Goodbye, India

On Tuesday it was time to say goodbye to India for good. Before I came many people warned me how intense India is and said that I'll either love it or hate it but I disagree....some parts I have hated and many other parts I have loved. This is the land that seems to contain ten countries in one with mountains, deserts, cities, jungles, beaches, palm tree fringed rivers, waterfalls, endless green fields, hills and forests. I've seen some of the most beautiful scenery and landscape and this is by far my most favourite thing about the country however it also houses some of the most dirty places I could ever imagine.

Markha Valley, Ladakh.

Pangong Tso Lake, Jammu & Kashmir.

India is where babies wear eyeliner and fall asleep on the back of speeding motorbikes, women in saris wield pick axes whilst they work on the roads, a 26 hour train journey is perfectly normal, women cover themselves from head to toe in saris and yet some can be spotted wearing Playboy flip flops, sex is a massive taboo and yet this is where the Kama Sutra was invented, a head bobble is an acceptable answer to anything, discarded flip flops are around every corner, people's lives are shared with cows, dogs, pigs, monkeys, goats and chickens that are allowed to roam freely, you never go long without being offered a cup of sweet chai tea and there's a temple/mosque/church on every street.

Shimla.

Varanasi.

Since I left England at the end of July I've had some of the most scary, shocking and frustrating moments of my life...however I've also seen some of the most beautiful places and had some incredible adventures! I have trekked in the Himalayas, stayed with Indian mountain villagers, meditated with monks, gone white water rafting, paragliding, had a monkey wee on my face (!!!), driven a rickshaw on a Delhi motorway, philosophised with new friends over many Kingfisher Strong beers, seen a dog eating flesh from a human skeleton on the banks of the Ganges, been harassed at the Taj Mahal, planked on an elephant's head because my trousers had split open, had a midnight BBQ held in my honour, eaten bread cooked in cow pats, driven a moped through a mass cow orgy, slept under shooting stars in the desert, been headhunted in Mumbai and asked to be in a Bollywood film, visited a slum, hired a houseboat for the night, been kayaking, paddle boarding and I've been pulled over by police for riding a bike with no licence.

Varanasi.

Pushkar.

I've also had hundreds of mosquito bites, eaten ridiculously spicy food, shared chai tea with the locals, learnt so much about Indian life and culture, had 'Delhi Belly' six times, met many people who had never seen a white person before, clocked up over 200 hours of train journeys and most importantly met some brilliant people from all around the world!

Mumbai.

Goa.

Now it's time to explore Myanmar and in order to get there we have to stop over in Bangkok, Thailand for three nights to obtain a visa.

Goa.

Crab Murder and Police Fines

On Monday Paula and I took a taxi to the country side in the middle of the Goan coast and the guesthouse we'd booked online turned out to be perfect - cheap, clean, polite and helpful staff, quiet location, balcony, TV, a cheap restaurant with really tasty food plus there was a little puppy that they'd rescued from the street. We planned our exit strategy out of India, the country we want to go to next is Myanmar (Burma) and it isn't as easy to get to as other countries in South East Asia because it has only recently welcomed tourists due to a history of human rights violations and a military dictatorship.

The Goan countryside.

Our travel arrangements meant we had nine days in this part of Goa before leaving India for good so we rented mopeds and decided to explore the Goan coast. The moped owner asked whether we knew how to ride the bikes, we sensed he wouldn't let us have them if we didn't so I confidentially told him we had driven them many times; this wasn't strictly true, I'd driven my first moped only a few weeks back but I didn't think it would be a problem until he gave us the bikes and I realised they were much more powerful than what I was used to. We practised on them and Paula went flying off into some bushes three times - we were both annoyed that I didn't have my camera on me to capture her in a bush with a moped on top of her! I wasn't much better because I kept pressing the horn instead of the brake; this obviously posed safety problems...but at least it made me blend it with all the the hornaholics here in India! Once we'd got to grips with them we visited different beaches every day and spent hours walking barefoot along the sand, swimming or sunbathing.

Varka beach.

Watch out for the jellyfish!

Sunset.

Paula without the bike on top of her for once!

Trying to stay modest by swimming in my clothes like the Indians do!

