India! Wow, what a read. Everything you mention rings true to my own experiences of India - a veritable assault on the senses! I imagine well how you were able to locate all 21 of them! Definitely an experience. Each time I've gone, I've thought "never again", but something does keep drawing me back to this magical country. Sounds like you had some memorable experiences between Delhi and Mumbai. Well done on being able to stay seemingly calm through it all!
Hilarious photo That was a cool photo. I really like it. One thing I would like to do in India is to visit stepwells. There are thousands of them, they are little known and little visited and many of them are really wonderful. See https://www.victorialautman.com/ or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepwell. Chand Baori stepwell is fabulous. /Ake
Cows Everywhere. We were to go to the Chand Baori on our way to Jaipur but being on a public bus, it didn't stop! After our tour leader insisted it would. So then a few of us were planning on taking the 100kms back to see it, but we got busy seeing Jaipur and with limited time we had to move along. I love that kind of architecture so I'm slightly irritated we missed it.
India, will I still be loving you? Hi Yeti. No M&M's. No one was as deserving. But great advice....I sure wish I wasn't sitting here at home in Canada reading it though. I have a feeling I will return to India someday. I can see the appeal. But this trip to north India was a last minute thing. One of those, well I'm in the area, so I might as well...and I'm glad I did! I really enjoyed Rajasthan but won't do an organized tour again! I got the hang of things and should be able to go it on my own. Will read back on your blogs for inspiration! Cheers Andy & Ali, and thanks for the read
"If the sun refused to shine, I'd still be loving you" Andrea, Bless.... As you probably know India was our first love and even with it's now sun-less skies that has never dimmed. Personally I think there is no location less suited to a tour and all the mayhem they attract; you would fare so much better on your own/ hooking up with someone like-minded. Typically you're helping out and toughing it out; although disappointed no one deserved the M&M treatment this time. If you have time I'd seriously recommend heading further south from Goa (over the years we've frequented pretty much every beach it has to offer and most are likely to now disappoint) into Karnakatta (easy bus(s) ride) where you should make for Gokarnha and Om beach. Think Sangam's (could check on our blog) is the very best of the guesthouse complexes and his food (not too spicy) won't disappoint. Have dozens of recommendations for your future revisits (just ask) that easily place you amongst the locals and minimize craziness: particularly think you'd love Sikkim.. Anyways, hang on in there. Best wishes, Andy and Ali (Yeti)
Delhi for the brave, Udaipur for the recovery! Hi Cabochick, Great blog - just as it is! Delighted you got to Udaipur, a favourite of my brother, Mike, of 'keep smiling' blogging fame. I'm just back from India following a month along the Ganges and wildlife reserves Rajasthan. My first blog (Delhi!) follows in a minute. The grey-haired-nomads will be in Canada later this year (Huntsville, Ontario) to celebrate our 30th Wedding anniversary!
Keep on travelling! David
Thanks for the comments David! Yes, Udaipur was a surprising delight for sure. I'd sure love to read about the Ganges and the wildlife reserves so I will keep a look out for your blogs! And congrats on your upcoming 30th! Canada will definitely be a great place to celebrate. Have fun!
Welcome to the Paradise! Yeah! Truly, I can see you had quite an experience there!! I don't know when you traveled, I was there for a couple of days in December. Yes, the pollution was bad, must admit. Other than that I am used to it. I travel there each year. You haven't been to Kolkata, I guess!!! If you live in Delhi for a while, you will be a Delhi-ite and will get used to the j-walk the way they do. You probably haven't noticed that they all fold the side mirrors of the cars...that amount of space the mirror occupies on the road is too precious! Rajasthan is fine for one trip...not really my cup of tea!. Despite all, I love it!! BTW, I believe the name of the movie is "Golmaal again"...Means chaos again. Hope you have a good trip to Bombay!
