Varanassi

Wow, what a place. After Delhi, Nicole and I took a flight to the holy city of Varanassi. This is the place people bring their loved one to die. We were stay right near the main Burning Ghat, where a fire burns 24/7 cremating bodies. What a sight.
Friends that I had met in Rishikesh were in Varanassi so we met up for a whirl wind tour and an awesome dinner in town. Next day we took a boat ride where it was so foggy we couldn't see anything and froze to death. On the way the boat bumped into what I had already thought was floater. The boat dude then took his oar, hit the body and called out, "see its a little boy"... life and death eh? How's that for in your face?
After three days and two nights in Varanassi the long trip to Agra was to begin. We took the train... what a mistake. We arrived at the train station at 2.30pm early because we had wait-listed train tickets and need to get a confirmed seat. The train was supposed to depart at 5pm... 5pm came and went before too long it was 6pm, 7pm..... 9pm... we board. Within our cabin was a group of 60 Thai tourists... around 60 plus years old on average... oh my, not too much fun. The 10 hour train trip turned into 24 hours, never have I been more irritated.
We were supposed to arrive in Agra at 6am, this became 6pm and our hotel had given our room away. So we raced to another Guest House payed stupid money for a really crappy room and ran down to the Taj. Pfew... just made it, we were close to the last people through. We still had to pay full price and only got less than an hour to have a look. Nicole was still very impressed, as was I for the second time.
Next morning we took off at 6am, got to the next train station for another 10 hour journey to Haridwar, only an hour behind this time... from Haridwar we jumped onto a bus for an hour to Rishikesh, then a taxi to the bridge where we walked to our fantastic $4 per night guest house in the mountains... for ten days of relaxation before I head home. I can't believe my trip is nearly over, I've decided to book a driver to Delhi to get to the airport rather than chance the train now, nearly Christmas and New Years - what a treat this last couple of months in 2008 has been.
I've gotten my Christmas present, a distinction in statistics and a high distinction in economics, heck yeah, bring it on.
love to all, miss ya guts Angela.

You know your in Brisbane when....

....it's too hot to sleep even with Jet lag and the cicadas are in full form.

I left Dan outside Dehli airport on Saturday night and entered the route from Hell. Nothing really went wrong, it was just such a long trip and I had not slept on Friday night either due to an overnight sleeper train from Haridwar to Dehli and we were in the cabin next to the passage door.

So, I'm waiting to check in my luggage and this Indian guy just pushes in like he's driving a car or something. I tell him that " actually Sir I was next in line" and he proceeded to try convince me he was there all along. Whatever dude! Then waiting for Customs, this French biatch does the same thing but this woman knows what she has done and avoids looking at me. I am trying to let these kind of small things go.....but it's the principle. It took me 10min to calm down after that. So I walked around Dehli airport for a while, not much of anything really. I started talking to this local Delhi guy Armit, to pass the time, who was travelling to some Island near England. It so happened he was sitting in the seat next to me to Dubai, very weird.

3 hours later....Dubai airport is absolutely amazing, very flash! Arrived at 12.30am and had 8 hours to kill, so I bought some alcohol, looked around the sparkling shops and then tried to sleep in these recliner's until breakfast time. I slept on and off for 6 hours until the buffet breakfast was served at 6am. I was not hungry, so some yogurt and juice and I was on my way to check in for my 7 hour flight to Singapore.

Airline's just feed you non stop, that's what it feels like anyway and the food is not bad at all. I especially like the little bottles of wine....so I drank about 3 bottles of wine on the way to Singapore and finally fell asleep. My plan worked! Until I was woken up to put my chair up as we were landing in Singapore. Damn, half drunk, half hung over and no more wine being served. So the next obvious plan was to find the smoking room and have a quickie before my next flight in half an hour. Outdoor smoking room was pretty nice, Dubai had this awful indoor smoking room where you couldn't even have a quarter of your cigarette it was that smoky.

I decided from Singapore to Brisbane I would not drink anymore wine, that waiting in line to pee on an aircraft just wasn't what I wanted to do on this leg of the trip. So for the next 8 hours, I tried to watch a movie three times but kept missing the middle and ending by falling asleep, I ate lots of food and I was seriously cramped. When we landed in Brisbane I was so happy, I clapped and could not stop smiling and told the Customs officer "it's good to be home".

