Every-time my oldest son “Shinto” comes home from school, and as we usually talk about what he did in school. I always ask if he has homework to do, and he usually answers that he does not have any homework, which to me is interesting that his school has so little homework. Or if he answers in the positive, then I ask him when he will start, and his answer is usually “Later.” Many times we find his notebook hidden in the back of the sofa or just in the trash, so that we never know if he has been given any homework from school. I remember when I went to elementary school here in Thailand that there was always a lot of homework to do. But I never remember not doing any of it. There is actually a notebook from his school that he needs to pass to us to let us know if he was assigned any homework. He rarely shows us this notebook. Also every-time we ask about what he has been doing at school he says “IDK” which is his acronym for “I Don’t Know.” A typical evening when he gets home would goes something like this.
Shinto gets drop off by his school van, he opens our condo’s front door in to see us working and talking. The other kids are usually home by then,
and I asked him, “So, you got any homework today?”
“Yeah”
I would then goes on to ask him, “What did you do in school today?”
Shinto would come back with, “IDK”
“Huh? What is IDK?”
“I don’t know…”
I would ask him “You don’t know what? After about half a second, then I would get what he meant,
“Okey… […]”
So, after a few exchange like this we decided to look for a better way for him to develop his sense of discipline and motivation, and maybe a love for learning in his future scholar life. My wife and I came up with this idea when we first went to Darjeeling, India. It’s a famous hill station from the British colonial period. When the White Raj, which was the local Indian term form the British rulers would try to find a reprieve from the heat of the low land area and the extremely hot cities of India by heading for the high mountain of the Himalayas. When we were there, we saw many heritage buildings that has been used by schools which were established during the colonial era, by the British rulers, to school their expat children as well as the children of the ruling class in India. They look impressive and after reading about them. They might be the answer we have been look for. These schools seem to provide an excellent education at a relatively low price compare to the extra-orbital price of the international School in Bangkok; even with boarding, uniforms, books, they are still seemingly affordable for us. We even know a preteen of our friend who was doing very badly in school. His family decided to send him to a school in Chandigarh, India for his high school education. After almost a year, and a visit by his mother, he seems to be doing much better. As it turned out, after his experience being over there by himself in India for a year. Now he is very focus on his study and acquired a new sense of discipline to his character. He also joined in his school athletic team. I his case the football team, which help him be healthy both in his mind and his body. After hearing this positive improvement in our friend nephew, both of us started to think that it was a good idea to look for a good school for our son in India. Sachiko, my wife, was very interested in a school called Isha Home School. During this time she was listening to her iPod, it was an inspirational talk by Indian Guru who started the Isha Yoga Center on the foothill of a mountain near Coimbatore.
Due to my wife constant addiction to a certain “Sadhguru.” This addiction pan out from my wife, Sachiko, who was usually listening to a few long youtube video before she goes to sleep at night. During this time we were fighting a lot. She got so exited about these life lessons right around the time I was just so lethargic and looking at her half asleep from my side of the bed. She was really into listen to one of these Indian Gurus to help with her motivation. Her most frequently play was “Sadhguru” who started the Isha Centre in Coimbatore, India. Some of the titles of his videos would be such as: How do I transform myself?
or How do you get to know yourself fully?
All the talk videos were just coming into my left ear and then exit out through my right ear without registering anything much in my mind. It was quite funny that in the end, I and my son would be the ones who get to go to the Isha ashram without my wife, who actually wanted to go there so bad. And while I was at this ashram, me and my son, always felt a sense of entrapment which seems to be the main vibe we get from these type of “spiritual” organizations. I usually felt just like a rat trap in a giant rat trap in these kind of place anyway. But this listening session doesn't completely stop our discussion of one of our main concern during this time, which is the subject of son “Shinto”. Whom we both believe that his current environment in Bangkok and the overall attitude in Thailand is not conductive to his education progress. We think he really doesn’t have the proper motivation to be successful in his college years. We have been discussing sending him to school in other country outside of Thailand, and we came up with a plan of sending him to India. The formation of this plan came after our trip to Darjeeling without knowing that it was a place where many parents send their children for boarding school up in the Himalayas’ foothills to soak in the cold air and study in an environment of the old British hill-stations which just maybe would help Shinto as well, to become more motivated to do higher level of school work that will give him a better education future than the one available in Thailand.
