February 28, 2015
The south of India is so different from the north in the way it feels, I could be in two different countries. Outwardly, of course, the appearance is the same: crowded streets, rubbish strewn in piles, wandering cows. But how the south conducts itself seems different. The people are more relaxed and open. Most are friendly without agenda. The “Where…
Last night, we travelled from Goa to Bangalore on the overnight train. It was a 15 hour journey, but it’s amazing how quickly the time flew past, almost as fast as the palm trees and rice fields and the stations. I chatted with my fellow travellers for an hour or so, then, wanting to check out the scenery, I wandered…
I loved Goa, although Indira (our trusty guide) says that it is not India. It is touristy and Western and so very, very relaxed. We spent two nights here and it was a welcome change of pace. I needed to spend a day not doing very much at all, apart from a visit to the Post Office, a browse around…
Given that I don’t need my cool weather clothes because I’m now in the south of India, and I won’t be running, I decided to post these back items home. After all, why lug around extra kilograms of stuff that you(I) don’t need? So Indira (my lovely guide) took me to the post office in Goa. It was a very…
After a couple of days of hard travel (all day bus from Jaipur to Kota, followed by overnight train from Kota to Mumbai, and then a very, very, VERY early train from Mumbai to Goa), I arrived in Goa, exhausted. We are staying in Panjim, north of Goa. It’s a pretty spot, heavy with Portuguese influence—from the architecture to religion…
February 23, 2015
We arrived in Mumbai earlyish after an overnight train from Kota. It’s a bustling metropolis and surprisingly clean. Traffic, of course, was crazy—but this is India. I only spent the one night in Mumbai, and I wish it could have been more. It has a lovely vibe—reminiscent of Athens or Naples—because of its location on the Arabian Sea and all…
It’s not easy to get alcohol in India, although it is readily available in the hotels. I bought a small bottle of vodka for a few hundred rupees from a hole-in-the-wall outlet in Amritsar, but it was small, and didn’t last long. When I travel, I like having a couple of drinks as I tuck in for the night, otherwise…
1. Nothing is ever given for free, including help. (If someone approaches you offering to help you cross the road, find a good spot for a photo, show you where to walk etc. generally they want money for it or they want to sell you something.) 2. Negotiate your price up front, and stick to it. (Sometimes the price you…
Agra is a city not unlike others we have visited to date, although it does seem slightly less chaotic, if that is even possible. Almost as soon as we alighted from the train we were greeted by dirty, bright-eyed children begging and men wanting to carry our luggage. I’m wary of the luggage bearers after an experience in Delhi where…
February 19, 2015
While Old Delhi can best be described as a cacophony of congestion and craziness, New Delhi reeks of old money and British Heritage. It is an exceedingly wealthy area. Mansions, obscenely ostentatious government buildings, manicured lawns with colourful dahlia beds, and monuments to kings long dead dominate the urban landscape. In amongst this development poverty can be clearly seen. Beggars…
Delhi. Oh. Wow. We pulled into Delhi station, and organise porters to carry our bags for 100 rupees. Those men were amazing, carrying 15-20kgs worth of luggage on their heads plus an extra suitcase by hand. Up a long flight of steps, down a long flight on the other side. I saw similar feats of strength in China, when men…
February 18, 2015
I signed up for this tour because it involved a significant amount of train travel, including three overnight trips in sleeper carriages. After my Japan trip last year, I wanted to do more travel by rail. And what better way to see the vastness of India than by train? We boarded our train for Delhi early in the evening, traversing…
February 17, 2015
Incongruence was a word that came up time and again while we were in Amritsar. The juxtaposition of chaos with calm, serenity with edginess was has left me with mixed feelings about this city. On the one hand it was dirty and congested and unsettling, and on the other there were oases of peace and tranquility. The approach to the…
February 14, 2015
The chaos of the night is replicated in daytime Amritsar. The road is crowded with pedestrians and drivers in all kinds of vehicles, including horse and carts and tractors. The missing footpaths force pedestrians to take their chances walking along the sides of shoulderless roads. The air is clear and cool, but dusty. I’ve brought my running gear, thinking that…
I have to start by saying I have never been as happy to see anyone in my life as my driver who picked me up from Amritsar airport. Firstly, I assumed he wouldn’t be there because I was bumped from my original flight and had to take a later one. And second, I didn’t want the transfer I paid for…
Urgh. When I disembarked at Delhi International Airport I thought wow! this airport has a bit of a Changi Airport kind of feel. I was expecting chaos and disorganization and masses of people. Instead I was greeted with an almost calm and serene atmosphere. That feeling of serenity and calm eroded quickly, and morphed into an abyss of urghness as…
Just when I think I’m a seasoned traveller, I make a rookie error based on an assumption. Picture this: me checking in at the Singapore Airport counter in Adelaide. (I like to check in just to see if I can get a better seat, just in case you are wondering why I don’t do it online.) I went to check…
The thing I like about travel—really like—is that it gets me out of my comfort zone. I’m sitting here waiting for my plane to Singapore and thinking about India, my destination. My emotions are roller-coasting, alternating between fear and excitement. My stomach is a ball of nerves and I feel the stress of venturing into an unknown destination. On my…
By this time tomorrow, I would have checked into my hotel in Changi Airport, foraged for food, maybe caught a movie and prepped for a restful night’s sleep (hopefully!) before flying out to Delhi early on Thursday morning. By this time Thursday afternoon, I would have checked into my hotel in Amritsar, Punjab, up near the Pakistani border. It will…