Happy reading Bloggers!!

Well there it is folks, don't forget to visit our blogs for the other countries on our Hunnymoon Round the World (links found on the right hand side of the screen).

Farewell India... Bobbi's shorter version

Every time, I write this I try to start off with saying something nice about India but dont know how and when it becomes bitter & negative..
So here goes -

After 3 months of glorious sunshine, and the never ending car horns, pollution & people wanting you money one way or other. We are taking back some great moments, not to mention the experience itself - which has been something that will remain with us forever, both positive & negative.
Well India has everything as far as the materialistic things are concerned but the social attitude of the people living there will always remain. India wants to become something it never can. Until the politicians & government quit filling there pockets.
I found it really ridiculous they had 2 fees for all the sights we visited. One was an Indian national, the other was Foreign national, & that too with an outrageous difference in asking fee. eg: RS.5 / Rs.750 for Indian/Foreigner - why? do the foreigners have x-ray vision where they can get beneath and discover the hidden treasure???
A sacred place like a temple even wants to drain you of every penny for merely watching over your shoes.. Why would anyone want to steal shoes whilst in a sacred place anyway?
Anyways over all the standard will never rise in India as to what is classed as acceptable.. until the people living refuse to accept what is called Standard!

We were almost fumed to death at Bangalore Airport by the construction work going in a different terminal, no apology from staff or any effort to move chairs away from the entrance from where the fumes where entering into the terminal.
No Health and Safety!! - The section where the construction was being undertaken should have been sealed off more securely, better still the terminal should never have been opened to the public.

I found it totally bizzare that an international terminal did not accept credit cards/ visa as form of payment, despite that there wasnt even an ATM in the terminal. We were dying for a drink so decided to pop outside to find an atm as the 100RS we had left were not enough to buy a drink and something to eat inside the airport. I found an ATM alright, but it was being repaired, so found a local shop where i managed to purchase a couple of burgers and a bottle of coke with the indian currency i had left - Great i thought heading back to the terminal with an unopened bottle of coke.
Then it was the mission of getting this bottle open, the only cafe counter in the airport did not have a bottle opener.. managed to get the bottle open in the end using some of the frustration built up by the staff and service at the airport.. using an airport luggage trolley.. this was the result.

I could go on to describe the pain-staking 6 hours of standing in the check in queue we had to go through at the airport also, but now that would be getting bitter - One thing for sure, I would never recommend anyone to travel through Bangalore Airport. I met a lady commenting about how its like this every year and thinking, what the hell are you still using the same airport for then WOMAN!!!

That was the final memory India gave me by which time I couldn't wait to get on that plane to arrive to civilisation - into Singapore.

And Finally - THANKYOU RELIANCE
No this isnt some advertising campaign for Reliance, although i was very tempted to invest into some of their shares.. they appear to be an incredibly fast growing company in India. I can see them being big.
Anyways thank you Reliance Web World, for endless airconditioned hours for us, to assist in completing our india blog... we practically lived there in Bangalore!

Leaving India... Pauls version

SIGNING OFF
Well it's that time, we are leaving India to go to our next stop. India has been an experience and a half, I'm glad i've been here. There have been some sights here that where mind blowing, such as the Taj and the Lotus temple. There have been the drawbacks mind...

Power shower? Heh you're lucky if there is water, let alone water that is hot. in the event you get hot water you then have to get used to bathing from a large bucket. Electricity goes all the time. And if you're watching tv and the electricity hasn't gone, don't get smug because the electricity at the tv station is about to go soon enough. As for people, when you find staring is an olympic sport for them here.

Despite all this and many more I am still glad I came. I met some nice people, tried a lot of new things and whitnesed an entirely new culture to my own. In short India is way behind anywhere else in the world as far as services, society and environment is concerned and is not a place to live but well worth a visit(if everywhere else is booked out that is).

SUMMARY OF CITIES

Delhi: Dusty and dirty, people stare at us white folk, a lot of young guys are pretty perverted, crazy traffic, some good sights though.

