Sivanada Ashram Our last few weeks in India

Sunday 16th June 2013

DAY ONE ASHRAM: Today was the first day of our Ashram programme. Everyday this is what the schedule looks like

·         05.20 The first bell rings

·         06.00   Morning Satsang (Meditation followed by chanting and some spiritual readings followed by Aarti and Pasard)

·         07.30 Cup of tea

·         08.00  Two hour Asana class (Yoga)

·         10.00 Breakfast

·         11.00 Karma Yoga (basically cleaning)

·         12.00 (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays) Optional meditation coaching

·         12.30 (Everyday) optional Asana coaching

·         13.30 Cup of tea and a snack

·         14.00 Philosophy lecture

·         15.30 Two hour Asana class

·         18.00 Dinner

·         20.00 Evening Satsang

·         22.30 Lights out

So this morning we headed to the Siva hall for morning Satsang  it started with a silent walk which is usually to the dam but as it was raining we did laps of the hall with Shanti the resident dog following us about after that it was chanting and then  as it was Sunday today we did the Sunday prayers. At 7.30am when we had tea we chatted to a few people also starting the course and said goodbye to Claire who was flying back to Australia that night. At 8am it was time for our first Yoga class it was really slow paced compared to what I am used to and there were a lot of demonstrations and a lot of savasana (complete rest laying on your back with your eyes closed) in between each exercise.by 10am we were so hungry so were pleased that Claire was right that breakfast was the better meal of the two great meals a day. The Ashram follows a sattvic diet which is completely vegetarian as well as cutting out any foods that might excite or depress the body such as onions or garlic. This morning at 11am we had our orientation we were given a tour of the Ashram  and learnt all the rules then at 12pm we were given our Karma yoga tasks, Ayla and I along with two other girls had to clean the dorms we split it in half and then Ayla did the floors and I did the bathrooms. At 13.30 we had a cup of herbal tea and a banana before our first lecture. It was by a guest speaker Colonel Naire who comes in every Sunday to do a lecture.it was hard to pay attention as I was feeling sleepy and really uncomfortable sitting on the floor. The afternoon’s yoga class was very similar to the one this morning with just a few progressions here and there. We took the time between yoga finishing and dinner starting to shower and potter about a bit dinner was really simple just dhal and chapattis. After food we went to the shop and got a few things (we already brought yoga mats the day before) then at 8pm we headed to evening Satsang we are slowly learning a few of the chants which makes it a bit more fun.

 Monday 17^th June 2013

DAY TWO ASHRAM: I woke up this morning after a horrible night’s sleep in which I had severely violent dreams! My eye headache was back and bizarrely it had swollen up. We went to Satsang and throughout meditation I sat staring at the floor as if I moved I felt a bit nauseous. By the time 8am rolled round and it was time for yoga I did feel a bit better but still struggled with some of the inverted positions. At breakfast we were starving so luckily it was a satisfying meal. We did our Karma yoga and then in the free time we sat in the hall and I did some writing. At 12pm we went to the meditation coaching to get a few tips it was just me and Ayla for the most part he explained the reasoning behind the cross-legged position for chanting (by sitting in this position your feet are facing upwards ready to receive the Prana energy around you it’s the same for sitting with a straight back the prana and apana can travel up and down your spine) we also gave us a counting exercise to help calm the mind and slow it down which was really helpful. The lecture this afternoon was on Yogic principles so we started with what yoga meant to us and then learnt about the different elements and incorporating them all to live yoga as a lifestyle. The afternoon class progressed a little and I began to feel like I was getting a little bit more of a workout. We headed to dinner and then spent our free time before Satsang browsing the books in the shop and doing some writing.in the evening satsang I still struggled to find a comfortable seated position but did find the counting exercise cleared my mind more.

Tuesday 18^th June 2013

DAY THREE ASHRAM: this morning after another rubbish sleep I stayed in bed until just 15mins before Satsandg then got up dressed and rushed over to the hall. We started as usual with meditation and I was pleasantly surprised when 25mins went by quite quickly (and I don’t think I was sleeping) Yoga this morning was still moving at a pace that was to slow for me but the intermediate class is actually more of an advanced class so I am reluctant to change. Breakfast was a welcome meal and fuelled us ready to get our Karma on. We got on our hands and knees and got rid of every cobweb and spider, ant or other insect we could find! We walked over to the Sivnanda institute of health which is an ayurverdic clinic we wanted to know the price of a massage but it was actually a bit pricey so we sacked it off. We then checked out the library I withdrew a book about vegetarianism as I am exploring the idea of staying vege all the time (since leaving England I have only eaten fish and seafood…ok and one bit of chicken at the closing part) the snack this afternoon was a muesli type thing but was full of clumps of brown sugar and nuts which I tried in vain to avoid the lecture today was on bhakti yoga which is the expression of love to god through music. We practiced some chanting and I played a drum. The yoga class this afternoon was encouraging as I began to notice some improvements in my flexibility. At dinner we had these weird pancake things which were phenomenal apparently they are made of the same ingredients as chapattis but the ratio of flour to water is different , however they are made they tasted amazing and I had to go in for seconds. In Satsang we meditated for 30mins but my hip was hurting which made it hard to concentrate. During the night Shanti (the dog) was running up and down the dorm corridor howling and barking at something unknown so it was hard to get a good sleep.

Wednesday 19^th June 2013

DAY FOUR ASHRAM: this morning I was awake early but no one else was up and I couldn’t see the clock so I didn’t know what time it was I think everyone must have been tired as no one turned on the light until moments before the second bell rang. We rushed to get dressed and headed over to the hall just in time for Satsang again I was finding it really difficult to get comfortable but concentrated on my breathing and using the counting exercise we learnt helped. I didn’t feel properly awake until after yoga by then I was feeling really stretched out and ready for breakfast. We got through Karma yoga and has some time to kill before meditation coaching I used the time to get some laundry done whilst Ayla took a nap I woke her up for coaching but she was narco-ed and so stayed in bed we did a activity to help with concentration in which a candle was placed in front of us and we had to stare at it for as long as we could until tears were coming then we shut our eyes and imagined the candle in our minds eye in full detail. I found the image faded quite quickly and that I had to give myself commentary to remember what it looked like which defeated the purpose of visualisation somewhat. The lecture this afternoon was about Ayurverdic medicine the Doctor from the Sivanada institute of health came and told us about the three Doshas and about imbalances in the body causing illness it could actually have been really interesting but he was a bit bland and relied on his slides too much. The whole concept is at once extremely simply and vastly complicated. In class I found myself feeling a little frustrated as there is only so far I can physically push myself without the help of props which for some reason the Ashram is firmly again I want to be seeing improvements each class but it’s just not happening. In the evening I had an interesting conversation about positivity and negativity with one of the senior staff members his view is that every time you have a negative thought you should chase it away with a prayer or positive affirmation it’s a good idea but I’m not sure it’s plausible in real life outside the ashram. We were supposed to have a silent walk up to the dam but again it was raining so instead we just had a shortened satsang and then headed to bed to do “self-study” in silence.

