following night.

These photos are of the Ki (also spelt Key/Kye) Monastery in the Spiti Valley. This was the furthest I travelled from Shimla, about 400km away, in a sideways U shaped journey east and north of Shinla. The monastery is 1009 years old (!) and some of the rooms actually look like they are a thousand years old, with old timber and faded, moth eaten scrolls on the walls. Funnily enough, the monk that was showing me around and who I had chai with had been to Singapore a couple of years back, and a bunch of Singaporean monks had stayed at the monastery for a few of months- some kind of monk exchange programme.

Offline for 10 days

2009-03-04T16:49:00.004+05:30

Dear readers, I hope you have been enjoying the photos and many thanks for the kind words and well-wishes on my journey. I will be going to around the India-Tibet border, more specifically, Kinnaur and Spiti, for the next 10 days, and so might not be able to update this blog until I return to Shimla. Hopefully I shall return with some nice photos.

Jon on Chitpur

2009-03-04T12:48:00.002+05:30

Jon, my old neighbour in Kolkata, writing about the Calcutta Rescue leprosy clinic:

"Chitpur is Calcutta Rescue’s leprosy clinic and it sits right on the banks of the Hooghly River. It’s a surreal experience to work there – the breeze coming off the river is lovely, and lepers sit around rubbing a protective coat of Vaseline into their fragile, senseless, deformed limbs. Nearby, workers carry river muck by the head-balanced-basketful from barges that line the bank. Ulnar nerves shall bulge no further, interosseus muscles shall atrophy no further. Not since dapsone, clofazimine, and rifampicin......." (continues) click here for full text.

Black Sky

2009-03-03T12:16:00.002+05:30

Created with Lightroom using the greyscale adjustment sliders. There is a slight halo around the outline of the object but can't be seen at normal print distances.

Shimla

2009-03-03T11:54:00.002+05:30

Shimla really does remind me of a Swiss chalet town, just with nice curry. The British left quite an imprint on this town, which is still the seat of government in Himachal Pradesh, including calling the main pedestrian street thru the town 'The Mall'. This is the library:

Christ Church, built sometime in the mid 1800s (I forget):

The view from my balcony in the evening- (40% off season discount, at 500Rs a night, or S$16, has TV with sports channels too!):

View from the balcony in the day:

Trackside Conversations

2009-03-03T11:43:00.003+05:30

Kolkata Rickshaws

2009-03-03T11:41:00.000+05:30

Varanasi in technicolour goodness

2009-03-03T11:36:00.000+05:30

Jaipur to Delhi to Kalka to Shimla

2009-03-02T14:30:00.003+05:30

From the desert-like landscape of Jaipur, I've just completed a long train journey to the mountains of Himachal Pradesh. The train journey from Jaipur to Delhi takes about 4.5 hours. Staying the night, I left the next morning for Kalka, on the Himalayan foothills, which took 4 hours. Switching trains to the Himalayan Queen, a narrow gauge railway (0.76m) that winds up the mountains and through about 100 tunnels (5 hours), up to an elevation of 2200m. Shimla, at the top, is a hill station and was the summer capital of the British, to escape the Delhi heat. It is strung out on a ridge and the views of the neighbouring mountains are amazing. Fresh air too.

Start of the train journey up to Shimla.

View from the Ridge in Shimla

And again

View of Shimla from the next mountain

And again

Amber Fort

2009-03-02T14:21:00.004+05:30

The Amber Fort was built from 1600 by Raja Man Singh, a Rajput general in Akbar's army. It is 11km north of Jaipur. Quite an impressive sight as you arrive from the south, the fort appears as you wind round the hill from Jaipur, with lines of elephants bringing tourists up the ramp to the fort. Inside are the usual fort/palace amenities which I have gotten quite used to over the past few days- the Diwan-I-Am (Hall of Public Audience), Diwan-I-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), sleeping chambers for the maids and women of the palace and pavillions. The surrounding palace is very interesting, a complex network of little passages and staircases which were easy to get lost in. Overlooking the palace, further up the hill, is the Jaigarh fort.

