A Beach Paradise During Monsoon Season

This past weekend I took a trip to Goa with Daniela. Originally a Portugese colony, Goa is now the smallest state in India, and is known for its beaches. Daniela wanted to visit Goa while here, and I had many people tell me that Goa is a must see while in India. So, I packed up my overnight bag and boarded a plane headed for Goa.

We stayed at this wonderful little hotel called Sonesta Inns. There was NO ONE there. With the exception of an Indian family and what looked like a couple on their honeymoon, the hotel was empty. Upon arrival at our hotel around 7 pm we checked in and tried to figure out where we were going to eat. I was given a huge list of great restaurants in Goa by a friend of mine, so we figured we would scour over that. As it turns out, monsoon season is their off season (imagine that) and every place we called was closed.

Upon dropping us off at the hotel after dinner, the cabbie suggested we go to a spice plantation the following day, seeing as we had not found any touristy stuff to do, we happily agreed and made our way to our rooms. The next morning we had breakfast and hopped in the cab headed out for a little sight seeing. First on the list was a very old church, if I remember correctly it is the Church of St. Francis.

If you were wondering, the thing above the two cherubs heads is the body of St. Francis... he died in 1552. I can only imagine how bad that thing would stink if it was opened. Sorry... I digress

And I also must say this was the most burtal crucifix I have ever seen. 

After the church we made our way to a hindu temple that was beautiful, but overall not that exciting. 

Once we walked though the temple we jumped back in the cab and made our way to the spice plantation. Initially I had no idea what we were in for, I figured it was just going to be a big spice market with a couple of trees here and there... I was quite wrong. This plantation was 150 acres and had spices growing in every corner of all sorts of different plants. The tour was surprisingly impressive, we walked around two acres of the property and the guide explained the purpose and importance a whole bunch of different spices have to the Indian people. When the tour ended, they had some ritual of pouring water down your back signifying that you were "cleansed" or something like that. It was quite uncomfortable and I do not care to do it again.

After that we had a lunch buffet provided by the spice plantation. It was really really really good. They also gave us an opportunity to try fenny (it reminded me of the Slovakian plum brandy I got sick on many times). 

Daniela and I decided to play it safe with the food that night, so we found a nice Italian place and had a nice meal before calling it a night. The day we were meant to leave, we decided to go for a walk around the area, only to find liters of petrol being sold out of old water bottles and makeshift pharmacies were lining the street. We retreated back to the hotel and made a break for the beach.

As you can see, it was quite dreary. Alas, we were in a vacation destination and walking on the beach, so we kept our complaints to ourselves. Overall, Goa was a great trip, with the exception of the copious number of mosquito bites I now have, I am glad that Daniela asked me to join here.

Next up: Mari arrives on Saturday evening and we make our way to Agra and Jaipur. Be prepared for a couple posts on her visit. 

Dull week before Chaos

Not much has been going in the past week. The only exciting update that I can give you is that I spoke far to soon when I said "Worry you not, even after many more street food vendors in Old Delhi, I can happily report that I have not experienced 'Delhi Belly'".

The Fourth went off without a hitch. I enjoyed some delicious American made Jim Beam Bourbon with some Coca-Cola. I was going to have a cigar but it was just too damn hot out to sit outside comfortably. I had (sadly) a big Indian dinner and called it an early night after pestering Christina Thomas online for a little bit. 

The following day is when things took a turn for the worst. I am aware that some of my pain was my hangover. But I will say that I took my Ibuprofen and had quite a bit of water. By noon my head ache was gone, but my stomach was wrenching like no other. I finally got home around 6pm, I had no dinner and even more water. I went to bed at 7 because I knew I had to take a tour of a Ferno distributor the next day. The tour was not till 1pm... I slept till 11am. I felt much better when I woke up. The tour went great, and I felt fine the whole time... until I got back to my flat that evening. Thankfully the weekend was here and I could sleep. Anjali Rai (daughter of the YPO member at the university) was kind enough to send over some medication to help me feel better. It helped so much. Sunday rolled around and I was almost 100% back to normal.

