Dear All,
We trust you all had great Christmas and New Years celebrations. I think you may have had snow in the UK before the 25th and are experiencing it now? I'm assuming it wasn't a white Christmas, as I think the news of that would have reached our ears even in Goa!!
Well, it was a very different Christmas for us, but before I go into that I suppose I ought to try and catch up with where I last left off. I must confess that three weeks on the beach has not done wonders for my memory, so this may be a little sketchy in detail! We had visited the Bhuddist caves in Ajanta and Ellora in our last posting. They were a pretty amazing site, being carved into existing mountains and volcanic rock formations. The temple at Ellora was probably the most impressive with two stories and incredibly elaborate carvings. The caves also had waterfalls going over them at points and would have been the most beautiful place to live. That was the great thing about both sets of caves; you could really imagine how a community of people had lived there 2000 years ago.
After seeing both sets of caves, we were relly ready to head for the coast. We've been driving now for 5 months and our longest stop was back in Turkey for just over a week. So, we decided not to stop in Mumbai. We would loved to have gone, but cities of 16 million are best experienced when you have the energy for them, and dare I say it, a hotel! So, we headed from Aurangabad towards Pune - pronounced Poonah. We stopped over one night there before heading towards the Konkan coast.
In the Lonley Planet they suggest that some areas of the Konkan coast have beaches to rival the Maldives. We didn't find those beaches - Mark has been to the Maldives, so he knows - but we did find some lovely beaches, the best being near Tarkali. The difference with the beaches there is that they were working beaches as opposed to tourist beaches. The villages rely totally on fishing. We spent a couple of days there and met many of the locals. They were really friendly and loved the van - where we parked at the end of the penninsula some fishermen sleep outside - its pretty hot - so we got to know them a bit. Mark played cricket with them at sunset - they hit his wicket the first ball they bowled!
Getting closer to Goa we couldn't help but play the Alabama 3 track 'I ain't going to Goa', which has a line in it which goes soemthing like this: 'there aint nothing worse than some old white hippy wearing luminous spandex trousers, smoking dope and saying he found enlightenment!' That track was very apt for us going into Arambol in Northern Goa. It is like hippy central! The main street in the town is called Glastonbury Street!
There were more dreadlocks and tie-dye than you could shake a stick at and every evening at sunset a load of people- maybe around 100-150 - would gather to watch the sun go down and sing and play drums and dance! We had great enjoyment watching it!!
When we were heading for Goa we had thought mainly of going to Agonda in the South, but Pete and Caf, who we met in Amritsar were staying here, so we thought we'd pop in for a few days and see them. However, we got such a great spot right on the beach that we didn't leave for two weeks!
Where we parked there had been an old beach bar last year so we were 50 metres or so from the sea and had a view right over it. The old beach bar had left all their equipment in a shack nearby, which was emptied when we were there. They didn't want their tandoor oven - made in an old oil drum from clay and ground glass - so they gave it to us. We had a go a making tandoori breads and a more succesful attempt at cooking tandoori chicken, prawns, squid and fish. It was a cool set-up. Veronika and Christian were great neighbours, it was so peaceful as we were a long way from any roads and we just really enjoyed being on the beach.
However, as we had always intended to go to Agonda, and as we had our friends Simon and Handan in Palolem, whcih is 7km south of Agonda, we knew we should move on. We were worried of course that we may get there and it wouldn't be as good as Arambol. Our worries were totally unfounded. Agonda beach and the area where the overland trucks park is just out of this world.
We arrived on new years eve and were the 16th truck there on this date! They were mainly German trucks, we later learnt that there had been a programme in Germany about overlanding and Agonda beach, hence the numbers. Overlanding in Germany is much bigger than here and what's really nice is that it's not all people with lots of money in huge trucks, its also young people in battered old buses who manage it too!