So she got our air tickets for the 3 of us to go on this discovery journey. Her plan was to include Ooty hill station into this trip as there were many good boarding schools up in Ooty as well. I was not really keen on going to a religious yoga ashram, but thought of it as an opportunities to travel to India again. You can’t really say no to any chance of escape the sweltering heat of summer in Bangkok.
A week before we were going to be on the plane to Kochi airport which was the cheapest way to get from Bangkok to Coimbatore. A phone call from Sachiko’s father.
My wife picked up the phone and started normal enough, she greeted, “Mushi Mushi.”
However, I can overheard her father voice on the phone was much more anxious than his usual tone, and I can figure from my wife’s face that just turn very pale with surprise and sadness after hearing her father words.
Then Sachiko told me, “My grandma just passed away,”
It was something we did not expect at all just 2 weeks before this trip to India. But right the way, it was crystal clear to me that Shinto and I were going on this adventure to India without my wife. Since one of the school we discussed was the Isha Home School which was located in foothills in the vicinity of Coimbatore. So we came up with a plan to go visit this spiritual ashram as well as being one of the choices for a good boarding school for our son. To make the trip worth while we also came up with several choice of schools up in the old hills station of Ooty, this name is actually a British’s nickname for the city of Udagamandalam. We were to travel there to check out some of the boarding schools in this area to come up with the best possible choice for our son. We got air-tickets for all three of us to fly into Kochin and once we landed we planed to take the bus to Coimbatore and Ooty. During the month of March the weather can be intensely hot in this southern part of India. We booked a hotel room for the first night right by the currently renovating Kochi airport. Less than 2 weeks before the start of our journey trip, Sacha’s grandmother passed away, so she has to book an immediate flight to Japan for the funeral. My son and me were left with the mission of scouting for his future school on our own. So as time come, my 10 years old son and me pack our bags and headed to India. Mind you, I have done 2 trips to India before and understand how traveling in India would feel like. The only mistake I did this trip was only to take the local public bus to go all the way up the hills to Ooty, which was a really cheap way to go up the mountain but not the most comfortable or the safest and we did got into a minor accident on the way up, I will tell you more on that story later.
The first thing we did once we landed in Kochi International airport was to walk out of the airport to our hotel, which was a walking distance from the small airport. On the way out I saw many hotels that was even closer to the airport and thought that pre-booking a place was not really necessary at all. The photos that the hotel people put up on booking site was usually very different than the reality by far, which was the case here as well. And if we would just walk in and negotiate the price and shop area a little bit we would have a better place or cheaper place to stay for the night. That was another lesson we learned from traveling on a budget in the low season. One should just go to where there is a concentration of small hostel and just take a look at the room first before making any decision and way before you pay for your room. In India just like in Thailand most small hostel or guesthouse require you to pay first. India accommodation usually have a 24 hours check out policy, which is good if you arrive really late in the day. We have done 2 tours of India previously. The first trip was back in 2009 when we landed in Calcutta, Darjeeling, Patna, Varanasi, then back to Calcutta for our flight back. I still remember after the plane landed the ground crews rush on to the plane and sprayed insecticide, and the whole jet smelled like Indian spices and samosas, we knew right the way that this was going to be very interesting trip.
