Goa or bust!

Well I am Home from Goa and all I have to say is “wow I’m tanned!”. I had a really great time and I enjoyed traveling by myself and knowing that once you have traveled in India alone your can travel anywhere!
My trip started off with yet another train ride and then a taxi ride to the most northern beach of the state of Goa. This little town of Arambol was so beautiful, quiet and peaceful that I wish I had spent the whole week there. Arambol was a backpacker place with many young travelers like me. Most of these backpacker types have been traveling for months and even years and are often on a spiritual quest and have come to India to meditate and practice yoga. I guess you could call them “hippies” but they were just born in the wrong decade. The good thing about these types of people is that they are very warm and welcoming to new comers like me. In fact I met a really nice Dutch girl with who I went to the market with and shared a room for cheaper costs.

So in Arambol, I sat on the beach and did some serious tanning for 2 days as well as did some great shopping for jewelry and clothes. However I decided to head south to another beach town called Anjuna for the Wednesday weekly market. This is a huge market that people from all over Goa come to each Wednesday to see. It was originally a market formed by hippy’s who needed to sell there belongings to make money in order to go home or travel more. However the government shut the market down for a number of years as it was thought to be a front for drugs. However over the past five years it has been re-opened and vendors from all over India and the odd western Hippy selling handicrafts, jewelry, food, cloths and many more knick knacks!

After being in Anjuna for just a day, I decided to keep beach hopping and I headed further south to Candolim beach where I spent 4 days working even harder on my tan. I stayed in a great little guest house, had breakfast in the garden, spent all day on the beach, read lots of books, listen to music and had dinner in great little restaurants with the freshest seafood ever.

Now that I am back in Bangalore I am trying to maintain my tan. I hope it last for when I get back to Canada!!
Here are just a few pictures of my time in Goa, but when you are traveling by yourself it harder to take a lot of pictures.
Bye for now, see you all in a little under a one month.
JESSE

Gone to Goa

Hi everyone!
Sorry there are no pictures this blog but there will be plenty to come after my Goa trip!
So i have been home alone here in India! Don't worry though, I have been keeping myself pretty busy. Let’s see, on Feb 4th/05 I went to the STING concert. It was a really great show with a mix of new and old songs. Sting played a great version of Roxanne and some other great Police songs! We had really great tickets and were right up next to the stage! For only $60 Canadian, it was a steal of a deal for our money!
I have also taken up Yoga and I am enjoying it so much! Yoga was something i wanted to do while I was in India seeing as it is the birthplace of yoga, but now I think it will be something i will continue for the rest of my life! So i am going to a class twice a week as well as practicing in my home! I couldn't believe that only after 3 classes I can now balance on my head! I recommend it to anyone!
So tomorrow i am off on my journey to Goa. Goa is a really popular beach place with Europeans. It was also once a hippy’s haven were many Americans came to dodge the draft during the Vietnam War. After the Hippy heydays it turned to a real party place with world famous raves and beach parties. However nowadays the government has cracked down on loud music past 10pm and has enforced strict laws against illegal drugs. So i don't know what to expect once i get there. Is Goa a place for hippie’s, raver’s, backpackers or something else! we shall see! I will write a description of my encounters once I have returned to Bangalore!
Peace out!
love Jesse

Kerala Adventure

So I am trying to sum up my past few months in just a few blog entries. I hope to have lots of pictures as I am sure most people like looking at the graphics rather than reading the words! But here goes the detail for the bookworms in the crowd!
So after our Christmas vacation I had about a month off before I headed out on my next adventure. My friend Carla and went to the state next to Bangalore called Kerala. I think this trip so far has been the highlight of my whole trip to India. We had such a blast exploring and winging our way through a country we don’t know very well! The train and bus adventures alone are a real growing experience. Now that I have learned how to travel here in India, I am planning on a solo trip to Goa (a real beach place that is popular with Europeans).

So back to my adventure in Kerala, we started the trip off with a 12 hour overnight train ride to Cochin which is on the west coast of India. We had to take the ferry over to the fort where the guest houses were located so luckily we arrived at 8am with ample time to find a decent place to stay! We only spent 1 night in Cochin as we wanted to head south along the coast and check out as many places as possible on our 7 day journey. In Cochin, we saw some tradition dancing, tradition fishing, and a synagogue that was closed on Fridays (the only day we were going to be there!).

