"I feared for my life!"
- says Yusuf Estes, "Really, I was terrified just..
..driving through the hills at high speeds (people in India only have two speeds - fast and faster), I was already quite concerned for safety, even before we got to the airport in Mangalore."
But there is more - he also tells us, "Yes, when we got closer to this one mountain, it appeared to have the top chopped off. I asked, 'What is that?" The driver says, 'Oh that's the place where the planes take off and land - the runway' -
Was I scared? You know it, I was terrified."
Ever since then, when I meet someone from Managalore, I mention the airport there because it is so scarry, and they always laugh and something about how really scarry it can be.
There are some realy great and wonderful people there in Mangalore, and all over the south of India actually. We met so many lovely brothers and sisters while visiting there a couple years back and since then we have wondered when we would have a chance to re-visit this paradise of tea gardens.
I do highly recommend a visit to this part of the world, for anyone who would really like to take it easy, enjoy great scenery, see many exotic animals and eat some pretty great food too (I cannot eat hot, spicy food, but some how they always managed to find something I could eat).
I recommend to take bottled water wherever you go, whether it is in India, or Pakistan, or Hong Kong, or Mandera Kenya (last year), or even here in the states. You just never know when you need pure, clean water. You know?
Another thing I recommend, be careful of the animals, and this is true anywhere. Wild animals may look cute and come up to you for food, but don't forget, you might look more appetizing than the apple you are trying to feed them.
Take a lot of film, or discs for your camera. There is so much to take pictures of while traveling anywhere in India. But again, Goa, Mangalore and Kerala are all excellent places for a beginner to learn how to really "size up a shot" and take great pics.
And above all, when the driver tells you, "Close your eyes" - Do it!
No, he is not going to give you a birthday present. He is going to go right out into the worst traffic and doesn't want you screaming in his ears while he is negotiating his way through the scooters, motor bikes, cars, trucks, and even an animal or two - all going right toward you...
Curry, anyone?
[leave your comments - we'll post them in a few hours, inshallah]
Comments
I hope good health and long living for You
Brother Yusuf, we were so close yet we could not talk. You were busy with guests, I was busy with DIPC. Insha Allah, hope to meet you soon. May ALLAH (SWT) help you do great work for the cause of ISLAM.
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