Goa

We took an early morning train from the CST in Mumbai to Madgoan in Goa, arriving late evening. Although the trip pretty much took up the whole day, it only cost 25 dollars per person for a second class air-conditioned berth, equipped with power outlets, pillows, blanket and bedsheets. Food vendors were constantly making their rounds with Samosas, chicken lollipops and chai. It was nice to enjoy the serene countryside, get some reading done, rest up, and brace for Goa.

Landing into a new town is always a disorienting and an abrupt affair. It almost feels like the starting whistle of a scavenger hunt, as you race to complete objectives as efficiently as possible while filtering out distractions. It is the execution of a shoddy plan, put together hurriedly with limited information and self assurances that somehow everything works out. The plan was to get to Palolem beach south and find somewhere to crash, while filtering out bogus directions and offers for "I take you to BEST beach". We made our way there, sharing the cab with 2 travelers from the UK whom we've met on the train. Walking along the beach at Palolem, we had a few lodging options. We went with the concrete room as it looked a little nicer than the straw hut and only cost the equivalent of 2 dollars more, for a total of 15 bucks a night. The beach was every bit as imagined, clear waters, relatively quiet, and frankly a little boring as I wasn't the type to lay around all day sipping piña coladas. So we rented a bicycle, chugged down a fresh coconut, and made our way to scope out Agonda beach just a stone's throw to the north. As expected, we grossly underestimated the distance and intensity of the ride there. We took the single gear bike through 8 kms of undulating terrain and by the time we got to the beach, I just wanted to laze around with a piña colada. Agonda was even more secluded, which explained why fish was sold at half price. At a beach shack restaurant, they brought out a assorted platter of freshly dead fish for our selection and inspection. They grilled the kingfish to near perfection, and we showed no mercy to that unfortunate thing just as the Goan hills showed no mercy to us on the way there and back.

Next morning, we took a series of buses to Ponda where we visited a spice farm. Because I allowed a guy to slip in front of the boarding line, I had to stand for much of the 2 hr long journey with party music and the latest Bollywood tunes blaring away in the bus. In the beginning, I was slightly concerned for my safety standing alone in the bus due to poor road conditions and aggressive driving. However, as more people piled on, reaching the stated allowable passenger limit and way beyond, I realized I had sufficient people between me and the windshield, and the compression enabled me to free a hand from the handrails and begin catching up on the previous blog post on the iPod.

At the spice plantation, we got to learn about the different indian spices used in cooking and medicine and meet the half man half ape they nicknamed Tarzan. Tarzan has been climbing trees since he was 8 or so, using only his massive arms and a bundle of rope wrapped around his legs. He is able to swing from tree to tree without getting down, he is a professional coconut harvester.

Prices are always negotiable. Arriving to the Baga - Calangute beach area that evening, we managed to talk down room rates by fostering healthy competition between guest houses and a little bit of timing. As the day progresses, the likelihood that a room will be rented out that evening decreases while the importance of each visiting backpacker increases. With the rapport we had with the manager, we promised not to disclose the awesome rates we were getting to anyone else.

This beach had a lot more going on. Around this time of the year, retirees from Europe and Russia follow the migratory birds and flock to beaches in Phuket, Sharm El Sheik, and Goa to tempt fate with skin cancer. At night, the beach shacks serve scrumptious seafood feasts as diners ate al fresco and enjoyed fire and tightrope performances and firework shows. Further north is Anjuna and Vagator beach, with restaurants perched dangerously on beautiful cliffs and fun seekers hopping from rock to rock on the beach at low tide for photo opportunities. The hippy movement is strong here and people peddle marijuana at the same places they sell postcards, tshirts and flags of Bob Marley and Che Guevara. Some even come all the way from Nigeria to deal, unaffected by the 10 years in jail they potentially face.