I have now slept 16 hours, fell down my back stairs and I am getting ready for work tomorrow and the Christmas rush at the Butcher Shop. My Indian adventure is over. Thanks everyone for reading....

Oh I forgot to tell you....this kid who was sitting next to me from Dubai to Singpore picked his nose so bad it bled. I just thought it was a little funny.

I hope your having an awesome time Dan, I know it will be hard without me but try anyway ;)

Love
Ang

Angela is hours from home & Nicole has just arrived.

Delhi, hmmm... better than Mumbai that's for sure. Angela left last night, what a trip to the airport that was. Because of the security issues and attacks in Mumbai, Delhi is on high alert. So high in fact that if you are not flying anywhere you are unable to even enter the departure lounge. So - not having this information, the plan was for Angela and I to have something to eat together at the airport and to say a proper goodbye. Well... this is India, did that happen? Heck no, instead it was a horribly hasty goodbye with a guard standing in between us telling us to hurry the hell up.. not cool. I walked away mega pissed off. Already I was having separation anxiety, this just added to it.
Could the night get any worse? Oh yes it could. Not only was I dropping Angela off I was also planning on staying at the airport for around 6 hours waiting for Nicole to arrive. Now, i again was not flying anywhere so - I get to the arrivals lounge across the road and there is a big sign on the door, no entry??? what the? Guards with guns were stopping anyone coming in unless you were flying. So the option was, sit outside on the concrete in the 10 degree weather and wait for 6 plus hours or try and find a way home and come back for a 4am pick up.
I took option number 2, now this cabby was a total prick. By the time we got to the car the agreed price to take me home had increased, half way home it again had increased... let me just say I had words !! Nearly home and he wants me to give him money so he can buy fruit for the children, I then told him, I'm paying you to take me home, I'm a child hater and I don't do fruit. Well that got his attention.
Anyway, that's the story. Off into town tonight to meet up with my friend Zubin, should be fun. Introduce Nicole to India and sit around pinning for Angela.
Until Varanassi - or until Angela updates from her end. Missing everyone and my bed & my shower.

Connection....

Last night's Chai, Chillum, Chapatti.....Connection. Pretty much sent us to bed early, well Dan anyway.. "Connection" is the work of the moment.....lighter connection, music connection, chai connection, whiskey connection. If you want something in India, all is possible, add connection to the end with an India accent. The people here are amazingly funny and bend over backwards to deliver (connection).
This morning we both went to yoga......afterwards had chai, fruit and muesli at this cafe called the office, with Costa and Tiffany. We are planning to see some waterfalls today however this is Rishikesh, plans can change without notice.
We leave Rishikesh tomorrow for Dehli as I, Angela, will be flying out on Saturday...destination home. How sad but happy at the same time as my time here has been amazing but being a creature of comfort and a homebody I am excited to be back for Christmas.
Anyway, Dan and I are relaxed and happy and Dan is looking forward to Nicole's arrival on Sunday.
See you all soon
xox

How doing a whole lota nothing passes by so quickly

Still in Rishikesh, its the morning after Naveen's birthday party ! Man those Indian boys can dance. We have some great video of the moves, so much fun. The beats were pumping we also managed to sneak four bottles of whiskey into this "dry" area.

Christmas and New Years was going to be spent in Goa with the rest of the population escaping the cold... was... instead, coming back to the mountains here in Rishikesh is on the cards. The Ganges river is amazing, the mountains are amazing and this little town is just so chilled and "relaxed".

The price to stay here is also an 8th of the price of Goa in the high season. I'll be renting an apartment for ten days over Christmas and New Years for around $2 a night (for two people) and there is hot water and a view of the water from the balcony. Good deal I'm thinking.

After hoping we'd be dropping a few kgs from the waistline... we have retracted that statement. The food is so amazing, can't wait to show off our new cooking skills - all vegetarian of course.

Many stories to tell once we get home, can't believe its going so quickly, I'm coming back in the future for sure.

