Cat Ba Island.

After finishing our time in Ninh Binh we found ourselves with a dilemma; we wanted to go straight to Ha Long bay but from Ninh Binh it seemed that this was difficult to impossible, especially if you wanted to do a two day sail package as these all left from Hanoi. We looked up many companies online trying to get an idea of how to do a package if starting in Ninh Binh but really found nothing.

Our hotel owner saw us looking and suggested we go with a local company that did tours starting from Ninh Binh. Feeling unsure on what else we could do we took up the offer. As it turns out, this was our biggest mistake for Vietnam so far…

At first everything went smoothly: we paid for the 3 days at our hotel, and the price seemed very similar to offers we had seen online. The morning the tour started we were picked up promptly and taken on a bus with others who we assumed were on tour with us. We smiled and chatted and secretly thought to ourselves it was lucky we had chosen to go this way.

The bus dropped us off at the boats that would take us out to Cat Ba, our base for Ha Long bay. There was some confusion with the boats, but eventually we got tickets given to us and were able to board. Once off the boats, buses loaded us on and took us the rest of the way onto the main part of the island. So far, so good.

When we got off the buses, everyone else was greeted by people running their tours, or wandered off to their hostels, as they had been smart and not pre booked anything and simply made their way to the island. We stood there for 20 minutes and then realised no one was coming for us.

I went and found a tourist info centre and asked her to ring our tour company to see what was happening. She did, and our tour company said she would call our hostel now and get us a lift. 20 minutes later and thankfully someone came to get us, however they seemed completely confused as to what was happening; at this point, so were we.

We arrived at the hostel and were greeted by the owner, he checked us in and offered us a meal. We checked in and ate, thankful it seemed to be working out. After lunch I asked about our Ha Long boat ride that we were meant to have and if the rest of the group was here yet. He looked at me funnily, and I had to explain yet again we had bought a package and were meant to be doing the following itinerary etc. He looked a little panicked, then asked us to wait a few minutes while he made some calls.

Half an hour passed and he came back to let us know our boat was ready. I looked around expecting others to be here for it also, but it was just us. We were driven down to the boating dock, where we were introduced to a nice middle aged man with little to no english, who smiled and took us over to his mates and gave us a beer.

Soon, through broken conversation we gathered he was our boat captain and he asked us if he could take his mates out with us. We figured why not, as we were the only two on the trip.

In the brochure our tour company gave us it had said we would be on a ‘sail boat’ with others from our group. I’ll let you decide if this was what we got…

Stu, myself and the four rather intoxicated locals we had just met loaded onto the small fishing boat and soon we were all sat comfortably with beer in hand. It was not what we had expected, but the guys seemed fun and like they really wanted us to have a good time, so we smiled and figured ‘lets just go with it and see what happens’.

We sat and chatted in broken english as we sailed through the bay. The captain pointed out where each of the boys lived amongst the floating houses that make up the small fishing village. The boys kept handing us more and more beer while getting increasingly giddy themselves, even our captain was a little worse for wear by the time we had cruised to the other side of the bay, confessing he may have also had a smoke of something that was making him giggle.

Once across, the boys docked the boat at the floating house, where we were able to grab a canoe and head out in the bay for an hour paddle or so.

The paddle was good fun, but once again not what was promised. On the brochure the large sail boat would have had the canoes with it, and dropped us at certain locations so that we could paddle through caves etc to little secluded beaches. Where we were we could do none of this, so we paddled around one island and poked around to see if we could find some caves, but overall found nothing of particular interest.

Paddle done, we returned to the floating hose to find our guides even more drunk then before. They handed us another beer and soon we were back on the boat, laughing as the guys sang and joked in drunken frivolity.

Our next stop was an island where you could climb a small mountain to watch the sunset. The boys dropped us off and settled back onto the boat for a few more drinks while we explored. While on the island we met a french couple who were looking for a lift off the island. We chatted and shared our beer and then as the sunset we took them with us to the boat and asked to take them with us.

Our guide seemed excited by the prospect of more people to drink with, so he agreed and soon we were all drinking, playing music and heading back towards Cat Ba.

The local boys loved the cy-trance on the steel drum.

The ride home was fun, and while we had not done what we had expected we had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. On getting back to the dock our captain begged his wife to let us come for dinner, but seeing him and his mates drunk seemed to make her feel less inclined towards guests, so we excused ourselves and went back to the hostel.

At the hostel we were greeted by a pre arranged meal, but the food was so bad we ate hardly any of it. We checked with the owner about what would be happening tomorrow and he assured us it was all arranged. Tired, and knowing we had an early start we headed to bed.

The next day we woke early and had a light breakfast, then we jumped into a car that took us to the Cat Ba National park where we were to do a hike. We met our guide there, and soon we were off, hiking through the forest as our guide pointed out different plants and animals.

The hike was good, but what was sold to us as a ‘jungle adventure’ was more an hour walk up to a view point and back down. Sweaty and puffed, we bundled back into our car and headed for town.

Lunch was again pre arranged and was some of the most foul seafood I have had; either undercooked or so overcooked it was like leather. We ate what we could and then checked what we were meant to do next. The owner shrugged and said he though it was free time this afternoon, so we could do our own thing. We decided to head for the beach, but the weather soon turned and cold rain poured down, so we spent most of the afternoon at the hostel reading.

Dinner time came and once again the food was terrible. We decided that even though it would cost us, we would head into town and try some food elsewhere. We ended up at a small restaurant in town, chowing down on a spicy mango curry and ice cold beer.

While in town we checked around to see what prices were for the activities we had been doing; this is when we realised how over priced our trip was. Even with food and accomodation included, it was a good 50 – 100 american dollars cheaper to have simply come to Cat Ba ourselves and then arrange everything on the spot. Especially as we had not really got what we had expected, it felt a little like salt in the wounds.

