We arrived in Jodhpur and 6am, after we had a very bumpy bus ride in a double sleeper facility so we found a hotel and got a few more hours sleep. After waking around midday we went to visit the Mehrangarh Fort, huge, beautiful, amazing view over the old blue city and we had a free audio tour guide, uncharacteristically. We walked around the clock tower and market areas selling fabrics and incense after. We had dinner at our guest house in the restaurant which we were waited by and cooked for by the same receptionist who checked us in earlier. We Checked out early the next morning and caught a bus to Jaipur. Along the journey we saw various crashed vehicles by the side of the road which wasn't comforting. We didn't arrive until 7pm and persisted to find a guesthouse on foot at the Rick-shaw drivers here are renowned to adding a lot of commission to a room rate and found a nice one run by a family who told us lots of times 'Rickshaw drivers are cheats, never use them and you will be happy', so we didn't. We ended up eating pizza for dinner, it was good. We went out to do the walking tour of the old city and temples the next morning written in the Lonely Planet guide book, this was very unsuccessful and we just kept getting lost, we saw lots of litter and animals eating litter, it was very hectic and I think the tour was bad and the instructions were badly written. We wanted to go to the cinema and watch a Bollywood film but they didn't have English sub-titles. so we didn't Later that day we spent some time trying to stream the Brighton match which ended at a 3-0 loss (Sorry Josh, out of the FA Cup). The next morning we caught a bus to Agra and arrived at 4pm. After everything we heard about Agra we expected a terrible place but we were pleasantly surprised. Again the problem with the commission for Rickshaw drivers we spent ages for time searching on foot. We found a nice place with a courtyard, lots of monkeys around and a good price. We headed straight for a roof top place to get our first view of the Taj Mahal, we spotted lots of playful monkeys and saw the top of the palace, we also enjoyed our first beer in two weeks. We left our room early the next day, left our bags in storage and went straight to the palace. Wow its amazing in the flesh. We had to pay 750 rupees (12.50) and Indians pay just 20 rupees (40p) which is very unfair but we did get a free water. You wouldn't believe how amazing and bright the white marble is and the gardens there are also delightful. We spent a few hours taking photographs and walking around all the temples and Museums also. Next we walked about 3km to the Agra Fort, what a beautiful fort too. Small courtyards, view points, walled garden ares and a few monkeys a great place to see. We had to catch our train about 8pm to Varanasi where we met two Japanese guys also in our carriage, lots of stares for men so Josh let me have top bunk and he had middle (what a gentleman). Loooooong train, we arrived about 6am and then had to get a three hour bus which we met an American couple. So happy when we finally arrived, we walked about 5km until we didn't know where we were, it was so hot with our bags also, we got a cyclo which took us about 5km for 50 rupees and it must have been such hard work with all our bags we gave him 100. We then had to get a Rickshaw to the Ghats to find a room, everywhere was really expensive and we wanted a nice room for my 21st birthday the next day. We didn't end up getting anything too nice, for 450 rupees Ganges river view and hot shower. We napped and went for a walk around Varanasi, a very calm place with lots of yoga, meditation classes etc. We found a cheap restaurant to watch cricket world cup and eat noodles, I really wanted a beer but nowhere sold any (Varanasi the holiest place apart from Bodhgaya in India) so we had to go to a really posh hotel which sold them 200rupees each! (3pounds), but it was my birthday the next day. My birthday we woke and Josh gave me a few small things (candy phone, pashmeana, cashew cookies) and went went for breakfast at a little cafe called Aum. I had a lovely whole salad and Chai and Josh had a Burrito thing. We took a boat ride for 2 hours down the Ganges to see all the ghat and burning ghats (most people who die in India get brought here to be burnt by all their male family and ashes put into the Ganges with jewellery, which