Living out the suitcase in India

Our Japan blog is now available

2006-06-06T12:41:00.000Z

Click here Living outta the suitcase in JAPAN or on the Japan link from the Itinerary list.

Happy reading Bloggers!!

2006-04-23T11:33:00.000Z

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

2006-04-22T13:14:00.000Z

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

2006-04-21T13:45:00.000Z

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

2006-04-21T13:08:00.000Z

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

2006-04-20T15:13:00.000Z

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

Cute Pups!!

2006-04-19T16:06:00.000Z

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

2006-04-18T15:20:00.000Z

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

2006-04-18T15:04:00.000Z

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

2006-04-18T14:31:00.000Z

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

2006-04-18T12:59:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T17:17:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T16:33:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T16:31:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T16:29:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T16:23:00.000Z

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!!!!!!

2006-04-15T16:20:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T15:50:00.000Z

My hunny and a stunning view of Vagator Bay.

Journal - 5th April 2006

2006-04-15T15:48:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T15:06:00.000Z

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

2006-04-15T14:52:00.000Z

Paul looking rather pleased with his desert :)

Hariharan concert photies

2006-04-08T15:11:00.000Z

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

2006-04-08T15:10:00.000Z

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

2006-04-08T15:02:00.000Z

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

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

Chandigarh - photies

2006-04-08T14:44:00.000Z

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

2006-04-08T14:26:00.000Z

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

2006-04-08T14:18:00.000Z

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

City Palace, Jaipur - photie

2006-04-08T14:02:00.000Z

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

Taj Mahal - photie

2006-04-08T13:49:00.001Z

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.

Amusing Moments - Mumbai, India

2006-03-21T12:55:00.000Z

Uh Oh: Today we popped out locally for half an hour with my cousin Mayank... he sneakily took the car as he doesnt have a license, and we went to maccies, and when we got out we discovered the car had been towed away - So we decided to go to the Police Station to see if i could play it thick & get the car out of them (without my international license) to save his skin.. but the car wasnt there its aparantly half an hr away in some parking lot. So right now, while we are surfing the web (quite happily) he has got a lift with his mate and currently trying to get the car back by showing his mates licence.. We'll let you know - whether we got the car back safely without anyone knowing at home that it ever went missing.
As tonight they are supposed to take us out to the Mall & the beach.. to be continued......

EVERYWHERE IS A TOILET

2006-03-20T23:30:00.000Z

Don't be to taken aback if you see people weeing against the wall in India. Everywhere is a toilet for the locals. It is something you get used to seeing by the end of your visit. Of course we did get used to the not walking too close to the walls in most streets as this stunk of wee a bit.

HAND HOLDING SCANDAL

2006-03-20T23:00:00.000Z

Yes it's true, there are a huge amount of guys in India who hold hands as they walk through the streets. One of our relatives Jason was told on his first visit to India that all of these people were indeed gay(Jason walking around suprised by how out of the closet India was). After some time he was told that it's just the way things are here, it is acceptable for guy friends to hold hands. Crazy!!

BUYING AIN'T EASY

2006-03-20T17:17:00.000Z

Buying things in India seems to be a major problem. First we go to a train station to buy a ticket. Aside from the usual problem that people in India don't know how to stand in line, when you find yourself at the front you are given this essay to fill out just to go from one place to another(god help you if you have to cancel). This seemed strange but we thought, "Hey they just haven't got a system sorted yet, it's a station, it needs some security".

But then we went into a regular shop. I picked up some hair gel, went to the counter and asked to pay. The woman at the counter took the gel from me and printed out a receipt which she gave to me (eh what's going on here then). I was then ushered to another counter where I gave the receipt in and was allowed to pay.

He then gave me another receipt which I took to a third counter where they gave me the hair gel which I had originally picked up. And this was not just one shop, they all had equally crazy systems such as swipe card systems, muliple counters, bag checks at supermarkets and storage for your handbags as you enter shops. Way up tight.

Journal - 20th March 2006

2006-03-20T13:23:00.000Z

We're sitting in Delhi's domestic airport lounge. And there are continuous anoucements for passengers to identify their luggage.
We've been through a fair few of India domestic airports now, but i cannot get my head around this process of identifying your luggage manually - after your bags have been through the baggage screening and through check-in.
We're expected to go out on the runway, and tell an official which ones are our bags, so he can load them onboard. As unless baggage is identified it is not loaded on the aeroplane. Just another something that you have to do that slows you down.
Dont know if anyone heard me complaining today but we didnt have to do for our flight to Mumbai i dont know if it had anything to do with flying Jet Airways, but we most certainly had to go through the process with Spicejet & Air Deccan .

We're in Mumbai now, and really can feel the heat out here..! Its been hot of course, ever since we left icecold England, but guess we havent felt it being unbearable hot yet.. until now.. !!
Oohh! now Pauly will catch a tan i hope..
Well Mumbai definately seems alot less dusty - we spotted quite a few official street cleaners out here on the drive home to from the airport, and they are actually doing something about keeping the city clean by the looks of it, well they are so here in Andheri West the rest of the city we are yet to see. But we are looking fwd to it.
Its quite alot more built up out here now too, than what i remember from 5 years ago. Quite a few more shopping malls have gone up. And i spotted a Reliance Webworld place, right opposite the place we are staying at the mo, so thats pretty handy in itself..!

Memorable Moment: Delhi, India

2006-03-20T13:21:00.000Z

Oooh that hurt: The little terror that is Tanmay, one of our relatives. One day as Paul was minding his own business walking through the house. As Paul passed, Tanmay cheekily slapped him. He caught him square in the balls. Nice one little guy. Some day this will happen to you and you will think twice of inflicting such misery on others.

