Jaisalmer: The Golden City

Upon arrival, we were hounded by rickshaw drivers (standard) when one guy caught our attention with an offer of a ride for 20 rupees..despite everyone else demanding 100. Finding the prospect of not getting ripped off quite unnerving, we chose to stick with what we know and paid triple...After all, in India if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.


We got to Paradise Hotel, which was suitably named as for the first time in 4 weeks we had a hot shower!! It was situated within the fort which, unlike the fort in Jodhpur, is a fully functioning community and not just a museum. A quick nap later and we were ready to explore. Jaisalmer seems to be an exception to the standard Indian city; there was a severe lack of rubbish and defecate lining the streets, making it a pleasant experience to walk around.

Inside the fort

Crazy Kidz

Sociable Michael was due to meet up with some more lovely ladies: Ailsa from Canada and Aifric from Ireland. We were starting to question their existence when their bus was three hours late but they finally rocked up and we all booked onto a three day camel trek.


DAY 1: Excitement

We were all very excited to get ourselves out to the desert and get onto some camels. When we first got there we were ambushed by huge groups of children wanting sweets, school pens and our scarves. To be honest, they wanted anything and everything we had. Most unusual request: Imys half used bottle of Wilko's sun cream. 

Wishing they would fit in her suitcase

The camels:

Radgey - as nicknamed by Imy due to his psychotic tendencies and foaming mouth.

Johnny - the perfect prince charming for princess Kat.

Simon - a closet homosexual that Ailsa struggled to control.

Raj - a strapping chap that Michael fears has been sent to the chophouse.

Kalu - the greediest camel to ever walk the Indian desert, much to Aifric's dismay.

Ramel - the most antisocial camel who liked to have Maria to himself!

Johnny and Simon

Imy swapped onto Johnny second day...couldn't handle Radgey

Within half an hour of being positioned atop our respective camels, we all started to question why we opted to do this for three days and two nights! Lunch was a welcome break and with just a fire and 2 pots Abdullah, our camel man, rustled up some of the tastiest Indian food we've had so far. 
 

Getting back on the camels was an effort for our already aching behinds, but when we reached our destination for the night, watching the sun set over the sand dunes made it all worthwhile! One campfire and a couple of beers later, we bedded down to sleep under the brightest stars we've ever seen.

Desert sunset

DAY 2: Regret
 
Fresh fruit and boiled eggs for breakfast were a slight distraction from the prospect of another three hours straddling a camel's hump. We all manned up to the challenge and got back on like the badass camel trekkers that we are. 


Pulling up for a break in a tiny village, where the houses were made from cow poo and straw, we stretched out our aching limbs in a shack filled with flies and freshly shorn wool. Lush.
After a few minutes we started to wonder why we had been abandoned here and hunted down Abdullah, Ali and Salem (the cutest 11 year old we ever met). We found them enjoying a nice cup of chai in Salem's crib and were lucky enough to be invited in to see the inside of the house.

Raw

 

We stopped for the camels to get some water and they had to draw the water up from the well. So Michael and Kat stepped up and helped. While this was going on Aifric was shat on by a bird, adding to her woes, and Imy ripped her hareems by sitting down (no more McDonalds for her). 

Drawing water for the camels

On the final leg of the day's trek we all got more adventurous and started trotting along, getting some serious camel speed up. The brief moments that we were mid air were a lovely break for our bruised bottoms. 

Setting up camp for the second time, we started to get a little nostalgic about our time in the desert and the initial regret of choosing two nights subsided into happy memories as we played cards by moonlight.

Act natural

DAY 3: Relief

Forfeiting our free lunch, we asked to get Picked up as early as possible. It's not that we don't feel extremely privileged to have been on a three day camel trek, but there's a limit to the bashing that one's bottom can take. We were slightly delayed when Ailsa saw a goat on its own, and we quote, 'Honey where's your family? Guys we can't leave it without any friends'. The poor distressed goat. 

The poor distressed goat

While waiting for our car in the blistering heat a stray dog came up to Ailsa and being the precious honey that she is, she gave it the last of our water.. Unfortunatly Maria nearly died from dehydration but at least the stray dog was well watered.

