Incredible India

India, India, India. Incredible India.

To update you since my last pre-departure post, I am now on day nine of my trip through India and am currently in the little beach town of Fort Kochi in the Kerala Province. It seems almost impossible to me that everything I've experienced so far has happened in less than ten days...

Mumbai is a crazy city and starting your journey there is like sitting in the Black Hole at Oakland Coliseum for your first NFL game. Overwhelming. Within a whirlwind three hours of landing (which included the first of many death-defying rickshaw rides, a visit to an after-hours travel agency, and a new "friend" named "Ricky"), we had flight tickets to Jaipur, leaving the next morning, and a room at the RK Residence Hotel.

On our way back to the airport the next morning, we were able to really see Mumbai
in the light of day. Stray dogs, famished children, piles of trash lit
on fire and more people walking in the streets and waiting at bus stops
than I ever could have imagined. The big cities here in India are
literally jam-packed. Within the next four days, we visited Jaipur
(where the highlights included the "Aura Man" in the pink city who read our
auras and Amber Fort, just outside the main city), Agra (for the Taj Mahal), and then Delhi, where we treated ourselves to a brunch buffet at the Taj Palace Hotel.

From there, after a "miscommunication" with the railway reservation office
in Delhi, we ended up without seats on the 2 day sleeper train to Goa- even though we had a reservation for the tickets, we never confirmed their status. We weren't all that excited to spend 2 days on a sleeper train anyway. Overall, a good learning experience. =) Anyway, after spending some time in a room where we were not only the only two foreigners but also the only two women, we got our refund and then headed back into the city to find a hostel. Upon the advice of a nice Portuguese guy
named Pedro, we headed to Pahar Ganj to find accommodations. Pahar Ganj reminded of Hong Kong in a lot of ways. Not an inch of space is wasted, and among the
three or four main blocks of the road, there are tons of hostels and
hotels above the all day bazaar market. How bizarre.

Delhi is a crazy place. Ironically, the road we took from the train station to the Taj Palace was oh-so-different from the one to get from the train station to Pahar Ganj. The road to Taj Palace is lined with perfectly manicured trees and shows no sign of stray animals or any of the other delights that most major Indian
cities offer. Emilie and I concluded that there must be an
understanding that if you pay close to $500/night to stay in their
city, you reserve the right to turn a blind eye to its underbelly?

So after 7 days, 2 plane rides, 1 day train and 1 sleeper train, I am now in the upscale and sleepy beach town of Fort Kochi. What. A. Treat. I was planning to head to Goa with Emilie (who needed to be there for a yoga instructor
training), but after talking with a Polish couple at the Agra train
station, I decided on 3 days in Kochi and then 3 days in Goa. I haven't seen Goa yet, but I'm picturing that Goa is to Venice Beach or Miami, as Kochi is to Santa Barbara or Sausalito.

I'm staying here in Fort Kochi with the nicest man, Prem,
and his two sweet daughters, all of whom speak perfect English. The
first night, I had a three bedroom apartment to myself, but a cute
young French couple arrived on day two. They seem nice, but their door
is closed most of the time (low budget honeymoon? maybe.) and I'm gone
during most of the day, exploring the area.

This morning, I got up at 7am, played a good 45 mins of Word Warp on my iPod (obsessed) and then showered and headed into town to use the internet
and grab some breakfast. Elite Cafe has my favorite breakfast - generous portions of toast with butter and jam, 1 egg, coffee and fresh squeezed orange/pineapple juice for about $2. And the restaurant is on the third story of a hotel, which looks down over a main street in Kochi, with white walls and big, spacious tables. Love it. Yesterday, I had Masala Dosa for breakfast, but something about curry and peas before noon seems wrong. Can't do it.

I absolutely love it here in Kochi
and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone passing through India. The town is a
welcome oasis from the hustle and bustle of the major cities. There are
"just enough" ex-pats living here and passing through, but the town
feels very authentically Indian. There is a school in the center of
town, which is great- can't get enough of those precious kids in their
very English-looking uniforms. =)

Later today, I'm taking a ferry over to Vipin Island to visit Cherrai
Beach. A "must see" according to everyone here. Then tonight, I'm taking a
12 hour sleeper train up the coast to Goa, where I'll be for 3 days. For $5/night, I'll be sharing a room at the Evershine Guest House with five strangers in three
bunk beds. Something tells me I'll have plenty of stories to share from that
experience alone.

Namaste & keep checking back for updates!

Game on, globe.

Have you ever had an idea of doing something that you figured was impossible? And then one day you start to realize that the itch of this "thing" you want to do would never stop? And even though it was one of the craziest, most irresponsible and complicated tasks you could think of, you just knew you had to give it a shot?

Mine's traveling around the world for year. I know- if only my life's burning desire was learning how to ride a motorcycle. Just so much more convenient.

Purchased my departure ticket, had my last day of work, and in only 5 hours, this is all going down. People keep asking me if I'm scared or nervous. Those aren't the right words. I'm more excited than scared; more curious than nervous. There are plenty of "what if's" to deal with and plenty of the details are still T.B.D., but I feel like that is exactly what this trip is about. How can I spend 6 months-1 year of my life, if I keep moving and trying to see as much of the world as I can while living out of a backpack? Its not the fear of CAN I? Its the unknown excitement of HOW will I?

I'm hoping that though some good old fashioned trial and error, I can learn how to be a smart, safe, savvy, practical and passionate traveler. I'll use this blog as a way to share my experiences, both good and bad, funny and terrifying, new and classic.

I had an amazing last week of nomlacy and gorgeous weather- seeing friends, dinners with family, setting a new record for number of Stanford Dish walks, and even managed to fit in a sunny Polk Street brunch with my crew just yesterday. Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive & encouraging as I take this crazy leap into the unknown. Ready or not, here I go...

Lo Primero

Greetings friends, family, co-workers, fellow travellers & strangers. For now, none of you know about this blog- I'm keeping it under wraps for the time being. Figured it's a good idea to get used to writing in a blog before the trip starts & my readership skyrockets (a girl can dream). When I was studying in Madrid in 2004 (shout out to VIPCEA), I got into the habit of sending out monthly updates to family & friends back home. What started as a way to update everyone at once, quickly became one of the things I most looked forward to doing. I love writing. I love traveling. I love travel writing- go figure. =)

OK, so "the" trip. Here's what we know so far. Meeting Emilie Ryan at the Mumbai airport on March 16th... (awkward silence)... Ya, thats about all we know so far. Can you tell there's not a Type A bone in my body? I'm thinking I'll head to Israel after that to visit my friend Steve Rubin, but anyone who has checked out a map lately might have noticed that Israel is West of India. And India is very East of San Francisco. Its times like these, that call for decisions like this, that make me panic/freak out and wish I had a partner for this adventure. Two heads are always better than one, but none of my friends are cool (ie: irresponsible and crazy) enough to quit their job & join me. Without the logical & rational thinking of a buddy, its looking like I'll be zig-zagging around the world and figuring it out as I go. But hey- should be the zig zag of a lifetime. =)