Regardless, the next day we woke up, ready early to go the the gunnery and be taken around the island. The owner explained they had forgotten to organise this, so instead gave us a scooter to drive around the island on for the morning.

From the gunnery there were good views of the bay and we hiked around the area, making our own fun by playing with the statues and taking a tonne of photos. We the took the scooter around the island for a few hours, but soon tired of this and headed back to the hostel a little before lunch.

Lunch was served and once again it was not the greatest, so we ate what we could and washed it down with a beer. After lunch it came time to check out so that we could catch a boat/bus to Hanoi and this was when our next shock came.

I went up to thank the owner and pay for our beer (as alcohol was not included) when he  asked me for over 200 American! I looked at him dumbfounded, and again pointed out we were doing a package and all of it, minus the few beers we had was included. He shook his head and asked again, but I said that if he wanted that money it was with our tour company and he best ring them. A heated 10 minute phone call between the owner and our tour company and he finally accepted that we were not to pay anything to him.

We jumped on the bus, half glad to get away from Cat Ba.

Overall, the experience was not bad, but the knowledge that for a far cheaper price we could have more fun lingered over our heads for a few days. It seemed like the tour we landed on was not really a tour at all, and that it was last minute thrust upon our poor hostel owner to organise, so in no way do I blame him. However, if you are heading to Cat Ba from Ninh Binh, don’t take an organised tour; buy tickets to Cat Ba and arrange the rest yourself, your wallet and experience will thank you.

What we wish we knew before: India.

5 weeks is not enough

I suppose that this is a personal feeling, but India stole my heart and I was not ready to leave when the time came. We had chosen 5 weeks based on many things: friends who had done a month and felt that was enough, other blogs and reviews but mainly due to our desire to keep moving through south east asia before our set arrival date for China in April.

In 5 weeks we did get to see a vast majority of the well known areas of India at a relatively comfortable pace, however we left ourselves no time to head to the less touristy destinations further north and to the east and this is something we would love to return to do.

I suppose, just expect to fall in love with the place and be ready for a tearful farewell.

 

Goa is massive

Goa is not a place, its a province and as such it takes over four hours to get from the top to the bottom of Goa. Each area in Goa has its own vibe, so its well worth deciding whether you want to party, relax or have a blend of both and research before booking. Many people head to Anjuna for the music scene there, and for good reason. There is anything from cytrance to r’n’b and clubs have themed nights, world class DJ’s and good live music most nights. It’s also the place where the party never seems to stop, so staying in the heart of it may not be a relaxing beach getaway. Further south, the vibe seems to unwind a little and good live music, clean beaches and waterfront huts await. We chose Palolem as it had been recommended to us and it didn’t disappoint.

 

Street food is generally ok.

For the first week or so, Stu and I avoided the street food as we weren’t ready to risk it. But once we started eating it we didn’t want to stop! Some of the best dishes we had in our whole time in india were thanks to street food, but here are a few tips on how to get delicious street food that won’t end with you wrapped around the toilet!

1.Pick the stalls where you can see there prep area. If it’s clean, you’re on to a winner.

2. Vegetarian is always safer. Street vendors don’t have anyway of cooling their meats, so unless its early in the day, vegetarian is safest.

3. Know your spice level. Foods here are rich, and often people can also get sick as they get a spice overload. Most vendors speak some English, so you can ask to taste a sauce first if you’re a little worried.

 

Litter

If you are like me and find it hard to resist picking up others litter and launching into a lecture about the harm it can do, India is going to test your patience. It seems that due in parts to the engrained caste system (where it is the lowest classes job to clean up the rubbish) and relatively new nature of plastics being used for every food item that India looks like a rubbish dump.

Indian’s will not think twice before unwrapping their food and casually tossing the rubbish wherever they happen to be. I have had to pretend not to be furious as people lent over me on the train to throw out wrapper after wrapper from their food.

The cities seem to be getting better with their waste management, however anywhere else is still bad.

 

Embrace the Chai

Masala chai is the life blood of this place. Its spicy, sweet flavour will have you addicted in no time. Embrace it, you will end up drinking it at breakfast, everytime you are greeted at new accomodation, as dessert etc etc. It’s awesome, so go with it.

 

There are some beautiful beaches

Don’t just think of India as hot and dirty, it possesses beautiful beaches to rival any of those we have seen in our travels… white sands, palm trees and beach front huts for the fraction of a cost of Thailand or Bali. There’s also a pretty good night life if you want it. See our Palolem post.

 

Bargaining 

This was our first country where we really needed to barter. It took us a while to find our feet but what we found was they would start at a cost that was double what they would sell for, so we would either hear their price and think about what we thought was fair (usually a little more than the lowest price they would go) and state that number and not budge, or go for half what they quoted and be willing to move up from that number by a small margin.

Starting to walk away is also helpful, as we found that if we had tried bargaining and they would only move the price a little, walking away proved if they were just hoping we would buy it anyway, or if they wouldn’t budge because selling lower wasn’t worth it for them. Usually as we moved away one of two things occurred: they would relent and give a far better price closer to what you had asked, or shake their head sadly and let you go.

 

Trains v buses

We cannot objectively give you the best advice here as despite all our plans to take the train, we never got to take one! What we can say is that people we met who travelled via train said it was great because:

• you could lay down comfortably
• you were able to get up whenever you needed
• each ride is only around 4 – 10 dollars

Some things they found a little harder was:

• being able to get a sleeper ticket before date of travel was hard, you had to go to the station and buy a foreigner ticket (there is a certain number on each train dedicated to this) so sometimes (not often) you could be without a train.
• The trains don’t stop for long at each place, so you need to be ready to get off when the train stops or your riding it one stop further!

Buses:

We liked them because:

• The price was often the same or only a dollar more than the sleeper train.
• We could book them before our travel dates.
• Most sleepers had a single or double bed option, so you could lay down comfortably.

