Sad in London

I'm half home and missing India already... I figured I would list the things I'm missing most:

- The Amazing Food... Everything tastes so good here. I am afraid I will be very disappointed in the fruits and veggies in Canada :( Except the chocolate... it tastes like crap... it has something in it so it doesn't melt easily
- The People... Everyone is so nice to everyone... With so many people people it's amazing everyone doesn't drive each other crazy.
- Traffic... believe it or not, after being overwhelmed by the traffic it grows on you... the honking to to tell people you are there and it's almost a method of communication.
- Great shopping / Great Deals... 'nough said
- While quite frankly everything... I loved it and I absolutely can't wait to go back!

Not to leave Canada out, these are some frivoulous things I've taken for granted and can't wait to experience again:
- A bath... I've taken showers and bucket showers... I can't wait for a real bath with soap that doesn't smell like the bug repellent soap I brought with me!
- Chocolate... See above
- Not being stared at... I keep thinking I have somthing on me...Did I bribble soup on my shirt?
- Paying a standard rate for a taxi and actually know where you are going.
- I'm sure there is more... I just had a 10 hour flight from Delhi and I didn't really sleep...

Even though I love India I am looking forward to getting home to see my friend and family!

Goa...

It is so very close to the end of our trip :( We are in Goa for 3 days and two nights.. then it's back to Delhi and home... I'm trying not to think about that!

So our first day in Goa all we did was sit on the beach and relax... at night we had dinner at a small restaurant called Little Italy... I had an Seafood Sizzler... I saw them catch the fish in the morning! Everything here is so fresh!

This morning we went on a boat cruise (it was way cheaper if Aditi and I went instead of just Aditi... so she convinced me to go.) The Arabian sea is very calm (thank god!) so it wasn't too bad. We saw dolphins (I asked the guy driving the boat what kind of dolphin's are they and I got "grey ones" as a response...) and went to the popular butterfly beach (it's shaped like a butterfly... no actual butterflies.

I also got henna on one of my feet... It's just two toes and some of my ankle it's really pretty and should last about a week :)

So my next post is likely to be from the Heathrow airport in 3 days time... How all is well with everyone :)

Finally Internet!!!

I wrote this two days ago... but Blogger was down... so here's the update:

Things have been very crazy since I left the beautiful mountains of Dharmasala!

We were in Delhi for a couple of days...

- We went shopping in the market... I always get a much more expensive price than Aditi so I've been practising my french by telling her what I want and then she buys and get's me a super deal! I got two pairs of earring for 75 Rs which is not even 2 dollars! I also got a beautiful red and cream Saree!

- We also went shopping in the malls which are kinda freaky because they are surrounded by barbed wire and every car is checked (including the trunk) and when you go in you go through a metal detector and there are security people that go through you bags. I keep imagining what this would be like if these procedures were inplemented at the St.Laurent Mall! It's scary and comforting at the same time... Shopping was good though! We got a manicure and a pedicure for about $12.50 too!

-We went to MacDonalds and I had a Maharaja Mac... basically a Big Mac with chicken instead of beef, super spicy mayo... oh, and they put tomatoes too!

-We also went to Qutab Minar which is the tallest tower in India... so beautiful... can't wait to share the picks!

-Oh, Anna, I have another fruit for you to check out at Pete's, look for Sweet limes... they are the size of oranges with green/yellow skin... they taste like lime but they are sweet like oranges... SO GOOD!

-We also did a day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal... Absolutely breath taking!It is SO beautiful in person...


After Delhi we were off to the state of Rajasthan...

-We went to Jaipur staying in a hotel that was suppose to be finished being renovated but they only had one room ready... and it was less than a block from the railway lines where the train goes by every hour... I slept like a baby. I'm officiall okay with India noise... best part is that they didn't charge us because they were still renovating the place!

-We saw the Maharaja sun dials that used to set the time for all of India... it is acurate to within 20 seconds!

-We took an elephant to the top of a fort (so very cool!)

-One morning we had breakfast at McDonald because there were no other "safe" place to eat... so for the first time... I had a McChicken & fries for breakfast (they don't serve north american style breakfast at McDonalds)... not an experience I would like to repeat!

We went shopping with a bodyguard/driver (I swear parts of my trip I felt famous... little kids in the small towns come running to see the "white girl" and they wave and I wave back and then they run and get more friends to wave!) We got some crazy good deals on semi-precious gems for jewelery, silver, and stainless steel and we didn't have to carry our own bags! We have been so spoiled!

