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Published: April 15th 2012
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Edmonton, Alberta ---> Frankfurt, Germany ---> Mumbai, India ---> Pune, India ---> GOA, India
I have started this journey with a very open mind, or at least a culmination of the open mind I think I have to date. Knowing full well that what I think I know will drastically change over the next months. India so far has proven to be no exception. Rae and I have been chatting about what we have left behind, what we have in front of us and where we may be in the months to come. Our worlds back home packed up in boxes, stored for some unknown future date. Leaving everything we know and love off to explore and learn about who we are as much as learn about the world in front of us. The best we can come up with so far is to plan only for today and imagine tomorrow.
My beautiful girl Raelan and I have landed here in India, more specifically Pune India to spend our first days close to some friends I had made in past lives, slowly work off the jet lag and get as comfortable as we can in
Coconuts!
Admittedly my knowledge of coconuts did not go much past the little brown hard shells. Rae has corrected this ;) our new world. We have been exploring this old city, slowly getting our feet wet in indian culture, cuisine and the rituals of daily life. Trying to understand the many many differences from what we are used to in the west. My dear friend Santosh has been so patient educating us on many of the cultural items that are part of life here. Many conversations around how important it is to embrace the world around us, and in our case to learn and respect the various ways of this society. We are enjoying their world, guests that could, if not careful, no longer be welcome.
Here in Pune, tourism is not front and center therefore we have been received warmly but cautiously. Indian culture almost demands that guests be treated with every ounce of being and spared no expense (something that we had to really get used to as its almost offensive if you refuse). Many looks and stares from folks that are curious about who these new travelers are, with us inevitably starring right back as we absorb all that we see. Our first days riding around where spent wide eyed and quiet, auto-rickshaws are the
SOHO crew
Tequila, dancing and cricket! way around, with a metering system that, with most things here, have both a local and foreigner rate. The level of poverty is a bit to get used to, with a large majority of the folks living off of less the 200 rps a day (about $4). Children, some deformed, run up and beg for money scurring back to their homes; in the streets in make shift huts. We knew this having been to other countries with high poverty however what does not hit you right away is the sheer volume of people who live in this fashion. I don’t think a large portion of the world can even imagine it. I write this as I look out the window and see a child no more then four begging for anything we have to offer. His father, standing next to him, selling what goods he can carry, happy to get and give a smile. It takes everything I have not to hand out every penny I have, I don’t, and fully understand that folks here are working to make things better but still. My son was four once.
My dear friend Santosh welcomed us into his family’s
home, where we shared a meal, laughed and made new friends. Dipah his wife cooked an amazing meal. The cook in me wanted to jump up and help ,to learn everything I could about cooking this fantastic food. His brother spent much time chatting us up about Bollywood film (his passion) and curious about our world. Although his parents did not speak much English I could not help but feel warmly welcomed and a closely connection to everyone.
We leave Pune with a sense of comfort and confidence that the next place we land we will have a much better understanding of this world around us.
The beautiful state that is called GOA is seen out the airplane window as we prepare to land. The Lonely Planet bible explains this place was once the land of naked hippies and party go’ers. Today, it’s a fraction of that, with sound laws that limit evening’s activities, a low season that comes at the hottest time of the year and for this traveler a beautiful landscape to explore. The beach huts and beach shacks line the white sand beaches for miles. Water that is clean and clear
with crabs and turtles running around. Renting motor bikes and taking the open road everywhere we can, exploring this beautiful piece of India all while navigating livestock and people alike on some crazy roads. We have found some of our favorite foods here with a few of the hits coming from unexpected kitchens----This is a good segway into the topic of the food. Both Rae and I are not normally happy with Indian food, not her taste and although I love it my stomach has something else to say. We both landed here very curious how we would survive the next 6 weeks. HOWEVER, have we been pleasantly surprised, VERY pleasantly surprised. The food is AMAZING – the flavors so bold accompanied by Rotis and Naans that are heavenly. Most of these delights have come from places you would not expect, beach shacks and small resort kitchens that turn out mounds of food. The kitchen at the Golden Eyes resort we stayed in near Marjim beach was by far the best and we learned on our last day that locals come from miles around to enjoy this small eateries cuisine.
So far India has shown herself as
Energy Tree
Many folks come by to sit and absorb the energy - very cool! a beautiful rich land full of amazing people and amazing sights and experiences, and we have just started here. We quickly realized that our “must see” list has grown and six weeks may not be anywhere near enough.
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