lucyfitz

We have finally reached the south haven of India, best know as Goa. After an enduring journey of the North and a 36 hour train ride from Varanasi to Mumbai (literally accross the country), we open our mouths to the salt and seafood on offer. On arrival at Madgoan airport we are bombarded by cabby's all quite capable of adjusting their prices to better their rivals. This ultimately worked in our favour as we managed to get to where we needed to go alot cheaper. Heading south and into the quiet bays of Palolem and Patnem Beach, which is where we currently reside, we found a small place by the name of Tantra Huts and Cafe. Currently we are living in what appears to be a hut, home made, built from bamboo, rope, and thatch. This ... read more

Varanasi holds itself as the most holiest of holy cities throughout India. For those of you who don't know much about Varanasi, also known as Baranas, and Ganga (by nickname)- it is the city of gods where the water from the himalayas fluently reaches the city's famous ganges. The city itself is similar to northern cities in India- small laneways, crumbling buildings and endless amounts of garbage polluting the streets. But what makes this city unique is an ever present feeling of something greater than yourself and something intangible, a feeling that cannot be explained. It needs to be explained: the Ganges is a river, this river provides the people of Varanasi with so many purposes. The water is supposed to be the purest (coming from the himalayas) and the notion behind it is for purification ... read more

I have found myself uninspired to write a blog in the last few days as we have been jetting across the Rajasthan countryside. Our time has been swept away with driving and it feels as though daylight disappears before you know it! Until now... We arrive in Pushkar with two days of downtime. Immediately on arrival I feel as though this town with its crumbling, sanded roads and the same haze of sand smog we have seen for days possesses something else. Pushkar holds a uniqueness in that it is one of the holiest cities in all of India. Surrounded by a holy lake where its locals and travelling guests can go and pray for family, health and good luck in life.We are intrigued by peoples spirituality and constant devotion to their gods- so in good ... read more

After a week of picking black boogers out of my nose and a chest infection only Indians can handle we head East to a small mountain side village by the name of Ranakpur! Driving away from desert sands i cant help but be overwhelmed by the fresh moisture of greenery and mustard flowers running for acres. As dusk sets in the mountains become closer in my vision and we pull into a small cottage name Roopam which resembles a mexican terracotta cottage and a countryside B&B. The service was fabulous and the people pleasant, although being that far away from civilisation the venue could charge whatever price they liked! The bonus was that we could hear wildlife again; crickets by night and birds bymorning (although I was told the next morning there are leopards and bears ... read more

We travel South East from the desert and find ourselves landed in the city Johpur (the blue city) where we encounter a fort built by slaves that I can only be gobsmacked by... the size of this fort makes me feel as though I am no more then a fly place n this earth, but the real beauty lays in the forts history. The Mehrangarh fort was built in 1459 by slaves and walking through I cannot help but ntice the weathered destruction of enemy cannon ball seiges. We are told that the state and territorries pf this time we fought for by kings and the forts of each state were under attack quite regularly. I place my hand over a dent left by a cannonball and find its hard to believe that this was all ... read more

We find ourselves in the the desert capital of India, Rajasthan, in the beautiful city of Jaisalmer which smells of fresh urine and milk in the mornings and by dusk smells of fragrant insense and charcoal. The city is overlooked by an enormous fort that dates back to the 14th century. Inside you will find hidden bazaars and every man and his dog trying to convince you his price is the best!! Lucky for Dane or I would be broke! Apart from the arid landscape and the unforgivable night temperatures the desert city holds itself high in the area of camel safari's. We become enticed and decide we would like to venture into the desert and ride camels- sleeping under the open sky in 3 degree weather. We arrive via jeep with real Rajasthanian men- dark ... read more

Well, well, well... After 12 hours flying, 17 hours of Malaysia, 2 six packs of Carlsberg, 1 bottle of red wine, and some weird Asian massage that resembled a voodoo ritual we have arrive in New Dehli. We arrive at the airport to no transfer pickup from the hotel.. Great! After some subtle yet obvious cussing about India we manage to meet a little Hindi man who passes us along to another man, who then passes us onto another man.. This follows for the next 30 minutes until eventually someone knows someones second cousin that knows a guy who works at the hotel we are staying. Success! We travel by car into Karol Bargh from a nice man named kahn. I need to say this... there are no road rules in this country, only one that ... read more