What we found challenging:

• The amount of sleep you get is very dependent on the quality of the roads. We did wake up as we were getting air a few times.
• You can only get up when the bus makes a stop. The bus usually stops 2 times during the ride, one time around 10pm for food and beverages, another in a early hours which is purely for a quick toilet break.

 

Taj tickets

Oh, how we wish we had known this one before we went. YOU DONT BUY YOUR TAJ TICKETS AT THE TAJ ENTRY GATES! Nope, instead, you have to line up at a small office, which, on the day we went was only manned by 1 person for foreign tickets. We had arrived at the Taj 10minutes before it opened at 6am, only to be told the tickets were 1km behind us on the road leading to the south gate. We ran back to the ticket office to find we were joining a line 100 people deep, as only 1 person was manning the foreign ticket line! Over 40 minutes later, we finally had tickets only to race back to find the lines at the gate were now 100 people long, with men and women separated for checking. This meant I took another hour, while poor Stu, who got in ages before me, had to wait half hour inside. All this meant we missed the sunrise, but thankfully we were still early enough that the sky had a misty quality and our photos came out looking alright.

To avoid this hassle, go and join the ticket queue the evening before (we have been told this is possible, but no guarantees), around 430 is probably best as not many people are buying ticket that late. Ask for a ticket for the next day, and head there before 6am to line up. That way you will pretty much have the Taj to yourself.

 

Holi stains

Holi stains, it’s part of the fun. However, when you’re blonde, or not a fan of your face being purple of green for a week afterwards, there are some ways to avoid the staining.

The main way to avoid the stains is through using coconut oil on both your hair and your skin. If you put enough of it on, you essentially create a barrier between yourself and the paint. Ask locals the best places to buy the Holiday colour too. Many places selling the very cheap holi use dyes that may hurt your eyes/skin, so go for a little pricier if you have sensitive skin and try not to let kids rub it into you, just throw it on you.

And overall remember it’s holi, you will not look good, you will get wet and anything your wearing will never be ok again! But in the end its an amazingly fun day where you get to see the joy of the Indian people in full force as they become naughty little kids regardless of age.

 

Camels in Jaisalmer.

Don’t expect the Sahara desert. A camel ride here is essentially taking all tourists to the same set of sand dunes an hour camel ride from the highway. Is got its own charm, but it is not some big adventure into the wilderness. Also shop around, pretty much every hotel in town also has a branch doing camel rides. For us, the one we chose in the end was no where near what we expected. We had had another man that morning try to get us to do his camel ride, and all the reviews in his little book talked about the fun around the campfire, the delicious food and the home made whiskey that they all drank before bed. We had declined, as the place we were staying ran their own camel rides and we wanted to check that out first.

It sounded the same in the brochure our hostel showed us, so we went with his. We should have asked to see the review book… we rode for an hour on the camels before we stopped. We thought it was for a break only, but then saw our camel leaders unpacking the camels. Our leaders didn’t interact with us at all, there was no campfire and no drinks or stories from the camel riders about their lives in the desert. While sleeping on the dunes under the stars was impressive, we still left feeling a little underwhelmed. So shop around and make sure the package you buy suits you!

 

Bring pens

The desert kids don’t usually ask for money, but if they spot you they are hoping for some stationary for school. The kids we ran into were walking home from school and were super disappointed when we didn’t have pens or other stationary for them.

 

You’ll want to adopt so many kids and puppies.

Seeing so many kids unwashed, desperately trying to get money off you is sad, tragic really. But giving them money is also often not the answer, as if they make money for the family, the family is less likely to want to send them to school. I wish I could say there is a perfect solution to this where you can help them, but as yet there is not. Finding a local, Indian ran charity that is trusted in India and donating what you would want to give to the children you see is probably the best way to know your money is going towards helping them get better food and education.

If you’re an animal lover like me it will also be quite hard to turn away from all the stray animals. As dogs are also important in Hinduism, they normally are given food by families each day, however they often still look sick and the very people who feed them seem to feel nothing when they kick them or push them away as they walk. There are also charities doing good work with these animals, but it varies city to city, so if you want to help out or donate, ask around the town you are in at the time.

 

Always ask to see the room!

Pre booking in India can be a little dangerous. While nearly everywhere we stayed was to a pretty high standard and for a good price, the few times we pre booked and didn’t see the room first we were left paying a high price for very little.

 

Costs:

Food: anywhere between 50 rupees to 350 rupees per dish. on average we spent 10aud for two on each meal.

Drinks: water should always be 20 rupees. soft drinks etc are around 30 – 80 and beers 100 to 250.

Accommodation: really depends on where you are. We never really paid over 20aud and in some places like Jaipur it was maybe 3aud each per night.

Sightseeing: average of 5 – 15aud, though the Taj came in at about 20aud each.

Transport:

Night buses: 400 – 1000 (8 – 20aud)

Sleeper class trains: 200 – 1000 (4 – 20aud)

PT (around each town): 20 – 60

Tuk Tuk: 50rupees per km MAX. (try and get them to use their metre, remind them it is illegal not to or don’t get in until they agree on the price.)

Uber: In bigger towns this is the cheapest way to get around (ex. PT)

Average spend daily: 40 – 80aud (big difference depending on accomodation costs and food/drink pricing versus city to country.)

Agra and Dehli

Like everyone else who goes there, we were all headed to Agra for one thing: The Taj. Waking up around 8 and a little rusty, we showered and waited for the others to wake up so that we could head for breakfast and the bus together.

Finally everyone was ready, and after a quick breakfast and chai from the nearest open store we were on our way to the bus. The bus stop was like many in India, super confusing with people telling you any number of things about where to find your bus. We all kept asking and thankfully within 15 minutes we were able to find a bus yelling for passengers to Agra. We all piled on and were pleasantly surprised to find it cost less than we had been quoted, only 6 dollars per person for the whole way there.