Just a heads up for travelers going there in the future, there are professional ear wax removers who approach you with the innocuous intent to help you remove some "sunblock" left in your ear. Out of nowhere, he will have a suite of wax removing tools and appear to remove some of yours as a favor. Unless you yank your ear away from his vice grip, he will keep going at it and charge you 50 rupees at the end. This is not mentioned in the "Dangers and annoyances" section of the Lonely Planet spoiler. If you really need the service, go with the one with the name card and "government license"

Goa is where you would go to relax and unwind.. People are noticeably friendlier, happier, and less likely to lose their temper. Even the dogs leave the cats alone. If one is careless, he will see days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years in Goa. That was the case with a French paraglider pilot who has been catching drafts around the cliffs for about 13 years.

We, however, did not catch that bug, and we left after a brief stay to go to Bangalore where Dan will fly back to NYC and I continue solo south to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. If given the chance, I would definitely return to Goa. Thanks, Sujit for the exhaustive list of recommendations in Goa!

(pictures will be added when I get the chance)

Mumbai

We landed just before sunset, and found ourselves plunged into the massive urban sprawl that is Mumbai, or Bombay to the older generation. Led by our prepaid, non-air-conditioned, and very eccentric taxi driver, we were introduced to the sights and (at times pungent) smells of the city. As our taxi driver was cursing at the traffic in English and playing tour guide to us in Hindi, I saw for myself that this was another place of haves and have nots, the vast income disparity evident with the beggar knocking on the window of a shiny new Mercedes, ultra modern skyscrapers rising above squalid slums, and the destitute homeless lie on the streets while sharply dressed professionals dodge them like potholes or just hop over them, like potholes.

That night, we headed to Colaba in South Mumbai for some food and drinks. Along the way, we passed by Leopold Cafe, a site of the 2008 attacks by militants from Pakistan. There are still holes in the wall outside, possibly from bullets that missed the people in the restaurant on that fateful day. Despite this, the restaurant was still overflowing with customers and kingfisher beer, and it seems that people have either moved on, forget, or become oblivious to the fact that it could very easily happen again.
We started our day visiting the Victoria terminus, also known as the CST, also another site of the terrorist attack. I walked in expecting it to be the most fortified location in south Mumbai, but all I saw was a sleepy machine gunner and people going around metal detectors. They must have either stepped up on intelligence gathering, or that the people selling concessions are actually undercover commandos.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent walking around a lot. We took a commuter train to the suburbs at Khar road just to see what it's like over there. The suburbs remind me of some residential parts of Singapore, but not long after we found ourselves in the middle of a slum relocation project in the west near the coast of the Arabian sea. There we got a good whiff of drying and dying krill amonst other things, and the scale of it is quite a sight. Fishermen would just lay out the gazillions of krill on sandy fields, roads, sidewalks, rooftops and any other flat surface touched by sunlight. Every urban critter will then congregate like animals to a Serengeti water hole, taking first pick, maybe spitting out the ones that are not tasty enough. The rest is then hand picked (it's probably cleaner this way compared to scooping it up en masse with all the other goodies on the road, although more time consuming) and perhaps exported to Asian countries with a healthy appetite for dried shrimp to be consumed, like Singapore!

Getting on the commuter train to Chowpati Beach, I had my first experience of chasing after a moving train. I got on first, then Dan. Dan had the luxury of realizing that the commuter trains are different than the intercity ones on the main line, in that they accelerate a lot faster. In retrospect, unless you are as nimble as Dan, you should not try it. Marveling at how inexpensive the tickets were at 7 rps each, we made ourselves comfortable in a very deserted carriage while the other sardines in the next carriage looked on with envy. This continued until we were slapped with a fine by a ticket attendant for only having a second class ticket and being in first. We were misled and had no idea. The metros we're used to don't segregate by class or gender.

After a whole day of walking, The rest of our day was spent mostly food hunting. Near Chowpati beach is a stand (New Kulfi Centre) selling Kulfi, a spiced ice cream served solid and diced up. It was so good I could have made a meal out of it. After that we went to a rooftop bar to cool off and get away from the streets for just a moment to recharge before taking the elevator back down to India. Dinner was at this superb roadside stall just behind the Taj Hotel (Taj was also attacked in 2008) It didn't matter if you had to eat on the sidewalk or if cars drove through the eating area as the restauurant's a well established local eatery and the stood is just plain tasty.

