sorry for not being aroud much - work really busy and studing for an exam.... Feel a review coming ...
sorry for not being aroud much - work really busy and studing for an exam.... Feel a review coming on though, and want to get back to reading some of your reviews! Emx
Member since:25.01.2005
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Pune is one of the newest city in India to be descended upon by the big multi national companies. It is this that gave me the opportunity to visit. Pune can be found in Western Maharashtra, 115 miles south-east of Mumbai(Bombay).
Here I am going to try and give you an account of my experience. Firstly a little about me, I am not a hugely travelled person and the places I have been are typical tourist places, like Lanzerote, Rhodes etc. So for me this was a pretty exciting trip to experience a new culture.
Well I arrived at Pune airport in the dark, and it wasn't until the return journey that I could really take the airport in! It is a little place on the edge of an air base. The security because of this is high. The search all females, but do this in a discrete booth which means you will be behind curtains - to keep the modesty of the females! The airport itself is nothing like that you would expect at Heathrow - our plane was parked outside a set of double doors, almost like a car parked up. The passengers casually walked to the aeroplane, which had a little sign on it to say where it was going - just like getting on a bus. The experience was a pleasant one and the travelling felt very safe, out internal flights were with a company called Jet air. If you really want to push the boat out go 'business class' on jet air the service is fantastic.
The first thing that actually hit me was all the traffic - there is loads of it!!! Cars, motor bikes, buses, motorbikes, lorries, motorbikes, rickshaw's, motorbikes, push bikes, motor bikes. Yep if you haven't already guessed there's LOADS of motorbikes. It seems to be the most popular form of transportation. They weave in and out of the traffic. The record number of passengers I saw on a moped was 5 (2 Adults, 2 Children and a baby in arms)… it was crazy.
The whole traffic situation is crazy, the only way I have been able to describe it is: WACKY RACES….. It's mad when the lights turn red
(traffic lights were the only form of traffic control I saw), all the traffic queues up. Unlike the UK where we have clearly marked lanes - Pune doesn't! It's a free for all, no order, some road marking, no lines of traffic - there is just a mass of cars/ bikes trying to push their way to the front.
We travelled to and from the office via a 4x4 vehicle, which was great because we weren't the smallest vehicle on the road - meaning we were a little safer. The first time I travelled in this I was soooooo scared. Basically you just drive - when we were at junctions, when we needed to pull out through on coming traffic it was hair raising. They JUST GO! And the on coming traffic has to stop - the amount of times that we had lorries inches from the back of the car doesn't bare thinking about.
I couldn't go to India without going in a rickshaw! The little vehicles are 3 wheeled, milk float type of contraption… they basically have a motor bike engine and are started by a pull lever - really weird. There are hundreds of them all the time… You get in this vehicle and hold on for dear life. You can tell an experienced Rickshaw passenger quite easily - there the ones not holding on, the ones who's knuckles are not white! The first night I got in one of these we ended up driving down the wrong way on a dual carriage way, racing the rickshaw in front! Thank goodness for the alcoholic beverages that made this journey more funny and exciting than scary… I remember a friend slapping the driver on the shoulder shouting 'SLOW DOWN or no Rupee's' - that worked and he slowed a little but not before we went over a few speed bumps and bashed our heads on the roof!!
Having said that, it is really surprising how quickly you get used to the traffic, and I was even brave enough to cross the dual carriage way outside the office (twice)… - BY FOOT.. I am happy to say I managed to do that in one piece! By the end of my 3 week stay I accepted that we just pull out on traffic and that the other drivers will stop. During my entire stay I only saw 1 accident, where a man fell off his motor bike. When I first arrived and saw the traffic, I was convinced the accident rate would be high - but its not!
Another thing that was quite weird to experience was the different kind of animals that you see amongst the masses of traffic…. I saw cows grazing on central reservations, pigs, goats, sheep and loads of packs of wild dogs.
One day I was in a rickshaw and I looked to my right and about a foot away from my face was the head of a water buffalo…. There was a little heard walking through the vehicles which had stopped for them (Apparently they are sacred animals). None of the animals seemed to be bothered by the masses of people or traffic, and they casually strolled about the place.
The most exciting animal I saw was an elephant… There was an elephant that walked along the main dual carriage way in Pune. I was lucky enough one day to be stood on this road when the elephant and its owner walked past. I was fortunate to have my camera on me and was able to take some snaps, at a cost … but then when are you going to have an opportunity again! (I will post the piccies on here in due course).
The hardest things to get used to was - poverty. The place appears to be old, but I am not sure this is true. As it's quite dirty and the buildings are dusty it looks very run down. It's a bit serial really, because you will have a very modern building next to a really run down area. The hotel that I stayed at was a good example of this. The hotel was 5* and completely beautiful, but 2 minutes around the corner you have people living on the streets with no more than a blue sheet of plastic covering their heads.
When you are stuck in traffic you get young ladies carrying babies tapping on the window - pointing to the baby's mouth begging for money. At first this was very disturbing, but after a while you do get used to (as harsh as it sounds) ignoring them. The trick for me was not to look them in the eye; this eliminated some of the guilt. Another common site was little children doing the same also, which again I acclimatised to quite quickly.
Walking in the streets was a little more difficult, being a white person there is no chance of me blending in. Even before we got out of the rickshaw there were little beggar children waiting for us. These are a little harder to ignore because the followed you and keep pulling and tapping on your arm. It made me feel soooo mean, but we were advised not to give them money as they don't go away, they simply want more. I am not sure if this is true or not so please don't quote me on that one.