Thursday 20^th June 2013

DAY FIVE ASHRAM: last night I had really bad dreams again they were really violent and scary which is strange I thought being at an Ashram would calm my mind… meditation was difficult this morning as I kept having flashbacks of my dreams so eventually I just stared out at the sky until it was time to chant. Today in Yoga I was feeling frustrated with my lack of progress and so sulked a little bit throughout. The morning passed normally with breakfast and then Karma yoga. About 11.30am we took a walk down to the lake to see if we could spot any crocodiles we were sitting at the bottom of the temple and the only wildlife we saw were two beautiful kingfishers and a local cat. We sat by the lake until it was afternoon tea time. The lecture this afternoon was a little boring and so I was feeling restless the lecturer had one of the teacher training students on stage and was demonstrating the postures and explaining the benefits it was useless information to most of us though as it was all intermediate and advanced postures. In the afternoon I again felt frustrated with my lack of progress. After class I left straight away and had a shower before dinner this evening we were helping with the food service so had to wait until everyone was finished before we could eat. Annoyingly we were then rushed to finish our meal by the guys who wanted to clean the dining hall as their karma yoga. At Satsang chanting cheered me up a little but I still headed to bed as soon as it was over.

Friday 21^st June 2013

DAY SIX ASHRAM: as it was a Friday today was a day off if you are in the Ashram you still have to attend Satsang so we were up early we followed the schedule until after breakfast when we had a quick shower and put on our worldly clothes. Ayla, Katja, Jessamine and I planned to go to the lion park that is across the lake as we can always hear them roar. We were joined by Anand and his sons who were also going there. We walked (the long way) across the dam to the ticket office with Shanti following us the whole way we stopped and had some salted mango which I wasn’t sure about (but is delicious when it’s in a pickle) we decided to get tickets to the lion park, the antelope park, the crocodile rehab centre and a boat ride. We got aboard and sailed across the lake on the lookout for crocodiles (we didn’t see any) the lion park was first and was amongst one of the weirdest things I have ever done, we got on board a school/prison bus and drove through a gate which was locked behind us then the gate in front of us opened Jurassic park style and we drove into the park the track around the park was more suited to a four wheel drive then a bus and at several points it came close to tipping over or getting stuck in the mud (the driver found accelerating to be the most useful tool in his box) we saw he lions chilling out in their home in silence it was probably the only time during our stay at the ashram where we didn’t hear the lions roar. They were Asiatic lions so slightly smaller than African lions but they look pretty much the same. We were only in the park for 10mins tops which was disappointing we were then sheparded back to the boat to see the antelopes they had just eaten and were taking shelter on the far side of the park under some trees from there we walked to the “Steve Irwin crocodile rehabilitation centre” whether or not Steve Irwin knew he had a croc park in India named after him was a hot topic with the majority ruling that no he had no idea. The crocs here are rescued from the river if they are injured nursed back to health and then rereleased none of them were noticeably hurt except for one which was separated from the others and had half his face missing due to fighting with other crocs. We then went back to the boat and back across the lake to the start point. We had left shanti there but she wasn’t around although she did catch up to us along the road so who knows where she had been. It was still early so we piled into a couple of rickshaws and went to the closest village for a cup of tea and some snacks we enjoyed onion bharjis and vadas  which are little doughnut shaped buns made of lentils. We decided to walk the 3km back to Nayar Dam and then the last 1km uphill to the ashram. We arrived back with enough time to relax for a bit and then head to dinner. Satsang was a bit quiet this evening as many people had still not returned to the ashram after a day out.

Saturday 23^rd June 2013

DAY SEVEN ASHRAM: I was pleased with myself this morning as I managed to sit in the same position for 30mins during Satsang we chanted and then had some readings. The yoga class and the morning meal went by quickly and soon it was time for karma yoga after missing just one day the floors in the dorm were so dusty it was as though they hadn’t seen a broom in ten years. We all sat about chatting for a while and then I went to meditation coaching we did some more trata (staring at the candle concentration exercise) and some more breathing I spoke to the dude about how to get more comfortable in a crossed legged position but he just said in time it will become more comfortable. The afternoon snack was a coconut pastry thing which was rather nice and went perfectly with tea. This afternoon’s lecture was on breathing some of it was interesting and some I think I missed the point the lecture overran and so class started late. I got a really good hamstring stretch when the teacher pushed me into it from behind. We had dinner as usual and then tonight’s Satsang was once again the talent show. Anand sang a beautiful version of “wonderful tonight”  and there was an American guy who told a “story of the ghost” which made everyone jump (except me as I have nerves of steel) there was a Bollywood dance lesson and a Tamil dance show and Dana read some poetry which was almost not ashram appropriate but very beautifully worded. Raj led everyone in a few games and then it was time for Aarti and bed.

Sunday 23^rd June 2013

DAY EIGHT ASHRAM: this morning we had a silent walk instead of Satsang we walked to the dam and watched the sunrise we sat on the wall overlooking the water (and a fed up looking man who was taking a bath in the lake) we sat and meditated for about 10mins before singing the daily chant it was hard to concentrate though as there was a local girl hovering just behind me asking repeatedly if I would give her a pen (I would have if I’d had one which is what I said the first time she asked) we sang one more chant and then headed back to the ashram it was a great start to the day and I felt really awake by the time we got back for Aarti. Before Asana class this morning we learnt about neti pots they are one of the six kriyas which are body purifications. Neti pots are like mini watering cans you fill them with warm salty water and pour it through one nostril it drains through removing all the gunge that’s in your nose if you want to take it a (disgusting) step forward then you take a rubber bandy thing and stick it up one nostril pull the other end out of your mouth and floss your nasal cavity needless to say there was a lot of gagging going on by the participants and I don’t think anyone successfully flossed their nose. Class started a half hour late but we still managed to introduce a new posture the headstand. After class I rushed to breakfast more hungry then usual from all the fresh air after Karma yoga we did some asana coaching I wanted to work on my halasana (the plough where you go from a shoulder stand to bringing you toes touching the ground behind your head) and my bridge (again from a shoulder stand to come straight into the bridge) the afternoon lecture was about positive thinking and mind control (control of your own mind not as I thought and was excited about controlling someone else’s mind) ironically the lecturer kept losing his concentration and going off on random tangents. This afternoons class was really good we tried the headstand and with a little help I was able to get into the posture. At dinner we had curried peas its bizarre how my tastes are changing as I loved the peas and have also been enjoying the beetroot we often have. After dinner I had a Reiki session with one of the other guests it was really relaxing and peaceful at times she was actually touching me others just hovering near me but I could always feel where she was. Afterwards she said I had a blockage in my root chakra (which is what the astrologer in Varanasi and the crystal man in Goa both said as well) she said that Reiki will help to unblock it as well as chanting lam which is the mantra of the root chakra, as well as wearing red (the chakras colour) or using the crystals that the crystal man gave me. She said a blocked root chakra is often caused by instability in your life a lack of ‘roots’ as it were. It can also be caused by a traumatic event in your formative years. After satsang I felt totally relaxed and mellow and went to bed and crashed.

Monday 24^th June 2013

DAY NINE ASHRAM: this morning durning Satsang I was being plagued by insects so was wishing the time away so I could put some tiger balm on all my bites. During class it was the same mozzies were attacking me from every angle. Breakfast and Karma yoga passed by quickly and then I had to do some laundry but at least I had some good company in Dana who was also scrubbing her clothes. Then I went to meditation coaching we practiced more of the concentration exercises we have already covered. This afternoon’s lecture seemed topic less instead it seemed to be a re-hash of everything we have already learnt. Afternoon class whizzed by and I was super hungry and super pleased when I realised we were having the pancake thingy’s. Before Satsang I sewed the hole in Aylas trousers which was hard as she had still been wearing them and the hole was huge. Satsang was good we all got our chant on and I got well into my tambourine drum. The passard tonight was fried banana which was right up my street so I went to bed happy

Tuesday 25^th June 2013

DAY TEN ASHRAM: I was awake super early this morning but had no idea of the time I thought it was about 5am but in reality it must have been about 3am I got up as soon as the firs bell rang and headed to the Siva hall. Anand had a crack at the chanting in Satsang which was cool. I didn’t really feel like yoga this morning but I actually really enjoyed it and managed to get into a headstand twice the second time I held it for about 15 seconds which I was pleased with. Breakfast also made me happy as I have loads of chillies in my meal. After Karma yoga we headed down to the lake and I did some writing and took some photos we tried to spot some crocodiles but even splashing around ankle deep didn’t make any appear. In afternoon class I smashed out the tree and easily balanced the entire time I can safely say it’s the one posture I dominate at. I also held my headstand a bit longer this time.  We watched a movie about the life of Swami Vishnu-Devananda he reminds me of Baloo from the jungle book he’s so cute and smiley. He taught us that boundaries are just manmade he flew his own plane called the peace plane and although he didn’t have a passport he was never refuse entry to any country (except France) he even flew over the Berlin wall as a protest to the divide between the east and the west. As the film was short we got a bit of an early night.