also has 140aprox open sewers running into it, and people consider this water a holy and sip and bathe in it everyday...crazy). We saw one person being burnt and many other bodies in line, it was very interesting. After we visited a Nepalese Temple which lots of images of Karma Sutra. We visited the Fort and Museum during the afternoon, this wasn't as nice as the other forts we have visited, wasn't very well maintained. Mid afternoon we had carrot cake and chai! That evening we went to The Brown Bread Bakery which is a non-profit Tibetan Restaurant (profits go to a local charity for homeless children) and met some people there who had just been in Nepal, the restaurant had a live Indian band which was nice too. We had a nice evening there and ended up having a couple expensive 'Government' beers in our hotel room. The next day we booked our train for Bodhgaya, we got some new booked and relaxed in a cafe checking up on e-mails etc. After a light breakfast we had to rush to catch our train, once we had arrived we realised our train tickets were for the next day,. It was really annoying and not worth going back into Varanasi so we had to wait around for 6 hours until the next one. We found a grotty restaurant to kill a few hours. After our train was delayed another hour and because it started to really rain our train was very slow. We met a really nice Irish guy who is volunteering for a year in Calcutta to work with the homeless (brave), we also met an Indian guy who teaches and doesn't get home until midnight everyday and leave his home at 6am. The Irish guy told us there is a lot of trouble in Darjeeling at the moment which is our next stop. We arrived at midnight and met two Russian girls who we shared a Rickshaw from Gaya to Bodhgaya and all found a cheap room together to sleep in. We found a new cheaper room in the morning in a little village area the next morning and found a lovely Tibetan cafe run by refuges. We visited the temple and tree that the Buddha became enlightened. Lots of monks and Buddhists here, meditation gardens and small gardens just to read which we did for a while, it was very nice. We tried Momos that evening - little vegetable dumplings. Bodhgaya is a very nice town in India, less traffic and litter but lots of disabled beggars which is sad. The next day we went to visit a rural village, it was great, animals everywhere. There was lots of lush food growing everywhere it didn't feel like India at all, more like China countryside. After we visited some Mountain Caves which had little shrines inside and monks meditating. This mountain was quite a climb and a few begging children too, we found a spot at sat looking over the countryside and in the distance Bodhgaya, bliss. We walked around the refugees markets (witnessed a Monk buying a BB gun) during the afternoon and ate dinner at the lovely Tibetan Cafe. Today we had to go into Gaya to sort out some money. During the day it is chaos! cars everywhere beeping, hot, everybody stares at you more than ever! we saw a poor puppy that got its paw run over by a bike and will probably be a broken paw forever in India :( After this we visited the Thai Monastery which was a beautiful building and the Archeological Museum. Now here we are 6.21pm 28th February about to make our photos into discs and looking forward to tomorrow leaving for Darjeeling!
Monday 28 February 2011
Tuesday 15 February 2011
Entry No.14 by Josh
I think its fair to say that the problem with India is that there are too many Indians, and most of them just don't care. They ruin what is a really beautiful country by not caring at all about the environment in that they are living in, so as a result they are actually living in their own shit. For example, when we arrived in Mumbai I went off to look for a room to stay in. I went to the salvation army hoping to get some cheap dorm beds and as I arrived there was a man squatting out the front doing a poo. Then I went in and asked about the prices and when I came out the same man tried to shake my hand and sell me hash, and was then offended when I didn't want to shake my hand. We didn't want to stay there after that because I didn't want to leave the room and walk into human poo. The I walked around the corner and saw man emptying a whole bag of poo (probably his own) onto te base of a tree on a pavement, so I gave up on that whole area.
