So as the 2 people (being hopeful) who read this blog may or may not know I just returned from a 23 day vacation adventure around the wondrous country that is India. The trip went something like this:
Day one:
Take a plane to Delhi, arrive in the morning and take a taxi to the bus stand in Old Delhi. Witness the glory of the Red fort from outside its walls because it costs money to enter. Proceed to walk around the incredibly busy streets until my back hurts from carrying my life on my back. Proceed to loiter at a restaurant for 3 hours. Then walk around more, get to the bus stop at 9 and watch the Delhi traffic pass while I wait for my bus. That night the bus is incredibly and thus no sleep was to be had.
Day Two:
Wake up in what my travel group of 4 thought was Haridwar (aka the start of the Ganges) but instead was Rishikesh (aka the capital of yoga). I was very excited about this mistake as mountains were present. Not white capped but when you watch the sunrise through mountains and its reflected on the holiest river in the world you can't really be disappointed. Then proceeded to walk from hotel to hotel asking about prices until a mystery woman told us to follow her and then ran ahead like Gollum in Shelob's layer. I could barely keep her in eyesight. But she did take us to a hotel where it cost 6 whole dollars a night for a two person room (so pricey!). Spent the rest of the day napping as I hadn't slept in like 48 hours.
Days 3-9:
This time was spent exploring the city, mountains and natural beauty of Rishikesh and reading good books in choice places such as on the beach next to the river Ganga as children attempted a plethora of tricks to fool me into buying pooja. We also found possibly the greatest Restaurant ever whose name will not be exposed for fear that it will end up in the next edition of Lonely Planet. But it was a rooftop tiki bar-type establishment in which you could eat great food ans have a view of the Ganges at night (the best time to see it in my opinion). Overall Rishikesh was an incredibly peaceful place. The feel of the area was so relaxed and it took me until the last night to realize how much I didn't want to leave. It was definitely a place to lose yourself and forget about the complications in life. And for that reason I am appreciative I had the chance to visit it.
Day 10:
In the morning we boarded a bus to go to Haridwar and spent the day roaming the streets looking for the mystery bus stand we were supposed to board our bus on. We finally found it and found out that they had made a mistake and had accidentally booked us for non-AC when we paid for AC. Not a big deal at all but the man thought I was getting mad even after he refunded us. So he offered me a cigarette and when I said no thanks "vine" was offered. I'm not sure if he mispronounced wine or if vine is a euphemism for weed that I just don't know about. Both are about equally plausible. Anyway we once again had a night bus from Haridwar to Delhi
Day11:
Arrival in Delhi and spent the whole day in New Delhi. The metro system there is ridiculously crowded. Especially when carrying frustratingly cumbersome luggage. I never thought a backpack could make me feel morbidly obese. I was hitting someone everywhere I turned. But we finally got to our stop and pile drove through the crowd of people to make it to the India Gate which, I must say, looks a lot bigger in pictures. We spent the day loafing about on the lawn of India Gate and then walking to Connaught Place which is a lovely (and rich) area of Delhi where we once again loafed on a lawn of a nearby park. We then boarded another bus for the start of a 3 day trek to Jaisalmer.
Day 12:
Got into Jaipur in the morning and had to walk straight to the train station to catch our train in time.Trains trains trains! Stopped in Jodhpur and spent the night at a nearby hotel.
Day 13: Woked up at 4:30 to board another train. Road that all day. Then end.
Day 14:
Arrived in Jaisalmer and scheduled a camel trek for the next day. Then wandered around town. Rajasthan is the most colorful place I've visited in India. Turbans everywhere and clothes that are unabashedly gaudy. It is a fun place.
Day 15:
Beginning of camel Trek! Camels hurt yours testicles. There is no way to sugar coat it. It is a wonderful experience but man was my groin sore afterward. But right before sunset we set up camp and the sunset/night/sunrise in the desert is probably one of the most beautiful things I've experienced. I have never seen that many stars and those moments were incredibly memorable. My camel was named either Maria or Muria. The pronunciation varied everytime I asked. He was a good camel but kept eating, not that I blame him.
Day 16:
Woke up in the desert to incredibly cold feet. It sure gets chilly at night but it warms up quickly as soon as the sun rises. Once we ate breakfast we rode again until noon and had lunch, then took a jeep back to our hostel to celebrate the beginning of Diwali! The night was spent at a rooftop restaurant (a pattern with the rooftop restaurants) watching fireworks among other things.
Day17:
Diwali continues as neighborhood children through M80s that are much more powerful than the ones legal in the states at me. Not as fun as one would think but definitely an experience.
If you could not tell I these descriptions are slowly getting shorter. This is because I am getting tired. But I shall keep wrap it up!
Day 18:
Left for Goa. 36 hours in buses. Dear god I have enough time in a bus.
Day 19:
Arrived in Goa and met my friend from back home who is studying at Manipal University. It was weird seeing him in India but very cool. I was glad to see him even if it was only for a couple hours.
Rest of the time:
Relaxed on the beach, read more books, did very touristy things and visited a lot of bookstores. A good time but not really an insight to Indian culture, well unless you count Indian shop keepers because they were everywhere. At the end of the time we took a non AC government run bus back to Mysore. Now the government buses are packed. Like as many people as you could fit into a bus packed. So that 17 hour bus ride was quite uncomfortable.