We spent new years with Simon, Handan and their beautiful daughter Zola in Palolem. We stopped with them until my birthday on the 2nd and then returned to Agonda. After a few days some of the trucks started to leave and we managed to get a great spot right in front of the sea and with three palm trees around us. We were awaiting the arrival of Alan and Shameem and wanted to set up a great camp. We bought those wedding canopies in Ahmedabad and a great big rug in Jaipur for this moment - so we set about tying our canopy to the palm trees and with our rug underneath it, it was the perfect place to sit.
The two palm trees framed the scene in front of you like a huge screen. I remember in the UK at work, I would have some screen saver that was a beautiful tropical beach. Well here it was real. I'll describe the beach. Unlike Arambol which was a massive long beach this was more of a bay. It was still big. It would take you half an hour to walk from one end to the other. It was lined with palm trees and other types of trees - but at our end mainly palm trees. There were big rocks jutting out at the end of the bay where we were and then behind them a jungle through which you could walk to Palolem. So, it was a beautiful yellow sanded beach with greenery and rocks. We were thirty steps from the sea. The first couple of nights we stayed the sea seemed really loud in the van, but you had to just let the sound of the waves wash over you and in an instant you were asleep.
Waking up there in the mornings was great. Sometimes we'd just go straight for the sea and swim, othertimes have breakfast overlooking the sea and our neighbours swimming! The beach wasn't busy during the week at all, mostly there would be a few couples on the beach. At weekends Indian tourists would come to relax and have a party - which was cool. There were a couple of small fishing boats on the beach too - sometimes you could watch them bringing the boat back in and see what they'd caught. It was pretty idyllic and we felt so relaxed there.
We had great services too. Every morning two bakers would come selling bread and cakes and vegetable puffs. The Germans even got the baker making apple strudle every day!! We had a water delivery every other day in huge twenty litre tubs that we could empty into our tank with a huge funnel and pipe. Our neighbours were great. We had German, Dutch and Slovenian overlanders there. We ate together many times. Someone would go to Chowdi, the local town and pick up 4 kilos of king prawns - they were 4 pounds a kilo - we would cook them in loads of garlic and chilli and lemon and everyone would chip in with a salad or potatoes etc.
The real highlight for us was that Alan and Shameem were coming to meet us in Goa. We wanted to be in the right place and were so chuffed with Agonda as we knew we'd have great time there. We found them a beach hut around 200 metres from the van - looking right over the sea. We'll put pics up soon, promise! They arrived 3.30 in the morning, so we went to the airport in a cab and picked them up. We got to Agonda just in time to see the sunrise with a cold beer! It was so brilliant to see them - I can't tell you how happy we all were!
They had brought us lots of goodies from the UK, not least a stocking from my Dad! We opened our Christmas presents at 7am! After a sleep until midday we enjoyed the sunshine, the sea and the beach.The next week went so quickly. Alan and Mark set up a volleyball court in front of us with Mandy and Stefan - our new friends from Germany. There were a few days of volleyball tournaments! We swam, read, listened to music, chatted and sunbathed and visited Simon, Handan, Zola, and their friend Sarah in Palolem. They came over to see us for a day as well. We walked around Agonda and along the beach, went out for meals and drinks. I'm sure everyone else can remember more detail, but you get the drift!
They left us after a week and headed for Hampi, Gokarna and Kerala. We had arranged to meet in Varkala, Kerala a week or so later. Mark and I did not want to leave Agonda. We had said we would go to do some more sight seeing in Southern India, but instead we enjoyed that beautiful beach until the last possible moment! We left ourselves three days to get to Kerala and went via Gokarna, Ullal and finally Chettuwa before we arrived in Varkala three days later. In Chettuwa, we were taken to a local festival by some young people. They were every proud of Kerala and the fact that they had many cultures living togther in harmony. In fact, these young muslims took us to a Hindu temple for this festival. We really enjoyed their company and after being in a beach bubble for 5 weeks, which we were miserable to leave, we were reminded again of how special that travelling experience can be.