Paradise? Oops typo. You are right, Golmaal! Delhi was Golmaal too! Very shocking for someone who isn’t from there. I was there in November and the pollution was horrible. Worse than Beijing. I’m glad it isn’t always like that. On the positive, I had a great time in Bombay and Goa! Thanks for the comments
"Almost all self-report never traveling before..." Friggin hell, talk about a baptism of fire! :D Sorry to hear about your inept guide...I just counted and we've encountered a 'not-brilliant' one about 20% of the time. Like you say, you just have to make the best of it, but it's infuriating! Being part of the langar at the Sikh temple must have been awesome, I really want to experience this when we return there some day. I can't believe you didn't like that fetching red dressing-gown number at Jama Masjid, what's wrong with you? :)
Self Reporting: I know, I cringed. I do enjoy meeting new people and can tolerate badly behaving tour mates just fine, but a poorly planned tour? No! Participating in Langar was amazing. A must do. The red cloak? A miss.
Floaty McBoaty I was so happy to receive notification of your Maldives blog entry in my Inbox, as I thought your travels and blogging were over for the time being after Sri Lanka. What another wonderful read, and seemingly such a different experience to Sri Lanka. What a great way to see this beautiful country, and your passion for the sea really comes across in your writing. I love the affectionate name you gave your boat :)
Dream of the Maldives! I might have thrown the couple from Boston overboard when they started quoting Trump. I'm sure no one would miss them. I'm so bad. You have found heaven and I want to follow in your footsteps. I'm all about the water. I swim when ever I can. This would be a dream. I will remember to go in November. The Seychelles have always been on my list also -- and I will finally get there in October. I'd like to do a few things to those people who cannot take care of our world and waters. Sad really sad. I agree that you need to fix your landlocked situation.
I'm pretty sure the Seychelles will rock your world. Nice way to end a safari too. I was thankful for the Zanzibar beaches after my overland trip of Africa! Finding heaven is so much fun, isn't it?
Fantastic experience This sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I can't do a week in the sun, so I don't think I'll be visiting but I really enjoyed sailing with you around the atolls and reefs.
Beautifully descriptive writing... of a beautiful adventure. You "must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all [you] ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."
That boat life I'm not much of a swimmer, but I'm really really attracted to this trip you've just done (not to mention that Andrew is a total water baby and would be in his element)! I think Ajoy the cook would have become my new best friend! :) Like you, resorts don't usually attract us, so we'd crossed the Maldives off the list until we heard the government had changed their policy that tourists could only stay in resorts (so as not to corrupt the local way of life). It's a complex situation the Maldivians face and they need strong leadership... but given the current political unrest I can't see them rallying together any time soon :/
Interesting. I’ll have to read up more on it. I know there was some civil unrest and a strong military presence when we were there. The vibe in Male felt hostile. Such a difficult fine line, they desperately need the tourist dollars yet most tourists on holiday want to drink and eat pork and wear bikinis. I’m not sure how they can balance that. Most of us seasoned travelers are respectful to Islam and follow restrictions respectfully, but there seems to be an anything goes attitude on the resorts. I know even I was disgusted by the floss wearing Brazilians French kissing each other and then puking from alcohol poisoning. Sigh, maybe they should ban us all.
Great story! Really enjoyed your descriptions and I could see you snorkeling and enjoying Floaty McBoaty. Yes we had different experiences in the Maldives—makes me want to return and do a boat trip.
This Canadian girl's passion for travel comes from my adventurous parents. My brother and I spent most of our youth traveling all over North America in the family’s camper van, airplane, and boat - going as far west as the Hawaiian islands, as far north as Tuktoyaktuk, and as far south as Mexico doing lots of adventurous stuff...canoeing, surfing, fishing, camping, hiking, skiing, exploring, jellyfish poking...it was the best childhood ever!
That same adventurous spirit fueled my travel passion for over 30 years. I’ve been all over the shop. Now that I'm newly retired, I split my lif... full info
alex waring
Alexander Waring
India!
Wow, what a read. Everything you mention rings true to my own experiences of India - a veritable assault on the senses! I imagine well how you were able to locate all 21 of them! Definitely an experience. Each time I've gone, I've thought "never again", but something does keep drawing me back to this magical country. Sounds like you had some memorable experiences between Delhi and Mumbai. Well done on being able to stay seemingly calm through it all!