Train to Ernakulam - 12/16

Thursday we boarded an early morning train to Ernakulam. The trip took 15 hours and we had booked seats in the AC 2 tier section of the train...which from what the English tourists we met have told us should be great...and it is! We sit in a compartment of 4 people. During the daytime you can sit in groups of two, facing each other, and for nighttime, one passenger moves to the top bunk and one remains on the lower bunk for sleep. Its quite comfortable...there is air conditioning, the seats are spacious and there are plenty of snacks being sold. Every once in a while sellers walk down the aisles yelling “coffee, coffee, coffee!” or “chai, chai, chai, chai, chai”. They sell extremely sweet coffee and chai. They also sell fried treats and other hot dishes. We bought some bananas for the road because we did not expect so much food on the train, which by the way were super delicious. The bananas here are more tart and less sweet than back home. Fruit in general is delicious and we are always finding some new and strange fruit. But, I digress. I suppose because of all the food available, the train attracts yet another kind of passenger...the cockroach! I have seen several scurrying around.

So although the train was very comfortable, provided both food and pets, I was quite miserable. The sniffling and sneezing from the night before had exploded into a full on cold, stuffed nose and sore throat. On top of that, I seemed to have contracted a bout of the infamous “Delhi Belly”. It wasn't too bad, but I did spend a good portion of the time running to the bathroom which of course was a squat toilet. At first I was horrified, but after much experience, I have found the squat toilet to be very hygienic. The train toilets on Polish trains are disgusting and I think it is because they have a regular sit down toilet. Because the train is moving and the presence of the toilet takes up much of the space in the bathroom, there is urine everywhere as most people seem to miss the toilet altogether. Its filthy and smelly. But, the Indian train toilet is neither smelly nor dirty. Because there is no toilet, there is more room to maneuver. Also, the squat toilet is designed with sloping sides, so that pretty much wherever you aim (unless you are retarded or drunk) the excreted matter will find its way down the hole. There is also a small bucket so you can pour water into it should there be need to do so. I haven't adopted the custom of washing your but with a bucket of water though. I am not sure how that works and so we carry a roll of toilet paper and wet wipes wherever we go.

Squat toilet on the train.

Not much else to report from the train. We met a nice family who gave us some home made cookies and then I rested for several hours in the top bunk while the train gently rocked me to sleep.   

Goodbye Goa - 12/15

Ganga

Tree climbing presentation.

On our last day of Goa we scooted up to Ponda to visit a spice farm. I had a bit of a breakdown on the scooter. I was terrified. This was nothing like the backroads we had traveled on the day before. In order to get to Ponda, we had to go through Margao, which is a larger sized town, during rush hour traffic. There are no streetlights in these areas...only rondos...and there were bikes, motorcycles, and trucks coming at us from all directions. But, we made it.

At the farm we took a tour, learned about different spices, and had a traditional Goan lunch. We also learned how to climb trees just like the farmers do to harvest the spices and we saw our first elephant! We got to touch Ganga and her skin felt like course leather with sparse, long whiskers all over her trunk. It kind of seemed like what you would imagine our skin would be if it were magnified and you were a tiny organism.

In the evening we had dinner with a couple we met from our hotel. We met when I was sitting in the lobby on my laptop and the woman sat down next to me and requested a photo. I was apparently as much of an oddity to her as she was to me. They were from Punjab, far north, and were there for their honeymoon. They have an arranged marriage and have only known each other for six months. Yet, they seemed very content with this life changing decision that had been made for them by others. We talked about relationships, food, cultural differences...they were aghast to learn that we eat meat every day as they are pure vegetarians and in awe that we know how to snowboard. Sadly, I can't remember their names and the photo that the hotel clerk attempted to take was unsuccessful.

All during the meal I had a running nose and was sneezing. The foreign germs have got me.

Beach Hopping in Goa

The Russians help the locals with the morning catch.

Deserted Paradise.

Backroad traffic.

Lunch at a roadside restaurant.

Sup?

Today I think we completely relaxed and are over the jet lag.  We spent the entire day beach hopping and exploring the backroads and villages around south Goa....by scooter of course.  This time it went a little smoother.  Peter has become quite good at riding, this being only his second day on any kind of motor bike, and I have loosened my grip on him.   We spent a good portion of the day riding through roads lined with dense tropical foliage. 

