A visual summary of my route of travels

this is a visual route of my travels for those wondering where i went =)

last day and parting thoughts on india

oh my gosh , the hotel has been knocking on my door every morning at 5.30am and waking me up for my taxi to the airport but tomorrow will surely be my end of my journey and the beginning of my facination with travelling.
woke up today early and really took my time around and planned to go to the national zoo and also the khan market to do some shopping. but alas , went there and found out that the zoo was closed and i misread it. luckily my auto driver was a really honest man and we went to the khan market for some shopping and shopping i was , having a great time shopping under the hot sun. how i did that , heaven knows.
spend literally the whole day shopping non stop and bargaining under the super hot sun which is at least 41 degrees. gosh this is a really test of my shop haggle non stop experience.
brought lots and dun worry people you all will not be forgotten.
went have dinner and saw this really bewildered belgium man at the age of 40+ and he looked stunned. i shouted over and asked him if he has been travelling for long or just arrived. he told me he just arrived and now wanted to go home. i gasp a smile and told him that is the starting effect that i had. india was chaotic, aggressive, caustrophobic and full of cheats. he told me why would anyone want to come here to travel. but surely i told him scrub deep and you will really enjoy what india has to offer like what i did. he told me its a little old to be travelling , but i replied " you are never too old to travel as long as you are healthy and strong". think thats going to be a philopsophy of my life from now.
to finish up, india has been nothing less then incredible and the culture , people and history has been mind blowing. sometimes you ask , how can so many idiologies , people , languages and religion exist all together in 1 little area in a small land. dun ask me , but they do co-exist and like the time in agra i met this really chirpy swiss guy who have been travelling for 2 years. we agreed that india will found or is "working" but "working in a wrong way" we had a good laugh from all the travel talks and such. even going to explain that indian "high tech" is attaching a piece of high tech to an old junk to create "super high tech". we just shook our head and laughted it out.
on a serious note , we agreed india will never have this charm if not for this ordered chaos, this i would say not mix or not melting pot , but crashing pot of different races , religions castes and ideals. an india where everyone all resigned to their fate and does nothing to improve that. an india where anything can happen and does not take a surprise to surprise you.
this india where everyone is fighting for a breathing space to learn , live and exist.

an amazing adventure.

as a parting note

The gateway of india in dehli, in honour of the soldiers who died in the wars of the 1900s(afgan,pak and many other conflicts)

The huge red fort in dehli . 2.5 km long the walls stretch around the area of old dehli

The victory tower in dehli built by the mahgul emperor to proclaim the arrival of islam in india.a huge breathtaking structure

thats the lotus temple built by bahur in 1938. they nicknamed it the dehli taj but to me it looks more like 2 wings from the sydney opera house :)

gandhi sarmati. that is the actual location where gandhi was murded

new dehli, old dehli,central dehli, deli dehli. shopping paradise !!!! keke

arrived in dehli on the johbopal new dehli express in the afternoon and the train came a good 1.5 hours late because of a deadlock omg , it was the first time that i caught a late train but i met pretty cool people inside so im cool.
working like an expert on the trains which normally are quite accuate with the distances. i went out and immediately navigated around. as worst that i have imagined,dehli was a much better city then the other cities that i have been in.
"it was pure heaven "! lol
was slacking about on the first day and was just lazying about and taking it easy on it and read and read more about my meticulous plans(like real).and so i will be well set up for the next day. the room was a hole but then its got cooler cooling and its quite cool actually so im ok.
dehli is a huge place and yes it really is huge and also the capital city of india with lots of embassies in central delhi which is in the south.
i lounged just outside paharganj which is near to the new dehli train station as it was one of the most convenient.
went to many sites in dehli like the quatar mitaq(victory tower),hamuyans tomb ,gandhi sarmati, gandhi raj, laximi temple and a few others. it was quite a mad rush but lots was seen on the first day.
on the second day, was more for the superb national museum of dehli which houses famous artifacts from the harrapan era and the indus civilisation era. some of the artifacts were so famous i couldn't believe my eyes that i was looking straight at it. an example would be the dancing girl model. simple an awe inspiring and amazing musuem. oh as you all know that i am a musuem lover. i spent 5 hours over there. thereafter i walked to the gateway of india and the central secretarial. i travelled using their metro and i must say its fantastic and efficient. although the south extension is not ready,the north,east and west extension was really good.and cheap too.
going to send all my time shopping now and dehli is a really great shopping destination! tons of sovenoirs, curios and many other stuff.
dun worry i will get the soveniors for you guys too. also i am now well versed in the art of haggling and bargainng. watch out shop keepers and touts.
ok thats all for now i miss you all back home but if i can , i will surely continue on and do the eastern loop and nothern loop. but maybe i will do it next time with a buddy :)
till then 2 more days ! then can come out kopi or lim cheu session with you guys ! :)