Anyway, on our second day in India we got up and went straight to the jetty and got a ticket for a boat to Elephanta Island, which is about an hours boat journey away and on it has quite a lot of caves with sculptures around the sides. It was quite interesting, especially as nobody knows when they were made or anything so we had a nice walk around there. Entry price for foreigners was 25 times the amount for Indians which was annoying but it still was only about 4 quid. On the island Clare had a monkey climb onto her back and steal a drink from her back and wegot some good photos of that. When we arrived back in Mumbai we went to the house where Gandhi used to stay when he was in Mumbai. It was free to enter and was really well presented with some good displays including letters Gandhi sent to Hitler and Eisenhower. We then walked along the beach which is really filthy and polluted and you can't even swim in becausethe water is too dirty, so it wasn't the best beach I have been to. The following day we booked our bus tickets to Ahmedabad for the evening and planned to go and walk around a slum. Most people don't like the idea of walking round the slums, partly because they think it is dangerous and partly because it can be seen as disrespectful, but I am not that fussed about it, as long as you aren't intrusive. So anyway, Clare wouldn't let me go alone but wouldn't come with me without a guide so we had to find someone who could guide us there. We found the only company that does trips there and called them up to say we will go that afternoon. The company is well run and most of the profits go to NGO's working in Mumbai and also don't let you take pictures. We walked around the Dharavi slum for about 2 and a half hours and it was really interesting. There are 1.3 million people living in a space of around 1.1 square miles so its really busy all the time, especially in the residential area. The Dharavi slum is quite a resourceful one and the biggest in Mumbai, so it has factories and sweat shops in it which is where most people work. Nobody begs there and everyone works so its fairly self sufficient, like a town within the city. The children were sweet but really dirty, going from pooig on the floor to shaking your hand. We were told that only 1% of the population in Dharavi use the public paying toilets and only 30% use the free dirtier ones, meaning everyone else just uses the floor. Also, it is the slum that some scenes in Slumdog Millionaire are shot, including a Muslim Mosque scene apparently, and also the scene where the mum dies. our bus was delayed so we had to wait in the street for a couple of hours and then we got changed to a bus that was terrible. All the seats were brokenso they went far back and dug into the person behind. Some places had been sold to three different people and in general the bus was tiny and horrible. It was along journey including a half hour stop when a tyre burst but when we arrived in Ahmedabad it was a nice relief. After finding a room, we went to a Textile museum, and had a free tour of the grounds. It is in an amazing building on amazing grounds which was a lot more impressive to me than the Hindi weaving etc. We then had some food with two other tourists we met on the tour. The next day we made a 6 hour bus journey to Udaipur in Rajasthan. We had a leaflet we found for a guesthouse here so decided to go there. The whole time we have been away, we have never had a guesthouse that represents value for money as much as this one. We decided to go for the deluxe room for 192 rupees (about 3 pounds). We have our own TV, hot powerful shower, internet access and our room leads on to a rooftop restaurant with board games and amazing views. Also, we are the only guests there so its so peaecful. As a result, we have ended up staying here for 5 nights. In these 5 nights we have visited a few of the artificial lakes in the area, created hundreds of years ago. They are really beautiful and we have had a small picnic next to a large one out of town. We were the only people there and it was really nice, apart from the fact that you can't swim in it because of the crocodiles. We have also looked around the Palace in town which is huge ad a really beautiful building, and the walls are covered in stories and pictures about the people who have lived here. Udaipur also has lovely sunset viewpoints which we have used. Yesterday was Valentine's day so after being at a lake for a picnic we went to the ladies shrine and the lotus pools and I played football with some Indian kids. So Joel, if you are reading then your volleyball you bought has travelled from Palolem to Udaipur, before I gave to some kids. Then we went out for a meal and a Bhang Lassi in the town centre to celebrate Valentine's day and today we have been relaxing (easy to do in this town) and have found a bus to Jodhpur tomorrow.
