Goa

Hi All

Yesterday We arrived in Goa after a 16 hour coach journey from Mumbai. Word of advice: For long journeys on buses in India get a Air Conditioned Sleeper, but be warned the air con is constantly turned on and it more than likely cannot be turned off. Which means it is freezing cold...all the time! I was wearing my shorts and t-shirt and thought the sleeping bag liner I had would be enough (a sleeping bag liner is basicly a thin sleeping bag made of silk). I could not sleep most of the time due to always being cold. So please...when on a A/C Sleeper bring extra clothing or maybe a blanket to keep you warm.

There were different stops available once the coach reached goa as they have many different beaches. We got off at the first stop which was Mapusa and jumped into a take to a place called Anjuna, the reason we chose this was because it was where the hotel recommended by lonely planet and trip advisor was located.

The place were staying is called Coutinho's Nest Guest House and only cost 600 Rupees (£7 – £8) per night, not sure that is good or not in comparison but it was it scored 89% or more on the sites we researched it on. It has WI-FI internet, Satellite TV, and private bathroom with hot showers. We are staying in Goa for five nights and already have another bus ticket for Hampi which leaves on the 17^th. This one is a non A/C but not by choice, it was the only coach company that went direct from Goa to Hampi.

After looking around for the day we soon saw that Goa is beautiful and so are its people, there are many beaches along the coast and each on is a nice as the next. This place hosts to a lot of Europeans (Like Us) and is a holiday hot spot for all. Here are one of the beaches we visited today.

Also a few local games....

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Elephanta Island

Hi All!

Went to Elephanta Island yesterday and had a fun time...Despite the name there isn't any Elephants, only lots of caves, dogs and best of all Monkeys (Should be called Monkey Island Really!!) The monkeys over populate the place and have come accustomed to free food by tourist. Like this little guy

We went to the Island in the afternoon which I personally would not advise as it was over crowded and very hot. We got there by boat and it was a relaxed and breezy journey to the Island that took and hour. On arrival we had to walk along a long narrow wall and then tracked up some 130 or so stairs to reach to top. There we mostly watched and took pictures of the monkeys. like this one, they were getting water from the tank.

The Caves were cool but we got through them quickly...here is a picture of the Hindu God/Deity Shiva

We went back shortly after as we did not want to miss the last boat.

Book Club

Hi Book and potential book clubbers, I could not get hold of 'Anne Franks Diary' what I did get however was Gypsy Boy and Gypsy Boy on the run both by Micky Walsh and The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey. Feel Free to read, Gypsy Boy is my first and Gypsy Boy on the run follows..It's very good! 

Didn't end up going to Elephanta Island that day as we over slept. We did however pay a visit to the Gandhi Museum, but not before we got taken to the Prince Of Wales Museum first which was a 5 second ride away, the man tired to charge up 160 Rupees when his meter read 16 Rupees. I gave him 20 Rupees and decided to start again, the next taxi driver knew where it was and we were on our way. The Museum was ever inspiring despite bumping into an over friendly Indian man who assumed I knew more that I did about trading metals. He asked for our emails and I couldn't refuse and we exchanged. He then spent the rest of his visit following us around and asking how much things cost back home (London). After seeing all we could we left the museum and walked to Chowpatty Beach (Which I heard translates Beach Beach). We grabbed a taxi back to Colaba and ended up outside the gateway the ride cost just 62 Rupees and I handed the man a 500 Note to which he did not have change. By luck he ended up pulling down the street right outside the our hotel and pointed for me to get change there. Me and Rachel stepped out and I went over, I asked the guy for changed which he did not have, he asked how much the taxi and I told him 60 plus a tip is 100. He handed me a hundred and said to pay him back later, also he said you stay at 105, I was a bit confused, he said when I was there earlier I left my room key and his been keeping it safe. He gave 100 for the taxi driver and the key to my room I never knew I lost......Later when I gave him back the 100 I gave him another 100 to thank his kindness....What A Community!   

Hi Everyone!

So far Rach and I are having a great time relaxing in India, the flight over was fine despite a 1 minute spout of heavy turbulence in which I started sweating terribly. We picked up a taxi from the airport and headed straight to Colaba which cost 480 Rupees (About 6 - 8 pounds) bit pricey I though buy paid willingly. Heading to the Taxi a man decided to make himself useful and grab the ticket from my hand, read it then lead the way. saying "ah! 5189, come with me". After finding the Taxi he asked for English Pounds. I gave me 20 rupees as the taxi drove off. On the way the heat was intense and we were almost in a few minor collisions (quite the norm for India) on arrival we checked into the Carlton Hotel and paid for four nights, we paid a bit more than I assumed but that was justified when the guy showed me the brand new bathrooms and showers he had installed. After that we ate at Leapolds and then went back to the hotel and slept till the next day. First sleep in 30 hours.

Today we were asked by a guy named Joel to take part in the Bollywood movie, one which we had to refuse as it was short notice. He said his Norwegian friend is hooked up with a casting agency and she need twenty Europeans and the coach will arrive in a hour. 

Tomorrow..Elephanta Island 



       

2 Days to GO!

It's almost time to leave on our travels and I can hardly wait! I found it difficult to sleep last night as was thinking about all stuff I still need to do before we head off. Still need to ensure we have everything we need, print off all our documents, get more travel money, pack our gear, check in to flight and more which I have surly forgot to mention.   

Preparation for travels

Hi All!

Cannot wait to start my around the world travels! I am going away for four month and travelling around India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and USA. However there was so much preparation I needed do before hand and thought it may be helpful if I shared my experiences.

Good Idea!! Have a solid financial foundation. My girlfriend and I were saving for over six months before we could afford the tickets and are still saving for spending money for our travels. After you have a bit of money in your bank account starts researching!!

Research Topics: Where to go, when to go, for how long, who with, how much will it cost, what travel company to book with, what I will need on my travels.

After doing some extensive research my girlfriend and I decided on the countries above and booked with 'Round the World Experts’ we compared individual flights against the custom made itinerary and found the cost was similar. Advantage to booking with a travel company is they gave a price instantly and offered package or custom made travel itineraries. Also they assign you a 'rep' what they call a personal butler.

Next we decided we should look at the countries we choose to visit in more depth to get an idea of where to go and what we could do while we were there. We used websites like trip advisor and lonely planet. We found both to be very useful for ideas of places to go and where to stay. Just to be sure it is a good idea to cross reference. Especially as far as accommodation goes as different sites has different reviews. We also purchased 'Rough Guide' books from Waterstones at 3 for the price of 2. The other option was 'Lonely Planet' but personally I felt 'Rough Guides' are better books just because they have more colour and are easier on the eyes.

We bought five in total: one for India, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand and one titled: First Time Around the World all. Most of the questions you have plus ones that do not even cross your mind are pretty much covered in these books. (Again good idea to cross reference)

After that it was the case of "where is the best places to go in each country", "how best to spend our time", "what budget will we need", "how much stuff should we take" etc.

Obviously what I like, what budget I have, what I want to see, reasons for travelling, how long I want to go for (realistically go for), who I go with is totally different from the next person the possibilities are many.

Any who! It's almost time and we are very excited. Hope this was helpful.