LA..DEE....DAAAA!!!! INDIA!!!

Day 4 and all is well!

Jet Lag - Stable Recovery

Sleep Patterns - all 3 of us - 100%  participation in the 4 am 'wide awake, ready to go' stage!
Accommodation -  Well - adjusted to our 200 year old beautifully maintained
Portguese mansion!  Our hosts: Christine and Alfred are amazing and welcoming.  Plus Alfred makes very (very) good 2nd run cashew liquor!  (kind of a Goan moonshine at 52% alcohol content, does not take much to 'taste it' and it will likely be the innoculation to Travellers Diarrha (sorry re: spelling). He offers it up to us as an evening ritual on the outdoor deck.

(My) First Impressions of India:

*  Wow! I am sooo happy!

*  Thrilled with the whole idea of being here, surrounded by everything Indian.

*  Real appreciation for the way our Indian immigrants kept their language, culture, dress, and food.  Way to Go Canada for not having a cultural 'melting pot' where everyone has to be the same.  Way Not to Go Canada for some of us having prejudges towards a kind and gracious people.

* Dismayed at my fussy food issues.... spicy garbanzos and potatoes, chipati's, and dahl for breakfast nearly brings me to pitiful tears.... curry and spices at each and every snack and meal... well I'm due for a little attitude-adjusting.

* The Light! Is magic. Photos are golden hued, bringing joy to photography.  The soil and rock is red and/or yellow-gold, showing off everything and everyone in the very best, most exotic glow possible.

*  Early morning coal smoke pollution is literally sickening, can last for hours but is often gone by 9 am.  General air pollution is abit frightening (cough) but makes for beautiful sunsets!


* Goa is not touristy.  And not terribly overcrowded.  So far, ok after only 4 days, India feels pretty darn safe, interesting and fun.  So what my bad, negative brain says: oh, oh I'm being set up and somewhere down the line I'm gonna get a shock... yikes how bad will it be.  Oh Dear! Until then my shiny, happy side is just plain smug and enjoying each Indian day. 

* How DO the Indian men bob their heads (similar to those silly dashboard head-bobbing dolls) in response to requests or in general conversation?  It takes alot to figure out if it means:  'I agree' or 'I don't agree but will do it anyways', or 'boy are YOU weird', or 'I have no idea what this stranger wants but can always just bob my head until they go away'!

* Happy to have two wonderful travel  buddies, Ellen with awesome Indian knowledge, organizational and collaboration skills, and Belle with her fun attitude towards everything, including food!

A COUPLE OF SIGHTSEEING SNIPPETS


WILDLIFE SANCTUARY (aka 'zoo')

Thumbs Up:
Mild mannered, very pretty cream/light brown 3' tall monkeys, ID unknown roaming around outside the 'sanctuary'
Sloth Bears - hyper, pigeon-toed, Brown, Round and Cuddly
Deer - variety of Indian deer, awesome selection - one small agile breed jumps about 4 feet straight up when startled, and standing still! 
Snakes - yep lets keep as many boa's possible in cages!

Thumbs WAY Down

Tiger and Panther - not a spirit lifting experience to watch these powerful, beautiful and proud cats behind wire fencing.  Would give up seeing sloth bears and monkeys to NOT see these animals relentlessly pacing the fence perimeter.



PORTUGUESE COLONIAL-ERA MANSIONS

400+ Year-old full of overwhelming (some in amazing condition, others pretty tattered) treasures.  Braganza House, owned by 2 brothers with the decendents still residing in separate wings.  Check it out online if you are really interested. I could but won't go on and on about it! One short story:  the West Wing family Chapel has a very carefully hidden fingernail of Francis Xavier!! Yep I have a photo!

ANJUNA

Exhausting trip to The Flea Market.  I have NEVER seen a market even 20% as large as this! Yes, Brenda and Donna - not even the New Mexico Dream Market.  I was so overwhelmed I did not buy a single thing. I know I can't believe it either!  Ellen however did quite well and took the challenge in hand.  We recovered with fresh grilled fish and cold beer, watching the sunset.

Photo of the Day
Ellen and Belle, walking on a pristine white sand beach with blue/green ocean backdrop, and between me and my camera -and subjects - a very content, fat and sleek Indian cow lounging in a meditation like pose....  no nagging for the photo. Will try to get it loaded.... soon 

WANDERIN' UPDATE

On the travel road tomorrow heading to Hampi and many historical monuments and temples. Dandeli for 'exotic wildlife including elephants, Sloth Bears!  And who knows what else.  Returning here again in one week and flying to Calcutta on February 4.