Anyway, on our second day in India we got up and went straight to the jetty and got a ticket for a boat to Elephanta Island, which is about an hours boat journey away and on it has quite a lot of caves with sculptures around the sides. It was quite interesting, especially as nobody knows when they were made or anything so we had a nice walk around there. Entry price for foreigners was 25 times the amount for Indians which was annoying but it still was only about 4 quid. On the island Clare had a monkey climb onto her back and steal a drink from her back and wegot some good photos of that. When we arrived back in Mumbai we went to the house where Gandhi used to stay when he was in Mumbai. It was free to enter and was really well presented with some good displays including letters Gandhi sent to Hitler and Eisenhower. We then walked along the beach which is really filthy and polluted and you can't even swim in becausethe water is too dirty, so it wasn't the best beach I have been to. The following day we booked our bus tickets to Ahmedabad for the evening and planned to go and walk around a slum. Most people don't like the idea of walking round the slums, partly because they think it is dangerous and partly because it can be seen as disrespectful, but I am not that fussed about it, as long as you aren't intrusive. So anyway, Clare wouldn't let me go alone but wouldn't come with me without a guide so we had to find someone who could guide us there. We found the only company that does trips there and called them up to say we will go that afternoon. The company is well run and most of the profits go to NGO's working in Mumbai and also don't let you take pictures. We walked around the Dharavi slum for about 2 and a half hours and it was really interesting. There are 1.3 million people living in a space of around 1.1 square miles so its really busy all the time, especially in the residential area. The Dharavi slum is quite a resourceful one and the biggest in Mumbai, so it has factories and sweat shops in it which is where most people work. Nobody begs there and everyone works so its fairly self sufficient, like a town within the city. The children were sweet but really dirty, going from pooig on the floor to shaking your hand. We were told that only 1% of the population in Dharavi use the public paying toilets and only 30% use the free dirtier ones, meaning everyone else just uses the floor. Also, it is the slum that some scenes in Slumdog Millionaire are shot, including a Muslim Mosque scene apparently, and also the scene where the mum dies. our bus was delayed so we had to wait in the street for a couple of hours and then we got changed to a bus that was terrible. All the seats were brokenso they went far back and dug into the person behind. Some places had been sold to three different people and in general the bus was tiny and horrible. It was along journey including a half hour stop when a tyre burst but when we arrived in Ahmedabad it was a nice relief. After finding a room, we went to a Textile museum, and had a free tour of the grounds. It is in an amazing building on amazing grounds which was a lot more impressive to me than the Hindi weaving etc. We then had some food with two other tourists we met on the tour. The next day we made a 6 hour bus journey to Udaipur in Rajasthan. We had a leaflet we found for a guesthouse here so decided to go there. The whole time we have been away, we have never had a guesthouse that represents value for money as much as this one. We decided to go for the deluxe room for 192 rupees (about 3 pounds). We have our own TV, hot powerful shower, internet access and our room leads on to a rooftop restaurant with board games and amazing views. Also, we are the only guests there so its so peaecful. As a result, we have ended up staying here for 5 nights. In these 5 nights we have visited a few of the artificial lakes in the area, created hundreds of years ago. They are really beautiful and we have had a small picnic next to a large one out of town. We were the only people there and it was really nice, apart from the fact that you can't swim in it because of the crocodiles. We have also looked around the Palace in town which is huge ad a really beautiful building, and the walls are covered in stories and pictures about the people who have lived here. Udaipur also has lovely sunset viewpoints which we have used. Yesterday was Valentine's day so after being at a lake for a picnic we went to the ladies shrine and the lotus pools and I played football with some Indian kids. So Joel, if you are reading then your volleyball you bought has travelled from Palolem to Udaipur, before I gave to some kids. Then we went out for a meal and a Bhang Lassi in the town centre to celebrate Valentine's day and today we have been relaxing (easy to do in this town) and have found a bus to Jodhpur tomorrow.
Monday 7 February 2011
Entry No.13 by Clare
Josh and I explored Siam Square and the surrounding Malls, we both brought really cool headphones in MBK. Later that evening we went out for a drink and a stroll. We meet two nice American girls who working in Bangkok in a private school. After we went back via checking the Brighton score (3-1). The following day we spent most of the day on the internet sorting pictures etc. We spent the second half of the day relaxing in our guest house, we watched 'The Hangover' and had an early night. Our last day in Bangkok, we had to checkout and pack by 12.We had the whole day to kill until 5pm so we watched 'Eat Love Pray' in the guest house charged everything and read. We arrived at the airport just after 6pm and our flight went about 8.30pm. Luckily our 3 stop had been upgraded to 2 stops. We arrived at Mumbai airport about 12pm, our next flight wasn't until 10am so we had a long wait. After arriving in Trivandrum (Kerala) at 2pm we had to wait about an hour for Jackie and Joel and the airport with nothing there.