Chandigarh: A lot cleaner than Delhi, quite pretty in some areas, people still stare and lot of young are still quite sleezy. Would have been a little boring if it weren't for the family we stayed with keeping us happy and entertained.

Agra: Has some fantastic sights such as the Taj but the rest of the city is pretty poor and run down.

Jaipur: Pretty run down, most of the sights here are also a bit run down. Not as great as reviews claimed.

Mumbai: As close as I got to a city I could live in in India. Lots to do, beaches to see, celebs houses to drive past. Enjoyed my time here. Don't get stared at as much here.

Goa: Even the locals think that this is not like the rest of India and I have to agree. It was like living in luxoury, the sun, sand, the food, the people. Great place! I would recommend this as a place to visit 100%

Bangalore: Pretty much like Mumbai, a regular India city.

Bangalore's Parliament House

The building sure is far more impressive than our good ol' Houses of Parliament back in Westminister.

Cute Pups!!

We totally fell in love with this gorgeous little pup.. he was owned by a friend of our cousin's.


Bobbi frequently harassed the poor owner of the puppies to make him bring the puppies round. One time she stole one of his CD's and blackmailed him to come round with the puppies (in return he would get his beloved CD).





"Please don't wee on my shoulder!"

NASA

We came across this great bar in Bangalore, hiding in a quiet street from Brigade Road - and its designed like a spaceship from the inside.

Journal - 18th April 2006

Bangalore... a city just like any other (in india) - but we prefer Mumbai for the extra little western comforts we had there. More better places to eat.
Must admit tho, they have some great coffee shops out here, we also found a fab ice cream place which do the most gorgeous real strawberry shakes - they are so yum..!!
We are mainly winding down. not looking at many sights here. Just getting some chill out city time. (as if we didnt get enough of the over 2 weeks we had of being a beach bum in Goa)

This is Bangalore's Central Shopping mall, hidden by the trees:

**This is not to be confused with Bangalore's City Market.. which totally sucks, and was far from a pleasant change from MG Road, as described by the retards working for the Lonely Planet... However our journey wasnt a total waste as we managed to pick up a card reader for an absolute bargain from one of the back streets, on our way back while hunting for a Auto Rickshaw.

Benaulim - S.Goa

Recomemded place to stay in South Goa, if visited, has to be Costa's (coloured looking residential estate) cant miss it, on the left as you approach Benaulim beach (via road) or 2 km walk north, along the beach from the Taj Exotica lovely hotel, but dont eat at the Taj's chinese restaurant unless you want to be weeing out of your bum for the next week or so..



Here is a photie of our apartment:

Bridge of death... Arambol,Goa

Before we could step foot on Arambol beach we have to walk the bridge of death! This bridge was made of pretty flimsy bamboo sticks. I thought it was going to collapse. Bobbi on the other hand took great delight in shaking and jumping on the bridge. Fortunately the beach was well worth it. On our return over the rickety bridge we were greeted by two cute little puppies who wanted loads of attention (sooo cute).

CRAZY CRABS

Whilst walking along the beaches in sunny Goa we would often see little craps scurrying past. There were loads of them and they were so fast. They would dive into these little holes that they had dug into the sand. Some of them were huge.

Mobor beach beauty salon....S.Goa

When you are sun bathing, people come along trying to sell you things. On one occasion a man disturbed me snoozing, telling me that my ears were dirty and ridden with sand. He then pulled out this funny rod looking pincer thingy and went to stick it in my ear. "Aaaah" I shouted, "Get away from Me, I don't want anything". The guy took the hint and left.

The Dead Fish Files

Spotted:

• A dead whalrus looking thingy - Arambol
• 2 snakes washed up ashore -1 at Arambol/ 1 at Palolem (so much for Palolem being the most idyllic beach- NOT)

We went on our search for a hot spring at Arambol. It took us a pretty long walk on the stunning sunny beach until we decided that no springs were coming any time soon. We did however find a good bargain on a Goa style shirt (nice and baggy, light linnen). It only cost about £1. Although the beaches were lovely, we did see the occasional dead thing washed up such as snakes and on one occasion a big whalrus looking thing.