This time 8 years later, Kochi International airport now have a new Terminal that look like it will be finish and ready for passenger traffic in a few weeks. It looked modern and clean. I remember Fort Kochin to be the cleanest and nicest city to visit 8 years ago. This time we are not really interested in seeing the city, so we got on a bus that was headed into the city but we only will stop to get a bus to Coimbatore to visit the Isha Home School the next morning. That night we walked out and follow my phone maps the hotel we had already booked. It was actually more expensive to book it online, then to just walk into places and ask for the price. But for our first night we didn't want to take any chance of not getting a good night sleep. In the morning after a night near the airport we got up walk down the road back to the airport to look for transport. The taxi desk tell us a price which I did not want to pay to get into the City of Kochi or just to go to Coimbatore.
We instead look a public bus which was maybe a big money saver, but not very comfortable in South Indian very hot weather. The only good thing in India is that the heat is dry not like in Thailand and make it a little more tolerable for us. But after a long bus ride which took a little less than 8 hours we got into the Northern Bus Terminal in Coimbatore then another bus onward to the Isha Yoga Center which my wife had already made prior arrangement with the Center for us to stay there. After the whole day of long bus journey we got to this gigantic wall of the entrance to the Isha Center. We walked into the welcome center which operated kind of like a hotel check in for a resort. Actually this whole place feel in a religion resort on the way in we even walk pass a giant stone building that have swimming pool for worshiper to take a ritual dip in, of cause no camera is allow inside the gate of the center. The guy at the check in bungalow told me we booked for a non A/C room. If we wanted A/C we had to pay a little more. So I told him non A/C is fine with us, we were really trying to save money on this trip. But once we got our keys we went to look for our room which is located in a nice courtyard with flowering big trees and nice garden. We got a room upstair which feel pretty much like a new apartment in California, I was pleasantly surprised to actually discovered a working A/C unit in the room. That was really help us to stay cooled during our stay there. Coimbatore was very hot during the month of July. It reminded you of the desert dry heat which is slightly better than you would feel walking on the street of Bangkok due to low humidity, but not by much. As we explore this spiritual and religious resort, it was can be quite uncomfortable by mid afternoon. And when I say spiritual/religious resort, it really feel like a resort.
We took a few more public buses in order to get from Coimbatore to get to the city of Ooty. Ooty is Located in the mountainous range called the Nilgiris or the "Blue Mountains”. The weather is quite pleasant at a mean of 15-20°C around the whole year, dropping to just above freezing during winter. The landscape is marked by rolling hills covered with dense vegetation, smaller hills and plateaus covered with tea gardens, and eucalyptus trees. Most of the hills around this area are still cover in big trees. You can see alpine trees though out the area which is a big contrast coming up the hills. Ooty, is not really the destination in of itself, as much as it is the focal point of attractions. Automobile touring the surrounding country side is certainly a must do. Unfortunately, the hill town suffers from overcrowding and erosion of natural resources. Smog from road vehicles can get to be noxious if you are walking in town by the side of the road. You can feel that tourism has placed an enormous strain on the natural resources resulting in pollution, water shortage and roads. The hilly region also houses smaller towns like Coonoor and Kotagiri. These smaller towns are a better choice to visit and spend time in, since they are off the beaten path, yet less than 1 hour away from Ooty. They enjoy the same natural climes and prices are a lot cheaper than Ooty proper.
So, first order of this trip was for us to go check out some school in this area. The first school we went to see was J.S.S International School. This school was located high up on the hills of Ooty. It is located in a nicely forested area away from the city of Ooty itself. Pulling into empty parking lot, we walked up to the office of Admission and we were waiting to meet with one of the staff who would show us around the campus. We met up this admission lady and she showed us around the campus. The campus is not too big, we went to see the cafeteria which looked rather nondescript but with a stunning view of the mountains, the school building itself doesn’t look very old with concrete brick walls that was maybe less than 15 years old. The walls should be painted soon. The Lady was very friendly and we talked about how there was a big group of Thai students whose are just graduating from the school. I thought that it was too bad, since Shinto will be without any Thai schoolmate if he was to stay here for boarding School. Thai friends would likely help him remember his Thai language at least in the spoken form.