One great thing about blogging from an iPod is that I'm doing it in a very crowded bus, standing up, with one hand on the rail and the other typing away. More on this next stop, Goa!

Rajasthan

This post is long, be warned!

We left Agra and the state of Uttar Pradesh about 4 days ago and we've just been traveling around the western state of Rajasthan, starting from the Mogul Fort of Fatehpur Sikri and the Keoledeo Bird Reserve, then proceeding to the capital Jaipur, followed by Pushkar, Ajmer, and the very lovely Udaipur. Until Udaipur, we had the convenience of a hired driver which helped us cover many sites very efficiently. Arko, if you are reading this, you are right! I will go into this in more detail in a subsequent post as it is quite interesting on it's own.

Fatehpur Sikri is a red fort situated on a hill, about an hour's drive from Agra, or the Taj Mahal. On the way to the main gate (which is in itself very impressive), you'll see pigs digging around trash, cows commuting somewhere, mountain goats jousting on the steps, touts selling stuff, guides telling you you're too stupid to navigate around by yourself, and people just hanging out cos it's a Friday at an islamic site. Just outside the mosque area were ruins just begging to be climbed. We got up a set of stairs leading up to the top of a watch tower of some sort, and was presented with a pleasing bright yellow landscape of canola flowers and green grass fields. Within the fort, we got to see how the mogul king housed his Muslim, Hindu, and Christian wifes, store his treasure, and execute his criminals in public. On the walk back to the car, we were outflanked by a few kids, only waist tall. Haloo! Money?? We would love to help them out, but there's only so much we could do for every kid in India asking for money. They were very persistent, but we could outrun them. After telling them to go back to school and stay there, we made hell for leather and took off. What a scene... Two grown men in their prime running away from a bunch of kids, some shoeless, some toothless. To our surprise, they actually gave chase. Approaching the car, we thought of a fun thing to do the next time a tout approaches us. We will in turn, try to sell him something equally ridiculous, and equally overpriced. If its a guide, we will offer him a tour of the attraction that we have just arrived at and laid eyes upon for the first time.

Another hour to the west, along the way to Jaipur, we stopped at the Keoledeo Bird Reserve, situated in the middle of nowhere. We went in not because we liked birds, but because there was a tigress roaming about. The bicycles for rent were all rented out, so we decided to tour the 29 sq km park on foot. We saw a lot of exotic birds, all the common critters, but no tiger. At stretches along the way, a rickshaw driver was just tailing us and telling us repeatedly how tired we were, and how unsafe it was with the tiger roaming around. We're definitely safer as sitting ducks inside an open-air rickshaw. On the way back, we were hungry, tired, sunburnt, and desperately in need of that rickshaw. Hoping to get a cheaper fare, we kept the bravado, as if we could walk a few more miles, and it worked. On the rickshaw after a quick bargaining session, the driver started lamenting about his singlehood after passing a bunch of female tourists. Not weird at all.

On the way to Jaipur from Keoledeo, our driver felt the urge to visit a famous temple to pray. He explained to us that many people believe this temple to be highly effective for people with psychological issues. Wait, what? Curious, we followed him in to observe. We took off our shoes and stored it at a stall by the main street selling incense and proceeded through the temple. Walking barefoot through a busy, grotty county side road, dodging pies and wading through unknown yet colorful puddles, is an experience that I won't elaborate further in this blog. Please try it yourself sometime, as you'll walk out of it a stronger and more resilient person. I still can't shake off the shrill cries of agony from the wanting devotees in the temple, something truly bone chilling. I walked out of it with a red tika on my forehead and a solemn mood. On the way to Jaipur, we were cracking open roasted peanuts and tossing the shells out the window like the driver told us to. I thought it was liberating, but the singaporean in me was going insane, paranoid of getting fined.