I stupidly put one of these shells (thinking it was empty) in my backpack a few weeks ago and it made my stuff stink of fish...now I know why: I murdered a crab.

One day we went in the sea and whilst I was swimming I became caught in a massive fishing net! My toes were tangled in the holes and I flapped around like crazed dolphin trying to escape; once I was free I thought I was safe until I spotted hundreds of jelly fish in the water all around my legs! Somehow I managed to swim away without being stung - it's a miracle I survived that particular dip in the ocean! A little while later a young Indian couple waved at us from the shore and the next thing we knew they got in the water, fully clothed, and came towards us. We started chatting to them and they told us they were on their honeymoon and described their wedding to us; there we were in our bikinis bobbing up and down on the waves in the Arabian Sea learning about Punjabi marriage traditions - it was surreal!

Punjabi women wear lots of bangles and toe rings for forty days after marriage because it is believed to stimulate the reproductive system.

Later that day we decided to sunbath - it was so relaxing as there was hardly anyone around and the breeze from the sea was keeping us cool under the powerful sun. Just as we were falling asleep we were woken by a stray beach dog that was yelping psychotically right next to us and sticking its bum up in the air (the 'downward dog' position in yoga springs to mind). He was shortly joined by two other dogs; we were scared because I'd made friends with a German man in Mumbai who'd later gone on to be bitten by a dog causing his trip to be cancelled for fear he had rabies! We jumped up and kept our distance but they were making themselves comfortable amongst our stuff; a passing Indian family noticed the commotion and came to help us, the man grabbed our stuff and told us to move down the beach. After the rescue he asked if he could take a photo of us in our bikinis with his wife and son...!

Rescue from canine ambush! 

I've just noticed that one of the dogs was still lurking around when we took this awkward photo!

Even cows need a bath.

The next day we decided to brave the main roads and embarked on a 90min journey to a beach in the south of Goa. The roads were steep and winding and we were going ridiculously fast downhill and round hairpin bends. Whilst we were sunbathing I noticed a letchy man in his 50s (and in his speedos) taking numerous 'secret' photos of us, he then asked us to come over to his hut for drinks, we politely declined and the next thing we knew he came over and sat on my sun lounger with his bum right in my face! We didn't feel comfortable at all whilst he asked where we were from, Paula told him she was from Chile and he looked puzzled so she said "If you don't know where Chile is then you cannot talk to us" as a ploy to get him to go away. An hour later he came back and proudly announced that he now knew Chile was in South America after calling his son who'd told him and he asked if he could come and sit with us now that he knew?!

Agonda Beach.

On our way home we were pulled over by police and fined for not having international licences however we managed to barter the 'fine' down to half the price. I took a photo of the policeman to put on my blog but he noticed and snatched my camera from me and started shouting at me in front of all the people who had stopped to see what was going on. I really thought he was going to smash it on the ground but instead he angrily made me delete it in front of him before we drove off screaming with laughter!

Rajbert

We wanted to see some other parts of Goa, particularly because the season hadn't kicked off yet in Palolem, but also because many people had recommended that we try Calungate beach and Baga beach in the north of Goa. We booked a hotel specifically because it had a gym but when we got there the gym had no walls and no equipment in it because it was being refurbished; they promised us it would be finished by the next evening but it wasn't so we found a gym up the road and worked out with the locals a few times!

Calungate beach.

Cow selfie! 

These beaches were very, very different to Palolem. Calm, quiet water was replaced with thrashing waves full of Indian families swimming, bathing and taking photos of each other and instead of stretches of empty sand there were droves of young Indian bachelors drinking on the beach. There were a couple of public holidays taking place (Ghandi's Birthday and a Hindu goddess festival) and so people from all over India had come to this part of Goa to celebrate and blow off some steam. This meant that it was unusually busy and lively but also that Ben and I were the only white faces in the town so we had a lot of attention!

The sea was as full as this for miles!

We couldn't walk down the beach for 5mins without being asked to be in Indian tourists' photos. 

