Goodbye Gorgeous Goa, Hello Heavenly Hampi!

As I mentioned last post, I am now in the town of Hampi, which is a truly magical place. But before I get into the pictures and story, I have some reflecting to do. I have recently passed the three month mark of my trip and I think that deserves some comment and thought.

(that's me being thoughtful and reflective, haha)

That said, I don't have a great deal to say other than “This has been an incredible experience and I am as happy or happier than I've ever been in my life.” Anyone who has been following my blog for the past three months probably could have told you that! I mean, I've met amazing people, learned so much, gone scuba diving, rock climbing, elephant riding, seen countless amazing ruins, huge and bizarre cities, eaten wonderful food, seen friends and family, gone to a wedding, seen wonderful new animal and plant life, hiked, ridden planes, trains, motos, boats and cars, and so much more. I've never been bored, in poor spirits or afraid for my safety. I was sick for one night, but really that is about the only bad thing that has happened to me the whole trip so far. I feel so fortunate that I'm am able to travel the world right now and have the understanding of my boss and the help of my family to make it all possible, so once again, thank you!

All this fun has also meant a longer term change for my life: that I want to start structuring my life around being able to travel like this again and on a somewhat regular basis. I'm not sure the best way to do this right now, or how often, but maybe doing a few months each year isn't impossible? Maybe 6 months off every other year? Ha, that doesn't sound like enough! The other complicating factor is that I absolutely love my house in Seattle and don't want to give that up, plus I still really enjoy my current job... Do I need to find new and seasonal work? Do I need to simply make more money? Should I find a housemate who isn't interested in travel and can keep up the house while I'm gone? Will I have to give up the house? I don't know, but it's a lot to think about, so I'll deal with it when I get home!

Finally, some thoughts on packing since I meticulously reported it all before I left. A few things have stood out for their usefulness, one of my favorite being my bag solution. I have two hiking type backpacks, a large one and a day bag. In the big bag I keep all my cloths and toiletries, in the day bag I keep everything else, including my laptop. The smaller bag fits in the larger one meaning I can have everything valuable, plus things like books and water, then when I get on a bus or somewhere else I can just pull the smaller bag out, keep it with me, and put the cloths below.

The cotton sleeping sack has been critical. It's not that I've stayed at many places where I was afraid of the sheets being unclean, but rather that many places just have a bed sheet and nothing to sleep under, so having your own is a must. The North Face zip off pants have also been good, and don't look too dorky at all, I even wore them to the wedding! Being able to wear shorts and then put the legs on was nice in Buddhist temples where you are required to cover up, as well as buses that get way too cold once they crank the AC. I didn't bring shoes and have worn nothing but flip-flops over than one day. I've worn everything I brought, even the fleece and windbreaker, and long underwear bottoms. A few mornings were cold in the north, especially when getting up before the sun, and it was nice to have them. I expect to use the more in northern India.

The other thing of course is the laptop. Having it has been great and I wouldn't be able to do this blog as it is without it. Being able to write whenever I want to, and being able to handle all my photos has been great and until getting to India free wifi was usually very easy to come by. Obviously it has also been extremely helpful for keeping in contact with all my traveling friends, my family back home, and killing time on bus rides. The 10” netbook is also a perfect size for traveling, a fact many other people have pointed out to me as well.

The only things I've brought and not used have been my mosquito bed net, and head net. Bugs simply haven't been a problem, and where they are even mild a bed net is usually provided. The only things I wish I had were all easily purchased. I've ended up wanting more cloths than I initially brought, and have bought some lightweight pants and shirts on the road.

Whew! Ok, back to the pictures and stories now.

Still in Panajin, I decided to take a bus ride out to Old Goa, the old capital for the Portuguese. It was begun in the 1500s and was called 'the Rome of the east', but was abandoned in the 1835 after massive outbreaks of cholera and malaria. The bus ride was about half an hour and only 10 rupees, so it was an easy day trip out of the city.

Today the only thing that remains of the once mighty city is a series of beautiful churches. This is The Basilica of Bom Jesus, begun in 1594. The large basalt building has a massive golden main alter, as well as holding the glass encased body of St Francis Xavier. For another 5 rupees you can go into the small art museum, which has a some photography and some interesting surrealist art .

