India (Goa, Gorkana, and Hampi)

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” (Helen Keller)

The past two and a half weeks have been quite an adventure! On March 6^th Sm and I had a flight out of Nepal to India. We had been in Nepal for about 5 months and couldn’t wait to get out and have a change in scenery! It was not as easy as we had hoped. We found out the night before that there was going to be a bonda the next day (this is when all the cabs and local buses go on strike and apparently they happen fairly often. There was only one in my whole time in Nepal and it was on a day when I didn’t need to be anywhere. It was fantastic! The streets are quiet and no one honks at you and it is extremely relaxing.). However when you need a ride to the airport it is not a good thing, but, we were told that there is a tourist bus that leaves every hour to the airport and that they (the people who worked at our guest house) would show us where it was in the morning. We went to sleep with no worries.

Sm and I were supposed to leave the guesthouse at 7 to get to the airport by the latest 8:30 and take off at 10. At around 5:30 in the morning there was a knock on our (me, O, and Sh) door. It was the guesthouse owner coming to tell us that Sh was sick. Sh had been feeling lousy all day and she had been using the bathroom in the hall because she didn’t want to wake O and me up. Apparently she had kind of passed out in the bathroom and tried to grab onto the sink, which fell, and the owner heard. She was pale and shaking and obviously pretty freaked out. We go dressed and took her to the hospital (the owner got someone to take us) to get her checked out. She was ok, a bit dehydrated so they gave her fluids and she thankfully got some sleep. Around 6:30 I headed back to the guesthouse so Sm and I could check out and go. We got a rickshaw to take us to the tourist bus and were very happy that we found it and would be on our way…or not. The bus didn’t leave until 8 and then we made two stops at hotels (which was pointless because a. no one got on ad b. if you were staying at a hotel you would take a driver from the hotel to the airport) and finally got the airport around 9. We were frantic! We cut lines and made sad eyes at people to let us through as quickly as possibly and final got our bags checked and found our gate! The plane was late. Not only was that extremely annoying but this posed another problem: our flight from Nepal to Delhi had to get in on time or each we would miss our connection for our next flight (a 12:30 flight from Delhi to Chenni). Our plane was about 45 minutes late getting to the airport and then took another 45 minutes before we took off. We got to Chenni around 12:30 but were still hopeful (maybe that flight would be delayed). That’s when the big mess happened.

First, we had to get our bags because for some reason you cannot check bags through Delhi (I had to do this on my way to Kathmandu as well). Thankfully we found them in about 2 minutes. Then we tried to check in but they wouldn’t let us through because we didn’t have a ticket. Usually when I travel and have more than one stop I get the first ticket and then I go to my airline and they look up my name and print out my next one or two boarding passes. No problem. Apparently not in Delhi. There was a major fuss about it and by that tie our flight had left. We went to the Air India counter to get help and have them put us on another flight. A very nice man came and told us that there was another flight out of Delhi at 5 that would go to Mumbai and then from there to Goa. There was a 40-minute layover and we wouldn’t even have to get off the plane! We were so happy! He gave us a receipt and told us to go to the F 14 or 15 counters and check in. Awesome! Except when we went over to check in they told us that we were on stand by and we wouldn’t know if we could get on the flight or not until 4. That meant we couldn’t go and wait in the terminal and eat and that we couldn’t really look for more flights out of Delhi. Whenever we tried to get someone to help us they ended up ignoring us. We were very cranky and frustrated. Eventually we did end up getting on the flight and only ended up getting to Goa about 2-3 hours later than we originally planned. It was fine, just a major pain in the ass.

When we stepped off the plane we couldn’t help by smile. Not only were we finally out of Nepal, but it was hot! It felt like Tel Aviv in the summer! We picked up our bags and got a cab to Bogmalo Beach where Al was staying. The room was nice and cool and we ate and got some very needed sleep. The next day we headed to Arambol beach (about an hour drive), checked into a guesthouse, ate, and went to the beach! P (from Pokhara) met up with us there with his sister D. We stayed from Thursday to Sunday and relaxed. It was really hot but we swam and sat on the beach and drank lassi. We had dinner on the beach, which was covered in white lights and went to a drum circle. We read and napped and went skinny-dipping. Nothing crazy or profound happened but it was nice and very recharging. Then on Sunday we said goodbye to P and D and headed to Gokarana.