India
Once Jackie and Joel had arrived it was lovely to see them. We got a very small taxi to the area of guest houses and found a nice one called ' Princess Inn'. Trivandrum didn't have an awful lot to do so we walked around for a while and got some dinner in a nice veggie restaurant. We were all very tired so we all had an early night. We checked out the hotel the following morning and went to catch a train to Varkala. For 12 rupees each we sat in the seated area. Once we arrived and got a rickshaw to the beach area we found a nice hotel on the quieter side of the beach with hammocks outside and odd wall art. Joel, Josh and i went for a stroll along the beach and a swim in the sea.The waves were really rough and we were playing some games together when a large wave swept me under and throw me onto the sand which left a big graze on my chin, oouchie. We had a drink on the balcony and went out for dinner, we found a nice veggie restaurant on the beach strip and played pictionary on the DS. We went to a Tibetan Chill-out Bar for 'Full Moon Party' after which was very tame but good fun nevertheless. The next morning we went out for breakfast together and Josh, Jackie and I went to explore the town centre whilst Joel went to explore the Seafront area. The town didn't have very much, a few fruit stalls, sari shops, bakery's and was quite dirty. The roads had cars and bikes in every direction and everyone constantly beeps, the men in Kerala for about 40 years old and wear a sheet wrapped around as a skirt and every women wears a Sari. Later that evening we went for dinner and drinks at the 'Rock n Roll' bar for cocktails.
We left the following morning for Alleppey for two days. We went for a boat trip on the backwaters which was really nice, peaceful with two old locals rowing us(eco friendly option). Alleppey was a dirty town which we did walk around for a while. We visited the beach also which was very dirty also our room did occupy a few cockroaches too. We traveled by bus to Cochi next, we had to get a ferry (5rupees) after the bus over to Fort Cochin where we stayed in a very pink guesthouse for one night. We hired some 'Ferraris' and had a tour of the towns Museum, an Art Gallery, Spice Shop, Chinese fishing nets which was very touristy. Later that day Jackie and I went to watch the traditional dance show, this wasn't quite the dance we expected. We decided to go to Goa for the rest of Jackie and Joel's holiday as there didn't seem to be enough to do in Kerala for 3 weeks. We went caught a train which took 15 hours and got a rickshaw to Palolem beach, Palolem is beautiful. We go some rooms just off the beach for a very reasonable rate and spent 5 days here. We all had a good sleep and went walking around the beach area and went swimming the first day, in the evening we watched 127 hours at a restaurant in the garden on a big screen. Jackie and I visited a Wildlife Sanctuary the next morning about 7am, this was nice but we didn't see anything too exciting, just a couple of monkeys, some rescued deers but it was a lovely walkabout. We spent the nice few daytimes swimming in the sea, visited the market, relaxing and playing cards. One afternoon we hired kayaks are went out and looked around the Island area. We went to a pub quiz one evening, 20 questions and we all took part independently, Josh won the first place prize of a lovely t-shirt and the collected money (460rupes) and Joel was second place with a lovely cap. The last night in Palolem there was a silent disco in which Joel attended and i believe it was rather a good evening, this silent disco is every Saturday night and very popular.
We left for Panjim and arrived at the hotel we booked for one night, we went out for lunch and relaxed for the day. In the evening we went to the Wine festival which had live singing and dancing performances on stage, lots of food and drink stools, we brought some wine and sat on a park bench. We found a very nice bar on the way home we popped into overlooking the river and some nice Portuguese buildings. We went to a spice plantation the next morning. It was very interesting seeing where they all come from. You can also bathe elephants there, we didn't though. They supply you with a really nice lunch served in a banana leaf. We left for Anjuna afterwards. We found some nice big rooms with outside sitting area, fridges in a place called 'Paradise' which we spent 3 nights. Jackie and I went for a massage the first morning, it was really weird because you have to get completely naked, but this was OK its a strictly women on women basis and i really enjoyed it. Later that day we visited a animal rescue center. There were lots of sick dogs and cat and even a seagull and two pigs. This was a really well run rescue center for India and they seem to really care about animals. In the evening we went to dinner with Richard, our hotel guest neighbour from Latvia.