Rishikesh

It's has been a wonderful 6 days here in Rishikesh, where the relaxation takes a hold of you. I wake up in the morning at 7am, while Dan sleeps in a little, to walk the 2km road along the Ganga to go to Surrinder's Hatha Yoga. He is fantastic. He's a real Indian Guru who radiates spirituality. After the 2 hour practise, I then meet Dan at one of the many cafes we hang at like Freedom, Little Buddah or The Pyramid where we sip on Chai tea and chow down breakfast. The food here is influenced by many cuisines including Isreali, Mexican, Italian and Indian of course and The Pyramid offers Ayevedic Dishes like Kichery and spirolina. No meat here! Actually we have not eaten meat for the whole trip and we have not missed it due to the variety and awesome veg options.
After a long breakfast will then head to one of the other cafes passing the shops and eventually we meet up with the crew and chill out. We have met some amazing people here in Rishikesh who we hang with everyday. We started talking to Paul, the talker, from Brisbane the day we got here and it was "full power" from there on. Full Power is a common phrase used with the yoga students, meaning hectic or something that is intense and fast. I run to yoga with Shirley, the vibrant Isreali, and then meet up with her partner Andy, the lawyer, for breakfast or lunch. Naveen, aka Dr Naveen, is our local Indian friend who is just an amazing person and is in the know about everything. We are having a party for him at Freedom on Monday night for his birthday which should be a blast and if it's anything like the last party here, we are all sure it will be "happening" (so we are told). We have so many wonderful friends, we will tell you all about them when we get back.
The last two days Dan and I have done Indian cooking lessons with Arjun and Naveen , some dishes are Palak Paneer(Spinach Cheese), Chopati (pita bread), Paneer Kofta (cheese balls), Alu Gajjar (potato carrot). Everything has been so delicious and we are now able to make authentic North Indian dishes that will tantalise the taste buds.
Peace out. Love and bubbles :)

A tear drop on the cheek of time....

And so we have seen the Taj. A highlight for sure, so amazing. I think the fact that it is so well preserved and so clean just made our day. To be able to breathe clean air for a number of hours was a god send. We had a guide who has a PhD in Medieval Indian History, he was worth every penny.

From Agra through to Haridwar on the train. We stayed one night in Haridwar and took a local bus for an hour through to Rishikesh (harrowing !!).

We are into our second day in Rishikesh and thank god we love it. We've now planned to spend close to 12 days here. Rishikesh is where the holy Ganga (or ganges) begins. The water is clean and freezing. We did yoga this morning with this amazing teacher for 2 and a half hours - ate a yum breakfast at this awesome hangout called the Little Buddha. We've met another 4 travellers from Australia (one from Brisbane) and three from Byron. It's been great to mix with all sorts, everyone has their story to tell.

Angela leaves so soon, and I have another month to push onward. Delhi will be a short stay only, the big cities leave much to be desired, opting more for the calmer smaller hippy towns.

Plan is to start Tabla lessons while Ang does a week yoga course... will keep you posted.

Off to the Taj!

Gujurat has been wonderful, we have been shopping with Arti, Arjay and Jamie and they have also taken us to their family farm where I drove the small tractor yesterday. It's like driving my truck but only in smaller scale and a little more bumpy. We ate fresh Guava, coconut, chico, green almond and sugar cane which is grown on the farm. Today is our last day here in Vadadora Gujurat.

Tonight we catch the train to Agra (14 hours) where a driver will meet us to take us around the sites of the Taj Mahal! We are very excited to be moving on and finally we can have a cigarette. No one smokes or drinks around here. Alcohol is banned in this state and smoking we believe is frowned upon? Dan is driving me crazy with her narky nicotine withdrawals...ha ha. I too am feeling the pain.

So until next time

We're up North, we're safe

Sorry everyone has been so worried. We didn't even know what had happened.. we got two phone calls while we slept from people in Australia telling us the Taj Hotel was under siege and had caught on fire. We had been inside that hotel only one week earlier but had since left Mumbai for the North. We leave here tomorrow night on the train towards Agra to see the Taj Mahal then up to Rishikesh for around 10 days. Will email everyone properly soon, we just haven't got the time today as we are heading out to a dairy farm and don't want to keep our hosts waiting.
Bipin's family are really lovely and have been taking us shopping and for the most amazing meals ever. Will write more as soon as we can.
p.s. Thanks Les and Amy for letting everyone know we are safe.

Eat or swim or sleep?