The sun is so extremely bright here that we can barely see what pictures we are taking.    The beaches seem to stretch on forever and the sand is very soft and fine.  The Arabian Sea is a perfect temperature.  There are glimpses of far off mountains through the sun's blinding haze.  It's pretty much paradise.  The beaches we stumbled upon were also surprisingly deserted.  The one strange thing about Goa is that there are Russians everywhere!  There are Russian signs on the beaches and people keep trying to talk to us in Russian.  Very strange. 

Also, guess who got her backpack back?!?  I was very excited to get my bag, yet strangely I am still wearing my Salwar Kameez....I think I have gotten a bit attached.  Also, it is super comfortable.  Now that the bag has been delivered we can move on from Goa.  We were unable to book any train tickets for the next day, so we will still do some more sightseeing for one more day and then take a train to Kochi in Kerala....15 hours!

Blood-colored spitting in Mumbai

After we got off the plane in Mumbai and Magda was dealing with her lost bag I noticed an official looking dude spat out brown red, chunky goo into the garbage can.  First thought was blood, but then I noticed more folks doing the same.  Sure enough the next day out in the city there were throngs of men polluting sidewalks with their colorful saliva.  Sidewalks and the insides of low-brow joints were dotted with brown stains.  Pretty gross.

I didn't really have a good guess what it is that they spat out other then tobacco.  Magda refused to guess.  I was very curious but didn't want to just walk up to one of them and ask.  It may have been a religious thing or whatever.  I asked one of the bell-hops but failed to explain what I was asking and only got head shakes and strange looks.

On our last day in Mumbai we met a helpful older lady who showed us around the neighborhood.  Her command of English was great and I finally got my answer.  She bought the thing for us.  I don't remember its name, sadly, but Magda took a picture.  It's a bunch, and I mean at least 15 different spices, sprinkles and things wrapped in some sort of a leaf.  When you chew on it for a while it turns red.  It was sweet and tasted like a spice rack.  Both Magda and I couldn't get ourselves to spit it out at first and swallowed it.  On the second try I went for it and it felt good.  I felt just like the locals.

So much for rest and relaxation!

Me at Old Goa Monastery Ruins.

Typical Goan pair on a scooter.

Peter practicing his moves.

Creepy but awesome ruins.

Today we decided to rent a scooter and scoot over to Old Goa for some sightseeing....we thought it would be an easy ride, but I had underestimated the distance a bit.  We are staying in the beach town of Colva which is about 30 km (18 miles) from Old Goa.  It was quite a hair raising ride as we made our way through serpentine roads dodging dogs, bikes, cars, people, and cows on the road.  Peter was driving and I was digging my fingers into him hoping not to die!  We even spent a good portion of the trip on a highway.  We kept stopping for directions because apparently there are no road names either on the roads or on the maps but people were extremely friendly and helpful.  So we visited in Old Goa for a bit and it was quite beautiful, full of crumbling ruins and Portuguese cathedrals.  The sun was so extremely bright that it cast an eerie, glowing quality to our surroundings.

Oh, and I finally heard from Air France.  They claim to have found my bag and are shipping it to Goa.  Which is great except that I had never given them an address in Goa....so where they were planning to ship it I don't know (Goa, by the way, is a state and has many cities).  I gave them the address to our current hotel.  Fingers crossed that it will actually make it here before we move on.

Dzisiaj wypożyczyliśmy motorynkę i ruszamy do Old Goa na zwiedzanie.  Myśleliśmy że taka przejażdżka to będzie pestka ale pokiełbasił nam się dystans.  Mieszkamy w miasteczku przy plaży o nazwie Colva oddalonym o 30 parę km od Old Goa i Piotrek nigdy przedtem nie wsiadał na motor.    Podróż była przerażająca, jechaliśmy po krętych drogach i autostradzie, omijając psy, motory, samochody i ludzi i zwierzęta.  Piotrek kierował a ja wpijałam w niego paznokcie w nadziei o przetrwanie.  Co parę kilometrów musieliśmy się pytać o drogę bo nazwy dróg nie istnieją ani na mapach ani na drogach.  Na szczęście ludzie tu są niesamowicie mili i pomocni.  Zwiedzaliśmy Old Goa przez parę godzin.  Jest to piękne, stare, opuszczone miasto.  Dawna stolica Goa, pełna rozpadających się ruin i portugalskich katedr.

