Goa, the place that was going to be a quick stop off, the place that none of us had really researched or knew much about before going to India, ended up keeping hold of us for nearly 3 weeks. But....we finally escaped.
We stayed 8 days in Benaulim. The place was beautiful, the weather amazing, the people interesting. We just lay about, soaking it in, not really living the traveller lifestyle. It was genuinely an effort to get up and leave that place. Whilst there we met a Scottish guy and a Irish girl who are a couple, and with whom we have been travelling ever since (well, we met up again in Palolem and then travelled together after that). We get on with them really well (Gary and Briege). They are doing a very similar trip to us apart from they end in Vegas instead of LA. In Vegas they are flying their parents out and getting married by the King himself, Mr Elvis Presley. I thought that was pretty cool.
After dragging ourselves away from Benaulim we headed for something completely different, a complete change...another beach, even more idyllic than the last. Palolem is awesome. The beach is amazing, with a little island at one end you can get to in low tide. There are little rock pools, a little sea water river that runs inland with the tide. Its got everything you want in a beach place basically. We ended up staying here longer than anticipated as well.
We were just walking along the beach and decided to do a fishing trip the next day. 2 hours, and only 150 rupees (I think). As we were heading back along the beach these 2 German girls asked if we wanted to join them on their fishing trip the next day as the bigger the group the more fun it would be. Their trip was more expensive and shorter so they ended up joining ours.
There is one bar in Palolem, which is open 24 hours a day, and is where all the travellers hang out. A really good place to meet people. We were in their in the evening and met up with the 2 Scottish girls which we had first met in Agra. So we had a few drinks and they decided to come on the fishing trip the next day, a good little crowd we had got together.
The fishing trip was awesome. We caught about 10 fish, and the guys who took us out caught a baby shark. Plus it was just a good laugh. We got to keep the fish, and took them to a restaurant on the beach who cooked them all up for us in a variety of ways. Afterwards I think we all went to Silver Star Bar and got hammered.
The next day was Gandhis birthday, which means it was a dry day...until 11pm, when we started drinking again. We met Gary and Briege again, and a couple they had come to Palolem with, and we all decided to do the fishing trip again the next day. We ended up with a group of about 11 of us, including this funny Israeli guy who just cracked me up. It was less successful as we only caught like 3 fish. Oh well.
That night was funny though, we met a crazy Austrian called Mickey who had driven through the middle east in his VW Polo on his own. Some of my favourite quotes include "yes...it is hard to find diesel in the desert" after telling us how he had run out of diesel and just been stuck in the middle of the desert until a truck came and bailed him out by chance. He also claimed there is a place in Oman which he wants to visit that has zero gravity. If you drive up a hill, and switch your engine off, then the car will actually accelerate up to 60kmph even though its going up hill. Great guy with some crazy stories.
We left Palolem with Gary and Briege and headed to a place called Gokarna which had been recommended by a guy dubbed "Wise Colin" who we had met in Benaulim. He was about 50 and had lived in India for like 20 years.
Gokarna was nice. The problem was that the beach was only accessible by a 20 minute walk over hills, and thats where our accommodation was. Luckily, rickshaw drivers would brave half of the "path" so it wasn't quite as far. The highlights of Gokarna were probably sitting on the beach at night with a fire going, just drinking and chatting. People came and joined us at times, sometimes with a guitar. All very cliche, but still really nice.
One of the guys who joined us was an Indian who helped us actually leave Gokarna. We couldn't find a train or a bus out of there. But he got us a bus to the train station (which he paid for) and then got us onto a train, which he was also getting on. Legend.
We left to go to Kochi in Kerela. Its a nice town, very geared towards more high market tourism I would say. We got to have a go at some Chinese fishing nets which was cool. We saw a Kathakali dance, which brought mixed reviews from our group (I personally liked it), and did a cooking course which was hilarious. I don't think I will be remembering any of the recipes (Ant wrote them down so its all good). The food was awesome so it was still worth it.
We got a bus up to Munnar after Kochi, which was pretty hairy. The roads are tiny, and potholed, the drops on 1 side are mammoth, and yet the bus just canes along regardless. If a bus comes the other way, why slow down? Infact, maybe speeding up would be a better option? Gaps that in England two cars would slow down and edge past each other, in India 2 buses don't even bat an eyelid. The views were awesome though, loved it.
Munnar has some of the highest tea plantation in the world, and it was cold, England cold. We all loved getting our jumpers and trousers on. We decided that the bus ride was sightseeing enough so just left the next day, but I don't regret going at all. We also invented the Hilltop masters card championship, which involves 3 games of shithead, a game of blackjack, a game of estimation whist and a game of pontoon (we also are going to incorporate chinese poker into it). I think Ant won that one, with Briege coming last.
Munnar to Alleppey, still in Kerala. These are the famous backwaters. Where you hire a boat (and guide) and drift down the backwaters, being poled along. They are like tropical canals, with little villages on the sides of them, lined with palm trees. I personally loved it, some other people complained it was a bit boring. We stopped for breakfast and lunch at the guides house, where his wife made us an awesome meal. The lunch was on a palm leaf, with fresh fish, fresh mango, fresh rice etc. It was all sourced from right near their house. We tried toddy (a coconut beer) at a toddy bar, and its horrible, don't do it!
From Alleppey we got a bus to Varkala, which is where we are now (phew, the blog is almost over, sorry for the mammoth update). Varkala is amazing, we all love it here. We are staying on the edge of the cliff, which is what Varkala is famous for. There are big red cliffs overlooking a nice beach with some scarily big waves. We haven't been on the beach though. Along the cliff face is a footpath, which is lined with hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, supermarkets. Its just a lot of fun to walk along there. There is also a lot of travellers here so we have met a few people.
Today we are going to find a way to get to Pondicherry tomorrow, get a full body massage (only 250 rupees for an hour) and do some body boarding. This is the life. We are all having a great time at the moment.
Anyway, thats that for now, missing you all (a bit), I hope everything is going well at home. I need some sort of Congleton/Leeds blog/newsfeed.
Tom