To be fair the children and the babies do not seem particularly mal-nourished so I can only assume that they are able to find somewhere to get food and water to keep them alive. I have also been told that people chose to live on the streets because they do not want to pay taxes - this is not something I had considered I assumed tit was purely poverty cause so many people to have this kind of life.
I must admit I found one shopping trip very traumatic, as the little beggar boy that followed me was mentally and physically handicapped. This experience made me feel very upset, and I still get upset when I think of it now…. Knowing that he is like that really upsets me. After this experience, on future shopping trips we took some Indian Colleagues shopping with us - they were
Pictures of Pune (India)
Pune Bridge
able to deal with the beggar children (because they are used to them) - they simply told them off and they backed away. So my advice to you is, not to say in - go out and experience it, but if you do know any local people then take them with you. You will see things that you do not feel comfortable with, but you know there is always a rickshaw around if you need to get out of the situation!
The shopping in Pune is great, there ar 2 main roads - MG road and Lachme road. There is a great store on MG road called the 'Bombay store' where you can get various souveniers - mainly elephants but also tea, handmade stationary, handmade trinket boxes and lots of unique items - which is all reasonably priced.
Opposite this shop is a shopping arcade called 'Wonderland' - there is just a few shops in there selling clothes and a very good sari shop. You basically sit on a little stool and youwill be drowned in sari of all colours and which are very cheap.
Another good shopping mall is Pune Central - this is a really modern complex of 4 stories. There is clothes, perfume, jewellery, sports gear and traditional dress along with a supermarket on the top floor (which sell recognisable products - such as digestive biscuits). I actually had a salwar kameeze made there which was hand sawn in 2 days. This only cost me £30 for the material and £4 for the making!
Whilst I was there I had the opportunity to visit some of the tourist attractions, such as: a snake and zoo park, various temples and a palace where Ghandi stayed. To be honest there is not an awful lot in Pune for the tourist to do, but the places we did visit were very nice. The temples were great, and it was really nice to see the local people carrying out their prayers - in a way I did feel as though I was intruding in their lives but no-one seemed to mind.
This naturally brings me on to the people of Pune - what can I say they are fantastic. Seeing the lack of amenities that they have, it always struck me how happy and friendly they are all the time - always smiling, always full of life. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they will go out there way for you. They are thoughtful without thinking about it - the people to me are what made the trip as memorable as it was. It is the people rather than the place what I will miss most.
There is a massive 'tipping' culture over there. You basically have to tip for everything. Once you get used to this then it becomes second nature, at first I kept forgetting to tip! But when you think there's about 80/90 rupees to the pound (as at July 05), and you tip around 20 rupees - it's really not a lot. So if you ever do go, remember tip, tip and tip!
The country is prone to monsoon seasons. I was travelling at the start of July and this was the beginning of the monsoon season. However, it can be unpredictable as it was raining heavily the entire week before I arrived but for the 3 weeks I was there it must have rained about 4 times. Then the week after I left it began to rain heavily again to the point where there was localised flooding and the dams needed to be opened to let the water out.
For the people who like to go clubbing, I can recommend a club called 'Ten Dowing Street'. This club is well known by the rickshaw drivers so if you are going you must try it. I must warn you though it can appear a bit seedy from the outside. You walking into this shopping area and up some steps and when you get in there you almost feel like you are in a drugs den. However, once you have been in there a few minutes and people had stopped staring, you realise that the atmosphere is actually quite addictive and everyone is enjoying themselves.
Another happening club is 'Scream' in the Le Meridien hotel. Open on a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. This is a really modern club, not unlike the clubs in the UK - they play a host of music, most with an Indian twist - really good fun… If you like the clubbing atmosphere you must try this one!
Unfortunately I was not brave enough to eat outside the hotel where I stayed (Le Meriden). However, the hotel did have a Thai and Indian restaurant. I tried both and both were equally fantastic. The service was second to none and you felt like royalty the way the waiters treat you. If you fancy splashing out then try this hotel, complete luxury!
The whole trip was a massive culture shock, and if I can give you any advice at all, it would be - 'if you get the chance to go to India - do it!'… you will see things that you don't like, but this will be outweighed by the things you do. Until you have been there you can never imagine what it is like - and any kind of report on here I am sure will not do the place justice.
What an experience - A though provoking and life awareness experience - one I will never ever forget! Thank you India for being so receptive to me!
Hotel information:
Le Meridien 5* www. Lemeridien-pune.com Tel: 91-20-2605 0505
Address: Le Meridien Pune RDM Road Pune 411 001 India
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aww i went to pune just before christmas - your review brought back so many memories :) bless x
TheCoopster 06.01.2007 12:02
Forgot to mention - eating out is no problem if you go to the right places - Kwality is some of the best Indian food I've ever tasted
TheCoopster 06.01.2007 12:00
Excellent - I've stayed at Le Meridian a number of times (were the Polish Singers on when you were there - you know what I'm getting at!!) and will be a few more. TDS is a great night out. If you get chance to go again also try Thousand Oaks on East Street (back of MG road)
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Advantages: good view, great wind, good outing place for a day Disadvantages: uphill road is a bit dangerous, no toilet facilties, not much shelter avaialble from sunlight
erandepa 09.05.2001 ·
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Review of Pune (India)
Advantages: good view, great wind, good outing place for a day Disadvantages: uphill road is a bit dangerous, no toilet facilties, not much shelter avaialble from sunlight
erandepa 09.05.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Pune (India)
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