The bus ride went smoothly, taking the most direct route possible and therefore not only proving to be cheaper than what we had been quoted, but also over 2 hours faster! While none of us were staying in the same hostels, we were all thankfully staying within 50metres of each other so we split into two Tuk Tuks upon arrival and headed swiftly to our accomodation.

Stu and I decided with Alex that we would all get up early and meet to to go the Taj at 5.45 the next morning, so Stu and I figured we would spend the afternoon just taking a look around the town and the surroundings of the Taj. On our way out we saw  Theo, so we changed our plans and joined him and the group he had just met at his hostel to go and take a boat to see the Taj from its east side.

When we got down to the ‘river’ it was quite a sight. One guy on a rickety wooden flat top boat amidst a sea of rubbish and sludge, so thick that the water looked as if you could walk over it and it would hold your weight.

Not the cleanest river…

Undeterred, we boarded the guys boat for 100 ruppees each to catch the Taj from its side as the sun set. It was well worth the two dollars to see it. The sun caught the Taj in a way that made it sparkle and seeing it from the water was just something different to what many others experience. The driver of the boat was also super chilled and he joked and laughter with us as he told us about his life in Agra and what he knew about the Taj.

After getting off the boat we headed into the town to hunt down a place for dinner. We had heard that ‘treat’ restaurant was really good and had a nice little rooftop that you could sit on which was perfect for people watching while you ate. We were met by a lovely middle aged man who took us up the stairs and gave us a few recommendations. We settled on the the two local specialty dishes and had a dessert of coconut pudding and chocolate pudding which we mixed together to create potentially the nicest dessert I’ve had to date. The food was great and the price was very reasonable. Full and with the knowledge that we needed to be up super early the next morning, we headed back to the hostel for a shower and some shut eye.

The night was an interesting one. Everyone in our dorm was planning an early morning like ours, so by 11 the dorm was quiet. We all managed to get to sleep relatively quickly and the cooling in the room made it easy to stay that way. The problem came around 230am when a hostel worker barged in, turned on all the lights, checked beds and left. 20mins later he was back, lights once again all on. Someone came to claim the free bed and too a good 20 to settle in. This same person then asked for a wake up call at 5am! Needless to say. sleep was relatively interrupted in those wee hours, making our 530am get up even harder.

Nevertheless we got up, dressed quietly and left the room as quickly as possible to leave others catch a little more shut eye. We got downstairs just as Alex did and soo we were headed towards the Taj.

We all smiled at each other as we jumped in line; only 10 people where in front of us. But then we spotted something… they all had tickets! I asked the guy in front of me where they had got those from, and to our horror he said the ticket office was actually down near where our hostel was; you couldn’t buy tickets on the door.

We felt gutted.

Instead of panic, we walked at close to a jog back to the ticket office. When we got there it seemed ok from the outside… but inside was only one attendant and a line almost 100 deep. The boys lined up and i waited outside, watching as the sun started to rise on what was going to be a hot but beautiful day in Agra.

It took over half an hour, but finally the boys had tickets and we jumped in a Tuk Tuk in the hope of getting back faster. As we got back though we saw another sight set to gut us – the line was now a good 100 people deep and moving at snail pace. As with everything in India, men and women had to undergo seperate security checks and this meant that while Stu was in within half an hour, I took a full hour just to get inside the gate.

Feeling frustrated I got inside the walls of the complex around 830 – over two hours after our scheduled arrival. But if there is something that will be able to make you shake off any negative energy, its the Taj and as soon as I set eyes on it any issues from the morning dissolved into the background.

 

The place is genuinely breath taking. It lived up to all I had imagined plus some. There’s really not much I can say to really do this place justice. It is just the kid of place you need to go and be in the presence of to truly appreciate.

We took our time, wandering around and taking it in from every vantage point. Of course, we also took a tonne of photos. I’ll spare you the whole photo reel, but her is a few…

After taking in the Taj one last time, we headed for lunch and then to the bus stand to catch the next bus to Delhi.

Jodphur

We had been told not to expect much from this city, but we found we loved it. Blue from head to toe, Jodphur’s streets were alive with the lead up to Holi when we arrived and held immense charm.

Kids played outside their blue houses, practicing drums, trumpets and more. Women chatted in doorsteps and gave broad grins as you walked past and men talked and laughed as they made their way about the streets. Cows, goats, dogs and chickens roamed almost every part of this city and people seemed completely used to their presence.

For Jodphur we had not pre-booked a hotel, but we had looked up a new hotel called LG guesthouse and figured we would head there and check it out first. We had the usual issue of the bus dropping us nowhere near the centre of town, so after a Tuk Tuk in (during the ride this Tuk Tuk also took us the wrong way in the hopes of convincing us to stay at his hotel, not the one we asked to be taken to) we were finally dropped at our desired destination.

The hotel was amazing. Fresh blue and white paints stood out against the mainly worn buildings in the street. Hand painted murals finished off the grand look and the hotel owner was one of the nicest we had met in our travels. The room was equivalent to 10aud a night, but well worth the extra couple of dollars for the amazingly hot, well pressurised shower and super comfortable bed.

Our guesthouse, right under the cities fort.

As we had arrived rather late, we quickly checked in, then headed across the road to a rooftop restaurant we could see from our accommodation. We tried some of the dishes traditional to Jodphur (names escape me now, I forgot to write them down!) and had a beer as we watched the sun set over this truly unique city.

The next day saw us head to the cities fort in the morning. While we readied ourselves for the morning and had a free chai, the guesthouse owners daughter saw me sketching and ran over to show me her henna designs. Soon I was sat getting Henna. I gave her 150 rupees for her work and she did a truly lovely job. Henna done, we headed to the fort.