After two days in Jaipur we went to Deogarh... a stop over in the way to Udaipur and we pull up to this beautiful palace and Aditi and I are thinking... we can't be staying here... we had lunch and a massage and then we heard word that we would be not saying in the main hotel but another smaller one that has four rooms and was recently renovated... my mind immediately went to the last hotel and as we drove there in a jeep (it's difficult to reach by car) - into the middle of the dessert - I was convinced we would be sleeping in a tent or something! But we pulled up to the beautiful hunting "lodge" just in time to see the sun go down. Translated this place is called the pearl in the oyster because it is beauty surrounded by water and waterchest nut plants. This 4 room lodge was amazing... there was another person staying there from England that was paying (get this!) 1,500 Euros a night! We paid the equivalent of $80 CDN and that included our massage and all of our meals... It was completely out of this world... we woke up at 6:45 to watch the sun come up... truely breath taking (I'm so running out of words to describe!)

We were only there for one night and we were off to Udaipur to seen the City Palace... neadless to say it was beautiful... it is a white hotel in the middle of the lake... we also took a boat to the island where the "guy" who created the Taj Mahal hid when his life was at risk... this is where he got the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.



After that we flew to Mumbai (and where I am now...)

-We say some very beautiful churches and we went to a Hindi temple and a Mosque... very interesting and very friendly... the mosque is out in the water and at high tide (we went at low tide) the people look like they are walking on water as they walk out!

-We also got to see the Gateway to India.


Ah... running out of time... off to Goa at 5am tomorrow morning... time to relax!

Shopping Spree and Amazing Lunch

Today was fantastic! We went shopping in Dharmasala... I got these amazing tibetan dresses and a Kashmiri silk carpet (yup, that set me back!). We also got socks and pillow covers, purses, prayer flags, jewelery, and a whole bunch of other things! (including an old-school camera... my digital is out of battery power and we had only one other 27 shot disposable camera!

My carpet was purchased in a back alley shop that Aditi found... well, she followed a complete stranger that offered excellent deals (no worries Aditi's Aunt and I were close behind!)

Things are certainly different here after hours of shopping about about 10 bags between us we just dropped out bag off in a shop (literally at the front door) and kept on shopping... it did help that we bought some scarves and ring there... Amazing!

After shopping we took off further up the mountain to Talnoo to have a picnic of
yummy leftover tibetan pizza, Indian beer (Kingfisher), Butter and Garlic Chips (I will bring some back... they are fab!) and Custard Apples (Anna check out Pete's to see if they carry them... so tasty... they kinda look like mini artichokes and you eat the pulp and spit out the black seed and don't eat the skin).

The place we had the picnic is on a beautiful cliff that gives a view of the entire Indian Himalayan moutain range in all it's snowy glory. After lunch Aditi and I climbed a Indian Oak Tree (it must of have been the Indian beer that brought on the courage to climb a tree... how old are we?!) We got some excellent picks!

After lunch we went for a hike and saw some beautiful view of the plains! We also got great photo-op with the children and the cow that live there. They loved that we gave them fruit and candy :)

On the way home from lunch we stopped at St.John's in the Wilderness Church, an old catholic church off the main road... Lord Elgin's grave is here too.

That's it for now...

Beautiful Dharmasala

Dharmasala is so relaxing!

Yesterday was a day of just enjoying the weather and just being. In the early morning we explored Kerna Massi's wonderful garden... we ate guava right off the tree! I sat by the waterfall and read the newspaper (Did you guys hear about OJ Simpson's new book?!).

In the late morning we went into town to buy some groceries and we brought some stones to the jewelers to add silver to make earrings and a ring for me and earrings for Aditi. Total cost for my ring and earrings (including silver and stones) - $7.50 CDN!

After shopping we came home for a marvelous Indian meal... we had Lime Chicken, Eggplant Biryani Bairgua, Dal, and rice. It was so good! We got all the recipes too!

After lunch we hung out and then went for a hike in the hills. It was so beautiful to see the sun set over the mountains and plains. One amazing thing I've learned is that Indian Buffalo know their way home... everyday they go out and graze in the high hills and every night they know their way home.

Our night was spent watching the IIC Cricket Champions Trophy. Ya Ya India!