David's Travel Blog: March 2012

India:

Day 1: We traveled up a river about a half-mile to the location where the ship docked. Seeing all the people, the boats, the buildings, and lively commotion, I began to get really excited for the next 6 days in India. Nothing could have mentally prepared me for the 6 days that lie ahead. A few speedbumps landed us off the ship at around 10am, where we immediately hopped into a rickshaw and made our way to old town of Cochin. Driving in a rickshaw is absolutely insane! The best way I could describe it is that it is like real live Mario Kart. People here drive like mad men passing one another, cutting corners, driving on the wrong sides of the roads, all the while dodging cows and pedestrians. India had the most distinct smell of any port so far. There are smells of spices that fill the air coming from street vendors of fresh masala tea, curries, or from spice mills where workers sift through spices. Adri, Will, Katie, and I took the rickshaw around town and the driver gave us a great tour of historical temples, cemeteries, spice markets, and a fishing area. The fishing here is pretty incredible, they use Chinese fishing nets that use a catapult like set up with a net on one side and rocks on the other side for counter balance. (Check out the pictures at the bottom) We also stopped for some Indian street food of Masala (Chai) Tea and Fried bananas and potatoes. The tea and snacks for the 4 of us plus our driver cost us a mere 70 Rupees, which is barely over a dollar. (50 Rupees = 1 Dollar)

After a quick few hours in Cochin, Will, Katie, and I hopped in a cab and made our way an hour away to the Airport, where we met Cody to fly to Mumbai. Airport security is incredibly weird here and seemingly inefficient with 2 more stops than we have back in the states. Landing in Mumbai at sunset, we were able to see the biggest slum in Asia as we flew over it. We landed right around sunset, which is a beautiful time to see the city as it is lit up by an orange glow. The taxi ride to our hotel in Colaba showed us that just like in Cochin, people drive crazy here too. Traffic is like a huge mob of motorcycles, cars, and rickshaws that move as one dense entity, snaking its way throughout the streets. The area around our hotel was lively with restaurants, shops, and vibrant markets selling trinkets, fabrics, fruit, and spices. After getting situated at our hotel, we walked around a few blocks by our hotel where we found a cool restaurant with a tree house vibe. Of course, for our first meal we ordered Indian food, and to my surprise, I could definitely handle much more spiciness. After dinner, we walked the streets of Colaba stopping every once in awhile at a café or shop. We also stopped by the famous Taj Hotel, which was bombed a few years ago by terrorists. The president of India happened to be staying there while we were there so it was pretty cool to be within a quarter mile of the president.

My first day in India was incredible. I was on sensory overload the whole time from the sights, tastes, and smells. Some of the things that stood out to me were how cheap everything was, and how crazy the driving was. Oh, I also forgot to mention that only nice hotels and restaurants have toilet paper and toilets, everywhere else just has a hole and a bucket of water. I was sure to never let a local touch me with his left hand.

Day 2:

We got up at 7 am ready to see what Mumbai had in store for us. Breakfast at the hotel was traditional, flavorful, Indian breads, and potato curry, with a side of Masala Tea. We hopped in a 30 Rupee taxi to the main train station of Mumbai, that sees over 6 million travelers a day. I don't think I have ever seen a more crowded place in my life. We stood on the train station where they filmed the Slumdog Millionaire ending scene, which was pretty cool. I could not snap out of this awe that India had captivated me with in all of my travels. Walking the streets of India was unlike any port we had been to thus far. After the train station, we taxied to Crawford market, a market full of thousands of vendors that sell just about anything, from vibrant fabrics for sari's, to spices, fruits, and vegetables. It was in the early hours of the morning so shops were just opening up. We grabbed a quick Masala tea and decided to come back later in the day. Our next "to do" on the checklist was to see a few famous temples. The first one we went to was called the Floating Temple, which was out about a half mile in the ocean on a pier like walkway. At high tide, the pier floods over, making the temple its own island, separate from land. There were a few other cool temples nearby that we walked to as well. Each temple is very colorful and intricate. You must take off your shoes when entering, too. Walking the streets of Mumbai can get pretty hectic with all the commotion. Pedestrians, hawkers, beggars, and vendors surround you. Crossing the street is a whole other story, I found the best way to do it is to just close your eyes and very slowly walk across, because the traffic will basically morph its way around you.

Later in the day we visited the most expensive house in the world, costing 1 billion dollars and having 27 stories in downtown Mumbai. It is quite a contrast to see the most expensive house in the world overlooking the biggest slums in all of Asia. After seeing the house, we went to the hanging gardens that overlook Mumbai, and also saw the tower of silence. The tower of silence is a very eerie place. In one religion in India, as a last offering of life, people lay their dead bodies out so that birds may be nourished by the flesh. The tower of silence is a tower full of dead bodies. We did not go inside, but rather watched the flock of birds circling above. I have no idea how we were hungry after the tower of silence, but we grabbed lunch at an Indian vegetarian restaurant on the beach. There was more of a variety of foods in front of me on my dish than I had ever experienced in my life. (See the pictures below)

We made our way back to Crawford market to experience the commotion and buy some cool souvenirs and spices. This market was completely different than it was in the morning. There were thousands of people in the streets and all the storefronts were open. Once again, you become overwhelmed with all the smells, and vibrant sights. I think I have almost perfected my bargaining skills and I had a great time practicing at the market. We had our fair share of dodging traffic, people, hawkers, and cows at the market, so we made our way back to the hotel to clean up before dinner. We found an incredible rooftop restaurant in downtown Colaba called Koaila, for dinner. It had an insane view of Mumbai's skyline. We ordered family style 4 orders of curries and gravy like dishes with a few orders of Naan. I was much more pleased by the spice level here compared to the night before. The food was delicious and got my sinuses going a little bit. With rooftops on our mind, we decided to follow dinner with drinks on top of another hotel with a great view of Mumbai. Before going to bed, I plugged in my phone on a cheap converter I bought at the market and after a few seconds, the converter exploded with a bang and blew the fuses to the hotel…whoops. I quickly wiped the black smoke stain off the wall then went down to the lobby like I had no idea what had happened.

