This is from a few days ago..the internet got cut off so I am reposting part of it.
<We all have finally left the ashram. That life already feels worlds away. We took a squished train ride to Mumbai (Bombay) and spent the day eating and walking around Colaba, a nice area in the city. Sarah, Sara, Laurel and I met up with a friend from the yoga program, named Sarah (how many can there actually be?)
Then we took a 15 hour bus ride to Goa. This bus was an experience I hope I never repeat. We had "sleeper" seats, which meant that two of us were sharing a space a little smaller than a twin bed, with barely enough room to sit up. It was fine while we were a awake, but once we tried to sleep it was hard. The beds were not too clean and all the curves on the road and honking kept us up. We rolled on one another all night. At one point one of our bags of snacks flew off our side and landed in the middle of the bed underneath us and we woke up some guy. In the morning of the ride another passenger got sick and we had to listen to him throwing up and throwing up, I felt bad for him.
After the bus we arrived safe, but tired, to Goa. Goa is worlds away from every other place I have been in India. Its a tourist spot with beaches, and is known from having huge all night electronic music raves over the past 50 years. There are so many white/hippie Europeans everywhere. Our hotel is so cute, with a jungle of hammocks and palm trees right outside the room. We can walk to the ocean in 5 minutes.
I ate at the best restaurant ever. The had homemade bread, cashew butter, tempeh and all kinds of "western health food." In many ways I don't feel like I am in India here. It is a nice break from the hectic nature of all the other cities I've seen. Though, it also feels strange to be a true tourist in a place where locals can't afford much.
I'm on my way to rent mopeheads and go exploring to a nearby market.>
So we rented mopeheads, they are so fun!! Who ever would have thought I'd actually drive in India? The town I was in, Anjuna, was small and easy to navigate so it was safe. We shopped at the flea Market in Anjuna. This market was huge! stalls selling so much stuff everywhere. From swimming turnks, scarves, jewellery, to trance/techno music taht goa is so famous for. I learned that bargaining can be fun, once you get to know the people. I spent time negotiating prices with a little 8 year old. He then walked me around the market shownig me his other family members stalls and getting them some extra business from me.
On our last night we decided t go clubbing, asuming that it wouldn't be right to leave Goa without experiencing some of their, oh so, famous trance music and party scene. Since it was the off season it was slow, but we found ourselves out dancing at a club on the beach until 3 am. For $2 we got admission and unlimted drinks, (which unlimited for us meant about 2 because our systems haven't experienced any alcohol for a while.) Our hotel was a 5min walk away.
The next day, the sweet couple that owned our hotel let us take the mopeheads again for free. We spent some time swimming in the warmest ocean water I have ever felt.