Front of Amber Fort

Jaigarh Fort

Pavillion and maids' quarters. Excellent for hide and seek.

Garden and Hall of Public Audience

Detail of intricate marble work.

Taj Mahal Details

2009-03-02T14:13:00.003+05:30

Some detail shots of the interiors of the Taj Mahal and mosque:
Ceiling of mosque

Interior of mosque

Exterior of mosque

Exterior of the Taj Mahal

Photo illustrating the entire compound from across the river. The mosque is on the right of the
Taj Mahal and the replica on the left.

Amber Fort, near Jaipur, Rajasthan

2009-02-27T19:34:00.001+05:30

Just a quick one, have hundreds of new photos to sort through.

Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

2009-02-27T19:23:00.004+05:30

Agra, in Uttar Pradesh state, is the home of the Taj Mahal. It was, with Delhi, one of the capitals of the Mughal empire. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan, the 5^th of the Great Mughals, in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal (Jewel of the Palace), who died during the birth of her 14^th child aged 39. It was completed in 1654.

The tomb itself is made out of white marble, with 2 identical red sandstone buildings on either side- a mosque on the west and the Jawab (or answer) on the other side for symmetry, which could not be used as a mosque as it faces away from Mecca.

It was thought that Shah Jahan originally intended to build his own tomb on the opposite side of the Yamuna River in black marble, with a bridge made of alternating white and black marble blocks connecting the two. However, he ended up being buried, after spending his last days a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb, in the Taj Mahal as well.

Update

2009-02-27T19:20:00.001+05:30

Apologies for the paucity of posts of late, finding an internet connection that does not leave me tearing my hair out in impatience has been more difficult than in Kolkata. In the past week I've whizzed through Delhi, Agra, Fatipur Sikri, Jaipur and Amber, spending way too little time in each place, and just seeing the requisite tourist sights. One nice thing about living in Kolkata was the lack of touts and constant hassling, which seems to be much more prevalent in all these more touristy places. That said, these places are wonderful and atmospheric and well worth a visit. I shall be back in Delhi on Saturday night, and then taking the train to Kalka and then Shimla the next day, a good 10 hour journey. After that, I will travel for 2 weeks around Himachal Pradesh, before returning to Delhi to catch my flight back to Singapore.

Clinic and around

2009-02-17T20:39:00.002+05:30

Some snaps from around the clinic- First one is just outside Nadim's house.

Inside his house. We sat around and chilled in his house all afternoon as the roads leading home were apparently all jammed up by protesters- According to Nadim, a rich Hindu girl and poor Muslim guy got married in 2007 after meeting in college, which didn't suit her father, who then shot the husband 3 days after the wedding. The father got off scot-free as he was influential and rich, and hence the protests today.

That's Ranessa, a nurse from Canada, sorting out a dressing.

More photos from the clinic

2009-02-17T20:25:00.001+05:30

Jon Reisman's Blog

2009-02-16T15:36:00.004+05:30

Jon's one of my neighbours on my floor, a medical student from New Jersey, who's working with Calcutta Rescue, another NGO that's been in Calcutta for 30 years. He's written some insightful commentary about street medicine, India and travelling here.

More Topsia Portraits

2009-02-15T18:56:00.002+05:30

Indian Museum, Kolkata

2009-02-15T18:46:00.002+05:30

The Indian Museum in Kolkata houses an eclectic collection of bone fragments, rocks, stuffed animals, religious statues and a small room of tiny paintings. Some of the exhibits were mind numbingly boring, for example, the room with thousands and thousands of little rocks, not very well labelled, whilst others, such as the room of preserved insects, were slightly more interesting.

Tinea Corporis aka Ringworm

2009-02-15T18:44:00.001+05:30

Ps. That's my thigh.

Rickshaw Wallahs

2009-02-15T18:41:00.001+05:30

Kolkata, from what I've read, is the only city in India to still have hand-pulled rickshaws.

Roadside stalls at night

2009-02-15T18:35:00.002+05:30

A couple of photos from the market and road side stalls north of New Market.