We spent a lot of time mooching around the beach and eating at shacks along the coast under umbrellas. Goa is notorious for its party scene but in recent years the government has enforced a ban on loud music outdoors after 10pm which, unfortunately, has put an end to most of the all night trance raves! Nevertheless we ventured out to the bars sprawled out along Baga beach one evening. I'd heard there still was a wild party scene going on in some places but I haven't found it yet - the only wild thing about our night there was the stray beach dog we made friends with! I can't complain though - we enjoyed eating, drinking and watching all the commotion on the busy, dark beach.

Baga beach at night.

I named him Rajbert - he has scruffy, fluffy paws and he loves tandoori chicken.

Our main activity in Baga involved food; hopping between restaurants for hours ordering random starters and sharing dishes instead of having proper meals. It meant we have tried pretty much every type of Indian food you could imagine! (And it also means we are pigs! However this was counteracted by several gym visits...)

Lazy days under a beach umbrella.

On our last full day there we hired a Royal Enfield motorbike which we'd been trying to do for several days but all the Indian tourists had got there first. We drove off into the Indian countryside and spent the day visiting a few other beaches in the north of Goa (hoping to find some more peaceful ones!).

Riding around Goa.

My helmet looked like it was glued together with curry!!!

On Sunday evening Ben left to catch his flight after spending two weeks in the sunny south of India. I wasn't on my own for long though because, just a few hours later, I met up with my friend Paula again and we planned the next part of our trip.

Adventure Hurts!

The overnight train arrived at a place called Palolem in the south of Goa. Once again our taxi journey took us through some amazing scenery - this time it was bright green fields, trees, rivers and hills and every now and again I would get excited because we'd catch a glimpse of the sea. When we eventually arrived we were met by a powdery, white stretch of beach lined with coconut palms and a calm, clear sea dotted with rocks that were covered in greenery; it was a paradise and I couldn't quite believe I was still in India until I spotted a load of cows on the beach!

Yep, definitely India!

Palolem beach.

A completely unedited photo of the sunset at Palolem beach.

The season doesn't properly start on Palolem beach until November so it was reasonably quiet and many of the beach hut hotels weren't built yet as the council insists they are taken down during the quiet season. We had booked three nights online in a permanent beachside 'cottage' but when we arrived they had no recollection of any booking and showed us to a dark, sweaty room miles from the beach. When we protested they put us on the phone to their manager who was very rude and put the phone down on me; we were then led to a building site by the beach and shown to a dull room amongst a load of rubble. Half the time we were there we didn't have any water running out of the taps (that means no shower and no toilet flush!!) and on our way back at night we had to navigate our way past angry, wild dogs! When it rained the ceiling leaked on our faces as we slept. One night there was a tropical storm and we'd watched the lightening crackle over the sea as we ate dinner; when we tried to go to sleep the tide came in and sounded like it was coming closer and closer to our room! We were convinced that the room would be flooded so, half asleep, we got all our stuff up off the floor and I went outside to see how far the water had come but there was a crazed dog in my way so I had to go back. We didn't get much sleep that night as the sound of waves crashed around us; when we woke up we went to investigate and, embarrassingly enough, we discovered that the sea had actually been nowhere near our room and we'd created a load of drama all night for no reason!

My first proper beach visit in Asia!

Despite our accommodation problems (and our over active imaginations) we had a brilliant three days in Palolem - the weather was glorious every day and I've managed to get the best tan I've ever had. We spent our time walking on the beach, watching the fishermen, paddle boarding, swimming in the sea, lazily sitting in beach-side restaurants eating far too much and we also went on a little boat ride into the forests where massive eagles were swooping above us.

The green island is called Monkey Island which is apparently home to vicious, thieving monkeys.

Paddle boarding.

This beach front restaurant provided brilliant views of the lightening on the horizon at night.

