We do have plans to finish up the blog on India (some more pics to post), it's comin, we promise. A little update, we returned to Canada on April 6th making that 3-months in India.

More pics soon.

a

Happy Holi!

Holi, the festival to ring in the arrival of spring is celebrated by rubbing, spraying, throwing, dousing, and otherwise covering everyone and everything in (possbly toxic) pigment. Although it cost me a shirt, it was really fun. The one drawback is that Diu is a Union Territory (read: cheap booze) and the attached state of Gurjurat is dry. Combined with a national holiday, it leads to lots of Indian tourists who can't handle their alcohol. The bars are all in one strip along the water, so most of the drunkenness was contained, and we didn't really have any trouble, aside from some good-spirited colour fights.

Udaipur

Even with Octopussy being played in every guest house and tiny streets crammerd with vehicles, Udaipur manages to be quite captivating. I mentioned some of the gems in the last post of the museum, but Udaipur actually is about as close to Venice as India might ever get.

The city palace has been enlarged by every maharaja that has ruled, and is now an enormous sprawling complex, which comes somewhat close to keeping a uniform architectural style. It's heavily guarded, although the guards seem slightly less menacing when they're going around taking pictures of the palace on their cell phones.

View of the city from the top of the palace

Courtyard/overpriced dining area

Night view of the palace from across the lake

Almost all the buildings are tall and thin, each with a roof terrace giving amazing veiws of the city and the night sky. Here's some fun with a full moon and long exposure :)

Museum

We went to a museum in an restored residency of an old maharaja yesterday. Highlights of the museum (meant to show the daily life when the residency was in use) included:
-a room filled with hundreds of colourful marionettes
-the worlds largest turban in a glass case, as well at least 3 dozen different types of turbans
-a replica of the Statue of Liberty (although I thought it was supposed to be a woman...)
-a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (although I thought the tower was supposed to be leaning, not just the description plate...)
-a traditional kitchen setup (with drums on the counter)
-a room in which shoe removal was mandatory, as there was a shrine (as well as partition storage and rubbish collection)
-a man herding flower petals with a hose
-a collection of modern(ish) art with no indications of the artist, date, or medium on anything
-pictures of local officials
-pictures of the restoration (of a different building)
along with many other gems. The randomness was awesome.

Pics of Madrem Beach and Hampi Part two

Before we headed to Hampi (Hampi is really really amazing and as Dan mention a true highlight of the trip), we spent some time on Madrem beach which is near Arambol--we stayed in Arambol for a night but preferred Madrem because the beach was less packed and it was just lower key.
So here are some more pics for you...
ps we're in Udaipur in Rajasthan--we ended up taking a 1 hour flight from Hubli near Hampi to Mumbai then another hour and a bit flight to Udaipur--it was the only way to avoid 40 hours on a bus, and train wasn't an option and we really wanted to get a bit north. I'm really liking Udaipur despite the fact that I have a sinus infection/cold. Lots of great architecture and the guest houses are mostly old havelis so you get really lovely rooms with pretty details. We'll post pics of Udaipur soon. As a side note for James Bond fans, Octopussy was filmed here and trust me, they don't let you forget it!
Enough talk, more pics...

I'm a big fan of archways.


Temple times!

Dan's second India haircut--poor guy, he really did get a thumb in the eye.

Yay for archways!

Madrem Beach pics below...

xo

a

Hampi

Although it's getting hotter, we finally decided to head away from the water, and venture inland a little. We took an overnight bus to Hampi, which was an adventure all on it's own. We made our way on an extremely overcrowded bus to where our overnight bus was leaving from. After wandering around, we went to get a bite to eat to kill some time. While we were in the restaurant, a parade started between us and where we had to go. We literally had to fight our way through the crazy crowds and push through a parade to get to the bus stand, just to find that they moved the departure point 2km away (with 30 minutes to departure, and no way for rickshaws to get through all the people). I was determined not to miss this bus and we ran, packs and all, to some unknown new location. Big props to Ana for not only keeping up, but for busting through tightly packed crowds of Indian men when necessary. It's so funny how they will push and shove in a queue for no reason, but try to do the same back, and whooooeeeee, do they get mad. Tough! We made it and had a bumpy night to Hampi.
All worthwhile in the end, as Hampi was amazing. It's a huge area with intricately carved ruins scattered all over. In the main area of town, locals have build their home and businesses over them, so there is quite a mix of older beautiful stonework buildings with tin and thatched attachments. Away from the main attractions, you could find yourself alone in massive markets and temples, which are starting to crumble (except the ones designated as world heritage site, which are amazing well maintained), but are still completely awe-inspiring. All in all, Hampi is a definite highlight of this trip.
I had my second Indian hair cutting experience here to, which was almost as fun as the first. Instead of moving around the chair, the barber would torque my head around to where ever he had the razor (for which I had to hold the plug tightly against the socket). He also liked to get a firm grip on my head, and I had to pry his thumb out of my eye on several occasions. On the bright side, I did manage to get my usual short shaved cut, instead of the flat-top-fade-with-front-poof that I ended up with the first time..