Early morning henna

Overlooking the city from the highest point in town meant the fort cut an impressive figure. While we had seen many forts in the last few weeks, we decided it was worth a look. The fort was expensive, and without paying even more you couldn’t take photos, but with a museum inside as well as amazingly preserved rooms from some of the original northern Indian royalty, it was well worth a look.

Sneaky shots from inside the forts palace.

We finished our tour around the fort by midday, so we headed into town to grab a coffee and some food. We tried some samosas and other street food snacks from the various vendors near the clocktower and then settled in to the clock tower cafe for a coffee. The coffee here was good and it was nice to sit and watch the chaos of this very noisy, crowded city from a small distance. While drinking our coffees we spotted the couple from the camel tour so we waved them over, only to find out they were also staying at LG guesthouse. Two coffee later and we left them to their own exploring and we headed back into the chaos of the markets to look for present and other goodies for people back home.

The markets were a sea of colour, and after some clever bargaining we left with presents and a few personal items in hand for a price we felt very happy with. We once again had dinner at the rooftop restaurant before heading home early to get some shut eye before our very early 630am train back to Jaipur.

Jaisalmer

We headed to Jaisalmer with only one thing on our minds: A night of sleeping under the stars on a sand dune after a long Camel ride.

The bus rolled into town around 6am, and we were told that we got a ‘free’ lift to our accommodation. We didn’t believe it so started walking, but then the driver of the bus insisted this was correct and that we should take the offer. So we did… to a different hotel than ours.

The hotel owners said that they were wanting to show us their rooms and details on the camel tour they ran, so on the promise of free chai we headed upstairs, weary and a little annoyed to listen to what they had to sell. The owner showed us review of his camel ride and really tried to sell it. It actually sounded really good, but I was miffed at being tricked into doing business with him, so we declined and said we wanted to check with our accomodation first. Suddenly the chai wasn’t free and no lift to our hostel available, so we walked away and any chance of business for that man completely disappeared.

Arriving at our hostel we were greeted by a friendly young owner and shown to a clean, comfortable dorm room. We met a young American couple and got along quickly, and they talked to us about the camel ride offered by the hostel. It sounded good though no reviews were available unlike at the other hotel, so we were taking a little bit of a risk. However we felt it was a good option as at least we would be going with two people we clicked with so we signed on and that afternoon we all headed out for our ‘Safari’.

Be warned, the ride there is strange. The driver will stop at random villages on the way and tell you go get out and look around. Essentially you are walking through peoples backyards and peering in at their lifestyle, which makes you feel rather uneasy as you seem to be seeing them as an exhibit rather than people. After the first stop we all agreed we didn’t want to do anymore, so we asked the driver to just drive directly to the camels and thankfully he did. These stops are apparently something nearly all tour operators include so ask about these before you go.

Getting safari ready.

We got the the camels and two men dressed in traditional desert attire helped us onto our camels. No one seemed to speak a lot of English, so everything was done through gesture. It worried us a little, as the other hotels review had talked about how the guides sang songs, talked about their life and customs and sat up with you telling storied and having a few drinks around a campfire. It seemed this may not happen on ours.

riding into the dunes to find camp

The camel ride started, and while we all talked to joked, getting the guides involved was hard work. After about two hours of riding we stopped for what we thought was just a short break. Then we saw our guides starting to unpack the camels and make a fire and we realised that we were riding no further. They soon brought us some Chai and water, so we sat and chatted while they started dinner preparations. I went over and tried to indicate I wanted to help or watch, but that seemed to make them feel uncomfortable so I dropped it and the four of us decided to go explore the dunes instead.

chilling at camp

best dressed award…

rolling in the dunes like a little kid

it was more fun than it should be at 27!

Rolling around in the dunes and watching the sunset done, we headed back to camp to find that dinner was almost ready. As the sky darkened we sat down to a dinner of rice and a cabbage based dish. It had little flavour, but thankfully there was a pretty good chilly sauce handy to give it some life. As soon as we had eaten, the campfire was put out, so we figured that our chances of stories and sing-a-longs were slim to none. We sat and chatted for a few hours, then all of us decided to take our bedding and go and find ourselves a spot to sleep. It was only 8pm, so Stu and I chatted for a while longer before we finally drifted off.

The sleep on the dunes was suprisingly the most comfortable, quite sleep we had had so far in our whole trip. We slept without even drifting awake even once and woke feeling cosy and comfortable on the soft sand. As we heard others start to move around us we headed from our little sleep spot back to camp for a breakfast of boiled eggs, bread and bananas, before getting back on the camels for the two hour walk back to the awaiting car.

Overall, the trip was good, but we felt a little down about the lack of interaction we were able to have with our guides. I have since read reviews on many other companies and most of them have guides who speak some English and regularly engage, so check around town with different tour providers to find the one that suits you. Our probably would have been perfect if we were looking for romance or solitude, but it didn’t hit our mark of wanting to learn more about the culture. Choose wisely.

Trip over, we went to the hostel to shower and decided to stay another night so that we could explore the town that day/night before taking the lunchtime bus.

We spent the day looking through markets, having a late lunch/early dinner at Pleasant Haveli (great food, excellent service) and then sitting up with our hostel owner and having some very earnest conversations about customs and expectations for young men and women in India. Talking to our hostel owner, who was from the desert, was fascinating as it gave us an insight into how education and working with people of different beliefs has shaken his faith in the way things ‘just are’. He was already promised to a girl for marriage and was not looking forward to it and talked to us about how some of the customs in the desert are, in his opinion, 100 years behind the rest of the world. His enthusiasm for change and want to listen, critique and reflect gave me even more hope that India is moving forward for its young people.

 

Jaipur.

Finally we were heading North. The south of India had been fantastic, but we had heard amazing stories of the food and culture in the North and were keen to get there to see it all for ourselves.