The other main attraction in Old Goa is right across the street, the Se Cathedral. Built in the 1600s, it is the largest church in the whole of Asia. The outside of the building is actually quite boring, but the inside as you can see is very nice. I had gotten to the area fairly early in the morning, but by ten or eleven, tourist buses had arrived in droves. I went into the last of the three largest churches in the area (there are many) and decided to check out the archeological museum. I found it a little boring to be honest, as it had some stone carvings, and dozens of large portraits of the Portuguese rulers who had ruled the area, not a whole lot else.

I left in the early afternoon and had some time to kill in Panajin. I hung out in the park reading, walked around aimlessly, and eventually sat down in a coffee shop, primarily to use an outlet to charge my computer since the guesthouse room didn't have an outlet which I found rather annoying.

At 8pm I boarded an overnight bus to Hampi. I had opted for a bed, but I couldn't really sleep. One reason, besides for the frequent stops to pick up more people, is the fact it went on smaller roads which are full of speed bumps. This meant it was a bumpy and uncomfortable ride, and falling asleep was not easy. The 'bed' I had was a compartment with two flat cushions less than two feet wide. I was happy I had both to myself, but then at midnight, a final stop put someone in the cramped space next to me.

Luckily it was a very friendly (and rather small) Swedish guy named Carl. He is traveling with two friends of his, and we ended up chatting for about an hour and a half. Before trying to catch a few hours of sleep (I got maybe 3), we decided to room together in Hampi.

We arrived in Hampi at about 6am, before sunrise. After negotiating the gauntlet of auto drivers (the Indian tuk-tuk/three wheel taxi) and meeting a friendly Aussie named Ollie, we headed down to the river to catch the 'ferry' (a seriously overloaded dinghy but the ride is only about a minute and a half) across the river to get to the guesthouses on the other side we got to see this early morning ritual, going to the ghats and bathing in the river.

On the other side we found a place to stay and got two double rooms for the four of us. From left to right, this is Leo, Alex and Carl. We ate breakfast next to the rice paddies and then set off to explore this new wonderland.

Naturally, I saw the tallest thing around and decided I wanted to climb to the top. I set off out of the palms, past the paddies, and into the crazy boulder fields.

This is the view from about half way up, simply amazing. Looking over this from atop a house-size boulder, I was blown away. This is one of the most surreal place I've ever seen, like something out of a dream. I pushed on, up towards the top. There are no trails and I was alone. I crashed through the lower brush (tons of thorns!) took my flip-flops off and continued barefoot across the boulders.

Once I neared the top, I decided I'd gone far enough and it was too difficult to get any farther. The going was rather treacherous and I was rock climbing in sections, but getting hurt would be a real problem and my better instincts told me to turn around. I was unable to return the way I'd come, so I headed off on a new route, taking me into a large cave-type area created by massive boulders suspended overhead.

Right away, I got an idea and started to build. I cleared the leaves from the dirt and began to gather rocks. This was the result. I like the idea of creating a piece of art somewhere almost no one will see it. It was fun to build, and I hope the next person that stumbles upon the spot will enjoy it. I continued down the hill through the boulders, climbing and skidding down into more cave type areas, some full of bats. I got dead-ended a few times and had to turn around to find a different path, and ended up having to squeeze through a few tight spaces but I got out, and laid on a large boulder in the sun just taking it all in.

Once I had gotten back into the town, I caught this wonderful view across the paddies and through the palms of where I had just been.

This is looking back towards the Hampi Bazaar area, over the river from where we are staying. As I said, this place is a wonderland.

The next morning Alex, Carl and I woke up early for an 8am yoga class. Yoga is another of those thousands of things I've been interested but never tried, so it was on the list for this trip, especially here in India. It felt nice to get up and move in the morning, but I felt the instructor moved too quickly to really stretch out, and I wasn't all that pleased with it. I'll definitely give it another try at a different place though.

After yoga and breakfast the four of us headed out to explore the dozens of temples in the area. We took the ferry across the river, and went off in search of motorbikes to rent. To our surprise there were absolutely none available, they had all been rented. This was especially strange, because on our side of the river there were dozens waiting to be rented. As a result, we set off walking. We went into Virupaksha Temple, but it was closed for an hour so we walked up the hill and checked out the Kadlakalu Ganesha, a 4.5m tall sculpture made fro a single boulder.

As we walked farther up the road we walked past more and more ruins. I don't have the map so I forget the name of this part, but it is one of the sites where the (at the time) world famous Hampi bazaar took place.

