sam&jess

Backwaters Trip

sambarton — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 21:06:00 GMT

A treat once in a while never harmed anyone and with this in mind we hired a houseboat for a night in kerala. While it is definately not cheap (5000Rs/24 hours- even after lengthy negotiations!) it was certainly worth the money in my opinion. We took the trip around Alleppey and were slightly dissapointed we couldn't go any further a field but with it being high season-and-all this was the best we could manage. We ended up with a 2 bedroom boat which was of course uneccessary but we were not complaning about the extra deck space. The crew included Captain, engine driver and thankfully a good cook who served us a table full of stuff including fish at both lunch and dinner. The setting I think made the dining experience all the better.

With it being a large boat the rivers and canals we navigated were rather wide but you could still get a good sense of the lives of people living around the backwaters. Workers in the rice fields (tough job), washer women, fishermen/women, school children taking a lunchtime swim, taxi boats amongst others. Everything went well and was a relaxing and comfortable experience. However, I did get pretty pissed off when we were parked up for the night. After eating and watching the sunset, another boat docked near by and they chose to spend there backwaters trip watching tv at full blast which ruined the tranquil atmosphere somewhat. I am not sure how they thought that this was appropriate. Anyway was all good and got a load of memories and photos to enjoy so well worthwhile!

Goa

sambarton — Sun, 7 Jan 2007 18:37:00 GMT

I have been and gone from Goa, all be it reluctantly after spending 3 weeks of my trip there. We spent the last day waiting for our evening train to Kerala in the bar/hotel were we had been staying. A place called Starco's which is sort of the hub of activty in Anjuna and was a fantastic place to stumble upon by accident. The people we met there were all really sound and with everyone gathered for one of the guys bithdays on the last day there was a big party. The drinks came and went and we got closer and closer to missing the train and staying there for another month. This probably would have been a regretful decision in many ways but we were just so comfortable there and when we realised our room was gone our decison was made.

I am glad of this now as i sit in beautiful Kerala awaiting a trip on the backwaters in a houseboat for the next two days (expensive but hopefully worth it). Anyway, I have fallen abit behind in the journal but while I did nothing in Goa... I was BUSY doing nothing and enjoying it as well. Even just a month of travelling and visiting the train station every two days starts to tire you out.

The philsophy in Goa was that of 'no hurry, no worries' and this was definately my kind of place. Everyone was happy to relax, leave you in peace (taxi drivers excluded) and the time flew by. The budget went out the window a bit with fresh seafood and cold beer on offer but was definatately worth it. We also had scooter to bolt around on for a couple of weeks and see the rest of Goa (arambol looked particularly good place to stay abit further up the coast). We quickly learned that transport in goa is essential as everywhere is quite spread out.

This year was noticably quiter in the whole of Goa according to everyone and it took right upon until newyears eve for the place to begin to jump. This was not a problem for us who were still happy to go to the bars and the occasional club but for those looking at Goa as a kind of more tropical Ibiza you are in the wrong place. Some places were constantly dead and you definately had to look hard for a party each night. At New Year this all changed and everywhere was mobbed with most (including myself) headng to a party at hilltop!. This involbed the usual newyear banter and everyone in good spirits and this followed on into the next day (as always).

As for the rest of the highlights, I would say the saturday night baazar at Ingos which had every type of food you could think of freshly made as well as music, fire dancers and similar, drink and of course shops (if thats what your interested in). The Anjuna market was also decent but of less interest to me personally. It was also great to have Jess's mum and sister out for 10 days over xmas, they got right in to the spirit of doing very little and having a relaxing holoday.

I will definately look back upon Goa as the sort of place I could live forever! Just trying to work out how I could earn the means to do this is the tricky part.

Mumbai

sambarton — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:55:00 GMT

Have been hanging around slick, attractive, clean and expensive mumbai the last few days. Is definately a city flying pretty high at the moment and if you want to work in a bank is definately a good place to be (millions of them). I really like the place though, is comfortable to walk around and there are lots of buildings that don't look like they are about to fall down, which is unusual in India. The streets are clean and wide with trees lining them and their are many parks where people chill and play cricket (they must have run out of footballs!)