One day we hired kayaks and paddled out to the sea. Ben spotted a rock just beneath the water surface and wanted a photo on it (Jesus style, so it looked like he was walking on water) so I took his kayak in one hand and took the photo with the other. The current was very strong so far out and I was carried further and further away from him. I tried to paddle back but it was impossible whilst holding an extra kayak on one side so I tried to loop my foot through a tiny bit of string on his kayak but my foot almost came off as the tide swept the other kayak from side to side. I had adrenaline pumping through me at this point as I executed this rescue mission! I tied the boats together and started paddling like crazy but Ben's came loose and I had to chase after it. The only option was to leave his kayak amongst a pile of rocks sticking out of the sea and go back and get him. As he climbed on my kayak it capsized and we both fell into the rocks he'd been standing on and split both of our backs open! He got back on, I held on to the side and we went to collect his kayak whilst blood was streaming out of the little cuts on our backs; we saw hundreds of creatures lurking amongst the rocks which looked like massive tarantulas but it turned out they were slimy, black crabs. For fifteen minutes we tried to retrieve his kayak and once we did we scrambled out of the rocks and made our way back - adventure hurts!

Kayaking.

Rescue mission!

Domestic tourists absolutely love the beach and the sea and they spend their days taking photos of each other in various poses. 

They also love to have photos with fair haired, fair skinned people so we were constantly getting stopped on the beach and asked if we would pose in their photos.

The Keralan Shuffle

I met my friend at Mumbai airport and a day later we got on a flight south to Kochi in Kerala. I've been very excited about heading to the south of India as I've been told by many people how beautiful the scenery is and how relaxed the people are. We got off the plane and were met by glorious blue skies and lovely warm weather. Our taxi to our hotel had us driving past lush green fields, miles of rivers and palm tree jungles - I've never seen so many palm trees in my life! When we got to our hotel they upgraded us to a suite for no extra charge!

Fort Kochi in Kerala is famous for its Chinese fishing nets which is an ancient form of fishing that is slowly disappearing.

A fisherman insisted on taking our photo (for a tip of course!!).

The Indian state of Kerala has many traditional art forms and we went to see a performance that showcased a variety of these; I can honestly say I don't think I've ever watched something so weird and pointless! They gave us a 90 minute tutorial on things such as dramatic eye and eyebrow movement common in traditional Keralan theatre which basically involved a man in drag rolling his eyes and raising his eyebrows again and again and again....!

Eye rolling whilst watching eye rolling.

Kerala's main draw is the miles of backwaters nestled amongst palm tree jungles set back from the coast. We booked our own house boat for 24 hours and had our own crew - a driver and a cook  -to attend to our every need! On our way there the taxi driver wasn't paying attention and we screeched to halt and skidded across the road; to be honest I'm surprised this is my first experience of a road accident here because the driving is crazy! We got on the steel framed boat covered in thatch that looked like a giant wicker basket and were shown to our room which was in the middle of the boat, the front consisted of a dining area and a seating area for us and the crew's quarters and kitchen were in a small space at the back. We put on some music, opened some beers and cruised down the rivers for hours in the sun.

All the boats looked like baskets!

Some of the backwaters were fringed with small villages.

They cooked us what I can only describe as an Indian feast; I had fish that had been caught in the backwaters that morning by the cook and it was delicious. All day I had been temped to jump in to the water so as the sun was setting the driver took us to a suitable spot and we catapulted ourselves in and tried not to think about all the fish, crocs and other weird things that could be lurking in the water.

Jumping in!

All sorts of slimy reeds were getting tangled round my legs and neck and we swam against the strong current for while before scrambling back on to the boat.

As the sun set we were served another feast and we spent the evening playing cards and drinking beer with the cook whilst watching fire flies in the distance and trying not to get bitten too much by all the insects that were invading the boat. The cook taught us the 'Keralan shuffle' when it was his turn to shuffle the cards - basically this involved clumsily slapping the cards a few times and dropping half of them on the floor.

The view when we woke up.

The next morning we had breakfast and cruised back to the dock where a driver was waiting for us to take us to our next destination - five star Ramada Resort, Cochin. We had seen this hotel online whilst looking for places to stay and we decided to treat ourselves for one night - we'd found a travel agency that gave us a good price.

We definitely got our money's worth as we used all the facilities from 11am on the first day to 6pm on the second: pool, sun deck, table tennis and gym to name a few. 

120m 'meandering' pool on an island surrounded by backwater rivers.

We'd booked a 14 hour overnight train to Goa on Friday night and I was so sun-burnt and in pain from two gym sessions that it was a very uncomfortable journey!