Blogs from India, Asia - page 1925

I am leaving tonight on an overnight train to Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama, nestled in the Himalayan foothills. I will be there for a month or so, volunteering as an Assistant Art Therapist at Art Refuge, to work with Tibetan refugee children. This past week I have spent relaxing in Delhi, sleeping a lot, dealing with a second bout of TD (Traveller's Diarrhea -- I think I picked up a bug eating the food on the plane from Jodhpur) and enjoying the city. This was the week spring turned to summer. It literally happened overnight. One day it was warm and lovely and the next it was HOT. It is about 37 or 38 and the sun is blazing. It cools at night, but it is hot from almost first thing in the morning. ... read more

India really is incredible. A country of bold bright colourful saris, mouth-watering cuisine (just one more garlic naan please) and brilliant hospitality. You really do feel like a royal guest - addressed as 'madam' and greeted with smiles, flower garlands and waves everywhere you go! They say that Indians are the the Italians of Asia - which is spot on. Italians are the only other culture I've encountered with the same enthusiasm for guests, fine food and festivals. However, India also has a certain smell which grows on you - an overwhelming stench of animals, severage, people, dust, incence and exotic spices. It also has an unmatched passion for cricket and all conversations where I'm identified as Australian involve Ricky Ponting or the latest cricket score (and I can assure you that both topics are certainly ... read more

Goa We arrived at Goa with the promises of wild parties, beautiful beaches full of hot girls in bikinis and fantastic food with plenty of meat and fish. Well one out of three isn’t too bad! Goa was formally a Portuguese colony and is mainly made up of Catholics which means meat is back on the menu  The meat and fish went down a treat and was well needed after eating like a veggie for the past three weeks. We arrived here right at the end of the season thus most of the other tourists were older than my granddad! But nether the less I still had a really good time relaxing on the beaches (while Dave sleeps in typically till 3-4pm! lazy git) and watching a few live premiership games in the evening. For ... read more

Ahoy ahoy once again. Sorry about the lack of updates recently, it's just Sandi and I have settled into our own cozy nook of a place. As you can see I'm no longer in Benaulim, I am in Palolem! Another pretty sweet beach. This one is alot more populated with tourists, so Sandi and I don't get as many bad looks as we have been. There's alot more activities to do here than in Benaulim. Every once in a while Sandi and I take up a nice soothing (and physically exausting) canoe ride on the Arabian Sea. The people who rent out the canoe charge too much (roughly $10 per hour) so we've laid off of renting it for a bit. Currently we're in the bartering stages for it, we're trying to get it for 5 ... read more

Foremost a big Hello to everyone reading this and thanks to all! Emma and I are astounded by the interest so many people have shown in response to this little blog. Since the last entry we ditched the idea of the 24 luxuriant hours on the houseboat 'cause a) it costs a fortune, and b) the reality of 24 hours on a small open air boat (insects!) & no A/C set in and so we opted for another option to get from Varkala to Allepey which involved a taxi to Kollam and taking the Tourist Ferry Cruise upriver. It follows the exact same path as the expensive tour but is with other travellers (in our case about 25 others), only takes 8 hours (in daylight, i.e. no insects!), and is a tenth of the price! The ... read more