Have stayed in two different parts of what is a massive city (both noisy and overpriced) but that is just the way it is here. If I return I shall arrive with a wad of cash, stay in the amzing Taj, eat like a king and hit the town. However, our budget has constricted us to wandering around and trying to find stuff to do for nowt. In saying this, I have just spent the last two hours in a posh restaurant eating fresh seafood (crab and indian salmon- which I wasn't aware existed. All good.

Everyone seems to be heading to Goa which is exactly what we are doing tomorrow morning. Lookking forward to it but also wish I could stay here for slightly longer. As always there is too much to see too little time. Mumbai is definately the place to be in India and there is a certain swagger about the young folk who frequent the bars and restaurants. One thing to bear in mind is the major tourist areas are awash with beggers, touts, annoying taxis and...amazingly enough, tourists!

All in all, despite some people bad mouthing the place in rajasthan, I thought Mumbai was a really good place to spend a few days. Catch you later!

Heading South

sambarton — Fri, 8 Dec 2006 20:46:00 GMT

Since I spoke to you last we have been to Jodhpur (twice), Jaisalmer and are now in a wee town next to the sea and quite far south called Daman. Jodhpur was a pretty big place and is dominated by the fort which towers above all the blue city below it. We were staying quite close to the fort originally in the family run, Cosy guesthouse. Was a decent place but I suppose I should have realised that 'family run' means screaming children! The tour of the fort was well worth the money with good views, lots to see and an interesting and helpful audio guide. As for the rest of the city I was slightly less impressed- incessant traffic and not much to see apart from the bazaars, but even these were more stressful than any I had seen before.

After 3 days there we headed to Jaisalmer which is a smaller place and this held a lot of appeal. The train journey was nice and relaxed but arriving at the station was a unique experience as tens of hotel touts shout and push behind a police barricade. We did use this to our advantage as we got a room for 100Rs and stayed there for two nights, then two in the fort itself. The lack of rickshaws in the tiny fort streets made it nice to walk around and we made use of the many roof top restaurants as we took it all in. The idea was for me to go on a day safari into the desert (Jess wasn’t up for it) but the weather ended that idea. Not much point on going to see the sunset in the desert when it is cloudy and raining. This signaled to us it was time to leave and the lack of drainage and truckloads of cow shit meant that the road became manky swamps and at least we weren’t the only ones who smelled on the train back to Jodhpur.

This time round we went to another hotel (Maharani) which had nice big rooms, was central and very cheap. We had also had a good banter with the owner over a bottle of old monk rum the last time round. He took us out of town to a cool club/bar on his moped and was a smashing night even if it did shut too early. The next morning we just made our train (5.30am) and went through the less than fun task of a 20hr journey south and out of Rajasthan.

In a sleepy town now and are the only westerners in the place which is a good thing. Although Rajasthan was beautiful it is such a well traveled route by tourists that you are constantly hassled for all sorts that involves handing over money. My patience was definitely starting to wane and we therefore decided to head south. It was nice then to find that ALL of the people we have spoken to here are friendly and have good intentions, one just wanted to slag off Man Utd and another bought us some fresh sugar cane juice. Daman does has a fair few Indian tourists though and is a good place to relax, even if the beaches are really dirty. With it being a convenient distance from Mumbai there is no rush for anything now (the way I like it).

Have to admit I am not missing all the Christmas build up back home that I know will be driving most mad. It is all good here and knowing I will be spending Christmas day under a palm tree with a cold beer and the sun beating down makes me happy (shame y’all couldn’t be here too). Hope everyone’s well, Sam.

If you were wondering where jessica’s input is you can find her journal which will of course be exactly the same with more thought, detail and pictures @ http://journals.worldnomads.com/jessikat

Gallery: Various India

sambarton — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:58:00 GMT

Into the Desert

sambarton — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:51:00 GMT

A single train journey in this country can take you from one extreme to another. We have left the mountains and via Delhi have spent the last few days in the capital of Rajasthan- Jaipur. It is a busy city and the rickshaw journeys here are as whiteknuckle as any rollercoaster I've been on. A really nice city though and it is refreshing to finally get the baking sun that I need! The stay was made all the nicer by the hotel we found being possibly one of the best budget hotels in the world. Although we splashed out slightly with this one @ 500Rupees a night per room (about 5 quid) it was worth it for the amazing roof terrece were we could chill, look at the views, take in the sun and run up a big tab on the bar and quality food. The room was nice as well and were tempted to stay longer but there is plenty places to see, plenty we cant see and we have a date in goa in a few weeks.