The well-watered dog

Next stop: Jaipur (the pink city).

Jodhpur: The Blue City

We reluctantly left beautiful Udaipur for the blue city. We checked out the clock tower and some of the bazaars, where the charm of a cute Indian girl wooed us into splashing out on saris. 

India in a picture: saris, cows, rickshaw, moped and monuments.

 

She conned us all..

We watched the sun set over the fort from a very fancy restaurant that was just a tad out of our price range, so we only stayed for the one beer. 

Splashpackers

The fort was a 20 minute trek up a steep incline, so halfway up we stopped off for brekki at a guesthouse that was packed to the rafters with Chinese people. To get anyone's attention, the owner would just shout, 'hey China'! It was pretty funny but maybe you had to be there. After our refuel, we made it to the top to some pretty amazing views and a new understanding of why it was called the blue city. 

Uphill slog

 

 

Enjoying the view

 
We tried our hardest to pay attention to the audio guide but by stop 8 of 33 our attention had dwindled and we explored the fort grounds for ourselves. Michael found himself as the newest member of a band, which resembled the Indian version of a salvation army band. Unfortunately, their valiant efforts were drowned our by a lone man and his recorder, who sat opposite the band and parped away in a tuneless fashion. 

Mike and the gang

Parp

Due to a rather dodgy choice of dinner venue, we arrived at the train station two hours early (rookie mistake) and were awarded the honor of being stared at nonstop, with people actively moving closer for a better look. Finding the experience slightly uncomfortable, it was a relief to get on the train to Jaisalmer.

Rajasthan: Udaipur

On arrival we soon found out they filmed a bit of Octopussy here...not that they go on about it at all. We haggled like mad and got ourselves a sweet set up in the palace suite of Lake Shore. It looks out over Lake Pichola and City Palace - dreamy.

Keerrrrrccchhhiiiinnnngggg

City Palace was as beautiful on the inside as it was from the outside and gave us some cracking views over Udaipur; India's most romantic city. To see what all the fuss was about, we watched Octopussy in the evening and managed to pick out our hotel in one of the shots.

Romance rears its ugly head

Hmmmm interesting

Lake Pichola

We hopped on a boat that took us around the lake and stopped off at Jag Niwas, which is home to a palace and some rather cheeky guards.

Feeling needy

His lucky day

We figured nothing is more romantic than a nice meal and a movie. So with this Western ideal, we headed for yet another McDonald's, followed by the cinema, offering us a nice break from the madness of India. It was certainly an experience having to go through security before entering and they even confiscated Kat's cigs, leaving her feeling like a naughty school girl. 

Next stop: Jodhpur, the blue city!! 

Lots of love, Kat and Imy xx

Mumbai

A luxurious AC sleeper-bus brought us into Mumbai and soon after checking in we met two more Aussies. Aussie number 2 wanted to spend the day bar hopping rather than temple bashing, so we (Kat, Imy and Luke) headed to Elephanta Island without him. We caught the boat from the Gateway to India, which is one of Mumbai's less slummy attractions.

Twinnies at the Gateway to India

 

Unfortunately, Kat was slightly misinformed about the length of time it would take to get to Elephanta, and the 30 minute boat trip was in fact a 2 hour voyage but we got there in the end! After a "not very spicy" and slightly dodgy curry we headed up the mountain to marvel at the incredible caves. In true Indian style, the best was not saved until last and the first cave we went to was amazing! The others were also cool, but the first one had massive sculptures that offered some great photo opportunities and some inappropriate giggles.

Cave 1

Rubbing Ganesh's belly for luck

The monkey below is nothing more than a common thief. He is named Abu and has a severe coke habit. Be warned, he will attack blonde Russians to feed his addiction.

Cheeky monkey

After a good few hours on the Island of lost souls, we headed back to Mumbai for some food. Being the lazy crew that we are, our exploration took us to the corner of the street, just down from our hotel...then the fun really began. Even though we both ate vegetarian meals, something didn't agree with either of us and we both got pretty ill for the next 24 hours (and for once we actually mean sick out of our mouths).