We drove into Varkala at 6 the next evening and knew Shams and Alan were arriving at roughly the same time on the train. The amazing thing was that just as we were driving past the train station, Shameem ran out into the middle of the road trying to hail a tuc tuc! After nearly running her over - we followed them in a tuc tuc to the northern part of Varkala - Odayam beach.
We've had great time and don't want them to go, but our other friends Tracey and Martin arrive the day after and we'll have great week with them too. I suppose our next update maybe when they've gone. We'll have four days until my cousin Jane arrives on the 10 February (how lucky are we - three visits). Kerala is beautiful. In India they call it God's own country. If I believed in God I'd probably agree with them, but even in the absence of an almighty power this is a beautifully lush countryside with so many things to explore. Tea plantations, spice plantations, hill stations, backwaters and beaches. It doesn't get much better than this!
Until the next time, much love,
Jo and Mark
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Happy Christmas from Goa
Dear All,
Happy Christmas!!
You will be pleased to know, no doubt, that we are happily ensconsed within the beach life of northern Goa in Arambol. It is a beautiful long sandy beach, palm tree-fringed on the Arabian Sea. The water is warm and we spend our time either looking at it or in it! The van is parked on the edge of the beach on an old beach bar site. We have two Austrian neighbours: Veronica and Christian. It's perfect.
We will be thinking of you all tomorrow, tucking into your roast dinners! We're going out with Gemma, Mark, Pete, Caf, Christian and Veronica in the evening.
The mobile we had has packed up. It's a long and frankly tedious story, but the new mobile is
00919561746810
We'll miss you all,
Lots of love
Jo and Mark xx
Happy Christmas!!
You will be pleased to know, no doubt, that we are happily ensconsed within the beach life of northern Goa in Arambol. It is a beautiful long sandy beach, palm tree-fringed on the Arabian Sea. The water is warm and we spend our time either looking at it or in it! The van is parked on the edge of the beach on an old beach bar site. We have two Austrian neighbours: Veronica and Christian. It's perfect.
We will be thinking of you all tomorrow, tucking into your roast dinners! We're going out with Gemma, Mark, Pete, Caf, Christian and Veronica in the evening.
The mobile we had has packed up. It's a long and frankly tedious story, but the new mobile is
00919561746810
We'll miss you all,
Lots of love
Jo and Mark xx
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Chittorgarh to Ajanta
Dear all,
I realise it's been a while since we wrote. I almost felt neglectful when it dawned on me last night that it had been a couple of weeks. It really is true that time flies when you're having fun! I suppose I shouldn't gloat too much, when I know that you're all dealing with rain, coldness and the general greyness of the British winter!
The strange thing is we know that you're all gearing up for Christmas. Linda, Gra, Jordan and Rebecca's tree has gone up, Christmas shopping is busily being done and plans for big dinners and drinking are taking place! These are the things that we would normally be a part of, so it's very strange to be in the sunshine and heading for the beach. I promise this isn't gloating, it just feels so different.
When we last wrote we had been camping in the fort at Chittor. We had bout of luxury after we left there and stayed for two days in a beautiful hotel called Castle Bijaipur. Mark had always wanted to stay in a real-life old castle and this fitted the bill. It was built in the16th century and has classic Rajasthan architecture. The owner of the hotel upgraded us to a suite for the same price as a double room. He was very impressed with our journey and had done some of his own 4x4 travel.
The setting was fantastic. We spent some of our day around the marble swimming pool, some walking around the stables, chatting with other residents, having long hot showers (our idea of luxury!) and eating! The evening started with drinks in the courtyard where we were treated to Indian dance and fire breating. After this we went to our table by the pool for a hot Indian buffet meal. We met two fellow Londoners there who had left London seven years ago for a most intersting life; they now spend 6 months of a year in an Umbrian ruin in Italy and 6 months in Bijaipur teaching in local schools.
When we had finished our stay at the hotel Jude and Alistair let us camp in the grounds of their new cottage, being built 500 meters from the hotel. The man who owns the hotel owns most of the valley it stands in and has opened a school for impoverished girls. Jude teaches English there. We were fascinated by their story. We cooked them dinner that night with the spinach from the fields we were camping in and fresh turmeric, which we've never had before.