On the subject of places we have reluctantly decided to miss out on. One will come as a massive surprise to all....... The Taj Mahal. Now before I get slaughtered for not going we had a number of reasons and yes, I am aware that the one of the first questions I will be asked about India is, what was the taj mahal like? BUT we went to book the train to go on the Friday and found out it is closed on a Friday and we didn’t want another day in Delhi. Also I have read and heard many things about Agra and they are mainly bad and I was not to keen on putting myself through all the hassle. We also met other people in the train station who were off to Jaipur so we decided to get that train there instead and I think it was the right choice. After all, everyone knows I have never been much of a sucker for historical stuff.

As for Jaipur there was plenty to see and do here, millions of bazaars, monkey temple, fort, weird old school astrology centre and just generally wandering about the old (pink) city. The food was a constant hit here as well so filled up and ready to move on. Next is Jodphur (the blue city) and heard good things about this place also. Is generally pretty relaxed around rajasthan and just so different. Enjoying every minute and have yet to feel a twinge of boredom which I am happily surprised about. Even now we were a bit annoyed to find our train delayed by 3 hours but we are lucky enough to be at a station with an internet café and gives me a chance to give an update on the trip.

Speak to y’all later.

Plus. To all Man Utd, Rangers, Hearts fans etc. I can still rip to shreds your teams so called ability from thousands of miles away, I just wish I could speak to you all personally so you could apologize for not realizing earlier the mighty Celtics potential. Hail Hail

INDIA- Part 1

sambarton — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:08:00 GMT

Arriving in India was always going to be a full on experience that I doubt I will ever forget. Not only is is the first point of call on the world tour, my first backpacking adventure, but also it is a place of opposites compared to bonnie scotland. having said that it was a relief to finally arrive after all the build up and the sense of not knowing what to expect from India and imparticular- Delhi.

Was still pretty relaxed after a comfortable and uneventful journey and happy to feel the sun on my back since coming from dreich weather back home. Got an old school cab into town and yes it is a very very poor country. Some interesting, if slightly depressing sights on the way into the city and the traffic is crazy. The place we were staying was pretty decent and right on the main bazaar near the train station. The main street is quite something and preety hard to describe but will give it a go. The street is 12 feet wide at most with thousands of people, cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, cars, motorbikes, cows and even elephants. It is not a place to window shop as you are constantly dodging vehicles, beggers and folk trying every which way to get our money. This is I suppose whhat I exzpected from delhi and was a relief in some ways when we left the city a couple of days ago to head towards the himalayas.

We got the train six hours north to the foothils of the mountains and a place caled Kalka to change onto a 'toytrain' that rises 2000metres and passes through over 100 tunnels (god knows how they built it) but was an amazing journey to a town called Shimla. Built by the Brittish to avoid the summer heat of delhi it is a nice place in a wonderful setting and a refreshing experience after delhi. The main streets ban vehicles meaning you can hang out and enjoy the food and drink and the shops without getting runover. Our hotel looks out over the himalayas and the only drawback being it is very cold. This is all that is stopping us heading further into the mountains because it looks fantastic but we certainly dont have the appropriate gear. The plan is to stay here for another couple of days (I have digital tv and Celtic V Man Useless is tomorrow and I have to get my priorities right).

I also want to stress how amazing the food is here and there is so much new things for me to try. While on the trains everytime you stop there is guys coming on with freshly made samosas, meals, fresh friut and all sorts to help the journey pass ( and there will be many of those over the next few months). I have also tried a few of the local beers and spirits with differing quality (stay away from the sand piper beer i reccomend).

But over all a happy and exciting start to my trip and cant wait for the next instalment. Sam

Gallery: Friends

sambarton — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:15:00 GMT