We arrived in Jaipur around evening time. For those who get lost and disoriented easily, one way to tell youre in Jaipur is by realizing that most of the buildings are pink, similar to the color of adobe. We had just missed the kite festival which took place during the day, but there were kids still flying kites most everywhere. There were quite a lot of "over the counter" fireworks being launched, continuously going off in the city and surrounding areas because of wedding celebrations as explained by our driver. Later that night, we witnessed the first of three street fights outside our hotel in Jaipur. Too much alcohol, but not too much testosterone. The next day, we went to 3 forts, all strategically situated on a rugged hill over looking a valley. For the military buffs and RTS gamers, the view on top of Jaigarh Fort presents a classic setup of high advantage choke points and dead grounds cleverly using the hills as a natural barrier supported by high, fortifiable walls that resemble those in China. Perched on the same mountainside is the Amber fort, it's majesty resembling Minas Tirith of Tolkien lore. The elephant traffic on it's winding passageways takes you back to the late 1500s, and you can almost imagine the chaos leading up to a siege on the fort. From the top, you can see a fairytale lake palace which was still used by the Rajasthani royal family until recently.
One good thing about staying in small family owned inns is that they would sometimes upgrade you to a better room, hoping you would leave a good review on trip advisor in return, since they rely so much on word of mouth for business.

Hippies still exist, and they tie their hair in dreadlocks, stop shaving, and congregate in Pushkar, near the eastern edge of the Thar desert. Other things that congregate in Pushkar are camels during the annual camel fair held around November. A very small city, it's known for it's many temples and a sacred lake used for both religious rites and laundry. This place is so sacred, that restaurants within the township are not allowed to sell non veg food or alcoholic beverages. You can, however, get "bhang" (or marijuana) rather freely for religious purposes, which explains the thriving hippy population. We met one on a hill top who quit her job a year ago and has been globe trotting since. We had the fortune of observing a local engagement party, which began as a loud traffic halting procession on the streets in the afternoon, and ending with a dinner disco party at our hotel. Observing from the balcony, we were invited to join in the festivities, but we weren't sure if we really should or if they were just being polite. They had a separate section in the grass just for making chapati (unleavened bread) and masala to feed the many guests, and a dance floors with kids rocking out to the latest Bollywood tunes and repeats of "sheela ki jawali".

On the train ride from Ajmer to Udaipur, I got to see the beautiful colorful Rajasthani country side at sunset, dotted with canola and untarnished by trash - a stark contrast to Ajmer city where I boarded, where a man literally pulled down his pants right in front of me and did his business into a drain. The air-conditioned chair class (CC) ride took 5 hours and cost only 750 rupees for 2 passengers. It is the preferred way to cover short distances and also meet other travelers.

Udaipur is probably the most pleasant city I've stopped at so far. The streets are cleaner, the air is fresh, and the touts are less aggressive. The two main attractions in the area are the massive waterfront city palace, and the 007 endorsed lake palace which was featured in the Bond film, Octopussy. If you have a thousand dollars, you may get to stay there a night too. While exploring the area, we found a cable car that took people to the ridge of a bordering mountain. We reasoned that the fact that it is still in business after all these years mean it's got a good safety record. Also, at 66 rupees, the price was very attractive. I'll post pictures so you can judge for yourself if it was a dollar fifty well spent. The coolest thing was that I got to see a flock of a dozen eagles up close and personal, soaring effortlessly on the drafts on the mountain ridge, twitching only their head and tails, going into a nose dive occasionally to scoop up a chipmunk or two.

Next stop: Mumbai!

3 days later... Agra

I've managed to experience quite a good bit the three days i've been here. Dan and I got to see how karaoke is done here at a random bar at a mall in Delhi..like they're auditioning for Bollywood and as if there was no mike. Some of these guys and girls can seriously sing. However, all that was eclipsed by Dan's demonstration of "Billionaire" by Bruno Mars, before we made for the exit.
Unlike many attractions out there, the Taj Mahal looks way more impressive live. The marble changes color as the sun sets into a bright amber, creating a different ambiance. Perfect, if it weren't for veteran squads of touts who can say and do anything to separate you from your money. Some would even charge you for taking photos with them and their pet monkeys.