Punters at work

2009-02-12T18:55:00.001+05:30

Photo by Elena

Photo by Elena

New Market Traders

2009-02-12T18:52:00.001+05:30

Old Man

2009-02-12T18:50:00.000+05:30

Varanasi Again

2009-02-12T18:47:00.001+05:30

Varanasi

2009-02-12T18:44:00.001+05:30

Varanasi. Initial Snaps

2009-02-09T15:31:00.002+05:30

I'm back in Kolkata now, took about 4 gb worth of shots which I'm still sorting through, but here are some quick ones:

(above and below) That's the opposite side of the Ganges. The actual bank of the river is about 200 metres away- the river only reaches it's maximum width during the monsoon months.

That's a typical shot of Varanasi that you can find in any guide book.

And again.

And again. I'll post more interesting ones later.

Sleeper class to and from Varanasi

2009-02-09T15:17:00.002+05:30

It was quite an experience, taking the sleeper train to Varanasi. There are quite a few classes on these long distance trains- the non-reserved class (seating and standing only), the reserved seats, sleeper class (non airconditioned), A/C 3 (like sleeper but with A/C, 3 tiered bunks) and A/C 2 (2 tiered bunks). I guess on posher trains there's first class as well, but not on the one I took. In sleeper, there are 6 bunks facing each other, a little corridor along the side, and 2 or 3 tiered beds along the side of the corridor, parallel to the trains length. I was along the side, on top:

And this is Baba Kumar, a 62 year old retired civil servant who was leaving Kolkata for Varanasi after visiting his son's family there. I'd swapped berths with him as he had been allocated the one on top which can be a little hard to get up on if you're over the age of 28. Bless him, he even offered to sort me out on a motorcycle in Varanasi as his other son works at Yamaha motorcycles there.

Varanasi

2009-02-07T16:40:00.002+05:30

I'm in Varanasi right now, in Uttar Pradesh, 2 states west of Kolkata and West Bengal. It's a holy city by the Ganges, established sometime around the 7th Century BC. Hindus believe that if you die here you go straight to heaven. And so many do. Where I'm staying is right next to one of the Burning Ghats where they cremate the bodies of the dead on pyres of wood. The base of the pyre is made of thicker logs placed at right angles in a rectangle, with thinner logs on top. The body, usually wrapped in white is placed on it, and then more thin logs are placed above it. The relatives then walk clockwise round the body 5 times with a lit bit of long straw and afterwards the pyre is lit from below, via gaps within the log structure.

Apart from the burning ghats, along the river side are various ghats where things take place. Some have no religious significance besides the river itself and people just go there to bathe, whilst others have religious significance. Lots of dhobies wash clothes and linen along the banks as well.

Loads of tourists here- saw a humongous boatload of China Chinese the other day, lots of Japanese too. A lot of touts too, which can be really annoying, so to amuse myself I've been making up stories about myself to tell them. Like how I'm a sewage engineer from Kyrgyzstan.

Flower Market

2009-02-03T17:12:00.002+05:30

I was walking over Howrah bridge when I chanced upon the flower market at the eastern bank, under the foundations and stretching along the river. Was a little perturbed when a small altercation took place near where I was walking, involving a bunch of men and a stall owner. Pushing and shoving and shouting. Walked steadily on and took a couple of shots from the hip, but what I wanted were some portraits.

Plucked up the courage to ask for a few and before I knew it, everyone wanted their photo taken and what had seemed a tense atmosphere the first time I walked through had completely evaporated away.

The Courtyard

2009-02-03T17:08:00.002+05:30

Here's the courtyard just outside my room. On the far end are the shared bathrooms. Prayer flags crisscross the ceiling. People live upstairs too.

And my room, the one with the door closed. Also laundry (argh, hate having to wash clothes everyday. And big mistake bringing beige trousers to India, I can't seem to get them clean). Hot water heater on the right with bucket; am too lazy for this and since it's getting warm anyway, I enjoy the cold shower.