I only saw an Indian student with her parents there in the office while we were waiting there. The only impression I really got from this school was that the fees sound very reasonable and it is a good option if money is the main concern.
I asked Shinto, “So, Shinto, how do you like this school?”
Shinto answered, “It’s alright…”
Hm… […}
School number 2 was a very prestigious Good Shepherd International School. When we got to the school, there is a security check point and it was not easy for us to just walk in. We notified the security that we have appointment and we needed to show my passport for ID to get in. The campus was a huge land area on top of the hill on the outskirt of town. Many buildings look brand new and all look modern and expensive. The first thing we took notice was the hundred upon hundred of trophies and award shields that the school put up at the admission office hall. Obviously they want anyone who came to the office to know that this is a place that have a great track record of winning many academic award, and maybe just maybe, their child would have a chance at winning if only they would pay up the fees and make sure their child come to study in this school. Of cause when we talk to the office people, the tuitions are way out of reach for us. It just got too many zeros at the end, even-though the price is in rupees, this school was clearly out of our reach financially. As we come out form the admission office, we were looking for a restroom and walked around the campus looking for it, but the security personnels ran up to us and prevent us from getting into any other building. I guess that some of the students here might be from important family in India and they did not want stranger to just wander around on their campus. For the whole time we were there, we did not get to see any student or a class room.
For our third school, this was the Goldilocks of a school. It was call Hebron International. At first the Google maps pin was on the side of the Ooty Botanical Garden. So I rode up on the rented scooter to the outside wall of the Garden. The road up the hill was full of potholes, and I didn’t expect to see a high standard school by the look of it. But there was no school there only houses, then asked someone if this is the location of the School and he point to the other side of the wall which is inside the Botanical Garden. So, we realized that the school was actually inside the Botanical Garden, which was a wonderful thing. We actually came here just yesterday without knowing that the school is right on the same ground, This garden truly a rush green temperate garden with giant trees of eucalyptus, oak, and pine trees that is unusual for the Southern part of India, but due to the high elevation the weather permit them to be thriving, some look like a few hundred years old by the size of their trunks. The Botanical Garden was a remnant from British East Indian Company time when it was the norm for the British to cultivate wonderful European garden that look like it could be an exact copy of the one in England. Where they can keep many of the different plants both native and non-native in order to learn about them and to see what would grow well in different location. As we are wandering the garden we see cactus garden, which was around a greenhouse that must have been full of wonderful cactus from around the world but now only house some flower shrub, that is not considered cactus in any sense, but by being from Southern California, once can grow to missed the beauty of cactus type of plants. We even see a sigh for a Japanese garden but didn’t really went all the way up to see it. So as for the environment this school as perfect. When we rode up to the office, which look like an old English victorian house, it was very well kept and clean. The wooden floor in the main building was of amazing quality and is of the most beautiful pattern that I have never seen anything as nice as this before in any victorian style house in California. We were warmly welcome into the waiting room with one of the small office that look very cozy, an administrative women was waiting for our appointment. An East Asian student was usher in and appointed to be our guide to see their small campus, and to show us around the school ground. After the tuition and the application process was explained in details. We got to see all the classrooms, with the art department being the most interesting with wonderfully expressive brightly colored painting shown all around, while the children of different ages were doing their work. We also get to walk by a 8 feet tall geodesic dome that was being build by older student as their school science project. It was to be a replace for the old and tree house that we saw on one of the giant tree when we were walking into the school in the parking lot. We saw many kids and teens whose look to be from many different places. The student body seems to be a mix of some White European and East Asia kids as well as a majority of Indians and many that looked like Tibetans, Bhutanese and Nepalese, so the school seems to be a good mix of children from around the world.
I remember telling Shinto. “Hey, I think this is the best one!”
Shinto: “I think so….”