A wasted day in our hotel was followed by an attempt to be active around the slums of Mumbai. It was really eye opening to see the society and systems that seem to work so well for them. The slums aren't just dirty shacks, they are a network of businesses and families. The kids were all so happy and funny, insisting that Imy joined in with their game of cricket. When she proved that she could handle a bat, they kept running over with upgraded bats to test her skills.

The world's third biggest slum

Slum cricket

 

Following our experience from the night before we decided that it was time...for a McDONALDS!!!! After all we have earned it.

This is Michael, he is 25 years old and from Melbourne, (currently single for any interested ladies).

Enjoys a glass of red wine and cozy nights in

This is Maria, she is 21 years old and from Iceland, (she's 1 of only 320,000 Icelanders - a rare gem).

An avid fan of antiques

On our final day in Mumbai we hit up the Gandhi museum with Mike and Maz. It was fascinating to see how few possessions he owned and to learn of all the incredible movements he inspired. We followed this with another cultural trip to Macci D's. McDonald's is a safe zone. We had time for a stroll up Colaba Causeway, which ended with us witnessing a full on row between an Indian woman and a taxi driver. It made very entertaining viewing. 

Just follow my lead

Next stop: Udaipur. The only thing standing between us and our final leg of India is a 16-hour non A/C night bus. Yum.

Hampi

After a 12 hour bus ride, which we were unsure we would survive, we made it to Hampi. Made some fwends on the bus and followed them to a guesthouse called Goan Corner, which we accessed via a paddy field. It was very picturesque, if a little wobbly with our backpacks. We decided to do some sightseeing. At the first temple a tour guide convinced us to sign up to a bike tour on the following day, so we headed to Vitthali Temple, as it wasn't on his tour.

Through the paddy field to our hostel

 After trekking in the blistering midday heat, we were about to give up hope and let the rabid dogs eat our dried up corpses, when a man in a round boat saved the day and took us in his boat to the temple. He was a nutter and kept spinning around. On arrival at the temple, it turned out that it cost 250 Rs to get in, and being the tight wads that we are, we decided against it. What idiots. Instead we decided to go and get some food.

Cute

Impromptu boat ride

The next day saw Kat being defeated by the shits, so Imy set out with our new pals on the bike tour. Imy was pretty happy with her chubby self for making it up the first big hill, even though the tour guide had promised there would be no such hills. We saw two temples dedicated to Ganesh before heading off to a hundred other similar looking temples. By 1pm, it was game over and everyone was templed out. 

Ganesh

Lion-headed deity in a cobra's mouth

That evening, Kat was making her way to the loo for the 50th time, only to be confronted by a snake just chilling in the bathroom!! The loo is no longer a safe zone. 

SNAKE!!

During the night, we woke up to the buzz of mozzies in our ears. The mozzie net is no longer a safe zone. 

Imy, the ultimate mozzie swatter

The next day, Imy took Kat on a repeated tour of the temples. On the trip across the river to the temples we saw a snake charmer working his magic on a cobra! Too many snakes for our liking. We then stumbled upon a Bollywood movie being shot and Kat got a photo with some of the dancers. 

Kat and her Bollywood mates

We went to a restaurant beside the river and they put The Boat That Rocked on. Our favourite waiter had us in stitches when a Japanese woman kept demanding that he showed her items on the menu...our favourite was when he came out of the kitchen with a pineapple and a jug of milk to show her what a pineapple smoothie was. 

On our last day in Hampi, we fancied ourselves as explorers, and climbed up some boulders. A man appeared out of nowhere with a bag of cakes. After refusing to buy said cakes, he wandered off back into the rocks...never to be seen again.

Hampi boulders

Hampi has been our favourite place so far, with incredible Flintstone-esque scenery and amazing temples. We reckon it's a must-see for anyone coming to India. 

Next stop: Mumbai!...time to clog Kat up with immodium.