After our glorious retreat into Bijaipur and our historical and quiet isolation in Chittor, we were ready to face another city. Udaipur has been described as the Venice of India. It is a lovely place and boasts the Lake Palace where parts of the James Bond film Octopussy were filmed. We enjoyed our time there attending another cooking lesson, having a tin door made for the kitchen cupboard, eating and drinking and meeting other travellers. We stayed near Brahmpole next to a school and had good access to the old city. We spent a really good night with Sasha, a 23 year old from Moscow, who had never left Russia before and was enjoying his first holiday abroad. With him we met Sara and Alberto from Madrid and Nikel and his friend from Mumbai, and had a great evening.
We left the next day and headed South-west through Gujarat. We stopped in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat. We loved this place for two reasons; we bought a car stereo and canpopies for the beach! The stereo Mark's mum Shiela bought for us in the UK went wrong - thanks Sony - so we sent it back and Shiela bought us another. We can't tell you how much we have loved having music back! Its brilliant! Can you believe we bought a Queen CD and sing at the top of our voices 'I want to break free', 'Don't stop me now', and other cheesy but great tunes! I think they call those things 'guilty pleasures'. Mark will probably curse me for dicslosing this on the blog!!
The canopies we bought are the ones they use here for weddings. They are huge canvas decorated sheets that are sewn with rope so they don't rip. They are usually suspended over bamboo poles. The idea is that when we get to the beach in Goa we can set up a large shaded area for us and our friends to sit and eat and lounge under. We bought a huge outdoor rug as well. It sounds like we're spending a lot of money, but of course, being India, it's cheap.
We are really looking forward to the beach and not least to our friends Alan and Shameem and Tracey and Martin coming out to see us. How exciting!! Alan and Shameem come out in the second week of January to Goa and then we're travlling South to Kerala via Hampi. Tracey and Martin are joing us in the first week of February in Kerala.
Anyway, after Ahmedabad we headed further through Gujarat and stopped in an empty field amongst fields of sugarcane. We were near a village called Pisad, near Bardoli. We managed to meet twenty or so men from the village under rather tense circumstances! When we parked, we were aware that there were some people with motorbikes looking at the van, but they didn't come and knock on the door or say hello. Men on motorbikes are ten a penny in India and we didn't think much to it. We were however, quite surprised that no-one came to say hello.
About an hour later, when it was dark we saw more motorbike headlights appear and were rather alarmed by people shouting and banging sticks on the van! We opened the door and shone a torch out to see twenty or so men who suddenly looked very relieved to see two white tourists in fron of them. They had experienced thefts locally, not least their electric irrigation system, and thought it may be the theives returning!!
The next day two of the men came back with a pot of Chai at around 7 in the morning and we then returned with them to the village.
This was an eye-opening experience. The village had a strange combination of one storey normal village houses/cottages and then a load of two storey American/Indian looking houses. A local man named Tack came to greet us and explained that during the 60s when America was seeking educated labour he and many other local Indians had applied to go and succeeded. He was a civil engineer and is now retired. He lives in Washington DC and returns to Gujarat for four months every winter.
As we were eating breakfast the local villagers came in, except this time when they introduced themselves they then said where they came from; Colarado, Texas, Oregan and so on! It was a surreal experience! Most of them run motels in America and were really interesting people to talk to about their time in the US, institutional racism, the Iraq war, Obama and so on. Apparently Indians run seventy per cent of the motel business in the US. We both thought that was pretty remarkable.
From Pisad we headed South, but this time East as well. There are some Buddhist caves in the North of Maharastra that date back some 2,000 years and are carved into the rocks. Ont he way we had our first getting stuck experience. We pulled off the road to camp and ended up in what looked like a dry river bed, but turned out to be not so dry! After some sweat-inducing digging and a vague sense of panic we manged to get out. It took us about an hour, but we were so chuffed with ourselves for doing it! We feel like proper overlanders now!