After walking down the road a bit farther and visiting another temple on the way we arrived at the Kakshii Narasima Temple. This is a sculpture of the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu made in 1528. I like this one a lot, but maybe because the goofy face is hilarious.

A few temples later, we arrived in the old Islamic Quarter. We looked around briefly, but were all a little templed out (its easy when you visit one after another for a few hours), tired from walking in the hot sun, and hungry for lunch. I'll come back with a bike and see the rest of it another day.

That night we had dinner at the guesthouse restaurant and I had a bit of a feast. I had some really delicious Tibetan dumplings, a salad, pudding and water. This excellent meal cost me just about $4. The guys left the next afternoon, they were fun to hang out with and yet another example of the good people you meet on the road.

The next day I awoke at 6:30am and climbed up the biggest hill/rock pile again to watch the sunrise. Again I was scrambling around barefoot across the rocks, and eventually found a place to sit and watch from. I stayed up there for two and a half hours, just looking at the world around me, watching lizards and birds and taking it all in.

In the afternoon, I rented a motorbike and set out for a reservoir. I'd been told it was a short way out of town and that in addition to nice water and places to relax, it had some big rocks to jump off. I rode away from my room down some of the most potholed roads I've seen yet, my anemic little scooter buzzing away. I followed a dirt road along the side of the reservoir but shortly realized I'd gone to far. I had just turned around and two young Indian girls in bright red saris indicated they wanted me to give them a ride. I said sure, and they got on. It was a bit nerve wracking, since the roads were terrible and the brakes of the bike even worse, but after a quick ride they got off on the other side of the hill and thanked me.

I backtracked a bit longer and saw a spot with a few other bikes. I figured that would be a good place to enjoy the reservoir, and parked. I had in fact found the jumping spot. A huge mass of exposed rock jutted almost straight out of the water and atop that was a pile of three boulders. The local selling water at the spot said it was 25 meters down to the water (I think it may be a bit less than that), and I scrambled up the rock to give it a try. With a running start and big leap, I flew towards the water, it was quite a ways down really. A lot of fun, and certainly the highest thing I've ever jumped off.

Also at the spot was Elel (middle, sp?) and his friend, from Israel. He jumped after I did and as we got to chatting we decided to grab some lunch back in town. We had felafel and tea and went to his guesthouse to exchange our jumping photos we had taken of each other. Next was going up to the Monkey Temple for sunset, but we had time to kill so we hung out in the common area and played a game of chess. Now I haven't played chess in probably ten years so naturally Elel won but I thought I put up a decent fight!

Another short moto ride and we were at the base of another hill of boulders. Up this hill was a long and steep white staircase to the top and we began climbing. It was a lot of stairs, but didn't take more than a few minutes if you go at a quick pace. As you would expect, the view was amazing, the the light of the setting sun on the boulder covered hills was simply beautiful.

In Indian mythology, this is the birth place of Hanuman, the monkey-god, and the top contains a small temple in Hanumans honor. Inside, in one of the small rooms sit an alter to get your blessing, and next to it is another small room with men playing musical instruments and chanting, which they do all day long I am told. We sat for quite some time watching the deep-red sun go below the horizon and returned to the village.

Back at my guesthouse a few people were sitting around the TV and I was curious what was on. The movie they had put on was 'Hercules in New York' from 1969. Now for those who don't know, this was Arnold Schwarzenegger's first ever movie, and regarded by some as one of the worst movies ever made. Everything about the movie is bad, just awful really, but of course that makes it hilarious and worth watching. The part where Arnold fights the man in the bear suit is classic, the spray-painted re-bar of Zeus lightening bolts are a hoot and and and Arnold tears is shirt off every chance he can get. It is a classic.

And that is about where it stands right now. I'll probably spend a few more days here exploring the ruins and the nature a bit more then head south to Kerala and try to find a houseboat to join. Hampi is one of those places that sucks people in and doesn't let them go. I can see how easy it is to come for two or three days and spend a week or two and many people do just that. Until next time

The Last Days On The Goan Beach

Hello from Hampi! I've left Goa and the beach, am now inland and and for various reasons (time, internet access, etc) behind on the blog, so I've got some catching up to do. Let's get to it.

Our first full day in Goa got off to a lazy start, as any time on the beach should. We slept in, laid around, got breakfast at the restaurant across from our guest house, Avalon Sunset (highly recommended, we became regulars eating just about every breakfast and dinner there). Honestly I'm really not sure what we did all morning, but it was nice to lay back and read a book.