Meeting the local drug dealer.... Palolem

Riding around on our scooter travels we would occasionally stop for directions. One day while we were searching for an ATM we stopped and asked one of the locals. He was most helpful with directions but then he went for the hard sell. It turns out that he was the local drug dealer. He pulled out a bag of magic mushrooms and said he could sell us all sorts of other things. We said "Er cheers mate, but we're ok without it thanks" and sped off into the sunset.
It was shocking how open he was about it, as we could've been the undercover drug beating detectives... for all he knew!

Oceanic Hotel, Palolem Beach - Goa

Dont stay here!! This place sucks - and the lonely planet guide's description for this place couldnt be more wrong.. There is another house just down the road from this place, that rents out stunning clean and huge apartments - i will post contact details on for anyone looking for a place to stay in Palolem, Goa.
Otherwise 2km down the road in the opposite direction past Patnem Beach is the Intercontinental Resort - where you cant go wrong.

Lost Season 2!!!!!!

People -
They are still on Lost Season 1 out here.. so did anyone manage to get past Season 2 - episode 10???

Vagator Beach, N.Goa

My hunny and a stunning view of Vagator Bay.

Journal - 5th April 2006

Morjim Beach, Goa - Lying here on this quiet beach under a thatched bamboo shelter to give us some shade from the red hot sun with a cool sea breeze blowing across us ...life feels so relaxed right now.
Pauls is a little sore from the sun exposure so is staying out of it today.
We have been here in North Goa for quite a few days now, we have decided to soak up the sun on a different beach each day. Morjim & Arambol have to be our favourites so far in North Goa - the sand is soft & white, water is warm, no hawkers & not a huge crowd of tourists either.. not to mention cause Morjim serves the best chicken mayo ever.
From Baga beach Arabol is a bit of a hike but well worth it, we are hoping to go back to find the hot springs in the forest north of the beach. And the sulphorous mud, that when smeared over the body it dries to form a butter coloured shell.

Smugglers Inn, Goa - Toilet Sign

I saw this in the toilets at a place called Smugglers Inn, Goa where we were having our evening meal.. i thought it was quite funny so just as well i had my camera handy.

Intercontinental Resort Goa

Paul looking rather pleased with his desert :)

Hariharan concert photies

We caught Hariharan in Concert whilst in Mumbai (for those who dont know: he is dead famous classical music singer) I can see our Jij (Sanjeev) being green with envy!!

Amusing Moments - Mayank & the car

Sorry all for the long wait.. We had to much a fab time in Mumbai just didnt get a chance to get back to the blog..

We got the car back..... and Mayank learnt his lesson, not to sneak the car out without permission again..
Instead he claimed i was doing the driving everytime we had to go out someplace..

On the other hand.. did some early morning driving on Mumbai's empty streets, with no speed restrictions.. or road rules.. was kinda cool, except everyone had a sore back from the not so smooth roads.

more Chandigarh photies

6th March 2006 - Final group photie, before we leave.

6th March 2006 - Being waved off by family at Chandigarh's train station.

Chandigarh - photies

3rd March 2006 - Having a burger at india's burger joint, Hot Millions with family.












3rd March 2006 - After a fabulous meal at the Swagaath Restaurant in Chandigarh with my cousin & her hubbie.

India Gate - photies

8th March 2006, Paul at India Gate in New Delhi (this is before locals began following us around for a photograph)

Here is an example...

Lotus Temple - photies

8th March 2006, The Lotus Temple in New Delhi. India

City Palace, Jaipur - photie

13th March - Paul posing with guards at Jaipur's City Palace., India

Taj Mahal - photie

15th March 2006 - We made it to Agra to see the Taj Mahal - thought we 'd never get round to it, after being ill, and missing the initial booked train, and then the 2nd attempt was by air, before Air Deccan decided (not to delay) but to the cancel the flight.. however we made it in the end by a killer journey via car..the roads were appauling.