Wednesday 26^th June 2013

DAY ELEVEN ASHRAM: this morning I felt like I was in the zone with my meditation and felt really peaceful throughout the chanting. The morning went by as normal I did all the Karma yoga as Ayla took to her bed with a migraine. Meditation coaching was just me and the teacher it was a different guy to normal and he made introducing meditation to your normal life so much more practical which was positive. Coaching was just 30mins today so I had time to sit in the sunshine but as soon as I got onto the lawn it started to rain so I went and sat in the hall to do some writing and read about Chakras. The lecture this afternoon was a film about water and about how it can retain its chemical composition but can change its substance basically the film was saying that water had feelings and memory interesting in a hoky kind of way. The afternoon Asana class was good I made more improvements on my headstand. After dinner we sat in the hall and sang songs like a pack of hippies which was good fun. Tonight’s Satsaang was silent walk to the lake. It was to beautiful to concentrate on meditating as the sky was alight with starts reflecting on the water the houses on the far side looked like they were in the trees as the light was shining through the trees from the far side. We walked back for Aarti and then it was time for bed.

Thursday 27^th June 2013

DAY TWELVE ASHRAM: I started off with some solid meditation this morning but I lost it after I realised I was being mozzied did managed to stay still though only shifting from half lotus into a cross legged position. This morning’s Asana class was challenging my headstand was shaky today but I did manage to get into Halasna (the plough) and feel a bit more stable. Before breakfast one of the visiting swamis took a liking to me and gave me a card with a god on it he showed me all his photos and was really sweet apart from his one really long creepy fingernail. The weather was really good today so we relaxed on the grass in the sun. Rumour had it that we were getting food in today’s lecture which was on sattvic diet. Disappointingly they turned out to be only rumours but the class was still interesting it was all about what foods excite the mind/body and which ones make it lazy etc. I took it a bit easy in the Asana class this afternoon as I felt like my hamstrings were over stretched. After dinner having eaten to much I relaxed in the hall and chatted about postures with people before Satsang. Satsang was chanting as normal and then it was time to hit the hay

Friday 28^th June 2013

DAY THIRTEEN ASHRAM: Today was another day off but same as last week we wanted to get the morning class in so we got up for Satsang did the morning class and then headed to breakfast after which we headed off on a jolly hike. From the Ashram you can see a temple way up on a hill and that was our destination we set off with a map drawn from the memory of a lady who once hiked there five years ago needless to say the map was neither factually correct or to scale and we did get slightly lost ending up in some jungle folks back yard. Thankfully they were extremely helpful and friendly and they soon put us on the correct path. The last 15minutes of the hike is a steep incline on smooth rock if it had been wet there’s no way we would have made it up even though someone has kindly installed handrails on the steepest parts. We reached what we thought was the top only to be confronted by a band of monkeys we nervously walked past them unsure if they were the friendly kind or the kind that throw faeces and then eat your face off. To our delight they were pretty scared of us and scattered as soon as we got to close to our disappointment this wasn’t even the top just a resting place I guess., so we headed onwards the steepness was well worth the amazing view awarded to us when we reached the summit. We sat and took in the 360 degree view of wonder we could see the lake, the dam, the surrounding villagers and rolling green forests and hills for miles it was spectacular. We then took a host of photos, mostly of us in various yoga poses which was good fun we stayed up top for about an hour and then wandered slowly back down and back to the ashram. We arrived back just in time for tea which we drank whilst chatting to some newbies and then we showered and put on our worldly clothes for a trip into town. We all crammed into a taxi and told him to take us to the best barji shop in town. No sooner had we sat to eat when Ayla spilt scalding tea all over her arm luckily just down the road was a random tap and she spent a good long while running her burn under the water whilst being harassed by school children. In the mean time we chowed down on barjis and disappointingly gross fried bananas. We then headed to the pharmacy for some burn cream and next door I was delighted to find the world’s biggest bag of magic masala (crisps) needless to say they didn’t make it back to the ashram and just to top myself off I followed them with two fried bananas and a bounty bar. Feeling stuffed we headed back to the ashram (just in time for dinner) then we all had to sit in a digestion pose in the hall until satsang.

Saturday 29^th June 2013

DAY FOURTEEN ASHRAM: Today was the last day of the yoga vacation and so people started to leave today other than that the day was much the same as always we got up for Satsang and morning class and then went for breakfast. After Karma yoga we sat in the sunshine soaking up rays for a while before it was time for tea. At 2pm we were delighted to get raw food snacks in the lecture there was ‘mock tuna’ on crackers which was made with cashew nuts with seaweed in it to give it a ‘fishy’ taste the other thing we had was a cheesecake made again of ground nuts although it didn’t taste anything like nuts both snacks were entirely vegan which was good. After the lecture was the final class of the yoga vacation it was really sad as most people were leaving the following morning. As it was a Saturday it was the weekly talent show. Which was quite fun during another Bollywood dancing lesson Gobish got his knees out and was severely embarrassed. Katja did an impromptu dance with Anand on drums and the bearded old dude who plays guitar on guitar which was amazing! Other than that the highlight of the night had to be George crawling into the room with a scarf on his head roaring. After the talent show we all climbed onto the roof of the dining hall for a spot of star gazing which was absolutely beautiful and full of treats that the boys smuggled in.

Sunday 30^th June 2013

DAY FIFTEEN ASHRAM: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOO! This morning’s satsang was a silent walk to the dam we sat on the wall and meditated and then sung the daily chant it was a perfect end to the yoga vacation and a said goodbye to loads of people as they packed up and left after tea. We did the morning class which was huge as it was a combined class with the last stragglers of the old vacation and the newbies that had arrived for the new course. After class, breakfast and Karma yoga I called Mum to wish her a happy birthday I spoke to her and Sian for a while which was really good and the whole convo cost the equivalent of 40 pence! We didn’t have to attend the afternoon lecture as we had finished the course but we decided to anyway as it was colonel Niare the lecture was interesting as he was talking about the Bhagavad Gita but he got distracted and actually forgot to tell us the end.  The afternoon class was also mixed and was good. After dinner we went shopping in the boutique and go some oranges which was a proper treat. Then it was time for chanting and bed.

