At the Beach in Goa

We made it to Goa. After 2 and 1/2 months, we are finally back at the beach. Goa is very nice and reminds me of Hawaii. It is sunny all the time, 80 degrees and there are palm trees everywhere. The little beach town we are staying in is called Benaulim and it is very peaceful and quiet. It is very different than the rest of India. We jumped in the ocean the first day we got here and were swimming as the sun was setting. We are loving it.

When we last left you we were in Pushkar and we had to get out of there before the quarter of a million extra people arrived for the annual Camel Fair. From Pushkar we took a 7 hour bus ride to Udaipur.

In Udaipur we stayed with a very nice family. One member of the family was an 84 year old guy. He was a former Freedom Fighter and fought right along with Gandhi for India's independence. He had many interesting stories to tell. The family we stayed with fed us very well 3 times a day. We also visited one of their friends who used to be in the ruling family of Rajastan. They lost their their power and land when India became independent, but they did not lose their money. He owns 4 different 5 star hotels in the area. We got to visit one and went to his restaurant. They treated like royalty and served us tea, french fries that they ate with forks, and the best ice cream I have ever tasted. He also showed us his amazing car collection which included one vehicle that could travel on land and in the water. It was great. While in Udaipur we also checked out the City Palace and many temples, which got a little boring. We were sad to leave Udaipur and our new friends.

Next we caught a 17 hour night bus to Mombai (used to be called Bombay, and most people still call it by the old name). Bombay was the most civilized city we have seen in India. It was almost like we were not in India anymore. There were no cows in the street. People drove in their lanes. Nobody pushed or shoved us the whole time we were there. They are even trying to get people to stop spitting by fining them $5 if they get caught. While there we got to ride around in double decker buses all the time. The buildings looked out of place in India. My parents said the city looked more like it was a city in Europe. I guess I'll find out in a couple of months if they are right. We visited a bunch of museums, art galleries, and old buildings. We stayed with another nice family we had never met before. They also fed us 3 times a day and treated us like we were part of the family. The funniest thing that happened in Bombay was that my mom got pooped on by a bird. She got pooped on not just one time, but 4 times in one day. Now that's bad luck. My dad and I tried not to laugh, but it was hard. We loved Bombay and it was again difficult to leave our new friends and the delcious meals. They even had a servant who waited on us all day long and they had HBO and we got to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

From Bombay we caught a 13 hour train to Goa. My dad saved us some money by traveling in sleeper class instead of 1st class A/C. That was fine and we were quite comfortable. We got on the train at 11:00 p.m. and when we went to sleep there were 8 people in our cabin that was designed for 8 people. When I woke up there were 27 people in our cabin. People had snuck into our cabin and nobody ever kicked them out. There were people everywhere. It was crazy. I just stayed in my top bunk and waited to arrive in Goa. If I had gotten up to go the bathroom there would have been 12 people in my bunk in no time. We arrived in Goa around noon. All we had eaten for breakfast was cookies, so we went to lunch when we arrived in Margao. From there we went by tuk-tuk to the beach in Benaulim. We jumped in the ocean and it felt just like the ocean in Hawaii. The next morning we jumped in the ocean again. We also ate the best fish I have ever had in my life 2 days in row. I am tired of being a vegetarian. I didn't want to be one in the first place, but it has not been safe to eat meat most of the places we have been.

We are hanging out in Goa for a few days and then heading by train to Kerala for a week or so. We will then return to Goa for about a month. We may have found a free place to stay in Goa with some guy who has a house by the beach. We will be in Goa for almost the entire month of December. We have already found a couple of Catholic churches. We are trying to decide which one to go to for Christmas mass. Some of the churches were built over 500 years ago. Unilike the rest of India which is over 80% Hindu, in Goa half of the locals are Christian. We already love Goa and are looking forward to relaxing here, eating good food, and swimming in the ocean everyday. We rented a motorbike for the first time in India and we are crusing all over the place. I am having an amazing adventure. Please email me at Kylearoundtheworld@gmail.com. I love getting emails. Thanks.