Enough blathering. Here are some pics of some of the Hampi ruins...

Elephant stables


Vittala Temple

Royal Chariot sculpture

Krishna Temple Marketplace


On our way out one day, we lucked upon Lakshmi getting her daily bath, so I got to help give her a little scrub down. Awesome! I wanna bring her home, but Ana won't let me :(

So, Ana...what do you think of the Hampi experience?

just pics

garden in Panaji, Goa

Dan in said garden :)

Church in Panaji, Goa

Dan walking on Palalem Beach, Goa

and posing :)

Ooty, in Tamil Nadu--it's up in the hills so it's a lot cooler hence the layers--Dan begged me to put my toe up to the sign, I got a lot of strange looks (more then usual).

banana leaf lunch times in Alleppey

Lots of brightly painted houses along the backwaters in Alleppey

oh yeah those eyes!

pretty blue.

We're in Arambol, Goa now for more beachy times. This is a nice area but not as nice as Patnem Beach which is to date on of our favs.

In other news we have booked our return back to Canada...April 6th is the date! Lots to see and do before that.

xo

Greetings

Greetings blog readers, Sorry again for the lack of posting....maybe I don't need to keep apologizing. If you're wondering where we are, we're in Goa now--on Patnem Beach, which is lovely. We also spent a couple of days at Om Beach in Gokarna (Dan is updating our blog map)...and again very nice. India def does not have a lack of nice beaches.

We have some pics to post but of course I did not bring what's needed to do such a thing so I will post soon.

Oh we also spent a couple of days in Kannar where I visited another weaving co-op...weavers don't make much in India even as part of a co-op (which I was told this one has profit sharing). The cloth they are weaving is mostly for dhotis, shirts, sheets and towels. I have pics of this visit including the huge warping mill they use to organize metres and metres of warp. Mostly I've seen weaving with cottons since that's what everyone seems to wear (everyday wear)--I think it has to do with how warm it is here and that they grow so much of it here too.

Oh and thank you to all of you who sent your bday wishes--we spent the day on a train trying to get beach side (where we were upgraded for free cause we met this super sweet Indian who was so nice to us cause it was my bday--yes I blurted it out--I really wanted air conditioning!)

We tend to do that after a particularly polluted stay somewhere. Yes, India has lovely beaches and beautiful temples and such but everyday little town or city India can be really stinky. Oh the smells. It's not just the fumes from exhaust (although that's the one that seems to clog up my sinuses the most), it's the smell of other.... things. Most exciting is when you get a whiff of something not so pleasant and on that same breeze you get the smell of flowers (which Indian ladies wear in their hair) or spices!

Enough rambling...We're off to have some ice cream under our mosquito net--we're staying in a thatched hut and the mosquitoes by the beach are always the worst but you can't beat the sound of waves at night.

xo
a

scenic monkey tea

Doddabetta viewpoint over Ooty


I challenge you to find a cuter baby monkey


Ana in the tea plantation

West side, yo!

another mini update...

sorry peeps for the not updating...we have been encountering a lack of reliable internet connections. Since Alleppey, we've traveled onto Kochi, then Ooty, then some place I can't remember the name of cause I got a bit of delhi belly (not in delhi tho) and now we're in Kannur, in Kerala near the coast again. We'll be updating everything very soon with more pics....promise.

In the meantime know that we are very well and having fun--enjoying the heat, loving the textiles and eating delish foods.

xo
a

a mini update

Dan is giving you his sweet update about Alleppey---we forgot our camera cord again so no pics but next time there will be a post of just pics. We're in Fort Cochin now, after spending a couple of days in Alleppey where we did a sweet backwater tour and got to hang with a fam that live in a little village along the backwaters. I really enjoyed that. I actually really liked Alleppey a lot, it was still busy and such but had a nice vibe. OH and I got a sweet silk sari--beautiful and handmade, it's really stunning. It's an early bday gift to me from Dan :)

Tomorrow we're doing another backwater tour from here to check out more stuff. So pics of that to come afterward.

xo

Da Boatman's Tired (aka Danual Labour)

We finally dragged our sorry selves off of the beach and made it to Alleppey to do a houseboat tour of the maze of canals and backwaters off the coast. In the end we decided to take a canoe tour, since the houseboats are too big for all but the main water thoroughfares.