After Cochin we took a five hour train to Kollam. Now this train was a learning experience. We originally bought a "general seating" ticket, but snuck into the 2nd class Air Conditioned car where we chummed it up with a newly wed Indian couple. However when the conductor came around we asked a question about our seats and the conductor noticed we were in the wrong car. So in the end we had to pay him 400rupees (about 12 bucks Canadian) which is a lot to an Indian. I think he just pocketed the money. So for the next time you are traveling on a train in India, remember to keep your mouth shut if you don’t want to bribe the conductor!!
We arrived in Kollam knowing that we wanted to book a house boat tour of the back waters in Kerala. However, December and January is high tourist season for India so we thought everything would be booked up and we would have to settle for a 2 hour day journey. But as luck would have it, the recent Tsunami that devastated Asia allowed for openings in many tourist attractions so Carla and I took full advantage! We were able to book a full house boat with 2 full bedrooms with attached bath, a large living space and lounging deck for reading and playing cards. We had 3 staff members to look after our every need and 4 full meals to fill our bellies. It was a traditional rice barge that has been converted to a houseboat for tourists. I felt like Cleo Patra sailing along Nile…a very cool experience!

After a night on a houseboat in the middle of river, Carla and I were ready to head to the beach. We had missed the daily train to Varkala, so we had to take the bus instead. Now the bus system is the cheapest way to travel here in India. Like the railway, price of tickets are determined by the distance you travel. So in any case our 1 and a half hour bus journey only cost us 18 rupees each (that’s like 60 cents Canadian). We boarded the bus in Kollam and luckily we were the first to board so we got the front seats (which are the best to prevent motion sickness!). Now bus drivers in India don’t stop for anything except for a cow. Busses are known to hit cars and people without stopping. So our bus trip to Varkala was needless to say ‘gripping’ (literally). As we swerved in and out of traffic, we asked the conductor to let us know when to get off. The Bus was filling up fast and people were crowded in the seats, in the isles and of course leaning us against us! Also because we were naturally the only white girls on the bus, we were starred at endlessly! We also had to change busses half way through, which was sort of last minute, but everything worked out ok in the end. As Carla and I decided, everything always works out if you’re not too uptight and are flexible in your plans.

Once we arrived in Varkala we had a recommendation of a guest house close to the beach. After the picking an auto rickshaw up from the bus stop in Varkala, we asked the driver to find our guest house. With much searching we finally found it and what a place this was. It was super close to the beach and right in the heart of the little Tibetan and Indian handicraft stores that lined the beach. We had our own balcony with hammock and all to relax our weary bones! So once we checked in, it was a quick change into our bathing suits and a straight b-line to the beach. We spent a total of 3 nights and 4 days in Varkala taking in the sun, sand and sea. I worked on my tan and napping skills as well as got some quality book time in. Also we gave our wallets a bit of a work out, as the jewelry and clothing was quite inexpensive there.

So after a relaxing jaunt to the beach we had to catch the train to go even further south (almost to the very southern tip of India) to make our connection to head north back to Bangalore. We spent 18 hours on an overnight train back to Bangalore so lots of cards were played, books were read, and sleeping was done in order to pass the time. Over all it was a great experience and a blast to travel with Carla.

A big thank you goes out to Carla who has been my traveling buddy and partner in crime over the past 3 months. However she has gone back to Vancouver and I am left now to do some solo traveling. Hope things are going back to normal in Canada for Ms. Popma 2!!!!!!
Until the next installment of Jesse’s blog, so long!
Tin Curry signing off!
PS I would love to hear from everyone back home and hear how things are going back in chilly Canada!

Christmas in the Desert

Well it seems blogging is harder than it looks. I haven’t posted anything new in a while and a lot has happened over the past month and a bit. So I guess I will get right to it! Over the Christmas holidays my parents and I headed to Northern India for 2 weeks. We flew to New Delhi and spent 2 days touring around and seeing all the major land marks like the India Gate, the Red Fort and we even took a bicycle rickshaw ride around the streets of Old Delhi.