things i learned in india (little punt intended)

things i learned in india (little punt intended)

cows are kings of the road (sorry HD)
traffic is where-ever you feel like going (even against the traffic)
stepping on cow poop and avoiding it is a daily accurance
everybody in india wants to build road humps in their neighborhood, contributing to my sore ass :P
autorickshaws are everywhere
when someone says to you "happy pay , no happy no pay" they just want your mola
public buses (ordinary unreserved) are the worst ass spanking experience you can get in india
taking a public bus at night is best avoided (everyone wants to get home , you get what i mean)
if you want to experience the real india , just need to stand outside on a hot day with lots of cow poop and people around.
foreigners are always overcharged in india
haggling is a way of life in india
if you dun haggle your pants off in shops, you may well go off without it
mama shops are everywhere in india (every crook nanny and panel).
mama shops are the best and most reliable way to get your daily necessities(they dun normally overcharge).
better get used to the noise in india, every horn is on the standby to tell you to get out of the way
even the locals haggle to get into a taxi or auto rickshaws.
is it always not a good ideal to knock your head into every national monument in india, so keep your head low.
never ever, and i mean it jokingly try to sell an indian your girlfriend for 4 camels, they really mean it.
and a deals a deal in india
always try to tour with a government authorised group in india
when an india shakes their head, it does not mean yes or no, it means get on with life and dun brother me.
never ever if for a need of an experience , travel in the indian railway in ordinary unreserved class, you will surely sweat it out and suffocate in the process.(think little india bus without aircon and a nice smelling toilet at the back which you are pushed into it)
travelling in reserved in 3ac or higher is the best way to travel in india,meeting the locals there was a wonderful experience.
always try to speak with travellers and you will get really good information.
any mode of transportable is possible in india, horse cow camel elephant bus tractor train ox , with a price.
always respect the local cultures and custom in india
the thrash bin in india is unmarked and everwhere and everyone just throw thrash where-ever they like(not me :)
try to spend more time at sights which are really nice and you will truely experience the granduer of it.
the street children are really pitiful in india, but you need to take it with a heart of stone or you make go home without it (yes i am still coping with it).
the power supply is extremely unrealiable in india so be prepared for occassional blackouts.
never ever drink the water from the tap in india unless you want to suffer from a bad case of dehli belly.
south india loves making its monuments from caves,rocks and mountains , the north love stand alone super megalicthic structures
its always wise to travel light in india.
when its the highest point in a certain state , its always wise to cover up :P
its an ass trying to get a prepaid card in india after the 26/11 incident
lastly , love enjoy and meet india in its every colours with a smile =)

thats all i will add when i get new inspirations :)

miss ya all

taj mahal:these are huge jasper embedded inscripts from the quran and they are very high wide and enormous.

the west end of the sandstone mosque surrounding the taj mahal , the eastern end was for accommodation.a remarkably magnificent structure as well

yanuma river at the north end of the taj mahal. yup almost dry but truely spectacular

astrology on mt abu (highest point in rajasthan) there is also a vishnu temple on site at the top

sati marks in mehe fort , where it a celebration of the queens and concubines throwing themselves at the maharaja's pyre(its banned in india now)

the grand meherangarh fort in jodhpur. (its huge!:)

the marvelous motifs outside the south gate at the taj

taj on my first day, thats at a roof top restaurant.

