Blogs from India, Asia - page 1728
March 12th 2005
22 and counting... It was my birthday yesterday so I began the day laying on Vagator beach sipping strawberry juices, taking a walk over the nearby hills, and in true Shakirah fashion having an Indian Ayurdevic massage before chilling with friends at a local bar and eating cake... bliss. Im actually finding it a little difficult not doing much, its a far cry from my usual hectic London life, but Im in the process of getting used to it, the chillum's definitely helping. We've been to a few of the nearby beaches, excluding the charter touristy ones and they're all quite peaceful as its low season and most backpackers have moved on. Although it wasn't so quiet a couple of days ago when we watched a filming a music video on Vagator beach. We're currently staying ... read more
March 12th 2005
Goa is lined with beaches from north to south, with each beach offering something different. I don't really know why I chose Palolem of all the places, but I'm sure as hell glad that I did… The beaches are beautiful, the weather is bliss and best of all, the people here, both locals and foreigners, are great. I have met heaps of people and been a great time enjoying everything Palolem has to offer. Last night being one of the best nights I've had since traveling. After my daily ritual of a swim in the ocean and a game of beach cricket, I sat down at the restaurant next to my bungalow. Sitting on some pillows, watching the sunset, drinking beers and chatting, soaking up the atmosphere, a guy from Liverpool went and got his guitar. ... read more
March 12th 2005
Hi everyone. The main reason we have not posted more to the blog is because getting to it has been much more difficult than anticipated. Here in Jhansi we have had the most reliable connection, but still it is slow, and is served by a UPS which keeps flicking on and off with the power supply to the house. After checking business emails etc. there has not been much time for blogging. I think youll have to wait for the full details after we come back. I have been keeping detailed notes on my laptop so I dont forget anything. Some highlights of recent exciting activity: - Sarat and I drove yesterday! He weaved successfully through a herd of buffalo in a town. I got stuck behind a bus and then passed it, avoiding scooters and ... read more
March 10th 2005
Bean and I wanted to spend a few days relaxing at the beach before we came back to the cold winter in the US, so we decided to go to a little town on the northern coast of Karnataka that was rumored to have some spectacular beaches with little thatch huts to sleep in. We booked one of the most expensive buses that are available in India for the night journey, hoping that we could actually sleep. Even full size heavily cushioned beds weren't enough to keep the Indian roads from keeping us awake all night. We shared this bus with a bunch of westerners all heading to either Goa or Gokarna. The majority of them were hippies all trying to make it to the party scene in Goa. We were dropped of at the outskirts ... read more
March 9th 2005
After visiting relatives in Bombay for a whloe week - I've discovered another ,even more distant set of relatives in Nasik - east of Bombay. I arrived here yesterday morning - after travelling by train and bus from 5am, and have already been deep underground in a Hindu temple, surrounded by musicians and dancers in a street festival, and confounded to find the Baha'i community in India online... all I want to do is celebrate Naw Ruz in goa on 21st March! i'll keep you posted on this and all other developments. lowri is really enjoying india, and is a lot less sick than myself with the pollution of bombay air and water. Luckily we had a dancing contest with my cousins last night, which got a lot of the pollution out of my system...... read more
March 9th 2005
Aah, the sweet smell of India.... That's the first thing that hits you as soon as you step off the plane. We've had no problems whatsoever since we got here.... Delhi was way too hectic for a small town boy like Erik, so after 3 hours in Delhi, we headed to Agra, which was a four hour drive by a crazy tour guide called Hari, who drove at 100mph. We did the obligational touristy stuff such as Taj Mahal and the Red Fort (not to be underestimated), then we took a bumpy 34 hour train ride to Goa where we are now spending our lazy days chillin, riding scooters, partying, beaching and shopping at late night flea markets in the company of our Swedish friends Thor and Marika. Goa seems to be cool so far... Photos ... read more
March 9th 2005
Lads... this place is mental. The chaos started on the plane when we ordered the Indian Vegetarian dinner and nearly choked to death from the heat. The woman behind B started giving us tips on how to eat our food and deal with the heat. There were tears of both pain and laughter from the pair of us!! And so it began.... So what have we been up to since we left Sydney. We had to spend a week in Bangkok in the end waiting for our visas to come through and after my last adventure in 2002 I was more than a little anxious giving away my passport to a travel agent on Khao San Road. But it arrived when they said it would so happy days. The week in Bangkok was okay if a ... read more
15) Hampi - the capital of a forgotten empire
Published: March 9th 2005Asia » India » Karnataka » Hampi
March 9th 2005
The train from Bangalore took us to Hospet, the nearest railway station to Hampi. Although it offers more varied accommodation than Hampi, we decided to establish ourselves as close to the attractions as possible. Hampi is a mecca for backpackers, without the tourists the village would not even exist. There are no hotels in the strict sense, only a couple of private houses, which offer rooms on the upper floors. We chose the best one (everything is relative) with private shower since we were not in the mood for a shared bathroom. To all the foreigners who are fed up with Indian cuisine, Hampi appears like paradise, offering Italian pizza or pasta as well as American and Israeli dishes. You can find almost everything, apart from fast internet or shower gel. Hampi was once the seat ... read more
March 8th 2005
I hope that you are all well. I am in Bangalore, with the Henson family (friends from my home church in California that I visited during New Years) and plan to stay for nearly a month volunteering at a local school for children with (mostly physical) disabilities. I left the north about 4 weeks ago, visiting Shishu Bhavan (the orphanage where I volunteered in Kolkata) as well as my friends from villages in Maslandipur. When I visited Shishu Bhavan, one of the boys that, was to me, ‘the jewel of Kolkata’, was in the hospital due to respiratory problems. I ask myself WHAT was it that made me so attached to this little boy -- that has never said a word to me, probably doesn’t know my name, for that matter -- soo much that ... read more
March 7th 2005
hi all, i spent a week in paris (had an absolute blast minus the snowy cold and the first day and a half where i was just kicking myself for ever leaving india), then some time in barcelona with some guys i met ages ago in egypt, and now waiting for the mountain pass to clear at the only farm i've found with actual spanish people who aren't turning down "almost free" labor. so i left india a little more than a couple of weeks ago, allowed what i could to sink in, and everything else... (or anything else as everything is possible in india and i found out fadel was right about me not having seen everything because in barcelona, they sell pigeons out of cages on the street for 30 euros!! and fadel was ... read more