Monday 1^st July 2013

DAY SIXTEEN ASHRAM: This morning was same same until we got to morning class we moved into the intermediate class and so had new teachers and assistants when I was in the shoulder stand one of the assistants pulled me up straighter but when she dropped me back down all my weight was on one side and I felt  horrible pain in my shoulder I tried to come down but she was still holding my feet when she let go I rolled out and left the room as my shoulder hurt so much I went and put some bio freeze on it and sat out for a while when I joined back in I couldn’t do anything that put weight on my shoulder. We went to breakfast and did out Karma yoga and then decided to sack off the rest of the day and go to the beach we signed out saying we were going to the lake and jumped in a rickshaw our driver was called Albert and we haggled hard to get a bargain he drove us there waited and then brought us back. All for the low low price of 700 Rupees (about £8.50 split between three) it took about an hour to drive to Kovalam and when we got there we dipped our hinges in the sea and then took a walk along the length of the board walk before picking somewhere to eat the food was great but the service was slow so that by the time we finished gorging ourselves we needed to head back to Albert. He was such a sweetie and drove us to several shops in search of mangos bananas and chocolate. When we got back to the ashram we paid him and extra few hundred and he was chuffed. . Luckily our absence went unnoticed as we slunk back in. Back at the ashram we did what we do best and went to eat dinner. It was weird in the evening with all the new people about and all our lot mostly dispersed. In satsang we went nuts on the drums and tambourines to make up for the quiet chanting of the newbies.

 Tuesday 2^nd July 2013

DAY SEVENTEEN ASHRAM: today was our last full day in the ashram I wanted to make the most of it so concentrated hard during meditation and satsang (this wasn’t easy as someone kept farting loudly and being the mature person I am it was hard not to laugh.) My shoulder was still hurting so I took it easy in class it was frustrating as I had been doing so well with my headstand and had wanted to perfect it before we left. Breakfast this morning was so good with a strange but delicious pineapple curry in the mix. It was the last day of Karma yoga and it flew by with a bunch of new peeps to help out. We did all our settling our final bill and checking out etc. and then we had loads of free time as we didn’t go to the lecture. Katja and I walked around the ashram getting loads of photos inside all the halls and temples etc. and then as it was raining a bit we sat in the hall and chilled out. The afternoon class was much the same as the morning one with most movements pretty limited. After dinner we helped Kata clean the dining hall and then it was time to pack. it was sad to have our last evening satsang but as it was a movie we had already seen we snuck out after meditation and went and chilled on the roof there wasn’t many stars as it was a cloudy night but it was peaceful being away from everyone in the absolute darkness.

Wednesday 3^rd July 2013

DAY EIGHTEEN ASHRAM: Exactly three months ago today we arrived in India and by some crazy coincidence not only are we leaving today but we are also flying out of Cochin, the airport we landed in. we woke up for the very last Satsang during which we led a three way chant and then Katja recited the universal prayer in Dutch then we had to sneak out and grab our bags we were just leaving as Satsang ended so said all our goodbyes and then hit the road. We walked down the hill to Nayer Dam with all our bags and jumped on the bus to Trivandrum. Once there we went straight to the train station and got sleeper tickets to Kochi. Then the three of us went and had some breakfast back in me and Aylas favourite joint. We walked with Katja to the internet café and left her there checking two weeks of emails whilst we went back to the station it was a sad farewell and it was just dawning on us that today was our last day in India. We got on our train and found our seats we were surrounded by friendly interesting people who shared their food and their stories with us for five hours until we arrived. From there we jumped in a rickshaw and took our final rickshaw run to the airport to wait for our flight. We got some food and some munchies and then changed the last of our rupees into Ringet we were horrified at the exchange my 700 rupees became just 31 Ringet! Eventually we could check in Aylas hand luggage was to heavy so we had to put some things in my bag and then it was through to the lounge. I got a reader’s digest magazine so sat reading that whilst Ayla was on the computer and then before we knew it, it was time to get on the plane. We were both excited to go to Malaysia and terribly sad to be leaving India with its amazing culture, people and food. We got on and tried to sleep for a bit as the flight was only four hours.

Hampi to Mangalore to Kochi to Trivandrum to the Ashram

Friday 7^th June 2013

After such an early night last night Ayla and I were up super early so were ready for the day by 8am along with Dan we went and got some breakfast and lingered there over several cups of tea until we were joined by Mark and Rachel once we had all had our fill we went in search of hiring bikes the plan was that Ayla and I would share but the hire man wanted her to go with Dan so I ended up on a bike by myself they were really cool bikes which looked like motorbikes but worked like a kick start scooter with just an accelerator and brake. They didn’t take long to get used to and soon we were whizzing about from site to site. We started off in the Virupaksha temple in the first section you can walk about and take photos but the next section you pay for we went through but didn’t pay for photo permits. There was an elephant there called Laxmi who for 10 Rupees would touch you on the head with her trunk giving you a blessing it was so sweet she was so well behaved and friendly taking the money off people and passing it to her handler or taking the fruit people were giving her and eating it.  Me and Ayla had a short tour around the temple but it was hard to understand the guide through his really thick accent so we spent a lot of the time trying to figure out what he was trying to say.  We left that temple and got back on bikes driving to the underground temple it was flooded years ago so you can no longer go inside as its still full of water up to ground level we took some photos of the entranceway and then climbed up on top to see the view of the surrounding countryside we then drove down the road to the nobleman’s quarters were there was some bizarre cow segregation going on all the cows on one side were white and on the other side were black or brown. We walked up to the main building which had been really graffiti which is a massive shame. On the way back to the bikes via an alternate exit we found some stairs built into a giant rock so climbed up to see the view it was absolutely stunning and we took some group shots as well as taking in the beauty. We got back on the bikes and headed a bit further to Rushkarani which has a palace that you can climb up and then a ghat shaped like an inverted pyramid which is full of water which channels into it from all over the complex. By this stage the heat and hunger were draining us so we drove back into Hampi to get some lunch we went to a place called Princes on the recommendation of Alex the food was good what was not good was the infestation of egg toting ant like creatures who were feasting on us before we realised they were there. We headed back to the bikes and drove to Metanga hill we parked the bikes at the bottom and then climbed up to the top some of the climb was extremely steep and in my Toms my feet were sliding all over the show so I did have to reduce myself to crawling in some places rather than slide off the mountain we reached a plateau that we assumed was the top and took in the amazing view from this high we could see most of the ruins and the countryside stretching for miles in every direction. We were taking it all in when Dan discovered my stairs so we continued up there was two options a stone cut door heading into a cave or the stairs we decided to take the cave option it soon got too dark to see much and being towards the back the torchlight was useless to me we heard a high pitched squeaking noise and suddenly a bat was battering itself into me hitting me in the chest and stomach repeatedly before getting tangled in my shit catchers it eventually freed itself and Mark and I made  hasty retreat I have never seen a guy move so quickly out of a cave in complete darkness! Back in the sunlight we re-joined Rachel and headed up the stairs instead at the very top was another temple we went inside and up the stairs onto the top where the scenery was even more breath taking we felt as though we were on top of the world. We stayed up there a while until it started to get windy blowing some dark clouds towards us not wanting to get caught out on an already slippery path in the rain we headed back to our bikes. We were parked right by the police station so went in to have a look at the “rouges and robbers” that the Hampi safety poster at our hotel told us about there was one man in “class one” which meant he was a murderer the others were all in “class four” which is your classic rouge or robber. The policeman looked like sheriff woody and told us the posters of missing people were “escaped people” after the police station we decided to take our bikes onto the open road and get some speed we drove to Hospet but when we got there we realised we had lost Mark and Rachel we turned back ignoring street signs and drove the wrong way down a one way street yelling apologies to the angry policeman who was demanding we pull over and show him our licences he clearly wasn’t that bothered though as we continued on our merry way and nothing more came of it. We found Mark and Rachel their back wheel had come loose and so Rachel jumped on the back of my bike for the journey back it was much harder to drive with a passenger and the balance is much wobblier but I did ok until we got into Hampi where suddenly the masses of people and sharp turns sent me into fits of laughter making it even harder not to crash my crowning moment was rather then braking over a speed bump I massively accelerated narrowly missing chucking us both off the bike we were mere metres away from the hire shop at this point so I drove in and Rachel walked. We returned our bike and got some food at a rooftop bar whilst formulating our next move.