With Holi festival only a short time away, we decided to do only 1 night in Jaipur then leave for Jailsmere. We planned to do Holi in Jaipur, so we would have more sightseeing time then. We organised with our hostel,  Pink turban hostel to return at Holi and go to an event they were helping organise. We figured we could still get the Amber fort and one other item ticked off the list while we were here the first time round, so map in hand we headed off that afternoon to explore the town and see Nahargarh fort (also known as the tiger fort).

The steep climb took us a good half an hour and having us wish we had a motor bike. Puffing, but still alive, we tried to figure out where we were meant to go now that we were at the top. There was a wax museum and exhibition area behind a gate to one side and a ruinous amphitheatre to the other. From the amphitheatre you couldn’t see the city, so puzzled we decided to see if you had to go via the Wax museum to get to the viewing areas. It turned out we could simply walk through the gate, bypass the ticketing area for the museum and walk down a smaller path to the side of the building to get to the old castle and the point where you could look over the city.

The view from halfway up to Nahargarh fort.

When we got to the castle area, we saw that there was a restaurant at the top of the hill. We figured the beers would be expensive there, but a beer on a balcony at sunset while you gazed over a city sounded enticing. And it would have been fantastic, if we had gone. As we got to the entrance of the restaurant we saw that it was 200 rupees per person just for the privilege of going in! This would have made for some VERY overpriced drinks, so we opted to watch the sunset from a viewing point just underneath it.

Sunset over the fort

We ended our day by walking down to the town below, grabbing a taxi to Kaylan rooftop restaurant, as Stu was feeling not so great and wanted something western where I wanted Indian and this place was meant to be very good at both. We were met by a cheery Lady as we entered, who turned out to be the owner. She poured us free chai and sat with us to have a chat before talking us through the menu. I ended up with one of the best vegetarian curries I had for the trip, the mushroom Bahje, and Stu’s four cheese pasta also went down a treat. After another cup of free chai and a chat about Jaipur and the owners life there, we headed home full and happy.

The next day we rose early and headed to the markets to grab some fresh food to make our own breakfast, a luxury when you haven’t cooked for yourself in over a month. The market wasn’t really running that day (or we were in the wrong spot, not sure) so finding the ingredients was hard, but we managed to gather everything we needed for a good omelette for super cheap. Breakfast done, we headed to Narayan Singh Circle bus stop and jumped on the AC5 (one of about 3 buses that go via the fort, just yell at the money collector hanging out the bus and if they are going there they’ll usher you on) which took us to the fort in around 40 minutes.

The fort is imposing and gives you an idea of the might of the empire at the time it was built. A winding staircase overlooking a large moat and still stunning (in places) gardens lead you up to the main gates and you cannot help but feel a sense of awe as you imagine it in it’s glory years.

We had been told it was worth the 200 rupees for a guide here due to the rich history of the site. Be careful not to fall for one of the ‘fake’ guides at the bottom of the stairs as you walk towards the fort. Wait until you get to the gates of the fort and make sure your guide has a government issued pass to certify he is allowed to be a guide within the fort.

At architecture and history of this building is phenomenal. Every small element of the building is not just ornate, but serves to keep the building warm, cool, dark or light. The stories of the kings and their many wives, the sacrificial practices that still take place at the fort today and the stories of failed invasions and lavish parties come to life as you walk with your guide.

This fort is definitely on my must see list of forts in India.

Feeling like we had learnt something and seem a real gem of India’s history, we headed back to town for dinner before taking the night bus to Jaisalmer.

Back to Bangalore.

Feeling rested and revitalised it was time to say a reluctant goodbye to Palolem and head back to Bangalore to hit up the cricket and have the privilege of going to our friends son’s naming ceremony. An overnight bus thankfully went directly from Palolem to Bangalore so for 500 rupees each we were able to get back to Bangalore relatively cheaply and easily.

It felt good to go back to a previously visited city as we now had a bit more confidence with directions, places to eat and what things should cost. We jumped off the bus and ordered an Uber to avoid paying too much for the Cabs that are always circling like vultures as each bus arrives and headed directly for Vaisha’s family home which would be our accomodation for the next few days.

Vaisha, Dave and their family welcomed us warmly and we were soon seated around the kitchen table drinking chai and discussing the main reason we had come back – Zia’s naming ceremony.

A child’s naming ceremony is apparently the second biggest event in an Indian persons life – the most important being their marriage – so we were told to expect a lot of people. We were also told it was a fancy event, so traditional Indian clothes were best. Both Stu and I didn’t have anything and were not super keen on spending money on items we may only wear once, so Vaisha and her family were kind enough to lend Stu a traditional shirt and myself a Sari.

With final preparations needing to be made and us tired after then night bus we decided to retire to our room and have a nap mainly to stay out of the way and allow the family some time together. As evening rolled in we all got dressed up and piled into cars to head out to the country club where the party was to be held.

It took a moment for me to take in everything as we walked into the party. The whole pool and outdoor area had been decorated and a stage erected at one end that was covered with flowers and silk drapes as the backdrop. A good 5m worth of tables lined the back fence where food was laid out and served to the 100+ guests who were already there. We picked a table near the stage and sat down and for the whole night we found ourselves hardly speaking as we tried to take in all the colours, customs and fun of the night.

The night saw friends and family come to say good luck to Zia and offer him gifts as is the custom. Zia was a champion, hardly grizzling as he dealt with 4 hours of cuddles, cheek pinches and kisses from everyone his parents knew. It was a lovely event to watch. 11pm rolled around and there was the offer of a lift home so we jumped in with the neighbours and headed home to bed.

The next day saw the whole house sleep in. Around 9 movement started as we all got ready for another full on day. Myself, Dave and Stu were to head to the cricket and also go and watch Vaisha’s Dad speak at a University rally (he is an activist who fights for equality and the end to the caste/gender discrimination that is still present in India).