There was a really big Flea Market we spent a long time walking around the next day, Jackie and i brought some henna and stamps which we had fun playing with in the evening, we also visited Baga beach. We had booked a nice new hotel about 1km down the road for Joel's 23rd birthday for 2 nights which we arrived about 12pm, this hotel had a really nice pool and garden area and has lots of yoga classes. We spent the whole day by the pool swimming etc. In the evening we found a lovely restaurant called 'Bean Me Up' but sadly Jackie wasn't well and had a very bad night. The following day was Joel's 23rd birthday, Jackie was too ill to get up so the three of us went to Arambol Beach. This beach was very hippie and not busy, we spent the day here, the boys played volleyball and football. We arrived back and had dinner at the hotel Jackie was a bit better but Josh hand I weren't feeling well so we didn't go to Baga with Joel that evening. The next day was Jackie and Joel's last day. We relaxed by the pool for a few hours and went out to the Saturday Night Bazaar in the next town. This was a really nice market, entertainment, bars. music, it felt like a music festival, it was very hippie too. We went to go to 'Bean Me Up' but it closes on Saturday because it goes to the market so we found a nice restaurant in Vagator for our last meal and it was very nice. When we got back to the hotel, we stayed up and had a bottle of wine (Jackie and Joel were not leaving until 4pm taxi pick up), after we all sat in the room and had a little nap, it was sad to see them leave :(.
The next morning Josh and I left for Mapusa where we were getting our bus to Mumbai, we arrived at about 12pm and had to wait around until 7pm. Mapusa had nothing to do, especially as it was a Sunday. we sat in a park for a while, walked around and sat in cafes. Our bus took 13 hours and was surprisingly OK, but it wasn't very easy to sleep. We went to Coloba area to find a room, it was hard as nobody had checked out. We got one eventually which his very small and no window, also Mumbai rooms are a lot more expensive than Goa. We slept for a few hours and went for an explore. We tried a street Paneer (Indian Cheese) Kebab and went to the Sassoon Dock next to the Gateway of India which is very beautiful. Now we are here about to spend our first night in Mumbai and tomorrow we are visiting the Elephanta Island!
India
Once Jackie and Joel had arrived it was lovely to see them. We got a very small taxi to the area of guest houses and found a nice one called ' Princess Inn'. Trivandrum didn't have an awful lot to do so we walked around for a while and got some dinner in a nice veggie restaurant. We were all very tired so we all had an early night. We checked out the hotel the following morning and went to catch a train to Varkala. For 12 rupees each we sat in the seated area. Once we arrived and got a rickshaw to the beach area we found a nice hotel on the quieter side of the beach with hammocks outside and odd wall art. Joel, Josh and i went for a stroll along the beach and a swim in the sea.The waves were really rough and we were playing some games together when a large wave swept me under and throw me onto the sand which left a big graze on my chin, oouchie. We had a drink on the balcony and went out for dinner, we found a nice veggie restaurant on the beach strip and played pictionary on the DS. We went to a Tibetan Chill-out Bar for 'Full Moon Party' after which was very tame but good fun nevertheless. The next morning we went out for breakfast together and Josh, Jackie and I went to explore the town centre whilst Joel went to explore the Seafront area. The town didn't have very much, a few fruit stalls, sari shops, bakery's and was quite dirty. The roads had cars and bikes in every direction and everyone constantly beeps, the men in Kerala for about 40 years old and wear a sheet wrapped around as a skirt and every women wears a Sari. Later that evening we went for dinner and drinks at the 'Rock n Roll' bar for cocktails.