We made it to Ajanta the next day. The caves were amazing and in a beautiful setting. The countryside is changing again. We drive along in beautiful sunshine and look over what seems to be the Malborough Downs or some other gorgeous rolling hills of the British countryside. In the next bit we'll bring you up to date on the Ajanta and Ellora caves. By then we should be in Goa, having driven the Konkan coast from Murud southwards.
We've also found out that our friends Simon and Handan from Sheffield are in Goa with their 6 month old daughter Zola. We're really looking forward to seeing them too. So, for now, enjoy all your Christmas preparations, we do secretly miss them a bit, and we'll be in touch soon.
Lots of love,
Jo and Mark xx
I realise it's been a while since we wrote. I almost felt neglectful when it dawned on me last night that it had been a couple of weeks. It really is true that time flies when you're having fun! I suppose I shouldn't gloat too much, when I know that you're all dealing with rain, coldness and the general greyness of the British winter!
The strange thing is we know that you're all gearing up for Christmas. Linda, Gra, Jordan and Rebecca's tree has gone up, Christmas shopping is busily being done and plans for big dinners and drinking are taking place! These are the things that we would normally be a part of, so it's very strange to be in the sunshine and heading for the beach. I promise this isn't gloating, it just feels so different.
When we last wrote we had been camping in the fort at Chittor. We had bout of luxury after we left there and stayed for two days in a beautiful hotel called Castle Bijaipur. Mark had always wanted to stay in a real-life old castle and this fitted the bill. It was built in the16th century and has classic Rajasthan architecture. The owner of the hotel upgraded us to a suite for the same price as a double room. He was very impressed with our journey and had done some of his own 4x4 travel.
The setting was fantastic. We spent some of our day around the marble swimming pool, some walking around the stables, chatting with other residents, having long hot showers (our idea of luxury!) and eating! The evening started with drinks in the courtyard where we were treated to Indian dance and fire breating. After this we went to our table by the pool for a hot Indian buffet meal. We met two fellow Londoners there who had left London seven years ago for a most intersting life; they now spend 6 months of a year in an Umbrian ruin in Italy and 6 months in Bijaipur teaching in local schools.
When we had finished our stay at the hotel Jude and Alistair let us camp in the grounds of their new cottage, being built 500 meters from the hotel. The man who owns the hotel owns most of the valley it stands in and has opened a school for impoverished girls. Jude teaches English there. We were fascinated by their story. We cooked them dinner that night with the spinach from the fields we were camping in and fresh turmeric, which we've never had before.
After our glorious retreat into Bijaipur and our historical and quiet isolation in Chittor, we were ready to face another city. Udaipur has been described as the Venice of India. It is a lovely place and boasts the Lake Palace where parts of the James Bond film Octopussy were filmed. We enjoyed our time there attending another cooking lesson, having a tin door made for the kitchen cupboard, eating and drinking and meeting other travellers. We stayed near Brahmpole next to a school and had good access to the old city. We spent a really good night with Sasha, a 23 year old from Moscow, who had never left Russia before and was enjoying his first holiday abroad. With him we met Sara and Alberto from Madrid and Nikel and his friend from Mumbai, and had a great evening.
We left the next day and headed South-west through Gujarat. We stopped in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat. We loved this place for two reasons; we bought a car stereo and canpopies for the beach! The stereo Mark's mum Shiela bought for us in the UK went wrong - thanks Sony - so we sent it back and Shiela bought us another. We can't tell you how much we have loved having music back! Its brilliant! Can you believe we bought a Queen CD and sing at the top of our voices 'I want to break free', 'Don't stop me now', and other cheesy but great tunes! I think they call those things 'guilty pleasures'. Mark will probably curse me for dicslosing this on the blog!!
The canopies we bought are the ones they use here for weddings. They are huge canvas decorated sheets that are sewn with rope so they don't rip. They are usually suspended over bamboo poles. The idea is that when we get to the beach in Goa we can set up a large shaded area for us and our friends to sit and eat and lounge under. We bought a huge outdoor rug as well. It sounds like we're spending a lot of money, but of course, being India, it's cheap.