The rally was held due to the politically motivated suicide of a student. The student had committed suicide as he was an activist against caste discrimination and he felt his complaints and arguments were failing to get the attention they needed. In a desperate attempt to try and highlight the damage that this discrimination was causing himself and others of his caste within Universities he ended his life. The rally saw students from all over the area come to listen to over 20 speakers who lectured on the need to end this type of discrimination. It was amazing to see the way the youth of India seemed to want change and how hungrily they listened to the speakers. It gave me the feeling that India is going through massive change and that their young generation is the one who will really make it happen.

We left the rally and headed for the cricket. It was a test, so the crowd wasn’t to capacity but they still had enough energy to make the game feel electric. Stu got on TV multiple times much to the delight of our families and friends back home and with the day seemingly won by Australia we headed to the pub for a drink before home for dinner.

 

The next day was more cricket and meeting some lovely young locals to chat to and then dinner at a local restaurant with Vaisha, Dave and Zia. Happy and tired we went to bed early in preparation for our 7am flight to Jaipur.

Palolem

If Anjuna is the party animal of Goa, then that makes Palolem its sleepy, laid back sister. Situated around 3 hours south of Anjuna, it has clean white sand, clear water and only the most basic of structures and accomodation which lead to it feeling removed from the fast pace of the rest of India.

Almost all of the accomodation in Palolem is tiny beach shacks. We chose to stay with Rococo Pelton as there shacks had good reviews and were a little cheaper than some as they were not directly on the beach (they were still close enough that you could hear the wave crashing as if they were in your room at night though) and as there seemed to be little available on booking.com. With most other towns we had simply rocked up and had a hotel in mind and would go there and inspect it first, but we were worried that due to a Hindu festival being on at the same time that there may not be any room if we didn’t pre book.

Getting off the bus after our four hour journey that included 3 buses (they all connect easily and the conductors at each station are very helpful in pointing you in the right direction) and a lot of stopping while Stu regained his wellness, we arrived to find our worries about lack of accomodation offers was unfounded. As we stepped off the bus we had at least 3 people approach us with the offer of accomodation on the beach for 600 rupees, 400 less a night then we were paying. We didn’t see this accomodation so I cannot comment on its quality, but I was told by Rococo Peltons manager that there are still many places in Palolem that do not advertise online so rocking up and trying your luck here is still a good option.

Our shack was very basic, but it had everything we needed for our stay. Cold only shower, comfortable enough bed, fan that was enough to cool you at night and most importantly access to the beach 24/7 as it was only 100m away.

I could write about the next 3 days in detail, but in truth it would probably bore you as all we really did was lay around, swim, play cards and I had a few drinks and watched live music each night while Stu stayed off chilli and the drink to try and get his stomach right. There was also a carnival put on by the local youth group which was great fun and saw the whole community turn out. Overall Palolem really felt like a place of community; many people we met had been coming there for years and the locals seemed happy to get to know you.

Rather than write anything more for this post, I’ll leave you with some photos of the beauty of this place and the gorgeous little carnival we had the pleasure to be part of.

Anjuna.

Goa… undoubtedly known as the place to go if you want sun, sand and parties and Anjuna potentially the heart of this scene. With clubs lining the beaches, cheap drinks and cheap accomodation it attracts backpackers and the young at heart.

On a tip from our friends we headed for Paradise Guest house, on the road leading to sunset point. The Guest house is laid back, has good beds, your own patio with chairs and table, HOT water (a super bonus) and about a dozen cute kitties and dogs roaming around ready to give you love. As it is not right near the clubs on the main beach, it is also quiet and the restaurants are not as overpriced.

Anjuna is also a place where it is best to rent a scooter. The beaches within walking distance are fine, but usually they are very busy and with all the clubs they can be rather noisy. If you’re looking for secluded, less touristic beaches they are all half hour south. We unfortunately didn’t get a bike a the tummy bug got Stu, so staying local seemed a must.

We decided to spend the first day in town and forego scooters and spend it exploring the town. The part of Anjuna where our guesthouse was situated was mainly restaurants and a few clothing stores and while it didn’t have a swimming beach its bay possessed lovely views of the coast.

After eating at Dum Biryani, which served up delicious curries and cold beers for a very reasonable price (for Anjuna anyhow) our day took a weird turn when we met a man called ‘Richard’.

Richard was – to say the least – was eccentric. Dressed in the above attire we weren’t too sure about him when he first approached if I am honest. However, after talking to Stu about music for a few minutes and having a bit of a laugh we decided he was just a bit of fun. He invited us to a friends birthday down the road and it seemed rude of us not to go.

The party was good fun. His friend’s greeted us with a cocktail as we arrived and invited us to join in the feast they were eating. We sat and chatted over drinks as the afternoon wound into dusk and then departed the party with Richard as he felt he needed to show us the sunset at the beach down the road. The sunset was lovely, and we had enjoyed the day but were ready to be left to our own devices again. Richard, however, was more than reluctant to finish our chats and it took a slightly awkward chai and ever increasingly strange conversation at a shop down the road before we were able to get ourselves home. But the day definitely was one we will remember and a reminder that sometimes it’s good to give people and experiences a chance even where you normally wouldn’t.

The next day was spent exploring the beach strip where all of the clubs pump out music day and night and if you are willing to bargain will give you a relatively cheap drink. A few hours of reading, drinking and having a dip in the ocean we headed back towards our accomodation to shower and get ready for Anjunas rather famous night markets.

If you’ve ever been to a night market and thought ‘wow, this is the best night market I’ve been too’ you may want to hold that remark until you have tried this one. The Goa night market is massive and sells almost anything you care to think of including clothes, jewellery, tea, bags, hammock – you name it, you’ll probably find it. On top of that it has dozens of delicious eateries and around 5 open air nightclubs. Yep, you heard me, night clubs and they play anything from current hits to deep house so there is something for everyone to boogy too. The markets are also open until the wee hours of the morning, with the official closing time 4am.

