Adventures in Hampi, Bangalore, Ooty and Mysore.

As time ticks on India never ceases to amaze.

After a great time in Goa with the most attentive hosts we could have wished for, we took a sleeper bus to Hampi. 

Hampi was what I'd been looking for without realising it. The dramatic landscape and ancient ruins were unlike anything I'd ever seen before. 

We arrived early in the morning just before sunrise and were greeted by about 20 desperate rickshaw drivers. Tired and grumpy, we chose the least aggressive of the drivers and made our way through the dark to our hotel. 

Later that day we explored the ruins. Monkeys were every where and as a guide told us the next day, "This is their kingdom, we just share it." 

A 'security guard' took us up to the highest temple. Before we set off we made sure to ask if he charged for his tour but his answer was very vague. We saw other tourists without a guide and would have rathered explore on our own but he wouldn't let up so off we went. 

He turned out to be a genuinely kind man who was very keen for us to get pictures at every possible lookout point. He also took us into a secret cave. "Secret place, secret place." He kept saying. "Without guide, people walk straight past." Inside the cave he lit a match so we didn't bump our heads and gave us a blessing. Afterwards he brought out a rusty old donation can. In the dim light we rummaged in our bags and I found some coins. He gestured that Melissa do the same so she extracted what she thought was a 10 rupee note. Later that night we discovered she had actually donated 1000 rupees (NZD $20) to the gods by mistake! 

The next day we did a cycle tour of the rest of the temples. That afternoon we whiled away time by sitting under a tree by the river and chatting with the local children who were all very curious about where we were from. Hampi exists mainly for tourism so the children have learnt various phrases like "What is your country?" and "What is your name?" They were all so sweet and had lovely manners. 

Many of the young boys sold guide books and postcards for pocket money. They were grand little sales people, greeting us with "My friend! Postcard? Very cheap, only RS50!" Despite the fact we had already bought postcards we ended up buying a more off one little guy whose persistence was extremely impressive. Plus we felt sorry for him because he had stubbed his toe running around the temples. "RS100 many happy me" He repeated over and over until we couldn't find it in our hearts to say no. 

Despite Melissa's generous gift to the gods she fell sick that evening with a rather violent stomach bug. We decided to postpone our bus journey for one day so she could recover. Nothing is worse than having a stomach bug in a place with a broken toilet! We moved to a cheap and cheerful hostel that had monkeys on the roof, a gecko in the corner and a working bathroom.

When Melissa had recovered we set off to Bangalore by taxi to save time. Arriving in Bangalore after Hampi was like driving from Whangarei to Auckland. Suddenly my new camel leather sandals felt inferior under the glare of the branded neon signs.

We immediately hunted down a McDonalds and giggled at all the new Indian flavours on offer. I chose a McChicken Maharajah with peri peri chips. Unfortunately that night it was my turn to get sick and let me tell you peri peri chips are just as spicy the second time around. 

Bangalore passed in a haze of sleep and nausea for me. Melissa explored the malls a bit during the day and in the evening we ventured out for dinner although I couldn't stomach anything other than a coke. 

That night we took another sleeper bus to Ooty. This time I was so exhausted from the bug I slept deeply the whole trip. Ooty is lush and cool with rushing waterfalls and deep valleys. We discovered we could walk to our accommodation which meant we had the satisfaction of escaping the over-eager rickshaw drivers. 

We decided to do some 'trekking' as thats the thing to do in Ooty apparently. So we teamed up with another couple of girls and took a guided walk up the highest point in South India. On the way up I discovered I wasn't feeling 100% which made for a challenging climb. 

That afternoon we arranged for a driver to take us to a Tiger reserve. We chose to do a mini bus tour which lasted 45 minutes. 'Animal sighting is purely luck' the signs depressingly warned us as we boarded the stinking hot bus. As luck would have it the majority of the other passengers were over excited adolescent males. They hoicked and spat and laughed as my hopes of seeing a tiger quietly dissolved. 

Barely 5 minutes into the tour our bus gave an unhealthy sounding hiccup and refused to move. So back to the depot we went to get a new bus. To make a long story short the tour narrowly avoided being a complete waste of money as we did see the blur of a leopard out the window. It was hunting deer and we disturbed it. The sound of people shushing each other was louder than the boys giggles. 

So that was Ooty. Christmas eve arrived and we hopped on yet another dreaded bus to Mysore to meet our friend at her parents for Christmas. 

Christmas day was very different from form home. We visited a palace in Mysore accompanied by our amazing hostess Ragini and her room mate Lalitha. We also spent some time at a beautiful little market. Later that evening Lalitha gave us henna tattoos and we relaxed in front of the TV. 

So that's it for now! I hope this has been mildly interesting to read and I apologise in advance for any awful typos. I really can't be bothered proofreading it so please accept this in it's raw original form from the key pad of my phone on a mattress in Mysore.

Love Ayla

Gorgeous Goa

Hello again,

Well we have moved on from Mumbai now and arrived in Goa last night. Our Bollywood experience was interesting to say the least. It really isn't as glamorous as we imagined.There was a lot of sitting around. We did got to talk to other traveler's though which is always good.Unfortunately they didn't give us enough food and the director was a tad abusive to his staff but we are glad we did it. 