We are really looking forward to the beach and not least to our friends Alan and Shameem and Tracey and Martin coming out to see us. How exciting!! Alan and Shameem come out in the second week of January to Goa and then we're travlling South to Kerala via Hampi. Tracey and Martin are joing us in the first week of February in Kerala.
Anyway, after Ahmedabad we headed further through Gujarat and stopped in an empty field amongst fields of sugarcane. We were near a village called Pisad, near Bardoli. We managed to meet twenty or so men from the village under rather tense circumstances! When we parked, we were aware that there were some people with motorbikes looking at the van, but they didn't come and knock on the door or say hello. Men on motorbikes are ten a penny in India and we didn't think much to it. We were however, quite surprised that no-one came to say hello.
About an hour later, when it was dark we saw more motorbike headlights appear and were rather alarmed by people shouting and banging sticks on the van! We opened the door and shone a torch out to see twenty or so men who suddenly looked very relieved to see two white tourists in fron of them. They had experienced thefts locally, not least their electric irrigation system, and thought it may be the theives returning!!
The next day two of the men came back with a pot of Chai at around 7 in the morning and we then returned with them to the village.
This was an eye-opening experience. The village had a strange combination of one storey normal village houses/cottages and then a load of two storey American/Indian looking houses. A local man named Tack came to greet us and explained that during the 60s when America was seeking educated labour he and many other local Indians had applied to go and succeeded. He was a civil engineer and is now retired. He lives in Washington DC and returns to Gujarat for four months every winter.
As we were eating breakfast the local villagers came in, except this time when they introduced themselves they then said where they came from; Colarado, Texas, Oregan and so on! It was a surreal experience! Most of them run motels in America and were really interesting people to talk to about their time in the US, institutional racism, the Iraq war, Obama and so on. Apparently Indians run seventy per cent of the motel business in the US. We both thought that was pretty remarkable.
From Pisad we headed South, but this time East as well. There are some Buddhist caves in the North of Maharastra that date back some 2,000 years and are carved into the rocks. Ont he way we had our first getting stuck experience. We pulled off the road to camp and ended up in what looked like a dry river bed, but turned out to be not so dry! After some sweat-inducing digging and a vague sense of panic we manged to get out. It took us about an hour, but we were so chuffed with ourselves for doing it! We feel like proper overlanders now!
We made it to Ajanta the next day. The caves were amazing and in a beautiful setting. The countryside is changing again. We drive along in beautiful sunshine and look over what seems to be the Malborough Downs or some other gorgeous rolling hills of the British countryside. In the next bit we'll bring you up to date on the Ajanta and Ellora caves. By then we should be in Goa, having driven the Konkan coast from Murud southwards.
We've also found out that our friends Simon and Handan from Sheffield are in Goa with their 6 month old daughter Zola. We're really looking forward to seeing them too. So, for now, enjoy all your Christmas preparations, we do secretly miss them a bit, and we'll be in touch soon.
Lots of love,
Jo and Mark xx
The Taj Mahal
Taj at sunrise.
Taj viewed within its gardens.
We have got the obligatory photos of us both in front of the Taj, but they seem to have disappeared off the memory stick temporarily. Rather than delay the blog any further, these two photos hopefully show some of the beauty of the building.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Amber, Jaipur
The fort at Amber, near Jaipur.
At the city palace in Jaipur in the peacock doorway. This was one of four doors into a carpeted courtyard, where many Bollywood films have been made.
Mcleod Ganj
Our truck was parked on the hill in the top right of the picture.
The view from our truck window.
Our neighbours!
Tibetan Momos - made by our own fair hands at Lhamo's kitchen.
Sunset at Mcleod Ganj.
Driving away from Mcleod Ganj, but still in the Himalaya, the cloud is laying like a sheet over the hills behind the houses.
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