Victoria Memorial

2009-02-03T17:03:00.002+05:30

Officially opened in 1921 , this memorial to the ugly queen houses an interesting collection of 19th century sketches of Indian scenes, a couple of paintings of the same, and an informative history of Calcutta under British Rule. (Calcutta was the capital of British India until terrorist activity from Bengali nationalists forced a move up northwest to Delhi in 1911)

Nadeem's Sister's Kid

2009-02-03T17:00:00.001+05:30

That's Nadeem's house actually, round the corner from the clinic at Topsia. His new nephew, about 3 weeks old.

South Park Street Cemetary

2009-02-03T16:53:00.003+05:30

Wonderfully atmospheric would be the words to describe this, the resting place for various Government and Company (East India Company) officials who died in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Step off the busy street and you're welcomed into an oasis of calm, with towering obelisks, columns and memorial stones depicting the lives of these intrepid travellers and how they met with their death.

Portraits from Topsia

2009-01-30T19:21:00.000+05:30

Photo of the Day

2009-01-30T19:13:00.000+05:30

I've recently plucked up the courage to use off camera flash. It requires far more preparation and time when taking the shot, but it gives you much better subject-background separation and shadows on the face where you want them. I'm using an SB-600 with a Lastolite Micro Apollo mini softbox thingy held in the left hand, with the camera in Manual mode, ISO 200, F10 at 1/200, with the off camera flash set to TTL mode.

At Work

2009-01-28T18:28:00.000+05:30

That's Elena and one of the girls that helped carry the table to the clinic from a nearby shop.

Helen, nurse from Preston, UK.

Having her temperature taken.

Chilling with Nadeem.

Black and White

2009-01-27T17:00:00.000+05:30

I always have difficulty deciding whether to keep my pictures in colour or black and white. Here are a few in high contrast black and white.

Smoke break

Mealtime

Breakfast

2009-01-27T16:59:00.000+05:30

Chana and toast. 10 Rs. Yummy.

Around my place

2009-01-27T16:52:00.000+05:30

Couple of photos taken within a 5 minute walk of my place. Some nice old markets as well as new fangled air conditioned ones.

And this is another one of my regular breakfast place.

Roadside Barbers

2009-01-25T16:07:00.000+05:30

More from Dharpa

2009-01-25T16:05:00.000+05:30

Kids around Dharpa

2009-01-25T15:59:00.000+05:30

Cleaning Day

2009-01-23T16:32:00.000+05:30

No clinic today, so I spent the day cleaning. First up was the medicine storeroom, which is in the same building I'm staying in. We've got quite a lot of drugs and creams and bandages, slightly messy with some stuff long-expired. Attempted to sort through some of the shelves today. Think I'm about 20% of the way through. I might come up with a sort of catalogue/stocklist to make it easier to ask for donations.

Next up was my room. Wiped down all the surfaces, mopped the floor, (tried cleaning the window sills- completely caked with dirt). And then finally did some laundry. Bushed!

Cooked lunch for myself today too. Maggi mee- masala flavour. Tasted like the curry flavour we get in Singapore. Theyhave a curry flavour here too so will try that next.

Will spend the rest of the day lying in bed, me thinks.

OT: Amazing Landscapes

2009-01-23T16:30:00.000+05:30

A little off topic. Amazing panoramic landscapes.

Tracks

2009-01-22T18:54:00.000+05:30

Backseat

2009-01-22T18:46:00.000+05:30

The Cost of Things

2009-01-22T18:32:00.001+05:30

Some people have asked how much stuff is over here, so here goes:

1 Singapore dollar = 32 Rupees (Rs)

Cup of chai (milk tea) 2-5 Rs
Egg Biryani 16 Rs
Cab ride (and the formula is the number on the meter multiplied by 2, plus 2) around 40-80 Rs depending on distance
Bus Ride 4-6 Rs
Metro Ride 2-6 Rs
Veg Fried Rice 16 Rs
Small bottle of water 10 Rs
Internet 15 Rs per hour
Kathi Roll (plain paratha with stuff inside it) 10-15 Rs

The other clinic at Dharpa

2009-01-22T18:15:00.001+05:30

Every Wednesday we go to Dharpa in East Kolkata for a clinic in a school there. Dharpa is the rubbish dump of Kolkata, quite literally, with a giant mountain of trash there. Every day yellow municipal lorries drive up the mound to empty their contents, which are then sorted by the people living nearby.