After taking in all the crazy sights, sounds and smells of New Delhi, we headed for the Taj Mahal which is about a 3 hour drive from Delhi. Now the Taj (as we call it) was so breathtaking, my jaw literally dropped! The Grand size and stunning white marble deserves its own detailed blog…but alas there is never any time to create it!
We drove on to Bharatpur where we spent 3 days in a VERY fancy hotel (good thing for parents, eh?) And for those of you who know my Dad, it was 3 intense days of bird watching. I quite enjoyed myself though as we were able to take a bicycle rickshaw for a majority of the trip. We also were able to see other wildlife in its natural habitat including two 13 foot pythons! We also got to drive through some of the most rural parts of India to get to these ‘bird’ places. Very neat!

After Bharatpur we continued on to the State of Rajasthan where our desert adventures began. We had to drive from Bharatpur to Jaipur where we saw the famous Amber palace and took an elephant ride. Kinda wobbly and slow creatures, but nonetheless another life experience.

From Jaipur we flew to Jodhpur (home of the Jodhpur Pants, the baggy ones that polo players wear). Now this was the beginning of TRUE desert. With small, low lying scrub bushes and sand as far as the eye can see, we drove 6 hours to Jaisalmere. Here we stayed 5 days shopping in the old fort and of course desert bird watching. On our last day we did a camel trek were we stayed in “Swiss tents” in the desert and rode the camel to the sand dunes to catch sunset. It was pretty spectacular! We then flew back to Bangalore for Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day at a 7star hotel with all you can eat and drink western food….A very nice treat!

After Christmas we planned to head to the east coast of India, but due to the Tsunami, we had to cancel our plans. So that was my Christmas vacation in a nut shell. I hope to keep my blogs shot and sweet as not everybody in interested in massive amounts of detail….that’s what emails are for!
A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
Love Jesse

Life in India Continues

Well folks it seems as though I have let a bit of time lapse between blogs. I guess since I last spoke I was detailing my first impressions of India. However, I guess I will now detail what I have been doing to keep myself busy. Many of you think I lead of life of leisure here in India...and well you are right. I kinda like this retirement thing! However for those of you who are cringing at my lack of "job", I have actually been quite busy.
First off I have been volunteering at this school for orphans and underprivileged children. The criteria for these kids to attend this special school is that either they are orphans or they come from families of five or more people who’s monthly income is 700 rupees or less. That is...let me see...about $195CND per month for a family of five. Anyways for these kids this school is a great opportunity to at least get a basic education and learn English. I am teaching a remedial class of five kids who need a little bit of extra help in English and math. Also these kids lack affection so having us volunteers at the school on a regular basis is great motivation. As you can see in the picture below these are some of the kids from Prakrama House who attended a football match (soccer for those of you in North America) at my Dad’s Canadian school. It was a really neat and life changing experience. I am even more thankful now for what I have and have accomplished in my life.

I have also been helping out at my dad’s school with the grade 7 and 8 Ultimate Frisbee team. Monday I held my first full practice to myself. We worked on passing and cutting (for those of you in the business). And then we played a scrimmage game...it is fun playing with the kids as it is easy to mark or guard a little kid. I have never been tall in my life but when I play with the grade 7 and 8’s I tower over them which give me an unfair advantage! I am however also playing on an adult team that plays once a week to keep my Ultimate skills up!
I have also been doing some day trips around including the Nandi Hills. This was a retreat for the British elite who were stationed in Bangalore as an escape from the heat. Now sort of a run down building was once a very splash place. Also located at Nandi Hills is an ancient stone Hindu Temple. After taking your shoes off to walk around the temple, you can buy flowers as an offering to the gods. These pictures of my dad, my new friend Carla and of course ME!! We are just exploring the temple and the VERY scenic vistas.

Now for my highlight of this past week, the Dalai Lama came to Bangalore to give a speech on secular ethics and environmental issues we face in today’s society. Luckily we were invited to sit in the VIP section of his presentation and with the ok zoom power of my digital camera I got a few good pictures. Although his speech was a bit dry (partly due to language barriers) the overall theme of his presentation was interesting and memorable.

Bye for now!!!
PS check out the next post as it details a great trip to Hampi I recently took!