Day 3:

For our last day in Mumbai, we hired a tour guide to see the biggest slum in Asia. After a couple taxis and a train, we made it there. The train ride was crazy because they pack too many people in the trains and just leave the doors open. The tour guide told us people get pushed out and fall out all the time, yikes. The slum was very interesting, and different than I pictured it. It is a very resourceful place, and it was cool to see how they recycle the goods that they have. We went to a place in the slum where all the plastic from the slum is ground up and melted again so it can be reused. We stopped into a preschool to say hi to some kids, and also to a pottery mill. With just a few hours until our next flight, we headed back to our hotel to pack up. We also stopped by McDonalds to try out a supposedly very different menu. They have no beef there, as cows are seen as holy (due the the reincarnation cycle). I got the Maharashtra Mac. It was a vegetable based patty with some sort of Indian sauce on it, and it was actually really good.

Full from lunch, we taxied to the airport and hopped on our hour-long flight to Goa. Landing in Goa, I could immediately tell that Goa would be a very different taste of India than Mumbai. Goa is in a very tropical setting of palm trees and wide beaches, with rivers and fishing boats throughout. We took an hour taxi ride north to Calangute, which is supposedly one of the cooler areas of Goa. We situated ourselves at a hotel close to the beach, with a balcony that overlooked a very lively street of Calangute. The beaches are lined with restaurants with flashy lights, playing music. Goa is much more slowly paced than Mumbai. There are also more tourists here, but it seems to be for a good reason. The streets are lined with shops and there are hundreds of motorcycles and scooters on the streets rather than cars like Mumbai. We had a great family style dinner of Indian Curries and naan, and then walked up and down the beach for the rest of the night to get a feel for Goa.

Day 4:

We hired a rickshaw driver for all of day 4 and 5 so that we would be able to see most of Goa. We told him to just head north up the beach so we could see the different towns. The roads of Goa are incredible. They wind through palm trees, across bridges over rivers, past fields, and through villages. There are tons of scooters whizzing by you all the time, and you also have to watch out for the occasional elephant or cow crossing the street. The first town we went to was Anjuna, which had an incredible beach, and some cool shops and a flea market. We walked around here for awhile, perusing the shops. For lunch, we had by far the spiciest meal we had in all of India. As usual, we ordered family style Indian dishes, and I'm pretty sure it was the Chicken Tikka Masala that brought tears to our eyes. It was phenomenal and I was finally happy to taste some really spicy food. We rickshawed our way through the roads of Goa for the rest of the day before making out way back to Calangute. Just being on the roads alone seeing all the sights was incredible in itself. Back in Calangute, there was a parade celebrating the Indian "Holiday of Colors," called "Holi." People flock the streets with bags of neon colors of powder throwing it at everyone in sight, smearing all the colors on one another. As we passed by the parade, we each got handfuls of colors thrown on us and smeared on us. It was a very fun celebration to partake in. Everyone is cheering and having a good time, and even people in nice clothes and suits are covered in neon powder.

After thoroughly showering off all the Holi colors, we went out to a nice dinner on the beach just north of our hotel. Though we tended to order the same family style dishes at each meal, no two restaurants tasted remotely the same. The naan at each restaurant was different, and so were the spices. I think I could eat Indian food for the rest of my life and never get sick of it. Even though we were at a fancy restaurant on the beach, the bill barely cost $8 a person. Following dinner, we went to a famous stretch of bars to see what nightlife was like in Goa. We gravitated toward the relaxing beach front places to watch people set off fireworks over the water and listen to music.

Day 5:

There is a famous market in Mapusa, Goa that happens every Friday. It happened to be a Friday, so we hopped in a rickshaw and made our way to Mapusa to see how this market compared to Crawford market in Mumbai. This market was very lively just like Crawford, but much more farmers market like. There were bags and bags of open spices, mounds of fruits and vegetables, and stands selling woven fabrics. This is where I felt really good at bargaining. I didn't pay more than ½ of what the initial price was for anything I bought. The market was very big so it took a couple hours to wander throughout the whole thing. The market was once again, sensory overload, so we hopped in a rickshaw and made our way through some narrow dirt paths surrounded by trees to another beach town to get lunch. The beach was right on an inlet to a river, so we saw some beautiful wooden Indian houseboats and fishing boats. After lunch, we made our way back south of Calangute in a rickshaw to see some historical sights of Goa just in time for sunset; the military fort, and the lighthouse.

We went to the same place for dinner as we had the previous night because it was so good and inexpensive. Once we had stuffed ourselves full of Indian food, I went back to the hotel to grab some fireworks I bought in Mapusa, and we walked the beach for the rest of the night setting off fireworks and people watching at the restaurants on the water.

Day 6:

Our last day in India. We had to get up at 4am to make our flight back to Cochin. It was a stressful blur getting to our gate in time amidst the crowds, and hectic lines of the airport. We had a quick connecting flight then finally made it back to the port city of our ship, in Cochin. The past 5 days had been mentally and physically exhausting, so we were all very excited to get back to the ship and drop off our bags. Having a few more hours before the ship took off, we jumped in a rickshaw to buy stamps and postcards, and say our final goodbyes to the delicious food. Back on the ship, I slept for more than 12 hours and am finally feeling recovered from the absolutely incredible, mentally exhausting, and sensory boggling time we had in India.

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