Blogs from Karnataka, India, Asia - page 7

I have made countless observations in my two months in India so far that have ranged from the interesting to the unusual, and from the shocking to the downright incomprehensible. Definitely in the latter category is the apparent national obsession with photographs and in particular, selfies. It seems that when Indians decide to get into something, they tend to do so with a manic fervour unmatched anywhere else in the world, whether it be cricket, Bollywood or...selfies. I witnessed this phenomenon once again along with Immy and the typically tall Dutchman Jasper in the town of Hospet, as we had dinner while we waited for our overnight buses down to Bangalore. Even more than the females, Indian males appear to be the vainest I have ever seen, constantly taking pictures of themselves. What is this fuelled ... read more

It was six months ago, at the start of my European trip, that I first heard about Gokarna and Om Beach. It was in Bilbao, Spain, where I met a Czech girl called Eliska who just couldn't stop going on about the place, with its great beach and chilled out vibe. It was her enthusiasm about the place that convinced me that this was a stop I that I just had to make. But you have to get there first and along with Maura, another girl that I had met in Europe, I stood on the platform at Canacona station just outside of Palolem, Goa, waiting for our unfailingly late, Indian train to Gokarna. The train finally arrived about three hours later than scheduled, which was the longest delay I've had on the Indian railways so ... read more

I spent all of Christmas Day on buses and trains. I left Mananthavady in the dark at 6.30am, and finished in the dark at 6.30pm in a town called Thirithalli (in the state of Karnataka above Kerala). This part of the trip is all about lion-tailed macaques. They used to be called wanderoos in the old days, which makes them sound like some sort of Australian animal, possibly one with a tendency to roam, but they are actually monkeys. I seem to go looking for monkeys a lot, I'm not sure why. They just appeal to me as mammals to find in the wild. In 2013 a girl in China said to me "you must really like monkeys". I guess so. I'm currently on thirteen species of primates for this trip, by the way. (Or, not ... read more

We left the dusty, dry desert of Rajasthan and flew 1,125 miles south to Bangaluru. From Jaipur to Bangaluru, our flight took a little over 2 and a half hours. Once we arrived in Bangaluru, we drove over 6 and a half hours to reach Coorg, India. The roads were rough and winding along our drive and every village had speed bumps so it was difficult to move at a very fast speed. We are officially in the southern part of India. This is apparent to us because: * The landscape has changed dramatically. It looks more lush and more tropical. There are flowers, crops and fruit trees everywhere you look. The horizon is dotted with palm trees. * The locals have slightly darker skin coloring than those in the northern parts of India. *There seems ... read more

Geo: 12.8694, 74.8426... read more