That's the approach to the school.

The rubbish mound in the distance.

One of the teachers, Elena, a kid and Nadeem, one of the other workers at the organisation.

The school, underneath the trees.

Old room, New room.

2009-01-22T18:01:00.001+05:30

Just moved rooms again. The intermediate one was whilst I was waiting for one of the long-stay apartment rooms upstairs to be free. 500 Rs a night, and really nice, with my own bathroom and tv complete with almost a hundred channels (most of which I couldn't understand-but with BBC, HBO, Star Sports/Movies-darn I'm going to miss that!). It had just finished renovation and smelt of fresh paint.

So this is where I'll be staying for the next month. 5000 Rs a month, decently clean and breezy, and unlike the first room, the windows don't open out to face a wall. There's also a courtyard and kitchen that are shared by everyone, just outside my room. Some of the people here having been in Kolkata for years!

Yucky Moments

2009-01-21T18:59:00.000+05:30

1. I was using a scalpel to burst this boy's pus-filled blister when it popped and spurted on my cheek.

2. The stuff that comes out of my nose is usually more black than... the usual colour.

3. Those funny bugs crawling over my face at night.

to be continued....

Around Topsia

2009-01-21T18:44:00.000+05:30

This is the street right outside the clinic.

Around Sudder Street

2009-01-21T18:31:00.000+05:30

Sudder Street is right in the middle of Central Kolkata and is where most backpackers and budget travellers end up. It also attracts a fair number of hippies, beggars (who apparently work for a large syndicate which eat up a large proportion of their takings) and drug pushers.

The internet cafe I'm sitting in right now. 10 Rupees (32 Singapore cents) for half hour, 15 for an hour.

Little row of chai stalls and provision stalls on a perpendicular lane.

Taj Restaurant. Has decent rolls- plain paratha with stuff rolled inside it (about 10 rupees onwards) and decent rice and veg dishes.

And this, Sudder Street itself.

More from Topsia

2009-01-21T18:26:00.000+05:30

Clinic at Topsia

2009-01-19T16:13:00.000+05:30

Just some quick snaps to show where I'm working. That's Elena, in the photo, one of the full-time staff.

Moved!

2009-01-19T15:50:00.000+05:30

So today was the first proper day of work, just a short 2 hour clinic in Topsia, where we go 3 times a week. It's a 15 minute drive (with traffic) from central Kolkata, in a predominantly Muslim area with factories nearby, most notably leather hide tanning. Saw a fair mix of people with colds, rashes, some dressing changes, a possible gastric ulcer and a few more interesting ones which I will write more about some other time.

I've also moved room to a cleaner one a floor below. The old one was fairly dirty but what pushed it for me was these little bugs, about a millimeter long, which would crawl across my face in the middle of the night. I bet they were crawling elsewhere as well but I suppose my skin's too thick to feel them anywhere else! So this is the old place:

The Link

2009-01-18T11:49:00.000+05:30

Oh yes, and before I go, here's the link to the organisation I'm working with: Calcutta Stations Mission.

First

2009-01-18T11:38:00.000+05:30

Greetings! Or nomaashkaar in Bengali (with obligatory head shake). The head shake pretty much punctuates every thing I say these days. It will be hard to shake the habit when I get back to Singapore. Hur hur hur.

2nd full day in Kolkata today. Off to see a patient in 10 minutes so this will have to be short- some guy with psoriasis who can't take any other day off during the week (it's sunday) so we're going in just to see him today. It's been quite exciting so far and it's nice to have moved into a permanent place (with tv and star sports, no less) and quite a lot of time to get acquainted with the people around here. I'm living off Sudder Street, a pretty touristy area for backpackers , hippies and curiously, lots of Koreans, who are mostly working for the Mother Theresa homes.