Poza tym w końcu usłyszeliśmy od Air France.  Podobno znaleźli mój bagaż is wysyłają go do Goa.  To wszystko super, tyle że nie mają naszego adresu!  Także gdzie go wyślą nie do końca jeszcze wiadomo (Goa to jeden ze stanów w Indiach).  Zadzwoniłam i podałam adres do hotelu.  Teraz trzymam kciuki że się w końcu pojawi.

Mumbai to Goa

Colva Beach.

New Friends.

Due to the relentless jet lag we have been suffering, we decided to skip the overnight train to Goa and fly instead.  We figure that we will have plenty of chances for train travel.  We landed in Goa this afternoon and drove through palm tree forests to the beach town of Colva.  The beach is beautiful, clean, the sand is as fine as flour, and the water is warm and inviting.  We met a group of doctors who are also vacationing in the area.  We enjoyed the conversation, gathered some travel tips, and they insisted we take plenty of photos together!  People overall have been extremely friendly and helpful.

Mumbai

After 20 hours of travel we arrived in Mumbai to find out that Air France has lost my baggage!  But, at least Peter's backpack arrived...so for the first two days I have been wearing his clothes patiently awaitng the return of my backpack.  But, it has been 3 days and the airline STILL does not know where  it is.  For all I know it may still be at O'hare.  I am trying to be understanding though, because it is very easy to misplace a big yellow backpack!  On the bright side, I had an excuse to break our budget and buy some Indian clothing.  Tonight I will try to learn how to wear a sari. 

So we arrived in Mumbai at midnight, spent another hour or so haggling with Air France and then were off to our hotel by prepaid taxi.  The city was quiet, full of strange odors, the streets were winding, confusing and literally everywhere there were people sleeping on the streets...women, men, children, and dogs.  The poverty is overwhelming. 

Me with huge Mumbai tree wearing a Salwar Kameez.

Our delicious vegetarian meal.

Peter buying a delicious drink extracted from sugar cane.

For the last three days, we have been walking around the city in a jet-lagged daze.  The 12 hour time difference is brutal and the city is a lot to handle.  There are so many people and the cars loosely adhere to lane markings and traffic signals.  Cars, people, and motorcycles push ahead filling every free space on the road.  So, crossing the street can be quite a challenge.  We even saw a guy riding bareback on a horse in the middle of traffic!  We have visited Fort, Colaba, and Churchgate, the main downtown areas.  We visited Crawford market where you could buy pretty much anything from fruit to pets.  We even took a taxi to Juhu Beach, which is where all the Bollywood people live.  We also drove through Bandra, another well to do suburb.  Even in these rich areas, slums and beggars were abundant.

Mumbai is so overwhelming to the senses.  There is one particular strange smell which we have not identified...kind of smells like burning grass and pops up every once in a while.  There is also, of course, the smell of urine and poop and animals.  The city is very loud.  Cars are constantly honking, mostly as a warning to people crossing the streets, but sometimes it seems like they are just honking for the heck of it.  And there is so much to see...people, buildings, shops, animals...people are constantly trying to sell us things.  The food is spicy and delicious!  And everything comes at you at once.  There is so much to take in and it is quite a challenge when you are tired.  Also, we stick out like sore thumbs.  There seem to be very few tourists.  The only ones we have seen were at our hotel and at one cafe which apparently is the gathering place for all tourists!  They all fit into one cafe! 

The one other thing that we have done in the last two days is buy an Indian cell phone!  It was quite a challenge.  In order to buy a cell phone you need copies of your passport as well as a passport size photograph.  Thankfully, I had brought some passport size photographs because I don't know what hoops we would need to jump through to get one of those.  Then you have to get a sim card...which is sold in a different place than the cell phone.  Oh, and in order to purchase wi-fi access, you need a cell phone!  After running around to different shops trying to figure all this out, we got help from some guy at our hotel.  So, I think we got a bit ripped off because I am sure he got a kickback from the cell phone shop!

Street Snack.

Street food preparation.

Tomorrow we leave for Goa.  The word is that it is a very quiet beach ares.  We will rest here for a few days and hopefully kick the jet lag.  Mumbai has been a challenging, sad, and yet a wonderful experience.