Seven Months In Asia ( Diu- Mumbai- Goa- Ooty- Bangalore )

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The Journey To Diu

the bus set out from udaipur, stopped in rajkot at 6 in the morning, we were kicked out, told to sleep on a bench in an office for 3 hours, then herded onto the most awful bus on earth and packed like sardines for another 5 hours, then reached veeraval, took the bumpiest and dustiest ride since pokhara for another 2 and a half hours, then reached una where we had to change for another bus to diu town. phew... we finally made it.. dusty... disjointed and almost wanting to go all the way back to udaipur to smack that bastard around the face for lying..



i feel new and invigourated.

after the most hellish journey here we are
finally in
DIU and it is simply an oasis of calm. there is
no
street hasstle here, no beggars almost, the
portugese
influence is striking, i almost have to blink to
remember i am in india, which is refreshing. we
went
to a fort last night for sunset, the most amazing
of
forts, all caves and tunnels and ramps and
turrets and
towers and all left to decline and overgrown with
weeds and trees.. so adventurous.. like a secret
garden or something.. it was magical. and the
views of
the sea directly beneath and the beaches to the
east
with the sun melting them to gold was special.

the island is tiny, one can see the whole span of
it
from the forts sunset point, it just stretches
out
like a lush green blanket with small houses
dotted
here and there and the bridge to the mainland and
small fisher boats floating on pockets of water..
excellent.

so i am content for now. also the beer costs
about 1
dollar for 750ml so who's complaining.

we found a restaurant called "jardin d'hoka" run by a jolly belgian man. its the most amazing food i have had in india, and cheap. he has turned his garden into a hang out place and plays excellent music.


obviously we rented bikes to explore the island which was a heck of alot of fun since all of them were broken in some way or another. mine would cut out while i was doing 60 on the motorway, it would just shut down and activate the brakes.. so i almost flew off every time. sarahs bike had something break so that she was permanently accelerating and had to hold the brakes down to regulate speed. insane. however, we did explore the whole island, paradise, and managed to find a beach of amazing beauty without a single soul anywhere.. a remarkable thing in india.

anyway... diu has left its mark. i want to come back here.. and if it wasn't for heading south i would stay here... but there are new friends to make and new places to create. ciao

Mumbai to Goa

after the glory of diu was left behind we barricaded ourselves into our small first class compartment (first time on first class for years) and slept/read/watched/ate/talked all the way to bombay. there it was excellent to see my friend viraaj again, stay in his amazing apartment, cruise around bombay, and most importantly of all, pick up simon who was flying in from sweden for two weeks in goa.



this was simons first visit to india, but i have never seen anyone settle in that fast.. he just took everything in his stride and laughed about all the crazy shit that happens everyday. we stayed one night at viraajs house, took simon around a little of bombay the next day and caught the night, sleeper bus down to mapusa. the ride went smoothly, the driver wasn't drunk off his head like last time, my landlord had been in the day before to clean the house and even whitewashed all the walls, so we arrived, tired and sleepy to a clean and perfect house.



days flew, going to anjuna flea market, sitting every night in chapora with the cowboys drinking kings and g&t's, going to banyan tree and disco valley for parties, sunsets at nine bar and pool games at primrose, food at china town and pascoals, mornings at laxmas with orders from cyril and deepak, swims at vagator, walks to the fort at chapora, day trip to arambol, walk to the banyan tree, the lake beach, ate at rest inn, saw a mother of a snake coming out of the lake as three italians were swimming oblivious, swam in the ocean instead, drove home getting caught in a thunderstorm and sitting on our bikes under a tin roof and being hypnotised by the sound of the fresh rain falling, more nights at chapora, more days at the beach... all in all just a fantastic time..and just as soon as it started it ended and simon was back on the bus to mumbai, to umea and snow, and we were heading down to the south..






Ooty to Bangalore

two weeks in the city my sister and i grew up in, visiting old places, meeting old faces, driving my dads armada jeep to avalanchi, emerald, pykara, doddabetta, coonoor, mudumalai, eating at kowloons, dosas a nahar, drinks at the small brandy store on the coonoor rd, day trip to jeffs camp in masinagudi, wonderful drive down the 36 hair pin bends that we used to walk down as kids on our way to quiet corner camps... haha..... and then, back to bangalore, few days there seeing old friends and making new ones, then night bus to goa, up for new years eve there with tons of fun and amazing friends, abne and his sister janneke coming from holland for christmas, endless days of swimming, good food, chapora again, drinks at rik and teresas place, evenings talking and walking on the beach.. just divine... and then sooner that expected it was time to leave.. time to go on our 4 month trek across asia... starting with thailand (second visits for both me and heidi), where we would meet rupert who would join us all the way to indonesia..... what a journey coming.. and what tales to tell......

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