So that was my exciting past week. Much of it was spent in bed or in the bathroom... Thankfully, the next 2 weeks are exciting.

This Friday I am flying to Goa with Daniela to have a little weekend get-a-way. Goa is like a big beach city with a couple tourist attractions. I plan on being 1 of 3 places at any given time this weekend... the beach, the spa, or my bed. I know, sounds rough, but someone has to do it. So I should have a post up on Goa come Monday or Tuesday, but no promises. 

Next weekend is the weekend I am looking forward to more than any other... On Saturday the 21st Mari will be flying in to spend a week with me. I am giddy with excitement. I have already booked the hotels and all the activities we will be doing while she is here. So that is a post you should be looking forward to. 

Until then, please take time to enjoy some of the music I have had to endure while here.

Old Delhi Tour

This past weekend, Daniela and I finished the second half of the tour that was mentioned in this previous post. We did change it up a little bit by booking with a different company called "When In India". They were quite a bit more expensive, but as it turned out, worth every penny.

We began our tour meeting outside of the Red Fort at 5:30pm. Thankfully the rickshaws were easy to spot because this intersection was a nightmare.

We met our tour guide who thankfully spoke english very well. We then loaded up into the rickshaws and prepared for this three and a half hour adventure.

The tour began at a huge Muslim mosque called Jama Masjid. We were supposed to be able to go inside and have a look around, but as it turned out, the head master muslim priest of all muslims in India was in town, so they had to follow all the rules at the mosque. That meant that no non muslims were allowed inside. Oh well, I don't think I missed much, it seemed to just be a huge walled in area with a podium at the front.

After the disappointment at the mosque we made our way down some of the narrowest and most crowded passageways I have ever seen. Our first stop was at this corner restaurant shop.

And they served these miniature elephant ear looking things. They are very good and considered a desert here. They were super gooey and sticky but crazy delicious. As it turned out, they were also my first "street food" experience in India. Worry you not, even after many more street food vendors in Old Delhi, I can happily report that I have not experienced "Delhi Belly".

We continued down the streets to our next street food experience but were quickly slowed by a huge traffic jam... and by traffic jam, I mean no one was moving and everyone was honking. I feel as though their governing transportation body is run by children who all think they should be first in line. It is terribly aggravating and time consuming.

Once we made our way though the traffic jam we visited a jewelry market, spice market, and wedding market. Sadly, I did not get any pictures of these areas, but Daniela did, so once I get the pictures from her I will update this post. I got some great spice mixes at the spice market, found some nice bangles for Mari at the jewelry market, and thankfully bought nothing at the wedding market. 

Our second to last stop was at this chain restaurant that serves some delicious food. I have no idea what I ate, but I do know that it was all delicious.

And for desert we had something called stic kulfi. I believe it was frozen milk curd with saffron and other spices in it. Again, it was delicious regardless of what was in it.

To finish off the tour, we headed back to the Red Fort to watch the Light & Sound show. Which as it turned out, was more of a Sound & Story show. The lights were unimpressive, but the story associated with the show was extremely informative. It told the story of the throne located at the Red Fort. I will give you the short version with just the highlights.

The Red Fort was built by the same guy who built the Taj Mahal. He also built two other forts and a couple other places, he is known as the Architect of India. When he was older, he got super sick and his three sons started killing each other in an attempt to claim the throne. The son that won imprisoned his father and basically ran the kingdom into the ground. After he destroyed the kingdom, there were a couple uneventful leaders that came after him, until finally the British came in and dethroned a drunk leader and claimed India as their own.

Fun fact about the throne (known as the Peacock Throne), it once held the largest diamond on earth. Originally the diamond was 186 1/16th carats and valued at over $128 million in todays money, but it has since been cut to 105.6 carats to increase its brilliance. The throne was looted in 1739 and the diamond then ended up in the hands of the British and ultimately the Queen of England's crown, which is where it now resides. Below is a drawing of the throne in it heyday.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope the massive number of pictures makes up for it! Enjoy, I will update again soon.