 

WAWA WEWE FROM VANCOUVER!

OOPS I KNEW I forgot something!!  The Blog!!!  Well here is a quickie. 

HOMECOMING

What a welcome. My heart still smiles and I get a little misty eyed.  First of all, I had the sweetest Tiwanese seat mates on both flights coming back. Of course I am invited to come visit them the very next time through Taipie! Then I arrive at YVR 6 pm with a personalized Jim Airport Pickup service. 

Arrive at #5 Greenland home.  There in my living room window is a huge sign WELCOME HOME MOM MOM, surrounded by Christmas lights.  Inside the apartment the whole kitchen and living room is decorated with draping garlands, strings of lights, hanging decorations, and a table full of fresh fruit. It was ingenious and creative.  Allan, Braden and Isaiah had paid a visit a few days before I came home!  I will never ever forget this homecoming!  I was actually speechless which is really saying something.  Wow.  The only word that comes close to describing it.

Out to dinner in Vancouver, lots of chating and catch up time.  Then came the real fun.  Jet Lag. No sleep.  12 hours in bed for 6 hours broken snooze time.  Followed by the flu for NYE - which of course goes really well with a hot date at Hotel Georgia. sob.  then a cold for the Whistler trip.  Now I am healthy and rested, and leaving in 4 days!  But it's been great to see everyone that I did get to .... see.  And Home For Christmas.  the ever important thing. 

LAST FEW WEEKS IN BALI, SOME WAWA WEWE

On the Amed Coast:  desolate, well ok with the exception of Yoshi, my very fun new friend from New York City!  We managed to bond very nicely over beer, satay, around the pool, on the motor scooter, and snorkelling. 

Bobo:  a very desponent, gentle and intelligent soul employed at my 'hotel', who risked life and limb, well ok maybe just increased stress levels and some minor bruising by 'teaching' me to drive a motor scooter. On the wrong side of the road.  But hey, I had lots of fun AND came out (relatively) unscathed.  We had a heart to heart chat by Day 3 about 'attitutude, connecting with people, and the glass half full vs half empty'.  I left feeling like a real jerk for challenging his attitudes.  But the pay off came on the next day with a Bobo with a changed attitude, doing a professional job serving and caretaking.  The second day he thanked me and I felt a huge sense of relief.

Bettina:  yep we had a very good time thank you!   In spite of mixing a rabid non-smoker with an frequent ferocious smoker, we managed to really enjoy each others company with a journy to Lombongan Island.   Snorkeling, walking, scooter renting, getting very very lost and repeatedly going in circles for 2 hours. It was not funny until after dinner and retiring for the night.  Then we became quite hysterical when we realized between the two of us we have over 100 years combined life experience, and 50+ countries, yet we get hopelessly lost on a 10 km X 30 km Island!!!    I will not go into great detail about 'the body that washed up on the beach in front of our beautiful hotel.  Three days after the Lombok - Timor ferry sank with 250 people on board and 30 survivors.   

TRAVEL UPDATE ALERT

Off I go and what an adventure, even for an experienced wanderin soul this is a little extreme.  How do I describe in one word:  heart pounding excitment, eagerness, wonderment, wanderment, flabbergasted, spiritually tickled, personally awed, and overall totally blessed???? 

Ok here's what's happen'

Departure YVR with Belle and Ellen 3 pm January 20 for MUMBI INDIA!!!!  We connect onward to Goa for a few days, then hire  car for another few days of personalized sightseeing.  Travel to Calcutta by Feb 5. Then a train on my own to Varanase for a few days to check out the funeral pyres on the Ganges.  After some days of exploring, I will meet Suzan 'somewhere' then continue by train to Dehli in time to board my flight to NEPAL! 

I leave Nepal for Bangkok on March 22 where I'll meet Jim to explore SE Asia.  Due home end of May then HELLO VANCOUVER and my favourite Pacific Northwest for summer time hiking, biking, camping, barbques (Deb!) and music festivals.  Let me know if you have something else 'to do'.  And when you are available for what :)

BLOGGING  probably irratic. especially in India.  But I intend on continuing and hope you do too! 

ONWARD SEMI-FEARLESS WANDERERS!