But I'm back to where I have internet and a room and even though my adventures were wonderful I am glad to be back. And thus concludes vacation timez. Good stuff.
Day one:
Take a plane to Delhi, arrive in the morning and take a taxi to the bus stand in Old Delhi. Witness the glory of the Red fort from outside its walls because it costs money to enter. Proceed to walk around the incredibly busy streets until my back hurts from carrying my life on my back. Proceed to loiter at a restaurant for 3 hours. Then walk around more, get to the bus stop at 9 and watch the Delhi traffic pass while I wait for my bus. That night the bus is incredibly and thus no sleep was to be had.
Day Two:
Wake up in what my travel group of 4 thought was Haridwar (aka the start of the Ganges) but instead was Rishikesh (aka the capital of yoga). I was very excited about this mistake as mountains were present. Not white capped but when you watch the sunrise through mountains and its reflected on the holiest river in the world you can't really be disappointed. Then proceeded to walk from hotel to hotel asking about prices until a mystery woman told us to follow her and then ran ahead like Gollum in Shelob's layer. I could barely keep her in eyesight. But she did take us to a hotel where it cost 6 whole dollars a night for a two person room (so pricey!). Spent the rest of the day napping as I hadn't slept in like 48 hours.
Days 3-9:
This time was spent exploring the city, mountains and natural beauty of Rishikesh and reading good books in choice places such as on the beach next to the river Ganga as children attempted a plethora of tricks to fool me into buying pooja. We also found possibly the greatest Restaurant ever whose name will not be exposed for fear that it will end up in the next edition of Lonely Planet. But it was a rooftop tiki bar-type establishment in which you could eat great food ans have a view of the Ganges at night (the best time to see it in my opinion). Overall Rishikesh was an incredibly peaceful place. The feel of the area was so relaxed and it took me until the last night to realize how much I didn't want to leave. It was definitely a place to lose yourself and forget about the complications in life. And for that reason I am appreciative I had the chance to visit it.
Day 10:
In the morning we boarded a bus to go to Haridwar and spent the day roaming the streets looking for the mystery bus stand we were supposed to board our bus on. We finally found it and found out that they had made a mistake and had accidentally booked us for non-AC when we paid for AC. Not a big deal at all but the man thought I was getting mad even after he refunded us. So he offered me a cigarette and when I said no thanks "vine" was offered. I'm not sure if he mispronounced wine or if vine is a euphemism for weed that I just don't know about. Both are about equally plausible. Anyway we once again had a night bus from Haridwar to Delhi
Day11:
Arrival in Delhi and spent the whole day in New Delhi. The metro system there is ridiculously crowded. Especially when carrying frustratingly cumbersome luggage. I never thought a backpack could make me feel morbidly obese. I was hitting someone everywhere I turned. But we finally got to our stop and pile drove through the crowd of people to make it to the India Gate which, I must say, looks a lot bigger in pictures. We spent the day loafing about on the lawn of India Gate and then walking to Connaught Place which is a lovely (and rich) area of Delhi where we once again loafed on a lawn of a nearby park. We then boarded another bus for the start of a 3 day trek to Jaisalmer.
Day 12:
Got into Jaipur in the morning and had to walk straight to the train station to catch our train in time.Trains trains trains! Stopped in Jodhpur and spent the night at a nearby hotel.
Day 13: Woked up at 4:30 to board another train. Road that all day. Then end.
Day 14:
Arrived in Jaisalmer and scheduled a camel trek for the next day. Then wandered around town. Rajasthan is the most colorful place I've visited in India. Turbans everywhere and clothes that are unabashedly gaudy. It is a fun place.
Day 15:
Beginning of camel Trek! Camels hurt yours testicles. There is no way to sugar coat it. It is a wonderful experience but man was my groin sore afterward. But right before sunset we set up camp and the sunset/night/sunrise in the desert is probably one of the most beautiful things I've experienced. I have never seen that many stars and those moments were incredibly memorable. My camel was named either Maria or Muria. The pronunciation varied everytime I asked. He was a good camel but kept eating, not that I blame him.
Day 16:
Woke up in the desert to incredibly cold feet. It sure gets chilly at night but it warms up quickly as soon as the sun rises. Once we ate breakfast we rode again until noon and had lunch, then took a jeep back to our hostel to celebrate the beginning of Diwali! The night was spent at a rooftop restaurant (a pattern with the rooftop restaurants) watching fireworks among other things.
Day17:
Diwali continues as neighborhood children through M80s that are much more powerful than the ones legal in the states at me. Not as fun as one would think but definitely an experience.
If you could not tell I these descriptions are slowly getting shorter. This is because I am getting tired. But I shall keep wrap it up!
Day 18:
Left for Goa. 36 hours in buses. Dear god I have enough time in a bus.
Day 19:
Arrived in Goa and met my friend from back home who is studying at Manipal University. It was weird seeing him in India but very cool. I was glad to see him even if it was only for a couple hours.
Rest of the time:
Relaxed on the beach, read more books, did very touristy things and visited a lot of bookstores. A good time but not really an insight to Indian culture, well unless you count Indian shop keepers because they were everywhere. At the end of the time we took a non AC government run bus back to Mysore. Now the government buses are packed. Like as many people as you could fit into a bus packed. So that 17 hour bus ride was quite uncomfortable.
But I'm back to where I have internet and a room and even though my adventures were wonderful I am glad to be back. And thus concludes vacation timez. Good stuff.