We met our guide, Saji, at the hotel and took the public ferry with him back to his house, where is wife was making us brekkie (puffy rice pancakes with mild green potato curry and boiled eggs in a spicy, oniony, red sauce...DELICIOUS!). We did a little tour of their house, which was under construction with the addition of a couple of extra rooms. They expected to be finished in about a year, since they build bit by bit whenever there's a little extra cash for supplies and labour. The kitchen was the most amazing part. It was off the main house. Dirt floor with a thathed lean-to roof. No fridge, no gas stove, no small appliances (it's possible to cook without a SlapChop???), just a cooking fire and a couple of pots. We had looked for a place with a kitchen in Varkala, but our idea of a kitchen don't mesh up well with the Indian versions. In the end we just wanted a fridge and a kettle but even that seems unfathomable.
The tour was really relaxing...just being paddled around the village while we lounged on (new!) cushions under a canopy.

Life in the backwaters is very simple, but it seems like a really friendly and close-knit community. After an hour and a half of touring we made a little chai stop and Saji sent us to look at the rice paddies (an elaborate ruse to get us out of the boat so he could relax for 15 minutes). After all, the guy who booked the tour for us promised that we 'could look at the calm village air'...so we did. Along the way, a goat started to eat Ana's pants. I think she quite enjoyed it, and thus did a traditional goat honouring dance.



Back in the boat, we set off paddling again. Soon after, Saji told me that 'the boatman's tired' and put me to work with a child sized paddle. We passed several other boat tours, and I seemed to be the only white guy paddling. No issue; it gave me something to do as well as an appreciation for how much work these guys do paddling our lazy arses around. On the way back home we ran into Saji's 6 year old daughter, Angelina, on her 3km solo walk back home from pre-school. She jumped in our boat and we were off again...



All together a pretty good day. The backwater tour was fine. Relaxing bordering on boring, but it was da boatman and his family that really made the trip. Upon return to his home, we had a delicious lunch with 6 different curries (again...the dirt kitchen...amazing) and got a taste of bollywood as Angelina kept us entertained with her sweet dance moves.

wheeee....happy bday Dan!

It's Dan's bday! Yay! What are we doing for it? We had a lovely breaky of tea and baked goods, we went for a walk (a very hot walk) along the beach and now we're going to go back to our room, relax until later this aft when we'll do some more beachy times. Then a nice dinner, somewhere. Pretty low key but that's how we do it.

Happy Birthday Daniel...xoxo

a

PS I think he looks like a super hero in this pic....like there should be a cape flowing behind him ;) There's some man chest there for all the ladies in the audience...tee hee.

I got nothing...

sorry peeps who have been visiting our bloggy blog...we haven't posted in a while because basically we are doing a whole lot of nothing. We are still in Varkala, reading, taking walks, eating and beaching...seriously amazing.

We will be moving on to Alleppey come Tuesday for some backwater tours and such and then we have a whole schedule of traveling goodness so I know there will be some new pics and posts to come.

Did I mention how much reading we're doing? I think we've both gone through about 10 books each since being on our adventure. Some of the favs--Cat's Eye, The Lacuna, and Handmaid's Tale (Atwood rocks my socks as does Kingsolver).

In the meantime we are off to have tea...again.
xo

Varkala Beach

Although Kovalam Beach was quite lovely, we've moved on. There was just a bit too much being hassled by every store owner, fruit stand proprietor, drum seller, restaurateur, blanket distributor, pot dealer, chai wallah, sand bed setter-upper, rickshaw driver, and guest house manager. Apologies to the many of I've left out, as I'm out of adjectives for people trying to extract as much money from the tourists as they can before the beaches clear when the monsoons come. I don't blame them, but the only way to get around is by the beach promenade, and there's no way to avoid it, as the hawker line the boardwalk. Varkala was supposed to be a little less resorty and a little more backpackery. It is...sort of.

There are three main beaches in Varkala. The main beach is a strip of beautiful white sand surrounded by tower cliffs covered with green and red plants (and the inescapable trash).


This is where we stayed the first night, as dusk was rapidly approaching, since the 58km bus ride took a little over 2 1/2 hours, and we didn't want to walk the cliffs in the dark. It was a nice homestay, but I feel a little strange ringing the doorbell and walking through the family room/kid's bedroom everytime we want to get to our room upstairs.

We spent the next day checking out just about every spot along the cliffs for a good place to stay for a while. We walked our past the furthest beach, Odaylam (sp?), which was almost deserted of tourists, although there were plenty of fishermen drying out their nets.



It's soooo nice our past where the tourist trail ends. The amenities are a little more scarce, but the odd beach depanneur can still be found once in a while to re-stock water supplies.



With no luck for self-catering apartments in this end (we started looking for a place where we could make tea and toast), we ended up taking a place (no kitchen) at the rocky headland of the middle beach, Black Beach; aptly named for it's completely black sands. We've just moved in this morning, but I like it already. Just the sounds of the birds and the crashing waves. This is the view from the front of our room...



Now I just need to find a hammock and convince them to let me put it up, and I'm set for the next two weeks.