Stu and I had a blast, and unfortunately didn’t take the camera! But we shopped, listened to live music over dinner and then boogied until our feet couldn’t dance anymore and headed for home rather late. This was also the fateful night where Stu – hungry from dancing- ate my leftover curry that had not been in a fridge. Poor guy was not well that night and suffered the next two days, so we didn’t get up to much except for a bit of blogging and rest.

After a day of bed rest, Stu was a bit better and we headed for our next Goa stop, Palolem.

Hampi.

We arrived in Hospet (the town just before Hampi, the bus does not go to the whole way to Hampi) just before sunrise and were greeted by the Tuk Tuk drivers all jostling for a fare. Knowing full well their game due to advice from other travellers, I walked past them and bought myself and Stu a chai before even indulging any of their claims.

The Tuk Tuk drivers will claim there is no other way to get to Hampi but by Tuk Tuk, that as it is before sunrise the fare will be higher, that it isn’t possible to do it for less than 400. THIS IS ALL BS. True, there is no bus to Hampi UNTIL 7am, but after 7am there are relatively frequent buses to Hampi, so chill out and have a Chai and wait for one if you want to do really cheap. In our case, I pointed out that we knew the buses were a half hour off, that I knew the buses came and that we also knew the distance and would not pay that kind of money to get to Hampi. After we called their bluff, and as the time got ever closer to when the buses would start, the prices drastically dropped and we ended up settling for 200 rupees for 3 of us to get to there.

Walking across the river in the early morning.

Hampi is a little Oasis in the desert. Mountains made from boulders jut out against the green rice crops and a slow flowing river provides the locals with a place to wash clothes and bathe in the early morning sun. There’s even a sacred elephant who is brought down from the temples to bathe every morning.

We didn’t pre book any accomodation for Hampi as we had been told by other travellers that the best place to stay was Goan Corner and the best way to get a room there was to simply rock up. Rock up we did and we were cheerily greeted by ‘Mum’, the owner of the place. She seemed to know by heart how many rooms she had coming available and she said there would be no issue with us getting a room once check out and cleaning was done. So we sat and had a chai and some breakfast, watched people coming and going from bouldering or yoga and played some cards.

Goan corner has a few different options for accomodation, but all of them are a at a fair price for what you get. We opted for a hut with a double bed and shared bathroom for 500 rupees and it was perfect for us. There is also the option to stay on the rooftop on a mattress with a mosquito net for 200 rupees per person which is quite a unique experience.

We decided to spend 3 nights in Hampi and took most of the first day for washing, sleeping and exploring Goan corner and its surrounding boulders and fields. As sun set we headed to town to try and see the temples and ruins and catch the sunset on the riverbanks.

 

Everything in Hampi is picturesque and we found ourselves taken by the quite beauty of both the nature and the ruins here. With the sun truely set on the first night, we headed back to Goan for some dinner and a couple of beers before retiring early so that we could get up and climb the boulders for the sunrise the next day.

Getting up before 6 was a struggle, but we managed to get ourselves out and up onto the boulders just before the sun rose. Climbing up was fun. Stu and I both love a bit of ‘mountain goating’ as we call it and enjoyed the challenges of basically rock climbing and hiking combined into one. We managed to get up pretty high and rather exhausted we sat for a while to take in the scene before heading back down for breakfast. The rest of the day was spent checking out the town, reading books and eating more of the delicious food at Goan.

Next day we decided to rent a scooter for the day as we had heard there was a good swimming hole nearby and it was meant to get to 38 degrees and Stu is NOT a fan of the heat.

The watering hole was stupidly hard to find. After driving around for almost an hour looking for the mythical place we returned to Goan to seek out the guys who had told us about the place the night before. We found one of them instantly as our luck would have it and armed with new, more detailed instruction we tried again.

The waterhole was brilliant. Freezing cold, it instantly cooled you and helped you deal with the rapidly increasing temperature of the day. We stayed for a few hours, chatting to who ever came for a swim in that time and as early afternoon rolled in we decided to jump back on the scooter and head home for a quick bite and sunset on the boulders. Unfortunately, the day had other plans.

As we drove off, Stu didn’t see a rather large ditch up ahead. Hitting the ditch with some speed, our tyre instantly popped. Unsure on what to do, an epic afternoon of me waiting with the bike for two hours in the heat while poor Stu chased up where to go and what to do ensued. Long story short, 2 hours later – both hungry and hot – we were sat outside a tyre repair store as 5 large holes in the tube were repaired.

Still determined to catch up with friends we had met the night before for sunset, we hurried home and started the climb to the popular sunset lookout right next to Goan corner.

Over beers that night we were convinced to join 6 others from Goan to do a cycling tour of the ruins around Hampi. At 400 a head it seemed like a good way to get around and see everything and as the tour provided a guide it meant we had the chance to ask questions about the history and culture which was something so far in India we had not done.

The tour was well worth the money, though be warned, it is four hours of cycling in the sun and this can be too much for some. The tour did stop frequently in shaded areas and there were refreshments for sale at each point and thankfully the longest stretch of cycling you will do is only a little over 2 km. The guide is great at answering questions and gave very detail descriptions of the significance of each ruin.

Sweating profusely and facing a night bus later that night we rode back to town, did a little shopping, SHOWERED and ate before heading for the bus.

The bus trip ended up being a pretty interesting experience… firstly, the bus was no longer going to pick us up in town so a Tuk Tuk took the 6 of us to the next town, but took the strangest way possible and adding an hour to the trip. When we finally met up with the bus we managed to travel two hours or so before it broke down, taking over an hour to fix. The driver of course still needed dinner so we stopped for half an hour at 1am at a truck stop before finally finishing the journey, getting into Anjuna 3 hours behind schedule and very tired.