the taj

the magical taj mahal

reached early in the morning at agra fort and the first thing that greeted me . yes was the rain and also lots of people and the giant huge agra fort which was beside the train station. went along and got myself checked in and on my way , i saw the backside or the north side of the taj and the views were more then magical. its this feeling when you are on the move and you suddenly have the first grism of something that makes it all the more memorable. ( the backside is also the north face of the taj).
as usual before i touched into the agra fort train station, there was an array of people and kids lining up along the railway station giving us a huge welcome indian style. which inccidentally they were also answering natures call and having a great time at it. leaving an array of genitials hanging or peeping to be seen. oh goodness.
the taj to sum it all up , was a magical sight. i proposely stayed the taj ganj area which was also very close from the taj mahal and boy was it very close less then 200 metres to be clear. but the hassling was really intense and also the people were really everyway. not something you should see around a world wonder.
but all else is forgiven when you get there and saw that. no words can describe the feeling but we can desscribe the sight as a moth to a flame , stunningly huge, hott (physically) and a sight to behold.
seeing it was the highlight of my whole trip. it was also the most expensive monument to get in at 750rs (almost 30 sing). was given a water of water and some tickets, not bad for the exquisite pricetag to get in. but still worth every penny.
inside there was the south east and west gate. the impressive structure was the south gate which in everyway was amazing. there are 2 other structures on the east and west side. one is a mosque on the west and the other east side are for accommodation(which is not used).
walking around the area was amazing. never to not see a foriegn tourist , there were many local toursits too. very friendly and all made of love.
you can't have no love to go see a monument of love right? :P . walked into the monoseleum and saw the proxy tombs of shan jahan and his queen muntaz. the ivoy marble was magnificent and all are inlaid with precious stones from all over the world. in the middle centropath was an arabian looking candalier. which was beautiful to say the least. the actual tombs are actually in the basement which was not accessible to the public.
beng a ks singaporean , i walked around the centropath at least 10 times to admire the 8 sides of the inner santuary and orge at the splendor of the area. if i were emporer i would built one like that or even bigger for my queen provided i outlived her :)
the weather was really hot and sat down at different parts of the taj and people from different countries faith and races were all very friendly and many wanted to take pictures with me. oh gosh but some other tourists thought that they want $$$ after a picture was taken with them. most prob thats not the case and the local tourists just wanted to take pics with foriegn tourist which they seldom see everyday.
sitting at the cornerstone of the taj , one may really feel the significense of the whole area. the taj was huge ! and a work of wonder. from the many other monumets that i have seen. the taj really was a stand on its own.
a truely wonder of a place in india. ( also i learned that agra has an old name which was arkbarabad , named after arkba the great of the old mughals).
till then i miss you all , 8 more days to go !

the hall of mirrors(moti mahal) for the maharaja's queens and concubines. a loving king indeed.

jaipur,pink city and jai singh's code de arms(amber fort)

the beauty of jaisalmer

camel happy toes :)

getting camel happy in radiating hot jaisalmer and pinking in jaipur now

went camel riding in jaisalmer and boy was it an experience. the hottest and dryest and also a butt thumping and humping ride i can ever endure.hey at least i am having a time of my life. my camel driver was excellent and also my stubborn camel was went not so stubborn at all =). gives a smile on my face. love it !
jaisalmer a small city with its world famous camel safaris will always have a place in my heart as a place that i would love to bring my loved ones and enjoy the moment.
the heat in jaisalmer was not a less of a word , radiating hot. everything i touched , even laying on my bed at night was hot. but the fair thing was , at least i will surely be not attacked by bed bugs.
met other really cold travellers too and you really do not know how travelling out in the open alone can really change you and also others. you feel yourself , experience things in your own prospective. and you are never always alone in this big world of other people who are also travelling throught their lifes. whether finding themselves, having fun , seeing things. there is always someone you will meet that will tickle your spirit or soul to enable you the strength to carry on in this whole world waiting to be experienced.
the camel driver also invited me to his humble house and treated me to chai and also meeting his family. a very happy family and a very contented one. this wive was really a live wire and his children really neat and tidy. a deservely life for such a good man. i politely declined when they asked me to stay for lunch as i had other plans to scorch the other restaurants to as usual overeat myself to happy belly. ;)
jaipur
arrived via the jaisalmer-new dehli express early in the morning at 5am. went about walking around the jaipur junction train station and well figured out the whole area plan. waited awhile for the sun to rise as the autodrivers really overcharge if you were to head out early in the morning and brought some newspapers and read and hung out at the station. was quite a pleasant experience see darkness to light and so many transitting indias just lying on the floor or whatever clean patch they can find to wait out for the correct train to come. went to check into my hotel which is really a hole in the middle of MI road and really hard to find if you were to come out. but still it was a great place with lots of travelling travels from all around the world. like a dom , my place was scripted with lots of graffiti saying where everyone was from and what everyone thought. a great quote on the wall read " love the life you live , live the life you love". what great poetry from a wall in a run down hotel room. things can never get worst , only better.
met some really friendly travellers at the restaurant in the morning from england (yes they were everywhere lol) and chatted for a whole 2 hours before i made the first move to get ready to move on , but lots of information , laughts and commandarie was exchanged. only possible when people are in a crosswinds and wrenched together in an unfamiliar environment. the joys of travel.
i miss you all at home and all those who i have been thinking of , i love you all
writing out
ps: i will be heading for agra tomorrow to forfill my dream which i had for a long time , to see the taj mahal. will keep you all posted. taj mahal " a teardrop in time , in the face of eternity" or in satire " a men's greatest erection for a woman"
take care everyone !

currently in jaisalmer , the golden city

on the right ganesh a friend whom i met and a really nice guy (mumbai)














top : marina drive , connecting to form the queens necklace at night in mumbai.