We have been in Goa for 5 days now and we could stay here for another 5 years. Sometimes it can be difficult to load photo's on the blog, so we will show you photo's of Goa when we can upload them. Most days are spent at the Shore bar which hosts a spectacular sunset show and great service and food of course. Next door provides a thrilling show during the day with some Israeli drug dealers, holding knife fights on the beach.
Losing weight here maybe be an issue due to the over eating, I (Ang) made it to one class of yoga as I was feeling a bit round in the tummy. Everything is so cheap here, we can spend a whole day at a bar, drinking and eating and it doesn't cost us more than 20 dollars. We went to the night market last night, run by euro's with the mic man Scott being totally fresh.
After the markets we went to the Nine Bar which is a night club in Vagator which plays some terrible doof doof music that appears popular with the hippies. Yes, Goa lives up to it's reputation for hosting most of the worlds hippies.
This morning we had breakfast at the Sharewood restaurant, in a tree house which was very secluded and comfortable, made from bamboo.
In two days we head back to Mumbai for a few hours before we hop on a train to Vadadora to see Bipin's family. We are excited to be moving on but also feeling sad about leaving such paradise, Goa.

from sensory overload to relaxing goa..

We've left Mumbai.... so happy to be out. Was an experience we wouldn't swap for the world, but exhausting none the less. Going on a wild chase for a mobile phone charger (btw.. i am getting no incoming text messages.. sorry guys, not working) back to the story, we go down these weird crazy alley ways near the market. End up in the middle of the most fantastical world. Thousands of Indian men selling their stuff. Mobile phones, digital home phones, electrical appliances, shoes and material and sari's as far as the eye can see. We held on to each other and just explored.

We'd downed a few wines before hand, it took the edge off and made it more fun. It was an experience we shall never forget. After our 3 days in Mumbai, we will never complain about anything in our lives again. Confronting, beautiful, loud, amazing Mumbai.

We arrived in Goa today. Pfew... we can breathe fresh air, see the sky and swim in the ocean. Sitting here in total calm. Admiring Mish's room and life here. Both saying to each other every 5 min... how amazing is this place??

Some photos... I've had enough of trying to describe the indescribable.

Holy Traffic Batman...

well, we've arrived & both of us were not expecting this in the least. The taxi from the airport to the hotel was one of the craziest experiences i think we've ever had. It's hot, dusty heaps of fog and so so many people.... Still waiting on some cows to stroll on by, guess we need to head further out of town for that. We got ripped off at the markets buying spices, got a sob story from the dude walking us around.. his 12 maybe 14 (cause the story changed) year old daughter got hit by a truck.. hurt her leg (supposedly) and he has to pay for medicine.. but don't worry, the operations are free... because he works for some dude in the senate or something. Anyway we have a sh*it load of spices now that we can't take through customs coming home. Now, both Ang and I have learnt, we're going to be tough.
Strange looks on the street, heaps of people sleeping on the road and on the footpath. Getting use to it a little, but looking forward to heading to Goa to see Michelle as she is a 'local'.
We have managed to cross the road without getting beeped at, horn friendly is an understatement. Heading to Colaba now by taxi.

One more sleep

Excited.... started to pack. Taking as little as possible.

We fly out tomorrow, 7am. Ang watched Air Crash Investigations last night, probably not a good move considering we're flying Qantas. Two more "issues" re: Qantas in the paper yesterday. Hmm

I figure if we survive the flight we'll definitely survive India... ha ha.

Many thanks for all the well-wishes yesterday and last night. It's taken so long to get to this point. I remember talking to Ang a few days ago.. we bought our tickets on December 17, 2007. Since then we've moved out of our rental, both turned 30, bought a house, done two semesters of Uni, Ang got promoted and i've suffered through a re-structure.

After all that, we at last get a holiday. Just thinking about it is making me tired.

Back to the packing for us now.

May the adventure begin.

Still In Brisbane, 7 days - can't wait.

Well it's Sunday, the Sunday before we head off into our adventure of a lifetime. A bit nervous, excited and most of all impatient.

We've got 5 work days left, really all the time we have left to buy last minute necessities. We're still planning and booking the majority of our trip. First stop Mumbai. Population 15 million or so. One of the busiest airports in the world. I wonder how over powering and hectic it will be?

I guess this first post is to just get us started. I hope to be able to update often... we shall see.