We left the following morning for Alleppey for two days. We went for a boat trip on the backwaters which was really nice, peaceful with two old locals rowing us(eco friendly option). Alleppey was a dirty town which we did walk around for a while. We visited the beach also which was very dirty also our room did occupy a few cockroaches too. We traveled by bus to Cochi next, we had to get a ferry (5rupees) after the bus over to Fort Cochin where we stayed in a very pink guesthouse for one night. We hired some 'Ferraris' and had a tour of the towns Museum, an Art Gallery, Spice Shop, Chinese fishing nets which was very touristy. Later that day Jackie and I went to watch the traditional dance show, this wasn't quite the dance we expected. We decided to go to Goa for the rest of Jackie and Joel's holiday as there didn't seem to be enough to do in Kerala for 3 weeks. We went caught a train which took 15 hours and got a rickshaw to Palolem beach, Palolem is beautiful. We go some rooms just off the beach for a very reasonable rate and spent 5 days here. We all had a good sleep and went walking around the beach area and went swimming the first day, in the evening we watched 127 hours at a restaurant in the garden on a big screen. Jackie and I visited a Wildlife Sanctuary the next morning about 7am, this was nice but we didn't see anything too exciting, just a couple of monkeys, some rescued deers but it was a lovely walkabout. We spent the nice few daytimes swimming in the sea, visited the market, relaxing and playing cards. One afternoon we hired kayaks are went out and looked around the Island area. We went to a pub quiz one evening, 20 questions and we all took part independently, Josh won the first place prize of a lovely t-shirt and the collected money (460rupes) and Joel was second place with a lovely cap. The last night in Palolem there was a silent disco in which Joel attended and i believe it was rather a good evening, this silent disco is every Saturday night and very popular.
We left for Panjim and arrived at the hotel we booked for one night, we went out for lunch and relaxed for the day. In the evening we went to the Wine festival which had live singing and dancing performances on stage, lots of food and drink stools, we brought some wine and sat on a park bench. We found a very nice bar on the way home we popped into overlooking the river and some nice Portuguese buildings. We went to a spice plantation the next morning. It was very interesting seeing where they all come from. You can also bathe elephants there, we didn't though. They supply you with a really nice lunch served in a banana leaf. We left for Anjuna afterwards. We found some nice big rooms with outside sitting area, fridges in a place called 'Paradise' which we spent 3 nights. Jackie and I went for a massage the first morning, it was really weird because you have to get completely naked, but this was OK its a strictly women on women basis and i really enjoyed it. Later that day we visited a animal rescue center. There were lots of sick dogs and cat and even a seagull and two pigs. This was a really well run rescue center for India and they seem to really care about animals. In the evening we went to dinner with Richard, our hotel guest neighbour from Latvia.
There was a really big Flea Market we spent a long time walking around the next day, Jackie and i brought some henna and stamps which we had fun playing with in the evening, we also visited Baga beach. We had booked a nice new hotel about 1km down the road for Joel's 23rd birthday for 2 nights which we arrived about 12pm, this hotel had a really nice pool and garden area and has lots of yoga classes. We spent the whole day by the pool swimming etc. In the evening we found a lovely restaurant called 'Bean Me Up' but sadly Jackie wasn't well and had a very bad night. The following day was Joel's 23rd birthday, Jackie was too ill to get up so the three of us went to Arambol Beach. This beach was very hippie and not busy, we spent the day here, the boys played volleyball and football. We arrived back and had dinner at the hotel Jackie was a bit better but Josh hand I weren't feeling well so we didn't go to Baga with Joel that evening. The next day was Jackie and Joel's last day. We relaxed by the pool for a few hours and went out to the Saturday Night Bazaar in the next town. This was a really nice market, entertainment, bars. music, it felt like a music festival, it was very hippie too. We went to go to 'Bean Me Up' but it closes on Saturday because it goes to the market so we found a nice restaurant in Vagator for our last meal and it was very nice. When we got back to the hotel, we stayed up and had a bottle of wine (Jackie and Joel were not leaving until 4pm taxi pick up), after we all sat in the room and had a little nap, it was sad to see them leave :(.
The next morning Josh and I left for Mapusa where we were getting our bus to Mumbai, we arrived at about 12pm and had to wait around until 7pm. Mapusa had nothing to do, especially as it was a Sunday. we sat in a park for a while, walked around and sat in cafes. Our bus took 13 hours and was surprisingly OK, but it wasn't very easy to sleep. We went to Coloba area to find a room, it was hard as nobody had checked out. We got one eventually which his very small and no window, also Mumbai rooms are a lot more expensive than Goa. We slept for a few hours and went for an explore. We tried a street Paneer (Indian Cheese) Kebab and went to the Sassoon Dock next to the Gateway of India which is very beautiful. Now we are here about to spend our first night in Mumbai and tomorrow we are visiting the Elephanta Island!
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