Saturday 8^th June 2012

Today was a bad day I slept really badly and just couldn’t seem to wake up I sacked off breakfast and waited whilst the others ate theirs then we piled into a couple of Rickshaws to go back to Hospet where the plan was to catch a local bus to Shimoga and from there another one to Mangalore the journey wasn’t bad but took hours longer than we expected and once we got to Shimoga the bus was close to two hours late so by the time we actually reached Mangalore it was 4am (we had estimated we would arrive sometime the previous evening) we walked across the road in the pouring rain looking for a hotel but it seemed they were all full eventually we agreed to go with some rickshaw drivers into the town centre where they assured us we would find a room but after trying five hotels and being turned away from them all the drivers started to demand more money at which point we gave up pulled our bags out of the rickshaws and camped out in a sheltered alleyway awaiting morning. Us girls slept quite well whilst the boys sat and kept watch.

Sunday 9^th June 2013

About 6am when it was light we got up and tried to find a hotel but the answer was still the same at all of them “no rooms” feeling tired and rejected we decided to get some food in us and formulate a plan which was to get on a bus out of Mangalore and head to the beach about 20mins away in Ullali we arrived to find just one hotel a holiday resort resembling a rundown centre parks we tried in vain to get a room for a decent price but despite the fact it was off season and there were barely any guests the owner refused to budge on his extortionate price. So we went to have a kip on the beach, only almost as soon as we arrived it began to pour with torrential force monsoon rain we ran back to the resort and sheltered for cover in one of their outdoor walkways at this stage we really had no idea what to do so we sat on our bags and stared at each other for a while and that’s where our saviour Patrick comes into the story (we are still not sure whether or not Patrick was actually real we never saw him again after that moment he may have been a collective figment of our sleep deprived imaginations/a ghost or he could just have had a day off we will never know…) he came out of the restaurant and took it upon himself to bargain on our behalf with the boss for a better priced room and feeling weary we all nodded enthusiastically when he told us the price  we were all sharing a massive room that had two bathrooms each with several toilets and showers we go ourselves cleaned up and crawled into bed for a few hours kip. We woke up late afternoon and headed to sit and have drinks and snacks overlooking the sea we saw a pod of dolphins way in the distance and took it as a sign that things were looking up when it got dark we headed into the restaurant to avoid the mosquitos and order some real food before heading to bed and once again crashing out.

Monday 10^th June 2013

We slept late-ish this morning and then went to the beach to get some photos before consuming the most epic breakfast of our travels thus far there was juice, fresh fruit, unlimited toast, eggs, hash browns etc. After eating we looked into booking a train out of Mangalore it was a night train so we decided to stay at the resort as long as possible. When the time came to head to the city we got a bust to the travel agent the resort had booked our tickets with and picked them up then got rickshaws the short distance to the station we picked up some grub and then boarded the train. We were still at the platform when this guy came over to talk to us but nothing he was saying made any sense he then moved out of the boys line of sight and began licking his lips and making wanking gestures Ayla and I began yelling abuse at him and he ran off we didn’t see him again until a few hours later when just as we pulled into a station there was a bang at our door we looked but no one was there but on the platform outside our window was matey with his pants at his ankles shining a light on his tiny knob and wanking whilst smiling at us we all heckled and laughed at him as the train pulled away. Needless to say we were glad to make Mangalore a distant memory…

Tuesday 11^th June 2013

We woke up at 3.40am to make sure we were ready to disembark in Cochin we were all ready to go when it was decided we would wait for the next station (which is in the same city) only the train man said it didn’t stop there so we had a mad scramble to get off in time and I ended up having to jump from a moving train whilst being yelled not to by several train staff as well as two policemen it was terrifying so I can’t imagine how mark felt when he jumped off after me and the train was already faster and close to the end of the platform! Feeling a bit shaky we grabbed a couple of rickshaws to Fort Kochi (where we started the rickshaw run from) but as it was early doors we had to once again rough it for a few hours this time setting up camp in an 24 hour ATM around 6am while we were searching for somewhere that might be open for some food we came across a guy on his way to the beach for a swim he asked us if we were looking for a place to stay and showed us to his guest house where we promptly checked in we spent a while checking emails and whatnot and then headed for the most overpriced under flavoured breakfast we could find after which we all retreated back to the hotel for a kip. No sooner had I laid down when I could smell piss confused as to where it was coming from I lifted my pillow to see a soggy wet yellow patch upon smelling it I confirmed it was piss not believing me Ayla also smelt it yip it was a piss puddle we told the hotel manager and he came and had a look after taking a big sniff he declared “arrrhhh yes bad smell very bad smell” and proceeded to find me a new mattress bedding and pillow. Grateful I finally went to sleep. We woke up in the afternoon and went in search of lunch after which we walked along the sea front and saw a couple of pods of dolphins these ones were clearly visible as they were quite close and were all jumping in the air it was amazing to stand and watch for a while before continuing on past the fish market which was displaying all kinds of fish including a giant one with a big pointy nose (swordfish?) that the man kept pretending to stab us with and made me and Rachel hold it for a photo. We went back to the room to chill out for a bit and then in the evening we went for a cooking class we learnt to cook Thoran (a dish mad from plantain with coconut), Dahl masala (lentils), eggplant curry (eggplant curry), vegetable fry (cabbage and onions) and Chapatti’s after it was all made we got to sit and eat our feast. It was amongst the best food we have had in India so far.

Wednesday 12^th June 2013

I woke up with  weird banging headache that seemed to radiate from behind my left eye it refused to go away and made me nauseous every time I moved we headed up to the rooftop of our hotel where there was a place we could grab some breakfast we ate and then as it was heaving with rain we all sat about in the lobby reading and surfing the internet until the early afternoon when we went for a seafood lunch we headed to the fish market and got 1kg of jumbo prawns 1kg of calamari and a whole red snapper we then took it to a local restaurant where they cooked it all up fresh and added some rice and veg’s I was still feeling horrendous so just watched everyone else tuck into the glorious feast. I entertained myself by wearing the prawn’s heads as finger puppets, until I grossed myself out so much I almost threw up. After eating (or not eating in my case) we went drinking (or not drinking as it was in my case) at a seedy local bar that looked like it might moonlight as a drug den/brothel we whiled away the afternoon there before hunger took hold and we went to get some food we ate and then went back to the bar for more drinking (or not drinking in my case) around 11pm it was closing time and they turfed us out we went in search of water and when we got back to the hotel Dan was sprawled shirtless on Aylas bed fast asleep we shifted him onto his bed and fell asleep ourselves. In the middle of the night I woke up to Ayla yelling “NO NO NO DAN NOOOOOOO” at first I thought she was having some sort of night terror but it transpired that actually Dan had pissed all over her the light was turned on and the situation was assessed there was nothing for it but to turf the mattress and bedding out into the hall. Ayla and I were laughing hysterically while Dan declared “I don’t understand how I’m the bad guy here” eventually after much persuasion he concluded that “wow that’s a lot of piss” and put all the sheets mattress and pillows outside. Once that was done Ayla crawled into bed with me and we resumed sleepy time.

Thursday 13^th June 2013

This morning we headed for breakfast and then got a rickshaw to the train station and got some tickets to Trivandrum at the station we grabbed some lunch and some snacks and then sat about waiting for the train it was delayed and then the platform changed then changed back and then was delayed some more it was all really frustrating and when we finally did get on board it was slow moving and stopped for far too long at every stop. We arrived at about 8pm and headed for some dinner we found a really nice family Dharba and set about eating everything on the menu. About 9pm our search for a hotel began. About 11pm we finally found a place after walking around with all our bags for about two hours checking out over 20 hotels and being told “full” at all of them it turned out to be some weirdness about not wanting foreign guests at hotels we never quite figured it out but did eventually get a room with no water so it was a baby wipe bath and bed the upside to the hotel was the cable TV we watched until we fell asleep.

