Goa concluded

Arambol was nice, but nothing really happened. I watched some movies at a bar, and walked the beach, I read, and also ate. That's it. I spent 4 days, and maybe it was too much, but I relaxed and enjoyed.

Then I headed to Panaji, which is the capitol. Again, not much there. It was very Portuguese, and was quiet and almost not Indian. I headed to old Goa see some somewhat impressive old churches, and then had a nice meal or two in Panaji. I also got to witness a festival at the main church, which was actually pretty crappy. There wasn't food, and there wasn't much to do. Just a bunch of vendors selling cloths and household goods. I did really like the meals, and found the traditional fish curries to be among the best meals I had the whole trip.

Overall Goa isn't so spectacular, but it's relaxing and kind of cool because it's different

Goa thus far

Well, I can honestly say I feel as though things are wrapping up. I think this is the most lonely I have felt the whole trip. I think what it comes down to is that when I'm busy I don't care if I'm with anyone, but to do nothing for three days is hard alone. I'm not too worried about it. I'll be home in less than a week, and then will have an even grater adventure to prepare for

The Bus to Goa

First let me say that no bus ride has been particularly enjoyable in India. They are all too bumpy, and I can't sleep at all. However, this one took the cake. I met these girls in the back of the bus where our beds were next to each other. They immediately began to complain that it was too bumpy. Well, what are we supposed to do about it? Oops, shouldn't have booked a bus ride after all. Well, they insisted on the bus manager moving them to the front, in one of the most ridiculous spectacles I have seen yet in my travels. After this the man tried to sell me their double bed for 200 more. I laughed him off. Well, the roller coaster of a ride continued, and about 2 hours later the man found my wallet on the floor. It had apparently fallen from my pocket while I was laying down. The man began by pocketing 50 Rupees from me, and then asked for a tip for picking my wallet up.

this was all laughable, and contributed to one horrible sleepless night

Hampi

As I come to the end of my travels (less than two weeks to go), I find myself just wanting to relax. Well, if relaxing is what I want, then Hampi is what I need. It is a beautiful area with thousands of boulders making up mountains all around the city and some of the most breath-taking landscapes i have ever seen. To add to this there are tons of ancient ruins around the city, which make for very peaceful walks.

I haven't done too much in the three days I've been here. I just walked and ate and took too many pictures. it's been great!

Tonight I have a bus to Goa, and from there I will make my way to my flight

Mumbai

I got to Mumbai to find what I really think is a nice city. Maybe it is the fact that I've been in India too long and my standards have been lowered a bit, but I thought the city was very European.It had monuments on all the streets, and little gardens and parks everywhere. It was fairly clean for India, and overall was just a pleasure to be in.

I spent my time with a woman in her mid 40s, just walking around and taking in the sights. The Victoria Terminal(main train station) was unbelievable. I also really loved the Gandhi museum.

I was eating well, and enjoying being civilization again. My only regret was leaving too soon, and not being able to see the slums. I could have used a fourth day there.

Either way, it was really nice

Ajanta

As I left my friends behind at the Udipur rail station I headed to Ajanta. It is a very6 famous set of caves with Buddhist carvings inside. I stayed in a town a few minutes outside the cave, and there was really nothing there. While the caves were nice, it may not have been worth the 2 1/2 days I dedicated to them.

However, they were nice

Rajastan...this is long overdue

ok, so I stopped updating this thing for a couple of weeks. My bad. I will do my best to capture 2 weeks in a giant post. However, I lament that I will certainly loose a ton of detail.

I got off the bus in Jaipur to me these two nice guys from Barcelona. After talking for a few moments we figured out that we had almost identical schedules planned out for the next two weeks, so I tagged along with them. They were two brothers. The oldest one was Andres, and the younger was Herman. I honestly got along with them really well, and was disappointed when we had to split up.

After just walking around Jaipur for a few hours, we found ourselves a little bored and not digging the city, so we grabbed a bus and headed to Pushkar (well, Ajmer...).

When we arrived in Ajmer, we found that it was impossible to get to Pushkar that night, and we would have to spend the night there. So, we got ourselves a room at the worst hotel I have ever seen, and then headed for a lovely dinner of vegetarian burgers and fake cheese pizza. Obviously,. we had to have fake ice cream for desert, as nothing else would suffice as a proper conclusion to our vegan meal.

The next day we saw the giant mosc in Ajmer, and headed to Pushkar for the camel festival. There we found thousands of camels that have been brought to both compete in different events as well as be sold and traded among camel enthusiasts. The whole scene was ridiculous, and very funny. On day 2 it rained, so we really did nothing except read and eat, but had a nice time regardless. The following day we watched the mustache competition (my favorite), and headed out to Jodhpur.

I think we all really liked Jodhpur, but the highlight was clearly when the three of us broke down and headed to McDonald's. It was so great to eat a familiar food, even if it was beefless, I enjoyed the fish sandwich and the fries. We also saw the palace, and what I think is the most impressive fort in the country. Overall it was a really nice city, and I regret that we headed out so soon, but our schedule demanded it.

So, we found ourselves in Jaisalmer after two short days in Jodhpur. It is this incredible fort built in the middle of a sand desert. What makes it even cooler is the fact that it is still being used, and is currently occupied by thousands of residents. We decided that we should take a tour of some near by villages, and the best way to do so was to do it on camel back. So, we hired a guide and he took us out the next day. We visited a couple of different villages, all of varying cleanliness and modernity, and spent two nights in the sand. It was way better than the camel riding in Morocco, because I felt we were accomplishing something, and not just having a ride for tourists. However, on the mourning of the third day Andres got a little sick, and we asked to be taken back early. SO we road to the nearest village where a jeep picked us up. We at a little, and then went shopping, which seemed to cheer up Andres. I bought a few Camel skin laptop bags, and the fellas bought some other camel skin fair. Later that night, we headed on a bus for Udaipur.

Again, in Udaipur it was raining, which really ruins a city known for it's beauty. So, we stayed inside and really did nothing. We went to the mostly indoors city palace museum, but found ourselves unimpressed after seeing the one in Johdpur. The next day we rented bikes and biked around the lake. It would have been great and very beautiful had my bike not broken and forced me to walk the last 3ish miles back to town. Oh well, it was cool.

Me and the fellas bought a beer, and had a really nice good last meal together and then said our goodbyes. I really had a lot of fun with them in Rajastan, and wish we could have continued together longer, but we were heading different directions.

Now I head south!