Month: November 2013

We took the train from Bangalore to Goa on the 4 th, overnight arrived Goa on the 5 th at 6 am.

Before I go into detail about the train ride, let’s start with the people I travel with. Uday , Ramya and their 8 year old son Chinno , Pradip, Swapna and their 2 yr son, Uday’s daughter Sonia and her husband Aravind.

Pradip works at hospital in charge of putting people to sleep (anesthesia).  His wife Swapna  teaches at a dental colleague. Sonia studies Psychology and her husband Aravind is a doctor. So half of our team are doctors.

The train ride reminded me the first train trip I had  when I was 4 yrs old . It’s quite basic, but the bathroom was clean. I slept throughout the night. The best thing about trains in India is that you can open the doors and enjoy the view. The country side we passed by in the sunset was really beautiful.

The first day in Goa was really interesting. We checked in the resort Marhindra Emerald  Palms in the south town of Goa, near Varca beach. It’s 5 star facility, rooms are clean spacious and the architecture is Portuguese style villas. I shared the one bed room apartment with Pradip family. There are two bathrooms, we have cable tv in each rooms and clean drinking water is provided in bottles.

The only downside of this nice resort soon revealed itself after we checked it. Aravind visits Goa many times coz his family temple is here. He is the local guide we rely on for this trip. Aravind is very good at planning but the problem we have is local tour provider do not want to rent us vehicles. The resort will cause them trouble if they provide service to us . The resort basically monopoly the region, they inflate the price a lot due to rich tourists stay here most of time.

We sorted out the problem in the afternoon, we persuaded a lady near by to rent us a scooter, so Ramya took me on the bike together with Aravind and Sonia we went to the near by city Margao ,visited the famous MMC Newmarket. Most stuff sold there are made in China, but also lots of local produce such as spice, fruits and grains sold there. It was a very colorful market.  I enjoyed the visit very much. Most exciting part of the trip was being on the bike with Ramya. She is one fearless lady on the road. There are cars, bikes coming from all directions, we went through them like we are invisible. I had such high on the bike, it’s pure happiness when we drive through the countryside, soaking in the view, the smell . I think the best way to get to experience a place is by bike.

The next day Arvin sorted a car for us. The catch is that we had to meet the driver at a secret location in Margao city. It’s about half an hour walk from the resort to city center. Since we have two toddlers, Uday came up with the great idea. Some of us walk. One person got the bike to transport the rest to the location. It worked out brilliantly, by 930 am we all get in the car and started out trip towards Panjim, the central city of Goa. The drive to Panjim was about an hour. Along the way I saw colorful houses, interesting billboard and some warning signs for drivers. Such as drive fine, no fine.

Also there are slogans behind the truck saying Blow Horn OK. Ok is in between the other two words. How it works is that if a vehicle wants to pass the truck, blow horn first, then truck driver will switch on the light above the OK sign, it means you can pass. All sounds pretty good in theory, but I didn’t see such action in practice yet.

Panjim was a small city with a river going through, lots foreign tourists there. I visited the church by myself. Peaceful place , old ladies sitting outside. I met two kids finishing school and helped me took some photos. After the church visit I met up with the rest of the group who has done quite a bit shopping. We had the best lunch at Ritz, the crab was so delicious I was almost in tears.

The next place we visited is Fort Aguada. On the way there we saw lots European tourists in hippie clothing. There is one cross road, turn left is to Aguada Prison, turn right is to Fort Aguada. I wonder as a passenger how it feels when your destination is on the left turn. The fort is built by Portuguese. Lots newly weds were there. I was told ladies wearing lots of bangles are northern Indians who just got married.

The next day we spent lounging by the pool, we went to another private beach owned by the same resort chain in the area. The beach was stunning. I was reassured that many foreigners will wear bikini there, so I rocked up with mine. Of course turns out only Indian ladies there with their swimsuits , shorts and t-shirts I definitely got my share of attention. It is ok since I was with good company. The waves are quite strong in the Arabian sea. No one surfs there. A few people swim between the flags. I had fun playing with the waves. Uday taught me how to ride a scooter. It was dark on the road, but he was a very good teacher, calm , patient and gave clear instructions. I managed to ride on my own the next morning. Very memorable experience in Goa.

I visited India last year around this time.

2 weeks ago I have given a public talk at the Diwali celebration in the city I am living in. I went through the journals I wrote on my last year’s trip through south India. So I thought would be nice to tidy up the notes and store them here as well…

Whoever is reading, hope you enjoy it.

I arrived Bangalore in early November on the early morning flight, stayed at Uday and Ramya’s home . When I woke up in the morning I was impressed with the modern buildings around me and also surprised by the cool temperature . The apartment block is in the old cotton mil district. It is right opposite a very colourful Tamil temple.

In the first few days I get stomach problem a bit. But local friends say they have it once a week or so, it’s expected. At least no need to concern about constipation .

I listed a few things I took notice of on my very first few days in Bangalore:

1 . Here are so many similarities with China. Lots of construction work in the city, they are developing a new subway system which will hopefully improve the traffic congestion.

Driving here is like in China , with double the chaotic. Traffic rules can be adjusted based on individual needs.

Family is important. The get together and chat have dinner. Remind me of my own family. Also the way people interact are similar, not so much drinking etc, more going out for dinner or stay home play games etc.

2  religion is in every aspect of the society. I saw Virgin Marry and baby Jesus in Sari, people pray next to their bicycle on the side of the road. There are mosques, churches and temples. Temples are the most colorful, Churches all big and seems built with steady concrete. Last night I went out for a drive with friends, I saw the central part of the city at night. We passed by a place with lots colorful lights and some young men hanging outside, I asked if its a pub, my friend almost laughed to tears, turns out it was a temple.

3 food is good, I had the most delicious breakfast yesterday. Lots different types of bread, roti, dipped in curry. Vegetarian food are so yummy here. Ramya has helpers visit home each day to clean the dishes and the floor, the home always kept tidy and clean. The helper also cook the food for the family, quite yummy and simple food.

4 The apartment compound has three swimming pools, gym, table tennis and a squash court. We played table tennis yesterday, it was a lot of fun.

5 I can be Indian ! Ramya and I visited this art gallery at the arts school in Bangalore. At the entrance of the gallery, foreigners need to pay a bit more in terms of ticket price. Ramya told them I am Indian, the ticket counter guy asked his colleague if I could be Indian, the colleague nod the head and said “yes, she looked Indian” . SO I GOT IN with local price . I was really pleased with it and Ramya and I laughed  about this for a long time.

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