Friday 14^th June 2013

We had our last breakfast together this morning before Mark, Rachel and Dan headed off to Kovallam. Ayla and I moved rooms in the hotel and then got our things together and got a rickshaw to the zoo for the most part it’s pretty nice with large natural enclosures but bizarrely although the tigers have big sections thy are caged into small concrete cages where they all pace back and forth they are in such close proximity that they just seem to wind each other up roaring at each other. After the zoo we checked out an art gallery the layout seemed a bit weird with the artists spread all over the show and all mixed together in a giant Hodge podge of works. We decided to walk the 5km back to the hotel and only got slightly lost along the way. Back on our side of town we had a super early dinner and then spent an hour or so at an internet café before picking up a ton of munchies and heading back to our room for a movie marathon.

Saturday 15^th June 2013

We woke up and packed our bags then headed for breakfast our last taste of eggs before heading to a totally vegetarian Ashram we ate then spent a few hours sorting out flights to KL for after the Ashram then we picked up our bags and headed to the bus we got a direct bus all the way there and arrived in the pouring rain which we are slowly getting used to. We had planned to walk the 1km uphill to the ashram but due to the rain we got a rickshaw. We arrived and checked in setting up our beds in the dorm and then waiting for dinner just before we were off to find the dining hall who should walk in but Claire she was just finishing the previous course and so was leaving the next day but we got to spend some time catching up on all travels after heading different ways in Delhi about a month back. We went to dinner which is eaten in silence the food is really good simple Indian food but nutritious and filling. After food we had some time to kill before the evening Satsang which starts at 8pm with some silent meditation after which the daily chant is sung being that it was Saturday it was the weekly talent show we sat at the back feeling somewhat overwhelmed by it all and by the time we headed to bed we were exhausted but excited to start the programme tomorrow.

Mumbai to Goa to Hampi

Saturday 25^th May 2013

We were woken up on the bus by our adoptive family who wanted to say goodbye to us when they got off. They told us to get off at the last stop as we wanted to head to Coloba. We were dozing in our seats when suddenly the driver was hustling us off the bus we kept asking him if it was the last stop and he assured us it was no sooner were our bags unloaded when the bus drove off with a load of passengers still on it when we spoke to the local taxi drivers we were ages away from Colaba frustrated but with no other option we jumped in a taxi we checked out a few hotels but they were super expensive the driver was getting irritated so we took our bags and set off at a walk to try and find something we checked out a few more places but they were complete dives and expensive for it. In the end we met a guide who agreed that he would show us three or four guesthouses and we could choose one we liked. We had to take something a little above our price ranges but it was clean and the staff were nice. We showered and got ourselves sorted then headed for some lunch we found an Indian restaurant and left feeling satisfied we walked along the se front past thee gate way to India and headed to the train station. it took us a while to find the reservation counter but when we did it was so nice the counter was in a huge air-conditioned room and the tourist counter had special bright yellow benches for tourists only we only had to wait a few minutes for the guy in front of us and then it was our turn within moments we had the train tickets to Goa in our hot little hands. It made such a change from the usual pushing and fighting that happens on most trips to the station. We were leaving the station when we met the funniest little Indian women her name was sandy and she had lived in England until she was three when her mum “Kicked the bucket” (her words) and her father brought her back to India she had such a hatred for the man and actually said she would rather have been brought up in an English children’s home then with her family in India. She helped us find the cinema and then disappeared back into the station. Since we were in Mumbai we wanted to watch a Bollywood film we ended up watching a comedy called “Go Goa Gone” its Indian cinemas firs take on a zombie movie and it was hilarious. Although it was in Hindi so a lot of the jokes went over our head but there were bits in English it was a bizarre experience with all the families dressed up to go to the pictures, before the film started the national anthem played and everyone flew out of their seats to sing along it happened so suddenly it was hard not to get the giggles and then half way through the movie there was an intermission where everyone trooped off to get more snacks. After the film we came blinking back into the sunshine we then headed back to the hotel stopping at Leopold’s café for a drink it’s the café that was the hangout in Shantaram so was filled with tourists and Indians alike visiting after reading the book. Although nice it was rather expensive so we then picked up some street food for dinner. Mumbai has delightful little veggie burger things called wallopows which are sold for a mere 10 r/s each. Feeling satisfied and weary after sleeping on a bus we headed back to the hotel and collapsed.

Sunday 26^th May 2013

After breakfast this morning we headed to the water along the way we had to stop for Ayla to have second breakfast. Finally all feeling full we went to the Gate way to India there were loads of Indian tourists there and suddenly we were like celebrities everyone wanted to take a picture of or with us and one guy even asked us for our autographs the whole experience was hilarious but after a while it got too much and we left without really appreciating what we had come to look at. We stopped for a cheeky samosa and then continued on our merry way towards Marine Drive everyone we asked for directions told us it was too far to walk but we embraced the challenge and the heat and persevered. We got to Marine Drive and climbed up onto the sea wall to take a glimpse of the ocean the city looked stunning in the sunlight and the water despite its reputation looked pretty clean. There was a woman with a dancing monkey which she made salute us and was trying to get us to pay her to make him dance but we were so unimpressed he was clearly unhappy and it just made me sad that someone could treat an animal that way and think it was ok. We began the long walk along Marine Drive to Chowpatty beach the sun was blazing down and it was super humid turning us all into sweat factories, long the way we came across a strange little fat bald man looking at an album of homemade porn, the pictures were topless FHM style white girls with the heads of Indian women pasted on he followed us for a while telling us that he was going to be a Bollywood star and trying to show us more pictures until Ayla threatened to call the police.  We got to the beach and stopped off for some lunch and a cold drink it was a staggered affair as we all ordered at different times tripling the amount of time spent in the air con. Feeling refreshed we headed to the beach and walked along its length although there are strict health warnings telling people not to swim there the water was rammed. Once again we became like celebrities and the walk to far longer than intended as we were mobbed by our fans. At the other end of the beach we headed up the hill on a tree lined street to the hanging gardens they were beautiful with views of the city and lush grass and gardens to wander through we found a grassy patch under a big tree and set about cooing off but it wasn’t long before the first family approached us for a picture and pretty soon there was a line of people waiting to pose with us holding their babies. We got up and walked around the rest of the gardens before deciding to head back on route we stopped at a grimy public toilet where the man tried to charge us double the price in the end we made such a fuss that he let us through. We walked to the bottom of the hill where Alex picked up a taxi back to the hotel and Ayla and I walked. The route took far longer than it felt so by the time we got back we just had a quick shower and then headed out for food. After eating we headed off with the intention of having a drink but found a cake shop instead the cakes looked so amazing we all had two pieces I started with a red velvet cupcake and then had a banoffie pie we came out of the shop and debated the drink situation but decided the budget had been stretched far enough so we headed back to the hotel to digest.

Monday 27^th May 2013

This morning we packed up and had breakfast and left our bags at the hotel during the morning we looked around the markets and then Ayla and I left Alex shopping to go and see an art exhibition, there was one painter there who was absolutely phenomenal and Ayla almost brought one of his works. We left the exhibition and walked back in the blistering heat to meet Alex for lunch as neither of us actually had a watch we had no idea what the time was and arrived at the cake shop about 20mins early which gave us plenty of time to eat a sun dried tomato and olive loaf of bread before she arrived. We all had an all-day breakfast for lunch followed by some more cake on this occasion I had a piece of mango cheesecake which was by far the best cheesecake I have ever eaten in my life and a millionaires brownie which had caramel running all through it. Feeling quite full of cake we headed to the meeting place for our slum tour we used a company on recommendation and they proved to be great. We met our guide Nil and then started out by driving through the red light district, prostitution is illegal yet we went down a road lined with brothels with prostitutes selling their wares standing outside and at the end of the street was a large police station. Our guide told us some of the girls do work by choice but they are few and far between with most of the workers being tricked into coming to the city by a promise of a better life and a good job. We then drove to the Dobi Ghats which is a huge outdoor laundry most of the city’s hotels and guest houses send their guests laundry here to be cleaned, it’s a huge affair with rows and rows of concrete tubs, water barrels and washing lines as far as the eye can see. After that we went to the Dravavi slum, it’s the biggest slum in Asia population wise with approx. one million people living and working in an area of only 2km squared.  We started in the commercial district and Nil showed us a few of the many industries that work in the slum such as recycling plastic into pellets to be turned into almost anything from garden furniture to telephones to plastic cups etc. we also saw bakery which make sweet buttery biscuits and a poppadum factory the produce of both which get sold all over the city we saw a few more industries before heading into the residential district. Nil showed us inside a house which is the standard size for the slum we were all really surprised by how good the houses were we were expecting structures made out of tarpaulins etc. so the tour really changed out preconceptions of what a slum is like. At the end of the tour we finished in the offices of Reality tours where we paid and filled out feedback forms they sold some merchandise there so I brought some postcards. We got back into the car and we drove back to Coloba the girls went and had some diner while I took a walk to pick up some street food and then we met up for yet more cake I had a lemon tart and a chocolate caramel shortcake. We then killed time before our night train to Goa we headed to the station about 9pm and got on we were sharing the berth with three other girls’ two English girls Sarah and Jade and an American girl Heidi we sat up chatting until just after midnight when we put the beds down and went for a kip.

Tuesday 28^th May 2013

We arrived into Goa a few hours late but the sun was shining and there was a definite beachy feel in the air. We had decided to head to Anjuna beach so we jumped in a taxi and started on our merry way the closer we got to the beach the greyer the skies seemed to become and when we got there it seemed as if the whole town had packed up and left we had expected quiet as it’s the off season but this was a whole new level in the end we checked into a guesthouse as it was pouring with rain and the taxi driver was demanding more money to take us to look at anywhere else we were annoyed as we were the only guests yet the staff still refused to lower the price. We dumped our bags and got showered and then headed out in the rain for some food we only walked across the road but my sports direct shower proof jacket by no means handled the monsoon rains and I was soaked through. We ate a rather unappealing meal and stayed put until the rain eased off somewhat after which time we walked to the beach along the few market stalls that remained all the touts put on these horrific cockney accents as soon as they learnt we were English which made me absolutely cringe. The beach was described in our guide book as “some peoples idea of heaven on earth” I don’t know who the hell those people where as it was a muddy rocky bog standard looking beach we dipped our hinges and Ayla almost lost a jandal so we decided to check out the rest of the town. Ayla stopped off for a haircut so Alex and I took the opportunity to eat some pancakes in a local café When Ayla was done we kept walking through the town in the hope we could hire some bicycles but we had no such luck as l the hire places had packed up for the season we went back to the hotel and mulled over life for a bit then decided to pull ourselves together and make the most of it after all I had been saying for weeks it would be quiet and there would be rain so why were we surprised? We headed out for some food and found an amazing little café that was to become our local they served delicious food and the atmosphere was cosy and inviting which was good as not long into our meal the rains knocked out the power and we were forced to eat by candlelight and wait out the rain. It was quite late by the time it had eased off enough for us to walk back to our hotel in the pitch black which was a bit scary.

Wednesday 29^th May 2013

We had hoped to wake up to sunshine and clear blue skies but didn’t have any luck the sky was grey as we headed to possibly the worst breakfast in India thus far we ordered Ayla and I wanted banana porridge and Alex wanted poached eggs on toasts. Firstly Ayla's and Alex’s tea and coffee arrived despite asking for no sugar it was too sweet to drink so that went back to the kitchen the Alex got toast but no eggs then the most baffling part out came the banana pancake and banana eggs we had ordered ummm no that was two banana porridges and what is banana eggs when it’s at home? So those went back Ayla at this point asked for our porridge to have no sugar added to it but we were completely knocked back when it came out full of salt instead! Back that went to the kitchen and we cancelled our breakfast order. Alex’s eggs finally arrived they had obviously been poached in the dirtiest pan imaginable and had flecks of brow all over them and a mysterious blob which to me looked like a hair ball you would pull out of a drain. Alex then went back to the room and me and Ayla left in search of a satisfactory meal, we went back to the place we had dinner but they were closed to repair the damage from last night’s rains to their roof. When we started to walk away they opened up just for us and we had a beautiful meal there. On the walk back to meet Alex we passed by the local bus stand and enquired about buses into Panji the capitol of Goa they were fairly frequent and rather cheap so we got Alex and headed to Panji for the afternoon. The weather was actually nicer there with sunshine and some blue in the sky we had lunch in restaurant over flowing with Indian families so we knew it would be good, there wasn’t much choice but we had a massive Thali that left us stuffed for the rest of the day. After eating we walked about the town having a look at a few churches, the market (which in the fish section had crabs which were still alive) and the river we had a slow paced afternoon and just as the weather seemed to be turning we got the bus back to Anjuna. We headed back to our new local for dinner and they played a movie for us on their big flat screen TV.

Thursday 30^th May 2013

I wanted to run out of Anjuna and head for Palolem at first light this morning but the girls wanted one last breakfast at our local before we got on the bus it didn’t open until 9am so by the time we hit the road it was close to 10am we had been told that the trip to Palolem in the south of Goa would take about two to three hours by bus but that was a tad optimistic we were lucky and got on a direct bus from Anjuna to Panji (which cut out the trip to Mapusa to change) then got a bus from Panji to Magao and from there to Palolem it took just over five hours and the last bus ride was crammed full of stinking fish baskets. We got off the bus looking a bit dazed but feeling like maybe we had actually reached the Goa we were in search of. Immediately a bunch of touts descended upon us each wanted us to look at their rooms we really lucked out by following one guy on a bit of a roundabout walk to a really great guest house it was spotlessly clean and reasonably big with cable TV and WIFI and all at a really good price we checked in and put on bikinis and shorts we needed to refuel after all day on the bus so popped across the road. We all opted for a seafood lunch I had mixed seafood tacos which were delicious but the others didn’t really rate their meals. We finished up just in time for the drizzle to start we made our way to the beach and by the time we got there it was pouring down we stripped off and stashed our gears under the lifeguards chair and ran into the sea the swell was huge but the water was so warm we got battered about by the waves or a bit before the rain made it to cold and we headed back in luckily our hotel also had hot water which was a bonus. We got cleaned up and were chilling out when the power went out pretty soon Ayla and Alex were fast asleep whilst I sat and caught up with some writing for a few hours. The power came back on around 8pm waking them up. Ayla was happy to stay sleeping whilst me and Alex headed across the road to another café for some dinner we finished off our meal with huge pieces of mango crumble and ice-cream and a game or 20 of connect four. When we got back up to the room Ayla was watching perhaps the worst movie ever made it was called Shaolin soccer and was a Chinese movie dubbed into English in the most poor quality way.