All Aboard

And now for my great trip to Hampi. It started off last week with Carla and my trip to the Bangalore Train Station. After our driver told us to stand in the “ladies Queue” and not the “foreigners Queue” we were quickly shuffled forward to the front of the line to buy our tickets for our trip that wasn’t happening until the following week. We had been told train tickets sell out fast and to book them far in advance to ensure a good seat. We had to ask for two tier, second class, air conditioned bunks. The train ride was an overnight adventure that needed beds to make the 9 hour journey doable! And thus the adventure began.
Climbing aboard the train at 10:00pm we quickly found or seats. We were lucky to have a whole berth to ourselves but just as we were getting comfortable an Indian lady from the next berth over asked if we could switch as she had a young baby and elderly mother with her and they couldn’t climb to the top bunk. So as good Canadian’s we did our civic duty and switched to the more crowed berth. Now if you can imagine Indian trains, we were now in a little compartment with 4 bunks in total and 2 large Indian Men who snored all night and us 2 Canadian girls curled up on the top bunk. Needless to say we didn’t sleep all that well!

So Once we arrived (7:45am) at our destination (Hospet), we had to get a rickshaw to drive us to Hampi which was only a 30min drive. Once there we found Gopi’s Guest House, threw our stuff in to the room and had breakfast on the roof top. The gorgeous views from the roof top was inspiring after a long train ride. This picture is the view from Gopi’s.

We quickly ate our breakfast and wanted to explore this ancient town. Now for those historians in the crowd, Hampi was once the capital city of a Southern Indian empire in the 16th century. However another empire from the north came and overthrew Hampi and the entire town was just abandoned. Due to Hampi’s geographical location, its desert like climate wasn’t suitable for human existence. There was no longer an empire to bring in water and other supplies, so a city of 500,000 got up and left behind a pristine village. Nowadays the town is bustling and is a huge tourist destination not to mention a backpacker haven.

We spent most of the day walking around and looking at temples and doing a bit of souvenir shopping. The hot sun and early start to our day was beginning to tire us out so we headed to the “Mango Tree Restaurant” which was recommended in the Lonely Planets guide to India. Seeing as Hampi is full of backpackers who also carry the travelers bible, the Mango Tree was full of westerners. However the ambience of the restaurant was well worth it. Sitting on the ground with bamboo mats under us, eating on granite slabs with banana leafs as our plates and overlooking the river was too beautiful to explain. Here is a picture of Carla and I eating at the Mango Tree as well as me on a swing that swings out over the other patrons at the restaurant.

By this time sunset was drawing close and as the locals suggested, we headed up atop the stone hill to watch the spectacle. The red and orange hues of the sunset cast upon the ancient temples and ruins gave the city a real golden look. Temple music also played in the background which added to the real Indian experience.

As we discovered we had only explored the tip of the iceberg in Hampi on our first day. With another breakfast on top of Gopi’s we had an early start to our second day. We rented a scooter to be able to see all the remaining ruins. Carla who had once been on a scooter and I who had never been on a scooter decided to nominated her as the designated driver. A little wobbly on our way out of the main part of Hampi, we were second guessing if we had done the right thing to rent a scooter. However once on the open road all was fine...it’s just when people, cows, and other drivers swarmed us in town we were a little unsure. We saw lots more ruins and temples all sort of the same, but with each site it was a lasting memory.

By this time we thought we were pros on our scooter when we hit some loose sand...Carla did an excellent job but with a combination of sand, bad breaks, and wobbliness we had a small spill. Luckily no one was around to see us so jumped off and quickly stood the scooter back up with only a little bruise on our shins! We had a good laugh about it and now in retrospect it was actually quite hilarious! Carla did a fantastic job and jumped back in the drivers seat with no hesitations.

Oh, I forgot to mention the second day of our trip was my birthday and it was one the most memorable birthdays ever. After another long day of sight seeing we headed back to the Mango Tree for a late lunch and a birthday banana, chocolate pancake. Due to Hampi religious views you can’t really find alcohol, so a yummy dessert was my birthday celebration!
After a late lunch and back to Gopi’s to wash up, it was time to head back to the train station for another 9 hour journey back to Bangalore. We had a fantastic time in Hampi and I hope this blog will allow mental images of all my experiences.
Talk to you all soon and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as I won’t be able to post a new blog until after Christmas!
Jesse