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Hello everyone!
Given that we have now been in India for one full week I have decided it is time to get this travel blog up and running to fill you in on our adventures to date. Firstly, for all of those who may not understand the "RoBeeJenZa" reference it is the nicknames of the four of us (the brain child of one Miss Hanna Craven)who are on this journey and who will be attributing to this blog (Za, also known as Zara, will be joining us in Europe so will chime in then).
On the plane, roughly somewhere over the Australian outback, the realisation that we were going to India set in and was shortly followed by a feeling of panic and the thought -"Why the hell are we going to India??" However, since setting foot in this amazing country this thought has never crossed our minds again.
We were all forewarned from multiple sources of the many perils of Mumbai - the plagues of beggars, the crowded dirty streets, the overwhelming stench of the many slums. However, the city enchanted us straight away. Our two nights spent in the luxury of the Le Royal Meridian Hotel
was a treat (the last time we had air conditioning and soft, clean beds). Even better though was the fact that it took us about an hour to get into downtown Mumbai so we got to see a lot of the outskirts of the city, which most tourists wouldn't be privy too. No ride was ever the same and the things we saw were indescribable (at one point we were stuck in traffic as a parade was taking up the street, which included a man pulling a truck with piercings in his back skin).
Our first day in Mumbai was spent wandering around the chaotic bazaars (markets), having a drink at the famous Leapolds (anyone who has read Shantaram will know what I am talking about) and generally trying to find our way in the crazy city. The absolute highlight was on our return back to the hotel - at a neighboring hotel a wedding was in effect and the entire bridal party was proceeding down the street dancing to the music of a live band. Seeing that we were taking photos a man came and grabbed us and made us dance - never ones to turn down a
boggie we all got in there and danced until the heat and sweat overcame us.
Our second day was spent at Elephanta Island, an island which is an hour boat ride from the Gateway of India and which has man-made carved caves from the 15th century. A two hour tour of the caves with our guide Kishner and two nice English chaps we meet was followed by over an hour of drinking Kingfisger beer and chilling. A wonderful afternoon, despite the fact that we missed two boats in favour of more rounds and subsequently had an extremely rushed boat and taxi ride to make it back to the hotel and to our train in time!
Our 12 hour overnight train to Goa was our first real test of Indian culture. Starting with the crowded train station, followed by the struggle to actually get our packs on the train and find our seats in our second class no A/C compartment. However, once seated the train was far better than initially feared. Our trip did however, take an interesting turn when an Indian man lay newspaper on the floor in our section and stripped to his undies and lay down
to sleep between Jen and I. Even weirder was when another man also lay down later in the journey and spooned him. However, despite waking up in the dark to an Indian man staring at us and also having another man sitting at the end of my bed (I was on the lower bunk) we did manage to get some sleep! At this point, I can also confirm that our Shewee's (devices that enable women to stand and pee) have been a godsend, as the Indian-style train toilets were not as well regarded by us as the rest of the train.
Our two and a half days in Anjuna (a small beach town in Northern Goa) was a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Mumbai. We spent our time shifting through the markets, chilling and swimming at the beach and hanging out with a new friend Dan - a nice Canadian guy we meet who was staying at the same guest house.
Friday 8th marked our next move and we boarded another train (an 8 hour day journey this time) to a place East of Goa called Hampi, which is where I write this blog now.
We are all in love, and even though we also thought Mumbai and Anjuna incredible, Hampi definitely takes the cake as the most amazing place we have visited thus far. One of the world's oldest living heritage sites, Hampi is a small town nestled within hundreds of ruins from a Hindi city built in the 14th Century. Also set right on a beautiful river, Hampi is one of the most beautiful and interesting places any of us have ever been. Our first of three days was spent on a tour around the most beutiful and well preserved ruins (it would apparently take 3 months to see them all) and the highlight was watching the sunset from a temple on the top of a hill and being blessed in the temple by a holy man. Our second day was spent relaxing in the shade by the river (the temperature in Hampi was in the mid-40's). On our last day we crossed the river and hired scooters to travel around the other side of town. Once figuring out how to use them (it took me a while but I got there!) we drove to the base of Monkey Temple - a temple
at the top of a hill which can only be reached by climbing the 675 steps. With a lot of sweating and a few breaks we made it and the views were well worth it (so was the chai we were rewarded from the temple's holy man once we got there)!
Late night we board an overnight bus to go to Southern Goa and once again relax by the sea after three days of exploring ancient ruins and climbing hills to view sunrises and sunsets. We will keep you posted on what we get up to.
All three of us are doing well and despite a mild shared heat rash we are all healthy and are yet to have to delve into our ample supply of drugs to ward off impending cases of Delhi belly - though everyone warns us the time for this will come.
The food is amazing and although to begin with we didn't want to eat (all you want to do is drink in this heat!) we have finally regained our appetites and are trying everything. We will also all attest that the butter chicken you get in NZ is not a clear
representation of Indian food! However, we are still drinking far more than we seem to eat and despite consuming (on average) a good three litres of water, 2 lassi's, a couple of soft drinks and our daily chai, urination is at an all time low given our sweat rates.
The only problem we have with India thus far, is the fact that we cannot photograph or describe what we have seen and done as it is all just too incredible and vast. Though we are trying to capture it and I hope this first blog entry has given you some insight into what we have been up too!
Lots of love to you all and one of us will write again soon,
Claire xx
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Za
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Thank god for the shewee!
I was soooo concerned u mite have actually had to squat on that festering loo haha! Sounds amazing girls (albeit the staring Indians that sneak up on u at night haha). Missing u all madly! xxx