Traveling all over India

I last updated my webpage in Rishikesh. Since then we have been very busy traveling across India.

After leaving Rishikesh we went to a city called Hardiwar. While there we went on a ski lift up to a famous Hindu Temple on the top of a mountain. We also went down to the ghats on the scared Ganges River and watched all the strange people doing strange things. The Ganges River was way more polluted than in Rishikesh and it was only 1 hour down the river. Hardiwar was o.k. but I liked Rishikesh a lot better. We left Hardiwar and caught a bus to Dehra Dun and then onto Musoorrie.

Musoorrie, a former British Hill Station, was way up in the mountains at over 6,000 feet. Our room had no heater so we had to cover up with 6 blankets. It was so cold you could see your breath in the morning. Musoorrie was good and we had a nice time relaxing. We even went to Domino's for pizza. From there we cruised to a place called Chandigarh.

Chandigarh was a modern city, very different than what we had seen in India. We cruised all over town in cycle rickshaws, ate good food and checked out the Nek Chan Rock Garden. This strange guy (Nek) who worked for the road department would collect garbage from all over the city during the day and would go out at night and turn it into treasure. From 1958 to 1972 he would sneak off into the forest and build sculptures, buildings, and other pieces of art out of the city's trash. He did not tell anyone, not even his wife. When the city eventually found out, he got in trouble and they were going to destroy all of his works of art. However, they ended up changing their minds and turned the place into a museum. They also gave him a job, and a full work crew, to continue making it bigger. It was amazing what that guy could do with garbage. We left Chandigarh and caught another bus to Amritsar.

Amritsar was one of my favorite places in all of India. As we pulled up to this holy city for the Sikhs this lady started talking to my dad and me and asking questions about where we were from. A few minutes later she asked us to come to her house and stay with her family. We were a little nervous about going with her. My parents had always taught me not to talk to strangers and now we were actually thinking about going home with a complete stranger. We ended up going, not knowing what to expect. We were happy to find that they had a very nice house and also a bakery right on the property. For the next 4 days I could eat as many fresh pastries, cookies and cakes as I wanted. It was awesome. The whole family was very friendly and made us feel at home. They were also very generous and fed us way too much food and took us everywhere.

While in Amritsar we got to visit the Golden Temple two times. It was amazing. The Golden Temple is the most important location in the world in the Sikh religion. The temple is surrounded by a scared lake that they believe has healing powers. The first time we saw the temple was at night and there was a full moon. There were gurus chanting and the temple(which is actually made of gold) was very crowded with pilgrims from around the world. It was a great experience. We also went to the border closing ceremony. Every night as the border between India and Pakistan closes there is a ceremony that is like going to a show. It was really neat to watch. They would exchange dirty looks, hurl insults, and clench their fists; then, in the end they would exchange warm handshakes and close the border. While this was happening there were thousands of Indians cheering for their country and at the same time people in Pakistan doing the same. We almost got trampled after the ceremony by a stampede of crazy patriotic Indians. It was a great experience, but I was glad to get out of there without getting hurt.

We were sad to leave Amritsar and our adopted family, but we caught a train and headed to Jaipur. Jaipur, is a famous city in the state of Rajastan. Japiur was cool, and one night we actually got to stay in a palace. We also got to explore the old city and the Amber Fort which was great. We hung out for a few days before heading onto Pushkar.

We are now in Pushkar, which is a small town in the middle of the desert. It is located in the hills and surrounds a scared lake. The Hindus believe the lake was created by Brahma and has healing powers and there are gurus and other spiritual seekers everywhere. This is a very relaxing town and we are going to go on a camel safari while we are here.

From Pushkar we are heading south to Udaipur, then Mumbai (formerly Bombay), and then down to the beaches in Goa and Kerala. We are going to spend over a month kicking back on the beaches and will spend Christmas in Goa. We are having a great trip.

Please email me at kylearoundtheworld@gmail.com and post a comment on my blog.