Friday 31^st May 2013

Today we were blessed with sunshine and clear blue skies we spent the day swimming, sunbathing, eating and repeating. By the time we got off the beach around midday we were already sunburnt we had a fresh seafood lunch and spent an hour in the shade of a beachside restaurant. We headed back to the beach an sun creamed up to spend the rest of the afternoon in the sun. We headed in around 6pm and the girls sunburn was much worse than we thought Aylas went brown after a few days but Alex’s stayed bright red and then peeled off. We freshened up and had yet more seafood for dinner the plan had e to head to the beach bar for some drinks but the sun had taken it out of all of us so we retreated to the room and all promptly fell asleep in from of the TV.

Saturday 1^st June 2013

It was raining when we got up this morning so we lingered over breakfast. Since it wasn’t stopping me and Ayla decided to have a second breakfast. The café was really busy with people sheltering from the rain so when a young Indian couple came in we invited them to share our table. We all got chatting and next thing you know we were heading over to another beach with Harry and Ana in their car. Agonda beach was completely closed for the season so the beach was deserted it was really beautiful. We got some drinks and some snacks and sat on the beach all day having our own little party. Despite having signs (with a skull and crossbones) saying danger no swimming there were lifeguards on the beach so whenever we did go in the water we were their sole focus. The sun came out in patches here and there during the day but it was still really warm through the clouds. Towards the end of the day the sun beaming through the clouds looked phenomenal as we got a bunch of photos. We headed back to Palolem as it was getting dark and headed in to get clean and dry before meeting up again for yet more seafood. Tonight we actually made it to the bar where we also ran into the girls form the train from Mumbai we all had a cocktail together and agreed to meet on the beach the following day. The day almost ended in drama when a disgusting man approached us while we were waiting on the beach for Ayla asking in Hindi if we were interested in a room for sex Harry chased the guy off and sent security after him but he was long gone by the time they reacted.

Sunday 2^nd June 2013

We were supposed to meet Harry and Ana for breakfast this morning but they were super late so we ate without them. When they arrived Alex headed down to the beach and found the other girls while we sat and chatted once everyone had eaten we headed to the beach and spent the rest of the morning swimming, chatting and sunbathing. It started to drizzle a bit and so Alex and the girls headed into the beach bar for some lunch we stuck it out in the rain which didn’t come to anything but moved when some creepy guys kept asking for pictures with Ayla and I they were directing the question at Harry and asking him in Hindi why we were sitting with him but wouldn’t take pictures with them. We walked to the other end of the beach where there is a river flowing into the sea we thought about doing a boat trip but the tide was out so the boats couldn’t go out. We decided to cross the river and check out what was on the other side we waded across and walked along the narrow stretch of beach there is another island that at super low tide you can walk across to but by the time we got there the path was covered over with shallow but rough waves. We headed back across and already the river was much deeper and the current was getting much stronger. We joined the other girls on the beach and spent the afternoon sunbathing and swimming we even had some live entertainment in the form of a group of somewhat overweight men it all started when one of them was laying on his stomach in the surf with his head in his hands kicking his feet about like a mermaid as the waves crashed in on him he started spinning around like a helicopter propeller he then came into the sea while we were swimming and was jumping about whooping in the waves like a small child when he re-joined his friends on the beach they all had a sand fight and then covered in sand had a sprint race in which we were cheering merman on he won in a photo finish after the other guy stacked it completely but did catch up to be beaten inches from the finish line. They then lay in the sand rubbing sand on their bellies it was equally hilarious and disturbing.  In the evening we all met up for a big seafood dinner which went down an absolute treat despite the slightly slow service.

Monday 3^rd June 2013

The plan was to get up early this morning and watch the sunrise at Agonda beach before Harry and Anna had to get back for work but when we arose early it was pouring with rain. Plan B had been to meet for breakfast so that’s what we did. We ate and then said an emotional goodbye to Harry and Anna. After they left we hit the beach and organised to go on a boat trip down the river that afternoon only when 3pm came around it was pouring with rain and we weren’t so keen on being on the river so we sacked that off and headed into a beach café where we gorged ourselves on fish curry. We ended up sitting in the café for a few hours until the sun came back out and then we spent the remainder of the day light topping up our tans. In the evening we had our final meal together before the girls headed to Hampi in the morning. It was a beautiful big seafood meal followed by delicious pancakes and brownies for desert. Towards the end of the meal we were joined by Mark and Rachel an English couple who have been leaving in Korea and Dan a solo traveller also a fellow Brit.

Tuesday 4^th June 2013

Alex left at the crack of dawn this morning to head to Hampi with the other girls we woke up and had an emotional farewell Ayla wore her best outfit a scarf draped strategically and a pair of tiny pants.  We were awake so ended up sitting and talking for  few hours then went back to bed and got up around 8am we saw the hotel guy so had the room cleaned and got fresh sheets and towels we had a long breakfast joined by Dan and then headed to the beach. Ganesh was smiling on us he gave us a brilliant blazing hot day we spent the whole day flipping from our fronts to our backs into the sea and repeat. Late afternoon we headed into our gloriously clean sand free room to get showered and then headed to an Italian restaurant where we went nuts for seafood pizza and pasta. Ayla and Dan shared a bottle of wine and got hilariously sleepy drunk by the time we got back to our room Ayla needed only to look at the bed before she narco-ed out.

Wednesday 5^th June 2013

Today was our last day in Goa we were blessed to have another amazing sunny hot day to really top up our tans before we left. We had an early breakfast and caught up on some emails before hitting the beach. We spent the morning in much the same fashion as yesterday around midday just as the sun was at its hottest point Dan and I decided to walk the few km to the next town to the ATM before long we were sweating up a storm so lingered in the A/C ATM for a while before heading back to the beach. We sat there for a while longer before having a late lunch overlooking the water afterwards Ayla headed back to the hotel but I wanted to get in a final swim before leaving the coast. Just as I came out of the water the sky clouded over so I rushed back to the room narrowly avoiding the downpour that came shortly afterwards. We packed and paid for our room before eating our last meal in our favourite café the owner gave us free dessert which was delicious then we had to sort out a couple of rickshaws for the morning before heading to bed.

Thursday 6^th June 2013

We had to get up at 5am this morning to meet Mark, Rachel and Dan and then get our rickshaws to Chowdy from there we got a train to Margo which is Goas main station the train was so small and so jam-packed full of people but we dumped our bags and sat on the floor it was only a 20min journey so wasn’t too bad. Once we arrived in Margo we got tickets for the train to Hospet there were only general class tickets available so that’s what we brought we had just enough time to cram I a quick bread omelette before running to the train when we tried to get on the general carriage it was already so full that we didn’t have a chance we jumped onto a sleeper carriage and sat in the walkway our tickets got checked and the ticket man let us be but shortly afterwards another ticket man came along and moved us along we paid a bit extra and he got us seats in the sleeper carriage all five of us together which was good. The journey was long but the scenery was stunning so I put in my music tuned out the world and got lost in the beauty outside. When we arrived in Hospet we took the lazy option and got rickshaws they rest of the way to Hampi. Ayla and I were in one and the others took a second rickshaw I asked if I could drive and the man said yes so I drove us to Hampi it was weird being back behind the wheel but I really enjoyed it and when we got there the driver said I had skills (he also said I drove to fast which I think has to be a first) we found a hotel which was dirt cheap dumped our stuff and went and got some food in a rooftop café only problem was it soon started to rain and there was no cover. The food was decidedly average so we moved on and got drinks in another café where we bumped into Alex and the girls they were just having some dinner before getting a bus to Bangalore we caught up on the events of the last few days and they gave us some tips for Hampi then we once again parted ways being quite greedy we got more food and then headed back to the hotel for an early night.