Fresh new year!


Advertisement
India's flag
Asia » India » Karnataka » Hampi
January 3rd 2013
Published: January 3rd 2013
Edit Blog Post

The end of 2012... It had been such a difficult year in some ways, but so amazing also! I love new years and the start of a fresh calendar. Well, I dislike the last minute party plans and people making a huge deal out of NYE but I think it is important to take a moment to reflect on the past year and what you have accomplished. I remember a piece of paper I wrote with my goals that stared at me every day. If you don't make any goals, you certainly won't reach them. I set absurdly ridiculously huge goals...and guess what? If I had that little piece of paper with me right now, I could draw a line through everything I wrote down. That being said, ok, yes I wanted to travel for a year. Here I am, siting beside rice paddies hear a monkey pounce on the roof while I'm drinking terrible instant coffee in the middle of India. Be cautious of what you wish for because what you get will most likely exceed your own expectations 😊

Enough of my self introspective... Once again, I've waited too long to write a blog. Picking up where I left off, I arrived in Agra where the Taj Mahal is. Wow oh wow! What an incredible building. Made of solid, white marble and all of the inlay designs are from other stones. And guess what...when you step inside, it smells like roses. I woke up for sunrise to take some pictures and to see it. I didn't really have much of a choice because I had to leave that afternoon so sunrise seemed the best option. There is just something so special to watch the light change and the day begin...and it is just a bonus I get to do that while looking at some of the most beautiful buildings/sites in the world. After such a peaceful morning, I was all ready to travel down south for Christmas. Good thing I was rested because the 28 hours of travel was some kind of stressful adventure!

So I go to leave and apparently, the rickshaw drivers are on "strike"...come on! Basically just a way to ask 5x the price and get it. So I'm in this rickshaw and he pulls over and gets a little guy missing one of his eyeballs on a bike to get me the rest of the way to the train station. Ahh at this point, I knew it was going to be an interesting trip...

I arrive and my train is delayed 7 hours. Normally, I wouldn't care, it's India...delays and things going not according to plan are expected. Trouble with this particular train being delayed is that it was connecting me to another train which was taking me all the way to Mumbai. My 2nd train had been booked solid for weeks (I booked it first day in India) and at one moment the wait list was over 800 people. So, crap, I can't miss it. I asked about my delayed train and the response I received was "just jump on a train passing through and keep walking from car to car to avoid the ticket collector". I am up for that challenge but not that day. So I race outside the train station and got a taxi to get me to the connecting station. And here is something fun, when you tell a driver in India to go as fast as possible...they most certainly do! I think the guy had his horn and gas peddle pressed all the way down for 1 hour of the 1.5 it took to arrive. I get out of the car at 5:13...my train was supposed to leave at 5:15. I was running through the station, which is not that easy because people are laying on the ground etc. hah ok so needless to say, I found the platform and no joke, as soon as I walked up huffing and puffing, the train pulls up. I heave my bag on, jump on the nearest car and zoom, the train is gone. This particular train was not late (shocking) and it paused for 60 seconds at the station (which is also rare because normally they sit for a long time in each town). At this moment, all i could do was laugh with relief and pray I was on the right train.

It only got more interesting because I was in a car with 49 men and myself. As luck would have it, all the seats face forward but at the very end of the car they are opposite so you are sitting facing everyone...guess where my seat was? So not only do I have to squish between two strange men, I provided some sort of entertainment for all the men to look at for the next 17 hours. Sorry to elaborate on this story, maybe it is not that interesting but it is an experience I will never forget.

I arrived in mumbai and had contemplated going site seeing for a couple hours. But let me tell you, the 1 hour I was out on the street and getting to the airport...I think that city does not need to be on my list of places to explore. I will watch it in slumdog millionaire and be content.

Within 10 minutes of landing in Goa, it felt like all the stress of the past 3 weeks just melted away. The beaches are beautiful, no pollution, and only the occasional honking of horns. So relaxing! It was the first Christmas I spent away from family, snow and festivities. I can honestly say, I didn't miss it TOO much. I feel horrible saying that, because obviously I miss my family and friends but Christmas time has become so focused on gifts, food and it is so built up that it was such a beautiful feeling just sitting on the sand with nothing, and simply being grateful. It also helped being in such a cool place. I went out on a boat and saw dolphins. How awesome is that??!!

The south of India is much more relaxed and easier! That is a relief because I was so close to booking a ticket out of India. So close! But I am really thankful I didn't. I met a group of travelers and have been moving from town to town with them. This town I'm in (Hampi) is one of the top destinations in India and I now know why. It has a mix of natural beauty and ancient beautiful temples. Thousands of years ago, a volcano erupted spraying massive boulders over the valley. So you can just stroll through banana plantations and come across rocks the size of two storey buildings. It is a really chill place and no alcohol is allowed, which really tones down the crazy backpacker scene. The group of us went for a walk yesterday and jumped in the river and floated back into town. I wish I could paint the picture but there was not a soul around, just palm trees, rocks and the water (which I accidentally swallowed some...oops). I can understand now why people fall in love with India (after a very rocky beginning 😊

Advertisement



11th January 2013

Thanks
Beautiful story. What a shame it would have been had you left. The thing is, no matter what choice you make while traveling will be the right choice. How much longer are you on the road?
11th January 2013

Last thing I feel like is having my seat neighbor trying to find himself a white girlfriend.
This title is for the last comment. I think it gor erased before I hit send. Just warned to be sure. I sure can\\\'t wait to see you. When are you coming to LA? If you come I can put together a bunch of people from my photo club to listen to your travel stories and watch your photos. Casual.

Tot: 0.237s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 48; dbt: 0.1645s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb