wordsworths's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member wordsworths on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/wordsworths en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 05 Feb 2005 10:51:23 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Sad but Glad — Fenstanton, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103591400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103591400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103591400/tpod.html Sat, 05 Feb 2005 10:51:23 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Fenstanton, United Kingdom

The journey home was uneventful and long. We got a taxi from the hotel to the airport where we had to queue to get into the terminal, then queue to get into departures, queue again to check in, queue again to go thro customs and then queue once more before we boarded the plane. At every queue we had to show our passports, tickets or boarding pass to about 20 uninterested officials who didn't really care what you were showing them but pretended to be looking in detail. The whole tedium of the airport was made worse as Paul was desperate to smoke in the only place in India where it is not allowed. There was no smoke room, he wasn't allowed out of the building and we were there 4 hours in advance to do all the queueing! Eventually a very stroppy Paul found a posh restaurant where there was a smoking area so after putting together our last rupees we managed to buy a very small carton of orange juice and sat there whilst he chain smoked.

The flight was long and boring, we watched 4 films each and consumed as much free alcohol as we could. Paul nearly snogged the air stewardess when she gave him her last can of Stella and then threw a glass of red wine all over Kerry. She wasn't very happy as she was wearing her only decent outfit and had been saving it for the journey, pale blue jeans with a burgundy camouflage print is definitely not this seasons in thing.

Once we landed and got through customs (we weren't hassled or stared at once!) we entered arrivals and were shocked to see a rabble of people, fearing they were taxi drivers we walked fast and kept our heads down until we realised that it was just friends and relatives keen to be reunited.

Every time we have previously reached an airport arrivals area we have longed to be greeted by our names on a piece of paper so we don't have to fight with the con men to get to our destination. Here, we scanned the area looking for Kerry's mum and dad and were amazed to see them holding such a sign, it was hilarious, and it was so posh, not just a scrappy piece of paper but a printed number plate (yes dad you could see the jealousy in all of the other mens faces).

Once we reached the car we were presented with the one thing which we had been missing most. Paul had 3 Q magazines and Kerry had a huge bar of Cadburys dairy milk. We got lost getting out of the carpark but after a few hours we were back in Fenstanton drinking wine and reminiscing.

So, thankyou to all of our sponsers who made it possible for us to have such a wonderful honeymoon. It really was a trip of a lifetime. xxxxx
]]> Taxi! — Pushkar, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103488860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103488860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103488860/tpod.html Fri, 21 Jan 2005 03:28:18 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Pushkar, India

After the excitement of seeing the tiger in Ranthambore it was time to think about moving on. We didn't have plans for what happened next but we'd heard about a little town on the edge of the Rajasthani desert called Pushkar; a holy town with a sacred lake & pilgrims galore. After some investigation it was also a pain to get to but we decided the effort would be worth it. We went to the train station & after ages of pratting around the connections we needed wouldn't work. A trip to the bus station confirmed that we wouldn't be getting the bus; Kerry took one look at the buses & refused point blank to get on one - they should carry signs saying 'Death Trap'. This left only one option if we were going to make it to Pushkar before our time in India ran out - a taxi. After much to-ing & fro-ing at the hotel & much haggling we agreed on a price of Rs3000 for the 300km trip. After handing over the money Paul didn't only feel an emptiness in his wallet but in his soul; his only legible words for several hours were '3000 rupees? 3000 rupees? That's like...3000 rupees?'

It eventually took us 7 hours to get to Pushkar despite being assured it would only take 4 (the bus was advertised to take around 5 so God knows how many days it actually takes the bus to complete the journey). The cost & the time were definately worth it, Pushkar was amazing. It had the same magical & chilled feel as Varanasi but was much cleaner & had more aggressive cows - i.e they didn't ignore you or get out of the way but felt compelled to go for you!

We stayed in the Lake View Hotel which lived up to its name - the views of the lake were spectacular, particularly in the early morning when a mist hung over it enveloping the ghats & radiating the hues of the sun rise.

V. strange thing happened within minutes of checking in to the hotel. We were stood on the terrace overlooking the main street when who should we spot wandering around aimlessly but Roberto! We called him up & were having a spraff & a chai when Nick & Regina (who we'd met in Ranthambore) arrived - turned out they were staying in the room next to ours! I'm sure if we'd have found some, many beers would have been downed, unfortunately alcohol along with eggs & meat are illegal in Pushkar.

Overall didn't do that much in Pushkar; it was nice to wander around & do a bit of shopping or just sit on the hotel's sun terrace watching the activities on the ghats. Sunset is a bit of an event in Pushkar with hundreds of people gathering at the sunset ghat to listen to the many buskers & drink chai. The most energetic thing we did was climb a mountain to the west of town to watch the sun rise over the town. Got up at 5am for the 1 hour plus walk ready for the 6.20am sunrise. We reached the temple at the summit of the mountain in plenty of time as it was still pitch black by 6.15am & 6.30am & 6.45am. We'd been misinformed the sun wasn't due to come up until 7.20am! At least we didn't miss it!

The other main highlight of Pushkar was taking the p*** out of the local drug pusher, aka the Pushkar Pusher. This bloke seemed to ingest most of his stock & stumbled around offering whatever he'd got left to foreigners & taking abuse from people like us. Bless, he was probably one of the last people we spoke to in Pushkar as we stood in the bus station, he tried to sell us some hash.
]]> Ranthem-ROAR!!!! — Ranthembhore, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103017680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103017680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1103017680/tpod.html Tue, 14 Dec 2004 06:29:05 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Ranthembhore, India

Ranthembhore national park is in the middle of absolutely nowhere, the nearest town Sawai Madophur is a collection of houses and stalls and not a lot else. The reason to come here is to go on a tiger safari into the park in the hope of seeing one of the 48 tigers that live there.

SAFARI 1 :

On our first morning we were up for 6am to climb into our open top bus thing which was to drive us around for 3 hours. It was bloody freezing and as usual we were so unprepared having left all of our warm clothes in Delhi, luckily the hotel owner took pity on us and lent us a blanket but it was still awful. Through shivvers and goosebumps we managed to see loads of deer, monkeys, crocodiles and birds but not a hint of a tiger. At the end of the trip we were in a bad mood and not looking forward to the afternoon safari that we were booked on.

SAFARI 2 :

In between the 2 trips we had gone out and bought a fleece jumper each and were much warmer so with renewed enthusiasm we set off again. Apart from antelope and gazelle we saw pretty much the same as in the morning but it was much more pleasant. Although it was annoying hearing the many stories of people who saw tigers on their first safari as we knew we would be up at 6am again in the morning for safari number 3.

SAFARI 3 :

After no sleep as we were kept up all night by a wedding (inconsiderate newly weds!!) we were up once more for a 6am start. Paul was in a foul mood and made the trip so enjoyable as he moaned and whinged for the whole 3 hours. Again we saw deer, crocodiles, monkeys etc. etc. but this time also a mongoose and a hyena (whoopee) but still no tiger. The lack of cat did not improve Pauls mood and the prospect of a 4th safari was not inviting at all.

SAFARI 4 :

Paul watched star movies (a crap cable channel that shows cheesey films) over lunch and the tv improved his mood, we were both sure that we would see a cat on this trip. And we did but it was just a little jungle cat that looked like a domestic tabby, but it was still quite cool. This trip was much better than any of the others as the scenery along the track we drove was amazing with mountains, lakes and dense jungle. The sun was also shining so it was quite enjoyable although still no tiger.

SAFARI 5 :

We were now starting to get bored of early mornings and driving around the jungle so decided today would be our last day of trying to see a tiger. The trip was the same as all the others stopping to look at the bush when we saw tiger footprints or heard monkey or deer warning calls but still no sign of a tiger spotting. When we were told by another jeep that they thought a tiger was heading this way we thought it was another wild goose chase. But our driver turned round and we sat again for 15 mins waiting. We didn't see anything so set off again only to have to do an emergency stop as a tiger casually crossed the road infront of us. It was amazing and really beautiful, huge and graceful and it was bright orange. We watched it for ages as it stalked a deer, it walked a bit and then crouched down watching it, then it walked a bit more. Eventually it pounced and chased the deer which thankfully got away, and then casually walked back into the bush. It was a fantastic experience and was definitely worth the 5 safaris. Although we did cancel our last trip as we couldn't face another 3 hours driving around the jungle.
]]> Gimme a pizza — Jaipur, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102709520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102709520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102709520/tpod.html Tue, 14 Dec 2004 06:05:13 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Jaipur, India

Our first Indian bus experience - Agra to Jaipur. Not too bad apart from the constantly crying kid behind us & the over use of the bus horn. Every vehicle in India has a horn & it is used constantly for all manner of reasons: as a warning to get out of the way before you get squished, as a reminder that I'm behind you & most importantly get out of the way, I'm bigger than you & therefore I'm going to overtake you. For the first 2 hours of the journey the longest time the bus driver went without using the horn was 1min 42 secs (Paul timed him, yes, it was one of those days). The journey by the way was 5 hours! Time went a bit quicker as we met a bloke called Roberto who's family are from Italy but he was born & bred in Rochadale & now lives in Amsterdam. Spent most of the time in Jaipur with Roberto which was great because we didn't have to talk to eachother - it's been 5 months for God's sake. Conversations like 'Jeez your feet stink' & 'Will you stop spending so much money' do not make the long nights go any faster.

Our ears ringing & nerves shattered we finally pulled into Jaipur bus station with an escort of tuk-tuk drivers running beside us. As the bus pulled into its bay a Tourist Policeman appeared from nowhere, rounded up the tuk-tuk drivers & held the at bay whilst we disembarked & sorted ourselves. Seeing that the drivers were champing at the bit to get at us but daren't move because of the policeman's threats we decided to taunt them. Slowly getting our bags ready, having a smoke & planning the route we were going to walk to the hotel. Once they got their hands on us the tuk-tukers were extremely disappointed that there was no way they were going to be conning any cash out of us that day.

Jaipur itself is nice enough with a modern feel. What we mean by that is that there are proper shops with prices shown & everything (God it's going to be tough going into Boots & not questioning the price of goods & not having to haggle & ask for the best price & then haggle some more & maybe offer to buy several items in order to bargain for a discount). In fact Jaipur is so modern that in some parts of the city there are pavements! Some of them you can actually walk on! There's even a pelican crossing with a little green man & everything. Drivers don't necesserily stop for the little green man & they still drive up the wrong side of the street & the fumes are still pretty bad but overall we really liked Jaipur.

We especially liked the Old City. Surrounded by city walls painted pink (a colour of welcome) with loads of little alleyways & side streets to get lost in, which we did loads of times - but that was a good thing. Paul was spoken to by an Indian woman, which is pretty amazing as they're usually seen & not heard. Took us a few seconds to realise that we'd wandered into the red light district & the friendly lady was only after his body (& cash obviously). Wandered around the bazaars & actually enjoyed it becuase there was no hassle! We repeat no hassle. Looky, looky just fine. After a while we got paranoid about the lack of hassle we were getting 'come on hassle us.' We said to the shop keepers. 'What's wrong with us? We've got money (well a little bit),come on try & con us, give us some sales patter.' But nothing. They just let us go about our business.

Went to some kind of fort thing in the Old City which was great. Built in the 16th C it inlcuded little windows that were used by the Maharaja's daughters to look at the plebs & watch daily life without the hassle of leaving the fort & having to come into contact with scabby beggars & cow poo.

Double whammy in terms of the luxury stakes, stayed in a lovely hotel called the Atithi which had a big telly & loads of cable channels plus we'd been told about this gorgeous pizzeria that did proper pizzas (as opposed to Indian ones, which are not quite the same). Smokin Joe's was on the pricey side & unfortunately hosting a kid's birthday party when we arrived but it was worth it. The pizzas were lovely. Of course Kerry had to be her awkward self & ask for a pizza with no tomato base. This caused much confusion & consternation to the waiter. Poor fella couldn't believe such a sacrilage would take place in his pizzeria. 'But madam' he said. 'The tomato puree base is an integral part of the pizza. Are you sure you want on without?'

Before we go, has there been any news about the kidnapping of two English lads, possibly in their early 20's? The reason we ask is that we think we witnessed above event. At the first of four stops in Jaipur (the bus station & correct one was last) this beardy bloke in a turban jumped on the bus & asked these two lads if they were stopping in Jaipur. They answered yes & he whisked them away. The last we saw of them was about 10 miles from where they should have been, following said turbaned bloke looking very scared & confused. We would have helped in some way but it all happened so fast that it was only later we realised what had happened.
]]> Squits, ghats and mild concussion — Varanasi, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102324860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102324860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102324860/tpod.html Wed, 08 Dec 2004 06:47:26 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Varanasi, India

After much relaxation in Goa we decided that we really should do some travelling, we braced ourselves for the hassle, flew to Delhi (on the worst airline with the rudest air hostesses in the world) and then got an overnight train to Varanasi. We were sharing our 6 berth (2 lots of 3 tier bunkbeds) with four middle aged Indian people who were on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Varanasi. They were really lovely and keen to chat in English (apart from one man who spoke to us in Hindi and then waited for us to reply - v. funny)and kept us fed and watered for the whole 14 hour journey, which was very kind of them except it was so spicy that our heads were on fire all night and added to the fact that we were on the top bunks meant that we didn't sleep much at all.

We stayed in the Old City area of Varanasi which is a maze of old, narrow bricked passage ways lined with shops selling everything from home made perfumes to home made kites. The passage ways had a real charm & character about them & like the rest of India there was hussle & busle around every corner. Our hotel proved to be a little haven, built right next to the River Ganges with a view of the Ghats (steps down into the water) which have a beautiful magical feel. But, everywhere you go there is litter (huge piles of it), cow pats, dog poo, goat poo, human poo and millions of flies. Everything seems to have diarrhoah and it stinks.

Apart from that though we absolutely loved Varanasi. The river Ganges apart from being very holy in the hindu religion is also the centre of alot of peoples existence. The ghats are constantly busy with people praying and meditating, washing their clothes and bathing, selling anything and everything from boat trips to flowers to massage and palm readings. Priests preach there and festivals of offerings to the gods take place. It is a very lively and colourful place which instantly captivates you.

On the first day there we did absolutely nothing as to fit in with the local fauna Paul got food poisoning and couldn't leave the room or the squatter toilet with no flush mechanism (the sewers go straight into the river). He was really miserable and shouted at all the beggars and boat trip sellars when he finally ventured out.

On the second day we were much more active and did the obligatory sunrise boat trip along the river. It was absolutely beautiful watching the sun rise over the river and so interesting to watch the locals performing their morning routines. It was so serene and relaxing that we forgot about the rubbish and the smell and enjoyed the surroundings.

After the boat trip we went on a tour of the city in an autorickshaw to visit various hindu temples. Each temple was for worship of a different god and had a statue of that god in bright colours and gold. It was really odd to see such a contrast between the clean and relatively posh temples and the dusty, decrepid streets that house them.
That evening we did nothing as Kerry couldn't leave the room after sustaining a head injury on the roof of the rickshaw when going over a big bump in the road (they aren't really roads but dirt tracks)and experiencing concussion!!

On our last day in Varanasi we explored the old city and fell in love with the place even more. Wandering through the narrow streets, dodging cows and bodies being carried to the burning ghats; it was all so surreal but brilliant and we really didn't want to leave. We ended our time in Varanasi by watching a private concert by one of Varanasi's most famous sitar players in a shop in the old city and the music summed up perfectly the friendly, serene, mystical and lyrical feelings that we had about the dirty, stinky, unhygeinic holy city.
]]> The Booze Run — Agra, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102452900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102452900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102452900/tpod.html Wed, 08 Dec 2004 06:34:39 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Agra, India

Hurray! After a weeks forced abstinence we found a booze shop. So last night we got hammered on 4 bottles of Kingfisher.

We saw some people in the hotel drinking & asked where they got it from & after a convoluted set of instructions & told not to pay more than Rs75/bottle (apparantly they'd haggled their way down from Rs150)we set off. It was pitch black outside & although we'd been advised not wander around the area our thirst for alcohol took over. Fortunately we got lost & a cycle rickshaw wallah stopped by shouting 'beer, beer. You want beer? I take you to best alcohol shop, veeeerrrry cheap. Them up there for tourists at tourist prices, veeeerrrry expensive. I take you for veeeerrrry cheap alchol." Not wanting to turn down the chance of cheap booze we hopped on.

Instantly we felt sorry for him & guilty for being heavy western bloaters. The fellah (who we nicknamed Brian) looked 60 if he was a day & found it very hard going taking us around. At one point we even offered to get out & walk up the little hill to give him a rest. Old Brian was having none of it. The bloke was crackers & despite being at the bottom of the road crazy pecking order he refused to stop for anything, be it cars or huge trucks. He also had a habit of not looking where he was going preferring instead to stretch his neck & talk at us in pigeon English at 100mph. We sat in the back petrified, understanding 1 word in 10 replying to his questions (any question) with 'really. Really? Blimey! Uh uh. Ok. & mind that! Big truck over there don't hit it!'

Brian was a man of his word & the beer was veeerrrry cheap - Rs45/ bottle. The couple back at the hotel were well miffed. Brian was such a character that we hired him to take us the Taj Mahal the following morning.

Come 6am we stumbled through the pitch black out of the hotel to be met by "Hello sir, hello madam. How are you today?' Bloody freezing if the truth be known Brian. Paul like a plonker has posted his fleece back to the UK & Kerry the dizzy whatsit had left hers in Delhi so there we were in the back of the rickshaw freezing in t-shirts. It's India for God's sake it's supposed to boiling all the time.

We arrived at the Taj Mahal & swallowed at the Rs750 entry; that's just short of 10 quid which at the moment is around our daily budget. Indian nationals have to pay the princley sum of Rs25! Now we're all for double pricing policies as we earn much more but flippin eck that's loads more.

The first thing that struck us about the Taj Mahal wasn't its shimmery quality reflected from the rising sun but the fact that the whole area was so clean! No rubbish heaps, no cow poo, no wandering mangy dogs, no tab ends scattered everywhere. No rubbish at all. It was amazing. Of course you still had the hustlers. And what a scam they had. Approaching photographers they offered advice on the best angles from which to take your photos. After spending 5 minutes with you pointing out different aspects of the building they would then ask for Rs150!!! Paul took the advice of one bloke & when it cam to the crunch he was prepared.

"Give me Rs150."

"Get stuffed."

"OK, Rs100."

"On yer bike."

"OK, final offer Rs50."

"I'll give you Rs5." (he did have some good advice)

Paul actually handed him the note & he turned his nose up! So Paul walked away, but soon had the bloke coming up to him for his Rs5 payment.

The Taj itself did look pretty impressive for a building finished in the 1640's - though not worth the 10 quid entry fee obviously, I mean a building's a building for God's sake. There was loads of hustle & bustle to get 'the' picture but being advanced travellers we just shoved the rich American/Russian day trippers out of the way.

You can go inside the Taj but with it being Muslim you have to take your shoes off. Bloody Lonely Planet doesn't tell you that, all the travellers were having to walk barefoot on freezing cold marble while the Rs25 lot had got thick socks on.

After 2 hours we were ready for a nice cup of chai & a warm. NoW you'd think that after forking out 10 quid to get in, there'd at least be a chai shop/cafe. No such luck. Before I go any further; NOTE to people who run the Taj why not convert the ornate pretend mosque that stands at the side of the Taj into a cafe cum gift shop? Then with extra cash you make you can LOWER THE ENTRY FEE FOR FOREGNERS WE'RE NOT ALL RICH TOURISTS WITH MONEY TO BURN!

Coming out of the Taj we discovered a new way to get rid of taxi/rickshaw men. Simply tell them that you're waiting for Brian. That haven't got a clue what you're on about, think you're strange & leave you alone. After 5 mins of looking around for Brian we heard the clanking of a bell & a 'Hello sir, hello, madam'.
]]> She's Not a Bloody Monkey — Mumbai, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1101043080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1101043080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1101043080/tpod.html Tue, 07 Dec 2004 06:07:44 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Mumbai, India

According to the guide book & press we've read, Mumbai is the premiere city of India. It's the financial power-house, the home of Bollywood with its rich & famous actors. God knows where these people actually live & spend their money because it wasn't in the parts of Mumbai we saw. All we managed to see & smell were the homeless, the beggars, the hustlers, hasslers & the touts.

Perhaps you can tell that our time in India hasn't got off to the best of starts. We arrived at 1am Tuesday & after clearing the 4 (count 'em) security checks in the airport we were greeted by every single one of the 1 billion people of India. It was like Picadilly Circus at rush hour. Being the organised travellers that we are we hadn't bothered to book any accommodation. What to do? Why bother getting ripped off by a scummy person when you can get ripped off by the governmment? So we decided to use the the government hotel booking agency who told us one price for a room & then when it came to checking out the room rate had actually doubled!! Hurrah!! The tourist slogan for India should be "Welcome to India! We'll do our best to screw you for all you're worth."

The 'hotel' we eventually settled in was like something from a Dostoyevsky novel, though we did have our own bathroom - it was the other side of the hotel but it was ours.

Mumbai was very draining. Street sellers were constantly hassling, there were hustlers selling everything from balloons to cocaine & Kerry couldn't walk down the street without being stared at or touched up in some way; there was nothing Paul could do, these blokes were well practiced at a sly touch. The other very bizarre thing is the amount of photo's that we have been asked to pose for, with babies, small children and teenage boys (just Kerry). Some people do it subtly whilst pretending to take a picture of the landscape. others just ask. Paul gets a bit touchy when it is men asking for Kerry's photo (i think he wants to be photographed).

The beggars were everywhere & persitent, particularly the kids. We felt like baddies from Oliver Twist not giving them cash but you can't give to all of them. They've obviously been tutored in how to pierce the western conscience, they say things like "I need rice.", "I need sweets.", "I'm very hungry." or the ones carrying around a baby would say "Please sir/madam my baby brother needs food, please help." Heart breaking - at first. They follow you around, tugging at your sleeves/trousers & after the 50th time in 10 mins it gets annoying. And, although these kids can speak English well enough there are certain words they don't understand; principally "NO!" & any word usually associated with "...OFF!" We also got the impression that they'd soon as spit on you & rob you. Paul caught a girl who couldn't have been more than 5 years old attempting to pick pocket him.

Did some sight seeing - Gateway of India & Elephanta Island which were OK but not great. Went to see a Bollywood film which was great. Obviously it was in Hindi so we couldn't understand what was being said but the actiing & music were so OTT that we got the gist. During the interval (this thing was a 3 hours+ epic) some kind people (there were one or two) approached us & explained waht had been happening. Just watching the audience was as entertaining as the film; they really got into it, cheering, applauding & whislting at important parts of the film.

The highlight of Mumbai was arriving at the train station ready to get our train to Goa!
]]> Elephants, Saris and Perverts — Colva Goa, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1101771000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1101771000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1101771000/tpod.html Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:06:49 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Colva Goa, India

Hello from sunny Goa. Pierre tells me that the weather in Crookes is terrible - loads of snow etc. Just to reassure everyone the weather here is pretty boring; sun rises at 6am, shines brilliantly all day until 6.30pm sunset. I'm sure you're all upset to hear that.

Goa is fantastic. Much more chilled than Mumbai, the people are friendly & even though we still get hassled by market traders it's not as aggressive.

Colva is a proper holiday resort, particularly for Indian people so it can get hectic. We're staying about 10 mins from the town where it's v. v. quiet. Our hotel is smack bang between 2 villages - both with traditional huts made from thatchted palm leaves (and the odd bit of plastic). The village in front of us is a fishing village built on the beach & the walk to our fave beach bar shack invovles us walking through village saying hello to the mums & dads & ignoring their kids who without fail will say "Hello. Rupees?" with a filthy held out hand.

Been here for a week now & we've become part of beach life. Kerry has made best friends with sarong/jewellery/henna selling sari women & they sit around our sun beds chatting away, interspersed with us buying them drinks & fruit for their kids. Paul is best friends with the bar man Joseph who is hilarious. Calls Paul "Paul Sir" & nothing is too much trouble for him.

Big scandal on Saturday. The fuzz turned up & arrested 4 of the sari women for ilegally trading on the beach. Funny to watch the women pegging it down the beach, a whirl of bright blue, red & yellow saris throwing their sarongs as they went or stuffing bags under sunbeds - the rozzers wouldn't dare touch a tourist. The sad bit is that the women were locked up for the night & then a 'fine' of buying back their confiscated goods & paying more backsheesh.

Of course the women are out of pocket so we're buying them more drinks & fruit (& paying double for the fruit at that coz the fruit woman also got nicked).

Biggest hassle on the beach are the pervy Indian men. In Colva for a holiday they walk up & down the westernised bits perving at the western women's...well bits. Yesterday two old pervs were taking photos of the girls (including Kerry) the bar man from the shack ran over, snatched the camera from the photographer's hairy palms & ripped out the film!!

Had a day away from the beach & went to see the Exposition of St Fancis Xavier. Poor sod has been dead for 400 years (shrivelled a bit, skin a little leathery but not looking too bad). Every 10 years they drag him out for pilgrims to look at (he's in a glass case, obviously). Imagine the smell. 10's of thousands of Christian Indian people make the pilgrimage & attend a special mass. 3rd Dec is his feast day when they carry him around in a parade, it was a bit crackers when we went so we're not too bothered about missing the celebrations. Interesting fact. It's exactly 10 years since Paul was last in Goa & also the last time St Francis was disturbed.

Last time Paul was here he went to the hippy market at Anjuna beach. He had a brilliant time watching the albino circus family, fire eaters, snake charmers & acrobats. He also enjoyed walking around looking at the stalls full of Indian & hippy crafts. This time he hated it. No albino family, no snake charmers etc. The market symbolises the impact package tourism has had on north Goa. The market was full of stalls selling overpriced tatty 'I Love Goa' T shirts, along with badly made jewellery, fake designer gear, very dodgy fags (it might say Marlboro on the pack but it was definately camel poo inside). All at premium price of course. Many stall holders unwilling to haggle & selling inferior stuff to the beach sari girls at 3 times their price. What a shame. Anybody planning on visiting Goa - don't go. The Saturday night market is supposed to be better - we didn't bother trying it.

Hotel we're staying at is called Lucky Star. Only us & another back packer couple the rest are German or Dutch package holiday types. Which suits us fine because the waiters & bar man love us for being English (& young). We eat in the hotel every night & now know all the waiters' names, their life stories, hopes, dreams & aspirations. After the restaurant manager leaves for the night the waiters come over to our table for a chat, a game of cards or to show us magic tricks. They've also got Paul hooked on Fenni, otherwise known as Goan fire water. Very strong stuff!!

We're off now to pack our bags ready for the last 3 weeks of the trip.
]]> Chatting and Cooking — Chiang Mai, Thailand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102660200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102660200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1102660200/tpod.html Wed, 10 Nov 2004 01:31:29 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Chiang Mai, Thailand

The rest of our time in Chiang Mai has been spent eating, drinking, sleeping and shopping in lots of different markets. There have been three highlights though.

On monday night we went to Wat Suan Dok to experience the Monk Chat. It is literally what it says it is, you go in and sit and chat to a monk. When we arrived outside the chat room we were greeted by 3 very excited and eager monks trying to entice us to their table (being careful not to come within 5 metres of Kerry - not because she smells but because they are not allowed to touch females). We took our shoes off and followed one of them, were shown to a table and given some water and then were expected to chat!! It was quite awkward to begin with but we soon got into the swing of it and 1 1/2 hours later we were still there. Paul was asking them lots of impressive questions about creation and Buddhism whilst Kerry asked really stupid questions about where they got their robes and if there were any women monks. It was really good fun and the monks were really friendly and keen to practice their english and to discuss the differences between our cultures and lives, even if they did keep giggling at us as though we were really thick.

During the day on Monday we visited a village on the outskirts of Chiang Mai where they just make umbrellas, it was most bizarre every shop either made umbrellas, sold umbrellas or displayed umbrellas. All made out of paper as well which added to the surrealness of the place, surely water would just leak through a paper umbrella??? The tuk tuk driver that had taken us to the village then very honestly asked us if we would visit a silk factory and a carpet shop so that he could get the commission for taking us there. We stupidly agreed and spent the next 20 minutes being shown goods that we didn't want. We had to politely say no thankyou and then fight our way out of the shop through the locked doors!!

The only other highlight of Chiang Mai was cookery classses (i know Kerry cooking). We went on a course run by the Gaps house guesthouse and learnt to cook 6 traditional Thai dishes including spring Rolls from scratch. They were actually not only edible but tasted quite nice. The 2 instructors were crackers and kept interspersing their sentences with mmmmmmmm's and aaaaaaaaah's and made it a really funny day and although we were knackered and full when we got home, we really enjoyed it. So for the next year if you get invited to our house for a dinner party expect Thai food.
]]> Elephants, rafts and two hurting feet — Chiang Mai, Thailand http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1099832400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1099832400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wordsworths/honeymooners/1099832400/tpod.html Wed, 10 Nov 2004 01:27:39 -0500 Two lovebirds and one stuffed (pink!) hippo travel some of the world - together.
Chiang Mai, Thailand

To get to Chiang Mai Paul had the bright idea that we should travel as the Thai's do and get the train from Ayuthya. Well it usually takes 12 hours so we opted for overnight in a sleeper compartment, of course when we arrived at the train station at 9pm for our train it was delayed an hour and a half. When we finally boarded the train it was hilarious. The whole carriage was full of bunk beds either side of the central gangway so in all 1 carriage slept about 40 people. As soon as we found our beds for the night we were offered beer and breakfast for the morning, it was like a weird hotel. It was so noisy and rocky though that neither of us got any sleep and by the time we got to Chiang Mai we were both in very bad moods. Kerry is hoping to persuade Paul to fly back.

For two people who hate being dirty, hate walking and hate camping we have done a lot of trekking in out of the way places on this trip: The outback and desert in Australia, Glaciers in New Zealand and jungle in Thailand. We decided to add hill trekking to our list and booked on to a hill tribe trek in Chiang Mai. Being the wimps that we are we decided on (what we thought would be) the easier option and went for the 2 day, 1 night trip instead of the 3 day, 2 night version.

We were picked up in the morning and drove 2 hours to reach the base of the hill we were to walk up, i say hill but it was more like a mountain range than any hill i have ever seen, it was huge! We started with a trek uphill over rocks and through forests in the sunshine and heat at a walking rate i can only describe as running, the whole trip we were expected to keep up with the Thai guide who made Steve Cram look like an amateur. Added to this every couple of minutes we had to cross rivers and streams over bridges made out of a log or two, they were the most unsafe looking bridges ever and with Pauls lack of balance it was an achievement every time not to fall in.

Anyway after 2 hours of torture we finally arrived in the hill tribe village that we were to stay the night. Our hotel (hee hee) was a shack with a few thin mattresses and mosquito nets on the wooden raised floor, their were no doors or partitions and the bathroom consisted of a whole in the floor with a barrel of water and a saucepan to flush the toilet and use as a shower!! The village was amazing though, about 20 families live here speaking their own language and living by their own customs. There were lots of children all walking around bare foot and absolutely filthy but gorgeous. Animals like pigs, dogs, cats, cows just roam the village free waiting to be eaten. In the evening some of the villagers joined us around the camp fire and sang traditional tribal songs to us whilst sharing their very strong moonshine (sticky rice whiskey/wine thing). It was so cool.

Next day we all got up at 8am (although the cocks started crowing at 2.30am so we had been awake for hours) and started off on trek number 2. A 2 hour walk through rice paddy fields to get to the elephant camp. It is really difficukt to walk through a paddy field as you have a very thin piece of firm land to walk on with soggy, swampy rice plants either side. It felt like being a balance beam gymnast at high speed. Eventually we reached the elephant camp and climbed onto our elephant (you had to stand on its neck to get on the seat!!). For the next 1 1/2 hours we hung onto the crappy seat as we were nearly tipped out onto the floor as we traversed hills, crossed rivers and balanced on little ledges. Elephants are amazing animals but very uncomfortable and very scary to ride on.

We then walked for another 3 hours to reach our waterfall lunch spot and then had a further 2 hour walk to reach the river. By this time we were fed up of walking and very hot and tired. It was a bit rubbish as you had to walk so fast to keep up with the guide and not get lost that you couldn't look at the scenery and your eyes were constantly looking at your feet so that you didn't fall over. Eventually we reached the river and got onto bamboo rafts for the rest of the journey back down the hill. They were literally a few bamboo canes laced together and a man with a stick, we got absolutely soaked but it was really good fun.

In the truck on the way back to town we were comparing injuries. Kerry had a very swollen ankle after twisting it and lots of mosquito bites, Paul had some previous blisters that had rubbed so much they had got infected and he is now on antibiotics, and we were both covered in cuts and bruises but it was a really good experience that we had both enjoyed. Oh and we found out that the 3 day trip is exactly the same as the 2 day trip just done at a slower, easier pace!!!
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