1 December 2018 4 of 4
I was in Goa when I last wrote, a beach destination on the west coast of India a few hours south of Mumbai. We were there four days. We walked, we swam, we ate, we scootered, we ate some more, we watched colourful sunsets and we relaxed. It was great.
From there, we finished my Indian vacation in Bangalore staying with Abhinav’s folks and being looked after very well. Abhinav needed some traditional shoes for his cousin’s wedding in a few weeks so I had a fabulous time exploring the world of Indian wedding shopping – there was just as much sparkle in the men’s section as the women’s – see photos below.
I totally recommend India for a visit. It’s friendly, super interesting, loads of history, a little bit crazy, organised enough to make everything work and make everyone feel useful, and different from everywhere else in the world. It’s a really affordable place to travel, although some costs seemed a bit out of whack – a day of rafting cost 400 rupees (AUD8), while a not-great glass of wine cost 500 rupees (AUD10). Processes can appear inefficient to an over-organised westerner such as me but you always get the outcome you want. For example, I needed some medication for a minor infection while we were traveling and sourcing such medication involved a visit to Pharmacy 1, then across to the hospital, up the road to the GP, down the other way to Pharmacy 2, back to the GP, back to Pharmacy 2, and then back to Pharmacy 1. We made lots of new friends that day 😉
The food has been terrifically flavourful, full of variety and super filling. Abhinav got a bit sick of me explaining after every meal how full I was as a consequence of my piggishness, but in the whole time we were traveling, there were only four dishes that we didn’t think were awesome. And the only issues I had as a result of the food, was the tightness of my pants in trying to accommodate my full belly.
I saw monkeys, snakes – wild + tame, cows, pigs, dogs, stripey squirrels, bats, goats, cats, mongoose, wild peacocks (my favourite), water buffalo and countless birds. I saw mountains, rivers, farms, forests, creeks, temples, villages, shrines, museums, forts, palaces, roof tops bars, sunrises, sunsets and fireworks. It was all wonderful.
Throughout the trip I continued to appear in photos with locals at their request – family shots, or just with the wife, or holding the baby – let me know if you see me featured somewhere as the novelty tall tourist.
Now I’m home and battling a bit of post-holiday blues. Time to go through my photos again!