"China? Japan? Korea? 500 rupees, ok? Ok since you are student, 490... ok waiiitt come back! 100 rupees best price!"
I still don't even know what they want to sell me.

A big fan of Indian food all my life, growing up in Singapore and even preparing indian dishes at times, my coming to India is pretty much like a fat kid walking into a candy store. Although we've been managing to get by with about 15 dollars a day, it's still pretty unnerving not knowing what the next mouthful of food will do to you. As I write this entry, an epic battle between good and evil is taking place in my very own stomach, and I'm not sure if good will triumph over evil again this time. Regardless, Indian cuisine is one of my favorite foods, and its deliciousness is only enhanced by eating with your hands. I find myself going back for more Thalis and Paranthas every single day, seldom disappointed. I'll eventually get tired of it, but all I can think of right now is pouring masala all over bismati rice and gobbling it all up.

First day in Delhi

Got into Delhi around 11am after a rather uneventful flight. Sleeping in Dubai airport isn't the most comfortable even with eyeshades and ear plugs. I just can't sleep with people from everywhere constantly staring at me everytime I wake up to look at the time. I managed to get some sleep on the plane, but I was awakened when a stewardess popped open 2 smoke grenades and started fumigating the passengers as she walked down the isle. I quickly realized it was disinfectant. Lack of sleep also caused me to almost chase a senior citizen out of the 27k window seat when I mistook it for 29k.
Anyway, Dan is now a veteran traveller of India, experiencing much during the past week he was here ( check out his blog). We were soon on our way to the hotel. Its true that cows roam freely here, along with squirrels, dogs, cats, donkeys, monkeys, and even more. We spent the rest of the day planning out the rest of our trip in more detail, buying train tickets and getting a driver to take us around the golden triangle.

Tell me where to go

If I told you I've planned my journey out to even the most relaxed definition of "sufficient", I would be lying. The picture you see in the previous post is the most comprehensive representation of my plans so far. At least I've made the first night's hotel booking, and bought tickets back to Dubai. I'll like to think that uncertainty is part of the fun. That being said, Im ready to follow recommendations from you guys! You'll have influence on where I go, what I eat, and who I meet. I'll then refer to lonely planet and trip advisor. I'll first be flying into Delhi on the 12th, covering Agra Jaipur and udaipur until the 19 th where I'll catch a flight to Mumbai, spending a week there and in Goa until Dan flies out of Bangalore on the 27th. I'll then proceed to see Kerala , and Tamil Nadu until the 8th. typing on the iPod sucks so I'll keep it short. Stay tuned!

Setting out

After spending almost a month in the Middle East visiting my parents with my brother, I found that it was time to leave the comfort of the familiar to strike India off my bucket list. After dropping off my brother in terminal 1 for his flight back to the states, I proceeded to T3 to get some rest before my flight the next morning. T3 is what you would imagine the interior of an intergalactic spaceship would be, self sufficient and full of people just passed out (partly because of bad winter weather in the US). I will rendezvous with my buddy Dan who has already started traveling for almost a week. I've also customarily posted my gear and plan in detail in the previous post. Among the stuff I have are:
- A week's supply of fresh clothes
- Gorilla pod for taking long exposure shots at night, with the camera capable of hanging on a tree
- Panasonic ZS7 point and shoot camera (for it's 12x zoom and compact size)
- IPod Touch (I won't have a laptop to lighten my load so most of my updates including this
- nature valley oats and honey cereal bars (those of you who have lived with me know how religious I am with cereal. Besides, I had the great experience of being trapped in the Egyptian desert for 23 hrs in a public bus and I don't want to be unprepared again)
- insect repellent with so much deet it will melt your clothes off
- prescription malaria pills and industrial strength diarrhea pills
- lonely planet India guide
- an anything-goes attitude
- oh, and cash

Prep