North Goa: Anjuna

After 2 hours in a taxi (flashpackers) we arrived in Anjuna and stumbled into the nearest guesthouse with throbbing headaches and bleary eyes from the night before. When we awoke from our nap, we realised we'd    managed to wangle a 3-bedroom suite (flashpackers). A quick stroll down the cow-ridden beach brought us to the infamous flea market, where we were immersed in hareems galore!

Flea

To ease our flashpacking guilt, we got local buses to Old Goa. This involved getting on not just one but three local buses! Surprisingly the journey went without a hitch and we didn't once have to put up with a sweaty pit in our faces...to be honest we were probably the sweatiest beasts on the bus. We can't quite remember the history of Old Goa, but there was a massive cathedral called Se Cathedral and another big church called Bom Jesus Basillica, which were very impressive. We stopped for lunch at a local Indian restaurant and finally felt like we weren't getting ripped off. All was going well until Imy found a bug in her half-eaten bread bun. It put us off a bit. All churched out, we headed back on the bus to Anjuna, extremely chuffed that we had managed to do the return trip for 60p!

Outside Bom Jesus

Leaning tower of Treesa

Ginger one-fingered Jesus

Making fwends

The next day, we decided to work on our tans. Sunbathing with cows and frequently getting papped by the locals, we succeeded in cooking ourselves like crispy duck and instigated a bout of sun stroke. Not great. The next day was spent recovering in bed - we are such whities.

Hardcore cows

Quote from Imy's diary, 3rd March 2013: "Whilst packing, a dog came outside our door and laid down. We were not expecting what followed at all. The dog got its willy out (at least 4-5 inches) then started licking and playing with itself. It was rank and the dog ovo got embarrassed and went round the corner to finish himself off."

Next stop: Hampi. Finally we were getting out of  Anjuna, which turned out to not be such a great place for us...especially as this was the start of Kat's ongoing Delhi belly.

South Goa: Palolem

We had our first experience of a sleeper train - Imy slept, Kat didn't. After 16 hours we arrived in Madgao and had a couple of hours to kill before our next train down to Palolem (little did we know that we could have just got off a few stops earlier!). So we hopped on the internet and Kat got in a fight with the internet guy over 10 rupees. He promptly threw us out. 

When we got to the station, we instructed the rickshaw man to take us to the cheapest homestay and this is how we ended up at "Flavia's Paradise". Our room was less paradise and more prison but it was cheap as chips and on the beach so can't complain! We wandered down the beach and couldn't believe how siiiiick it was - a bit like the beaches in Thailand.  

Indian man

We went to a bar with Bob Marley's greatest hits on repeat and watched the sun set over the sea while tucking into a Margherita pizza. Ended up at the headphone disco with a couple of people we met on the beach. Both got drunk and Kat fell over on the way home - sign of a good'un.

Disco Fweeends

Kat looking sick...

 

...Kat nearly being sick

  


....It turns out it isn't such a great idea to order fish curry when you're hanging.











On day 3 in Goa we finally got the balls to hire a moped. After a quick tour of a ditch, we arrived safely in Agonda beach. It was much quieter than Palolem but really beautiful. A quick dip in the sea turned into a bit of a nightmare though, as Imy got attacked by a crab...at the time we thought it could be a snake bite but the locals assured us that she would already be dead if it was one, so we concluded it was crab nip, not snake bite. To top off the day Kat stood in pig shit. All in all, a bit of a shocker but Imy's night was made when she met a waiter who supported Newcastle United - simple things.

Don't worry mums, we wore helmets!

We've fallen in love with Indian kids, especially this one little fat one we met who was too hot and bothered to join in with his friends playing football. He was literally a 40 year old man trapped in a chubby 7 year old's body. 3 little Indian kids performed a dance for us too and Imy actually got broody! 

Quick Game of Footie

  
We met another friend that night and headed to another headphone disco, knowing we had to get up early the next morning to leave for Anjuna. We were hesitant at first but soon caved and had a wicked night. Although we were too tight to hire the headphones, so it was a tad on the quiet side!

Imy and Abi - number 1 poker player in India!!