Arambol to Gokarna takes about 6 hours. We took a bus the first hour, which was hell (extremely crowded and had to stand in the aisle) and then took a cab the rest of the way. When we got to Gokarna we had to take a rickshaw to Om Beach. I was very cranky and sullen. The heat had gotten to me and the last thing I felt like doing was walking along the beach with all of my things to find a guesthouse. I felt better the next day when I had cooled off and slept and could see how beautiful Om beach was. We were staying in little beach huts, which looked like a small community of wandering hippies. We stayed a whole week (Sunday to Sunday) and had a whole lot of beach time. We drank too many kit-kat nutella shakes and had banana chocolate crepes for breakfast. I saw beautiful sunsets, went night swimming and saw glow in the dark plankton, and learned the hard way that I need to drink anywhere from 2-4 liters of water every day. One day we went into Gokarna for a festival they were having and explored for a bit before we had to leave because of the heat and on our last day we took a short boat ride to a beach called Paradise. P came and stayed with us from Friday morning until Sunday afternoon when we all left. All in all it was a good time but I was ready to move on.

Sunday afternoon the 4 of us left Om Beach. P went to the train station to go to Mumbai (from there he would go to the airport back to Europe) and Sm, Al, and I went to the bus station where we caught the last local bus to Ankala. From there we waited about 3 hours at a restaurant and then around midnight we got on the bus. Sleeper buses are officially my favorite. I usually am asleep on a plane, train, or bus and the fact that there are beds just makes it better. Plus, we rolled down the windows so there was this amazing breeze. I was out like a light! At 7 in the morning we arrived in Hampi. Wow! It’s so beautiful!  Fields of green, the sweet water lakes, and rocks and boulders were everywhere! It was really nice to be somewhere that didn’t have any sand! We took a 2-minute boat ride across the lake and then made our way to a guesthouse. The room was hot but much bigger than the one we had in Om Beach so we didn’t feel as crowded. We only stayed from Monday morning to Friday afternoon but I really enjoyed my stay. We went to the lake every day and I learned how to ride a motorcycle. I finished two books and got a really cool hair wrap with beads in it. I was really excited to leave thought because our next stop is where we meet up with everyone for Passover!

On Friday afternoon we checked out of our guesthouse and took the boat back across the lake and then got a rickshaw into the city outside. We waited for about 5 hours for our bus, which was only 20 minutes late, and got on our second sleeper bus, which would take us from Hampi to Bangalore. We got in at 6 in the morning, which was not fun. We went to a hotel and had some breakfast and tried to keep from falling asleep. Then around 8 we went to a friend of Sm who is living and working in Bangalore. His apartment was huge! It was so great to be able to stay there because our bus from Bangalore didn’t leave until almost 10 at night. So not only did we have a safe place to keep all of our stuff but, we had a room with a bed, shower, and fan, as well as internet and power so could charge all of our phones and cameras at the same time! It’s amazing what I have come to appreciate when I am now more aware than ever that most of the people in our world live without all of these things I consider so obvious and normal.

We spent the whole morning, afternoon, and evening in Bangalore with Sm’s friend, R and his roommate S. First we went to the mall where I got a book (I refuse to get a kindle and although I have started reading my computer books don’t loose power and they are more comfortable to sleep with) and then we had a lunch so big that we all had to lay down afterwards! We hung out and tried not to fall asleep all afternoon. We took showers and then left around 7:30 for the bus station. Our bus came at 9:00 and we got on and headed (at last) to Vata Kanal.

I am really excited to see everyone for Passover! Sh, O, M, GG, Z, and Ab will be there and I think it will be really nice to be altogether for one of my favorite holidays. The past two and a half weeks were really fun with Sm and Al but I’m tired. I haven’t slept great because of the heat and the sleeper bus last night didn’t help. My body is sore and tired and I miss having a bed to my own. I am well aware that I am extremely lucky and am on the trip of a lifetime, but right at this moment my stomach hurts, my head is stuffy, and I’m still pretty sleep deprived. Hopefully all of this (physical and emotional stress) will pass very soon, and in another two and a half to three weeks I will be in Thailand!

Signed,

Tired On The Road