Memorable Moments: 1st taxi cab experience in India

2006-03-20T13:14:00.000Z

Paul's indian road experience: After bartering a good rate we jump into a taxi home. At this point I learn how different the roads are in India.
People ignore the lane markings & pretty much all the road rules for that matter. They do know how to horn though. They horn when they are near another car, when they pass & sometimes just cause they feel like it.

On the way home our taxi driver was like a maniac, pulling stunts that i wouldnt have the bottle to do when playing a computer game. Eventually he pulled over & decided he was too tired to drive any further & pulled over a rickshaw to take us the rest of our journey.

Right so that should be safer, maybe for a little while. Then we eventually get lost so Mr rickshaw driver decides to stop for directions. Hey no problem but then as we are passing some guy walking in the street smacking a big stick off the ground he decides to stop and ask him. Me wetting my pants thinking for christ's sake is there nobody else to ask, for god's sake he's smacking a big stick off the ground walking through the street in the early hours of the morning!!!

This is where Bobbi informs me this is India nightwatchman. Later Ashish corrects us that there are these guys who walk through the street smacking a stick off the ground so that people don't sleep so soundly as they ignore burglars.

This sounds like a stupid idea at first but later becomes far beyond insane when you get woken up by it night after night. Things couldn't get worse as far as sleep goes I hear you say. But no, at 6am some guy wakes you up again shouting for you to buy fruit, then his friend selling balloons, then milk, then every god damn other thing under the sun. This continues until regular people would get out of bed. Arseholes!

Amusing Moments: Delhi, India

2006-03-20T13:01:00.000Z

Rush hour entertainment: After a day of sightseeing around Delhi we were heading back home & sitting in traffic while other drivers did the usual gawping. While one particular (quite an elderly man) took quite a fancy to Paul. As both cars while driving parallel to another he simply couldnt take his eyes off Paul, we kept losing him in traffic & then he would catch up again, then he decided to feed his eyes further and decided to wind his window down to continue on with his fixiation.
This all went un-noticed by Paul so i brought his attention to him. And then wicked mind, thougtht "Lets make this more interesting" so I dared Paul to blow him a kiss.... to my surprise he did too, while I was in hysterics at the fact, the old guy gestered thankyou to Paul & pulled off at the next slip road - Hillarious, but mildly strange!!!

Amusing Moments:Delhi, India

2006-03-20T12:55:00.000Z

Lotus Temple: At the entrance we both were standing reading a plaque bout the Bahai Faith when this girl approached us, asking if i was indian, to which i replied "Yes?" she then looked at Paul, then at me, back at Paul then turn towards me & said "Ah! so this must be your Chura" pointing at my bangles.
Dont know whether she went away thinking whether Paul was indian/english but we certainly confused the hell out of her.

Amusing Moments:- Chandigarh, India

2006-03-20T12:30:00.000Z

Chemist: We were enquiring about malaria tablets & the pharmacist gave us a guide book to read through, so while we were reading he shouted back to his colleagues in indian "These people know what chura is" assuming we couldnt understand. So in response to his comment i said "There are such things as weddings out in England too" .
He became very embarrased, when he looked at me quite confused, which deserved him right for thinking out loud like that.

2006-03-19T12:57:00.000Z

*****We'll post our photies on soon!

Journal - 17th March 2006

2006-03-19T12:23:00.000Z

Been to Jaipur & Agra & it was great, however we managed to escape the Holi celebrations. Taj Mahal was as fabulous as we had thought, so far the Lotus Temple in Delhi and the Taj Mahal have been our favourite. We have seen heaps of other old palaces and forts, but they were derelict places with history attahced to them.
We also have seen quite alot of wildlife considering we havent been on a Safari yet. We saw Elephants in Jaipur, Monkeys, Peacocks, Green Parrots, and and a Cheetah too.
Weather has been great, we're not finding it unbearably hot - just appreciate being in the sun i guess.
Now we have the sights in Delhi and surrounding areas out the way - we fly to Mumbai on the 20th so we sat down last night and planned our next part of the trip - We are going to use till the end of this month by staying with Family in mumbai then we are hoping to move out to Goa, Kerela & Bangalore

Journal - 18th March 2006

2006-03-19T12:20:00.000Z

We went to the Akshardam Mandir recently opened here in Delhi today and it was truly the most beautiful & fabulous place that we have been to so far. There is another mandir in Neasden, London, and i realised today that has been created by the BAPS society also. The mandir beats the Taj Mahal by far, with the detail that has gone into the architecture of the building.
We said G'bye to the relies we had been staying with in Vivek Vihar today & they were quite upset at us leaving, they said they had really become used to having us around.
I had another compliment on my chura today, but to my surprise, this girl actually politley approached me, asking me where i had brought it from, opposed to the usual grab of the arm by strangers passing by.

Journal - 18th March 2006

2006-03-19T11:52:00.000Z

Just catching up with our stay so far in India - We've enjoyed the sight seeing wish we could take away the dirty crowds & the rudeness of the stares from passers by. Part of us finds it amusing, that the fact people want to take photies of us with them & the other half finds it totally weird.

We are really beginning to miss the home food now (god knows when the next bag of real fish & chips is going to be) So looking forward to moving on from Delhi to Mumbai, Goa, Banglaore & Kerala to see what they have to offer on the food side.

We went to a TGI Fridays to find there was no steak on the menu.. not even a lamb steak. We went for a couple of combo starters, errr.. not trying the TGI's for a meal for a while, best for cocktails only!