As Shinto and me was going around town looking at different schools. There are big sign of Chocolate Factory up all around the winding roads on the side of the hills around this mountain town. It is obviously aim at the domestic Indian tourists.
We kept riding by a few advertisement for these “Chocolate Factory.”
Shinto would ask me, “Can we go to the Chocolate Factory.”
I would say, “OK, let me google it up on the map.”
Turn out there were a few Chocolate Factories/Tea Factories.”
So I set a pin for the nearest one and ride there to check it out.
I was just thinking that chocolate in India, is it any good at all? Tea seems to be famous especially up in the hill station like this.
But upon insisting by Shinto to Visit a Chocolate Factory, I google maps it to see if there is any around, and it turned out to be many factories, not just one. So we off to one on the map and find out that it is a Tea and Chocolate Factory. We rode the scooter into the parking lot and got up to go inside which was free at this place.
They were hungry and looking for recommendation for restaurant to eat. After renting a scooter from a guy on the street.
Rode to get gas at the gas station and ask the station attendant where we is good to eat. He recommend a non-Vegetarian place. Called Hotel Blue Hills. We went to look for it at the center of town. We found it and walked down into a cave like restaurant where many local Indian are eating which meant, must be a really popular place. We ordered Lamb Biryani and Chicken Tandoori. Both came out very spicy for me, but Shinto really thought it taste great and eat a lot of the chicken. After about 15 minutes of eating both dishes. His skin on the upper and lower lips started to turn very red. I told him and he just look at the selfie video on my phone.
But he told me “It’s ok, it’s fine, it is not painful or anything.”
I said, “Ok, but it looks scary to me.”
We went to first the sweet and chocolate place which they let us taste for free. But the quality of the chocolate was not really any good for me. But for Shinto it was very good since it was so sweet. I just didn’t taste any chocolatey. But then again I preferred dark better chocolate over milk chocolate. We also get to see the tea plantation working in full swing and get to taste some tea. They set up a little tasting area where the tea ladies were passing out a very small plastic cups. Which we tasted but after the first taste, I went back for a few more time for the white tea which was really good. But after the third time the tea lady was angry with me, and told me to move on and don’t come back for more tea, which I complied. Then we got to the stockroom to many people where many people were buying tea to bring back as souvenir. So I got many black and white tea to bring back to Bangkok. Then we got on the scooter and when out to the road again, but we took a turn around the mountain and ran into another Tea and Chocolate Factory right next to the one we just went in earlier. And it was exactly the same setup except you have to pay for the entrance fee to get in before you can try the tea. I said to Shinto that the long wait was just a waste of time and we decide it was as I would says, “Same Same but Diffident,” which is a common corrupted English phrase we usually use in South East Asia for these kind of thing, Where many completing businesses are set up right next to each other selling exactly the same things.
I asked Shinto, “Why there are so many Chocolate factories?
Shinto answered, “Chocolate is good!”
I replied, “I am not sure if too much of anything is good for you…”
By the end of our journey in Ooty, Coimbatore and Kochi, we had really found ourselves to really enjoy our stay and the food in South India, mostly vegetarian with only the Blue Mountain Hotel as only only break for some meat. The strangely hypnotic and diverse religion of many gods of hinduism feel appropriate to the multitudes of spices and herbs that are used in all the South Indian cuisine which is quite delectable to us. At the same time the transformation of old religions and old empire to fit the uses of modern people in India. We felt India is heading fast forward into industrialization just like many other countries in Asia, yet trying to cope with the growing pains, such as pollution, too quick urbanization and rapidly increasing population. As for my son’s future, I think of his opportunities to learn 4 languages, Thai from me, Japanese from his mother, English from the both of us, and Arabic from this school. After we came back to Bangkok, Shinto red lips stayed with him for many days until he came back to Bangkok and his mom asked him about it. We just say the food was really good in Ooty. So as the story goes, currently we are still on our quest for a better school for our children.
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