Today we rode an elephant at the Tropical Spice Gardens. It was a 400rs entrance fee which included a 45 minute tour and really good lunch. We also tasted the local beer which killed any bugs we might have had. Later we visited Old Goa and saw the body of St Francis Xavier. He is displayed once every 10 years so we are lucky to see him. Goa is very Catholic. The houses are beautiful and the Portuguese influence is clearly visible. Tomorrow we will go to the beach and see what all the fuss is about.

Goa is fascinating and peaceful after Mumbai. Palms line the streets and Buffalo roam freely. We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves and everyone we meet is so helpful.

I am writing this from a tiny internet cafe and Melissa is patiently waiting beside me so I will leave you now.

Bye!

P.S We took a 16 hour bus journey yesterday and our bus broke down two hours from our destination. We have learnt a very useful phrase over here: "Chalega". It translates to "No problem." The Indian version of "She'll be right." Just like in New Zealand this is more than just a phrase. It's a way of life.

Mumbai adventures.

It's been almost a week since Melissa and I arrived in Mumbai, India. So much has happened I don't know where to begin.

Mumbai has been good to us. Everyone we have come across has been so helpful and many people have gone out of their way to look out for us.

Before we arrived, people told us what India would be like... There were many negative stereotypes and I am happy to report none of these have proved to be true.

Our first day in Mumbai was spent taking a taxi tour of the main sights. We visited the hanging gardens, Doby Ghat (the largest laundry in Asia), and drove past a section of the slums.

Our taxi driver gave us a really good deal including the tip and dropped us off at our uni friends place in the western suburbs of Mumbai.

Day two included a trip to the beach. Beaches in Mumbai are very different to those in New Zealand. We were expecting a lot of rubbish and sadly that was what we got. Swimming was out of the question.

We visited a Hare Krishna temple that afternoon followed by an hour of class in an Indian school. The friend we are staying with is a teacher and invited us to interact with the children. It was library hour so we read aloud with them. So far I think that has been one of the best experiences of the trip.

That evening we wandered around the suburbs trying to understand Indian city life. There is too much going on explain to give an accurate picture so I suggest you all come and see it for yourselves. The smells, sounds, flavours and colours of India are so rich and alive. At the end of the day the cities essence remains on your skin in a thin grey layer.

Our short stay in Mumbai has already given us so much to think about. One day in Mumbai is equal to a week at home from the sheer amount of things to see and do.

One evening our friend took us on the train to Marine drive. We watched the lights of the city and bought some bubble mix from a person on the street. We passed a happy few hours blowing bubbles. It really is the simple pleasures in life.

The next day, Thursday, Melissa and I took a public train on our own to the gateway of India. There were large crowds and people trying to sell us photos, postcards, blessings, tours etc . we are learning how to be very assertive here!!

We had planned to visit Elephanta island but we had left it too late in the day. On Friday we returned via rush hour public train. Quite the experience! Again assertiveness is key to enjoying this place. It pays to be relaxed and sure of yourself without being rude. Once we had pushed ourselves on and off this train we bought economy tickets to Elephanta island. As it turns out this is rather unusual for tourists as the 'luxury class' is only slightly more expensive. We are so cheap. It paid off in the end though as we got to hang with local families.

Elephanta island is a series of large, ancient, carved caves. We wandered around for about two hours. The Lonely Planet suggested we didn't take a guide which took some effort as they were very friendly.

The day ended with a train ride home where we made friends with two local girls who spoke excellent English.

There is so much more I'm sure I've forgotten to include. It has been difficult to update this blog as we have been so busy!

Tonight we have been invited to be extras in a Bollywood film! I am way too excited about this. We have to stay up from 11pm to 8am which might be difficult after the day we have had!

Any way I'll post again soon!

Chalti hoon. Xx

Welcome!

Hello and welcome. 

After many months deliberating on a name for this thing I finally chose one. So here it is. Pictures, pencils and postcards.

I wanted to avoid many things when choosing a name for this blog, which is why it took me so long to get started.

Firstly I didn't want to be another 'solo female travel' blog (even though I love them and read so many before my first trip). So I've tried to keep the name gender neutral, no lipstick or heels to be found here! (If you are a frequent travel blog reader you might know what I'm talking about).

I also knew that any name I came up with I would eventually start to hate. That's just what happens, but this name seems fairly safe at the moment...

Its purpose is to document my trip to India with my good friend Melissa and any future travels.

It all started a few months ago when Melissa came to stay with me. Inevitably our discussions turned to travel, as they so often do. Next thing we knew we had pinky promised that this December we would go to India. 

I think we kind of both expected each other to come up with a reason why we couldn't go as we have never been very good at sticking to our plans. But neither of us did and soon we were booking our tickets!

Hopefully my posts will be entertaining and informative for family, friends and any one else who stumbles across these ramblings. 

It will also serve as a way to force myself to write on a regular basis. Even though I love it, sometimes life is more interesting! 

So there you have it!

Watch this space :-)