We managed to get to the beach at FIVE o’clock, haha, and were greeted by this scene. Because cows hold a special place in the Hindu religion they are essentially allowed to roam as the please. The cows take full advantage of this naturally and they want to chill on the beach like the rest of us! As I walked through this group of cows, one of the largest ones walked straight towards me and bumped into me head on. I was unsure what this meant, but given the size of the bulls horns (and testicles!) I was not going to wait and find out. We laid out on the beach with a cold Kingfisher (India’s most popular beer?) , kicked the soccer ball around and watched the sunset. We then had dinner, walked down the beach to see what was going on in the evening (nothing actually) and turned in for the night. An uneventful day no doubt about it.

The next day we walked around town trying to find a place called Cafe DeLish, because the woman who ran it, Jane, was a friend of Hunter's uncle. We had breakfast there, chatted for a few minutes, and then took off on our newly rented scooters to explore the beaches of Goa.

We rode north from Anjuna to Vagator which was small but nice, and walked up the hill to Chapora Fort, which was really just an old wall and nothing else. After the last fort, nothing will compare, but especially not a wall. As usual, the cows were there to keep us company. We had another feast at Avalon Sunset, including a great seafood sizzler and turned went to bed.

Our plan for the next day was a full on moto-adventure. After breakfast we took off again and came to the next beach up the coast, Morgim Beach. It is a very large flat expance of sand with nice sun shades and beach beds. I spent most of my time reading my book (Papillon, fantastic) but the beach was nice and sandy and the waves were fun to play in. A little farther down the road we stopped at a small temple with a fresh, bright coat of paint and some wonderful characters at the entrance. Moving up the coast we went to Mandrem Beach which seemed to be only European people, ate lunch and kept moving. Next up the coast was Arambol, which was a real scene. I thought Anjuna was supposed to be the hippie beach, but Arambol was a whole different level. It was a long, tight, crowded drive to the packed beach, and every other person was covered in dreadlocks. Having no interest in such a crowded place, we turned around without even getting off our bikes and drove the rest of the way to Querim Beach at the very northwest corner of Goa. This beach was very small, very quiet and just had a few beach restaurants and venders rather than the chaos of the other beaches. We watched the sunset and got back on the scooters. The ride back was pretty intense. The roads of India are crazy enough during the day, but darkness adds a whole new element. The roads were narrow and winding, and for an hour or so we were blasting through the streets, dodging other bikes, cars, cows and more. It was a very fun ride.

Back at Anjuna, we were looking for a party or a band or something, so we started walking down the beach. What we found was a ghost town. It seemed that most of the bars were closed, and those that were actually open were nearly empty. I thought this was supposed to be a center of nightlife! It turns out that it's no longer the case, the party died in the 90s or something. Now there are noise ordinances that close many places at 10pm, and we were told that the bars who hold events from time to time bribe the cops to stay open late. It was a bit of a bummer, because we were all looking forward to a night out.

The next morning we had planned another scooter adventure, this time heading south. We bypassed Calangute Beach which is the section with most of the big beach resorts and a large casino, and checked out Siquerim Beach. It was another tourist hellhole. As soon as we pulled up, we were assaulted by demands to pay for parking (we parked right outside the pay area), to go on sightseeing tours, and to buy tourist junk. We walked down to the beach to see the old fort which was just another wall, and turned around disgusted.

Our next stop was Aguada Fort. It was built by the Portuguese in 1612 to protect ships and refill their fresh water tanks, store arms and to house the lighthouse that marked the point. The fort was really just a big wall with a large empty courtyard in the middle and a lighthouse at one side. Rather boring really.

We motored on in search of one nice beach to relax at and eat some lunch since we had struck out all day. This is what a typical road around the beaches of Goa look like. We went furhter on and found ourselves on the main bridge to Panaji, the capital of Goa. This was a bad thing, because we didn't have helmets (they didn't have helmets to give out of course) and that was illegal on the main road. Everyone had them but us, and being tourists we were prime bait for police harassment and extortion really. Also, technically you are supposed to have an international drivers license to ride a bike, and we didn't have that either. Not that any tourist does (well, maybe a handful, but I've never met one of them), but that would be another thing for the police to get us on. We hurridly turned around to get back to the relative safety of the tourist beaches, hoping we wouldn't see any traffic police in the next few minutes.

We then stopped at the last of the popular beaches, Candolim. This place is strange for a few reasons. For one, there are so many Russian tourists here (and more than one Indian here has told me they don't like the Russian tourists) that many shop signs and menus are in Russian. For another, the beach seemed to be only, and I mean only people in their 50s and 60s, most of them overweight. And finally, maybe the strangest of all, the beaches key feature is the River Princess, a huge tanker ship that ran aground on the beach in the 1990s.

The next day Sazzy and Hunter had to fly back to Delhi. Hunter was going back to the Sates, and Sazzy is going to Bangkok to meet up with Sam, yet another of my Seattle friends coming out to southeast Asia! We took a taxi from Anjuna beach all the way to Panaji, the capital city of Goa. The book had some good things to say about Panji, and I was going to use it as my transport hub to Hampi, so I went with them and planned on spending two nights in town.

The town has a few nice attractions and this is the main one, the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1541. The town also has a very nice and newly renovated (2010) 'cenral park' area called Garcia de Orta, plus all the other cool old streets and architecture that come along with a history like this town has. We walked around in the hot sun for a while, taking in the sites and I have to say I did kind of like the place.

I ended up staying at a place called Comfort Inn, on 31^st January Road. The guy was a bit of a jerk, the room cost 300 rupees for a shared bathroom, he wouldn't even let Sazzy use the bathroom (quoting 'terrorist concerns'), and the checkout time was 8:30! I ended up staying anyways, because other than the guy being a jerk, the room was decent and clean, plus the others in that area/price range have similar policies.

After passing and juggling a soccer ball in on a sidewalk and then a park for a while, it was time for Sazzy and Hunter to get to the airport, so it was time to part ways. Just like everyone else I've been with on this trip, as expected Seeing some of India with Sazzy and Hunter was fantastic. Getting to see a bit of India with Sazzy and his family, and especially the wedding was something I'll never forget. Traveling with Hunter, who was just like me, along for the ride, was a pleasure and has helped convince me three can be the perfect number to travel with.

At this point, I have no other friends to meet up with since flying out to meet Sam just isn't fitting into my schedule right now. That means I'm in India for nearly a month and a half solo right now, but I certainly hope and expect to meet some new friends on the road to travel with and I am looking forward to that.

That evening I pretty much just wandered around town alone taking in the sights again, and looking at the brightly lit church and park. As I walked down the waterfront I ended up chatting with two members of Green Peace India for about a half an hour which was pretty interesting. We talked mostly about the changes that need to take place and what they are doing about it, as well as asking me a few questions about America and American perceptions on environmental issues.

Based on the advice of the rude guy who ran the guest house, I decided to return to Anjuna (and I just left, haha) for the Wednesday Market, an outdoor market that is supposed to be a big deal. I went to the public bus station, and for 10 rupees got a ride to Mapusa, and then paid another 10 for the ride from Mapusa to Anjuna. The bus was old, crowded and bumpy, but it was worlds cheaper than a taxi and very easy. If we had known this earlier, we would have saved a lot money taking it instead of a taxi, oh well.

The market was indeed big, and it did seem to bring in people from all around. While it had some nice crafts, lots of clothing, tea and spices, and many more things to be honest it wasn't anything that isn't already sold at the stands along the beaches every day, just more of it. I'm really not sure what the big deal is, it's mostly just tourist junk...

That said, I did buy a few things that I needed. I broke my sunglasses (they cost me about $3, no big loss) the other day, so I replaced them with some equally cheap ones, I bought some light weight pants because I want something cooler and more comfortable to wear, and bought a new shirt for the same reasons. One of the things at the market I actually liked were some of the door handles, especially the ones in the shape of an elephant head and trunk. Satisfied with my purchases I took the bus back to Panajin.

In town I wandered into a different park, the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Park. This one was pretty run down, full of men taking siestas on the benches, brown grass, strange fiberglass garbage cans such as the giant penguin, that have “Use Me” written on them and some rusting yellow and orange playground equipment.

I'd been putting off shaving and decided I'd get it done at a barber. I've only had someone shave me once before, so it was a bit of a new experience. And yes, I watched him put the handle in disinfectant and then put a brand new blade on! For 40 rupees (less than a dollar) I got quite a shave. First he washed my whole face off, then brushed on the shaving cream with the old style brush. He went over my face with the razor two times, than gave a sort of face massage and a rub of three different moisturizers or something. He didn't nic me once, and it was certainly the best shave I've ever had.

I then bought my bus ticket to Hampi for 700 rupees, more than I was expecting to spend, but not feeling too bad about it. Next on my to-do list was to get a mobile broadband modem, but as I was wandering almost aimlessly to find the store, I herd a lout parade two blocks, and I walked quickly to get in front of it and see what was going on. I suddenly found myself in a massive parade of Goas Muslim population and one of the banners said it was the “Birth Anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.”

I stayed right in the middle of it all, as hundreds of people walked passed me along with many cars and trucks loaded with speakers and piled with men singing, teens chanting and little kids running around smiling, it was all pretty exciting actually. This guy seemed to be the main event, singing with a group of drummers and then making a short speech. It was sort of amusing that this was all taking place at the base of the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, but the only reason for that was that the mosque, Jama Masjid, built in 1779, was only a block away.

After being distracted by the parade, I wandered around for quite a while more before I finally found it, the Tata Indicom store. Because I've had trouble getting online since being in India, I decided to spend a few bucks on a mobile internet system. India hasn't been anything like Thailand or even Cambodia. There is no free wifi anywhere, neither at guesthouses or bars/restaurants, and while internet cafes are still around they are a pain. This, if the coverage area ('Nationwide') is should be very helpful with keeping my my blog, usual communications, train tickets, and of course keeping up with my sister Holly's ski races in Oslo, Norway!

I ended up with the Tata photon+, which I was told is the best. I used one in Delhi, and it was quite fast, but where I've been so far it has been slow and a bit problematic... That said, it works, and is nice to have.

While I had been looking for the wireless store, I'd seen a sign on a building for a 'public observatory' that was going to be open that night. Intrigued, I entered the big building of government offices ranging from the 'Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs' to the ''Directorate of Official Language' to the 'Office of the Conservation of Forrest, Wildlife and Ecotourism' and took the elevator to the seventh floor terrace for the 'Public Amateur Observatory Department.' On top I found an older Aussie couple, and a handful of locals, all under 16 I think. Three boys were the leaders of it, pointing the 5” telescope into the sky. We looked at the Andromeda galaxy, Orion, Saturn, the moon and others, as well as getting to watch the International Space Station pass overhead. I hung around and talked space with the kids until the were out of things to show me with their scope (the big scope only gets used 'on special occasions') and walked back to my room, having really enjoyed coming upon that little activity

Next I head off to Old Goa, home of the largest church in Asia and off to Hampi. Being back on my own is exciting, and I'm really looking forward to exploring India in the coming few weeks and meeting new people along the way. Since I'm already in Hanpi as I write this, I'll give a sneak peak: it's awesome, so stay tuned!

On Safari And In The Forts of Ranthambore National Park

Welcome back, as I write this I am sitting in Goa at Anjuna Beach. With the wedding still fresh in my mind, we have moved on and the good times just keep coming:

We woke up the next morning, I did some exercise (I bought a jump rope in Bangkok!), and had breakfast with Sazzy's uncle. I spent the rest of the morning furiously writing the last blog entry and uploading it, then we caught an hour and a half taxi to the train station. On the modern freeway, one of the few pieces of road without potholes (yet) we passed a massive part of town full of very modern buildings from the current Indian economic boom, this is just one of them. The funny thing about the freeway though, is you can still drive down it at 25 miles an hour in a tractor, haha. Also, the lane lines are not rules, just suggestions.

We got to the train station in Delhi headed for Sawai Madhopur where we were going to Ranthambore National Park and Oberoi Hotel & Resort where Sazzy's cousin works as the head chef at a five-star hotel/restaurant. The train station was slightly confusing and smelled like crap (probably all the crap on the train tracks!) but was nice enough and we had no problems.

The train ride was a blast and was my first time riding a train on this trip. I've been in all manors of cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses and airplanes, so it's fun to add yet another transportation method to the list. On the train ride, we got to see some of the countryside on our way south, including many fields, small towns, local cricket games and of course the sunset. Our tickets were in the Third Class AC Sleeper, the lowest of the AC cars but still giving us all kinds of snack/meal services. A very comfortable way to travel I would say.

When we arrived at Sawai Madhopur, thanks to Sazzy's cousin Deep a driver was waiting at the train station to pick us up and bring us to the Oberoi. On the way I realized how big a deal Ranthambore National Park and the tiger reserve are. Between the train station and the hotel we passed countless other safari vehicles, tons of other hotel/resorts and a few weddings as well. Deep has an apartment at the hotel and was very generous in letting us stay with him, as well as organizing the safari, train and air tickets, rides around the area and a number of fantastic meals.

At 5:30am or so we woke up, got dressed and headed off for our safari in the tiger reserve. We had originally been booked for one of the larger buses, but ended up getting an upgrade to a jeep with just two other people who happened to be from New York.

At the entrance to the park, we had to show our passports and sign a release form saying we would not sue if we were attacked by a tiger or something. Given all the adventures and dangerous activities I've been on during this trip this is probably only the second or third form I've actually had to sign, haha.

Upon entering the park at sunrise we drove through some amazing ruins that were up to 1500 years old we immediately began seeing some amazing wildlife and realizing how special this place is. This is a lousy photo, but these are two very large simbar deer.

One of the most common mammals in the park were the white spotted deer, I'd guess these are a common food source of the tigers that roam the area. On the road we saw some tiger tracks in the dust, and the guides did their best to take us to where they may be, but we never saw a tiger. Oh well, it was still great.

The bird life here was wonderful. Not sure what this one is, but we saw eagles, storks, parrots, egrets, vultures babblers, peacocks and even a very large owl! Like the bird sanctuary we visited a week or so ago, this was another place I'd have loved to visit with Brendan because he would have really loved all the bird life.

This is a crocodile sitting out in the sun with it's mouth open. Wrestling one is on my to do list, and I think I could have taken this one, but I figured the guides wouldn't appreciate it so I stayed in the jeep, haha. Oh, we also saw a mongoose walking along a river below us.

As usual, monkeys were all over the place. They mostly sat in the trees above the road but would run around on the ground in many places, flying through the trees and on a steep cliff. Watching the way they move through the environment really is impressive.

After the safari had ended we returned to the hotel and were greeted by Deep, who as you might expect for the head chef of a five star restaurant is a busy man. In the background you can see the building which his apartment is in, and to the right of the building he has an awesome all organic vegetable garden which we were lucky enough to get to eat from.

We then walked past the elephants and through the massive doors into the hotel courtyard for breakfast. Inside there was a musician playing a flute and mouth harp, and we were treated to a (western style) breakfast of pastries, toast, fruit, juice, eggs, bacon and more. As you would expect from such a place, the food and service was top notch.

In the afternoon we had thought about doing a second safari to see more wildlife and hopefully see a tiger, but decided against it in favor of visiting the absolutely immense hilltop complex of Ranthambore Fort, which is inside the national park. The fort is said to have been built by Maharaja Jayanta in the fifth century and was one of the strongest forts in India, occupied by various rulers until the 1500s. It houses Muslim, Hindi and Janis religious sites which are active to this day.

A view out into the national park from inside of the fort. Truly beautiful land.

On the road up to the fort, Indians came in every manor possible: walking, motorcycles, tractors, jeeps packed so full the drivers hung out the sides, and normal passenger cars. Apparently white people are not as interested, because in the two and a half hours we spent walking the grounds we were the only white people around. Here in India this can cause quite a stir, and people were constantly looking at us and saying hello. When they saw we had cameras they got even more excited, and a few at a time at first, children came up asking us to take their picture. This drew a crowd, and within about a minute and a half we had two dozen people around us getting in groups for us to photograph.

Here I am standing at one of the countless ruins that are inside the forts walls. One thing I find very interesting, and quite different from our western take on historical sites is how Indians treat them. Rather than our typical stance of preservation and cleanliness, at the temple behind me I saw both a woman in a bright red sari take all her styrofoam plates and other garbage and just toss it down the side, and two kids with their pants down taking dumps right at the base of the temple. Many of the areas were also full of graffiti. Granted there is no entrance fee for the fort to pay for maintenance, no garbage cans, nor bathrooms, and granted all these things happen in the west to some extent (though MUCH less) I couldn't help but find it a bit offensive that such an amazing place is treated in such a way. I guess that's just my western sensibilities.

Due to the huge numbers of buildings in the fort, you can easily walk off the main trail and find smaller but often equally amazing ruins that you have all to yourself. It was nice to do this to get away from the constant attention of the locals, haha.

On the opposite side of the fort from where we had come in, we were greeted by this scene. The pond was full of a red marine plant and was being used by both people and monkeys for bathing, we saw this huge section of wall, full of people, monkeys, and dotted with cooking fired and the cliff behind it. On every walkway, women in bright saris provided an amazing splash of color. I've seen a lot of ancient ruins on this trip so far, and this ranks among the best.

As we left this view point an old man came to us and indicated he wanted to show us something. This area is still a very active religious site for the Indian people and sites of worship are hidden all over the place. He took us down this steep and narrow set of stairs under a small building, hundreds of years old, and maybe 20x12 feet wide. The basement was small and very dark. In it we found a man praying, and a small, dirty nook in the wall that contained a statue draped in gold cloth, an oil lamp and a dish for offerings. It was only a tiny little place and a simple gesture of kindness, but it certainly made an impression.

Another interesting thing done here, is that people make little houses out of rocks, and these foot tall structures dot the ground all over the place. We asked someone why they do it, and was told it is to have a big house in the next life. Naturally we made our own, and as Sazzy was working on his, a man walked past and in Hindi said “Build it five stories!!”

A game of cricket on one of the large grassy fields. Like I said, people here treat ancient ruins differently, haha.

The next thing we did was go to Ganesh Temple, the most visited and one dedicated to mice. We bought plates of offerings which contained a pack of incense, a coconut, a necklace of flowers and ludhu, took off our shoes and went inside. Inside we stood in lines made of iron pipes, wrung the bell above our head and handed our offering to the priests who were sitting in the window. There, they blessed the ludhu and gave us the tika as a blessing.

The three of us with our tekas. Naturally, this managed to attract even more attention to us as we walked out. On our way out, around 5pm, we finally saw other westerners for the first time. It was a tour group of 60 year olds.

A row of monkeys, these guys are everywhere.

When we returned to the room, a delicious meal of Thai curry was waiting for us, cooked by Deep. It was a very late lunch, and a group of cooks from the restaurant were in the kitchen preparing us a dinner as well! Due to time, we took the food to go and headed off to the train station.

Thanks again for the hospitality Deep, it was wonderful.

This time we were riding the train overnight all the way to Mumbai. We had only gotten two confirmed seats, but paid for three tickets, and Hunter was sick. He laid in bed feeling terrible, while Sazzy tried to get us a third bed. He ended up offering an old man some 12-year Jameson Whiskey, and in exchange the old man told his helper that was traveling with him to sleep on the floor and give Sazzy his bed!

We arrived in Mumbai which we had just entered as a transportation hub because we were going to fly the rest of the way to Goa and took a taxi to the airport. On the way I got to sew a brief look at one of the biggest cities in the world. It was flat, seemed to sprawl forever, and each place you looked, new sky scrapers were being built. Massive billboards for luxury condos, cars, cloths and even horse racing were everywhere. Among all this was still the same slums, sewer smell and terrible smog that seems to persist in every large city in India.

At the airport we had a three hour wait and Hunter was in pain and starting to sweat. He laid down on the airport floor while Sazzy and I ate left-over five star food. Eventually he ate a few bites of rice and began to feel better which was very good. We got on the plane for what was only a 45 minute or so flight, and arrived in Goa around 4pm. The airport was shared by the military, and on the runway we got to see tons of cool aircraft. I saw transports, communications, dual-rotor helicopters and fighter jets. We even saw one of the fighters landing and pulling it's drag chutes to stop.

When we landed at the airport we didn't even know where we were going to go. We picked Anjuna beach mostly on a whim and took an absorbingly expensive taxi ride to get there. We arrived again with no idea what the place was like and needed to find a room. Sazzy walked around by himself speaking Hindi to the various guest houses to get a better deal, and we ended up with a great room for 700 rupees. We watched the sunset relaxed a bit in the room and then headed out to look around.

This is what people mean when they say “Goa isn't India.” It was controlled by the Portuguese for a very long time, has a large (24%) Christian population, speaks a different language, and is know for it's hippie past and it's beach scene. To be honest it feels very much like the beach scene in Thailand, which of course isn't 'real' Thailand either. This is a reggae bar, down the the beach is an bar playing trance music. We plan on staying here a few days before Sazzy and Hunter leave, Hunter back to the States and Sazzy to Thailand, and I will head out into the wider and 'authentic' India on my own. For now it's a few days of relaxing on the beach and I'm certainly looking forward to it.