(mumbai ) ok whats got i to do with this huge ballon ? : P

jaisalmer

raving from the heat and the smoke dust that have blown off the thar dessert. i arrived in dusty, dry and hot jaisalmer. the city of trade , tourism , military bases and also the magnificent living city , the jaisalmer maharaja palace.

jaisalmer is a border town in between the india and pakistan border in between it is the great thar dessert dunes. the once great fort that was never surrendered to the invading armys of the muhgal army and named after the founder of the fort , jaisal and mer which means castle.

when i first arrived, i knew it was going to be a touristy place in the off season and the moment i arrived, i was swarmed by what seemed like tons of touts and hasslers wanting me to go to their hotel. unraved i insisted on the only hotel i wanted to go to. the fort view hotel. as good as it sounds, it really was a great view to behold from my very own balcony (minus the absence of a tv).

moving into the fort , i noticed how small jaisalmer was till i walked around it vitually. a surreal tasting of local town life as well as to marvel at the significence of the motifs and the strikingly well carved sandstone havelis , or old houses. which really looked like wood but made from sand stone. everyday passed and i slowly but surely fell in love with the place.

now into my second day here and i am raring to try the camel safari. but as i have not been feeling too good , will think i will go forward and see if i can go do the half day ones.

jaisalmer has also its great history and repeatedly in the history of the rajas are the sati marks or jarvur of the wives of the rajas which throw themselves at the funneral pyre of the maharajas. which such a practise is now banned in india.

watching the sandstone glow in the glistering sunlight was a treat only the beholder can enjoy!

ahmedabad

ahmedabad a city of centralised learning , the center piece of mahmat gandhi ashram , the subramati ashram. A city split between old and new with a river in between and a city with a high muslim population of 40 percent.

ahmedabad is like overwhelming at first , with the fog and smell and pollutition. but see past that , there is actually a whole school of arts and crafts from the very golden age of northern indian. highlights of the city include the majestic jama masjid of admedabed , with its 88 pillars and one of the world's first mosque to invite and have a special partition for women to come and pray. also one of india's oldest mosque with some residual jain influence at 600 years old.

syed ali mosque was also the main highlight as its frames were also centeries with with jain influences perched with the tree of life.

the irony of ahmedabed is that there are so many ancient mosques at every corner that at prayer time , you can virtually heard the various mosques trying to outdo each other with their ohmm up decibels challenging even the loudest and biggest street traffic horns. creating a symphony of prayer calls coming together to sum it up that islam is alive and thriving in this city.

ahmedabed also prides itself as a center of religious learning and torelence, which makes this city a very interesting place, also a feeling like singapore. but plus the bustle and the ordered chaos of any india city.

a gem indeed !

mt abu

a prilgrem center as well as the highest point in rajathan. feels more like a tourist center then anything. but with cooling temperatures and a wealth of jain and hindu temples. superseeded by lake nikki and a barrage of shops and curios around town. cannot stop loving the weather.

whimsical udaipur

the maharaja of the rajpots and the pride of a nation. the arch enemy of the mughal army(invading muslim army) and a state believing in its free independence. not to forget those fury mustaques. their most famous warrior was pretap and their arch enemy was akbar the great.
history aside , udaipur was a splendidly beautiful city. the white city as they call it , or the palaces on lakes or the white marble city. just by looking at it,you have a feeling that this has got to be another world.
coming back to reality, yes it was still the typical indian city that i am so familiar with , but with much more colours and a proud history.
however when i was there , udaipur was facing a prolonged summer and the monsoon was not in yet , almost making it feel like a drought was going on. the lakes were almost dried up but the city has got lots to offer and lots of wild life to look and enjoy.

the guest house i was in , was a joy to be in , big spacious and lots of favour. just loved the location of the place which was right beside the lake ghat which i insistantly wanted , it was also the best bet with a great host and great views.

did i mention that it was really quiet and very peaceful there, as my room was facing the lake (yes i had no ideal that my room was a lake facing one as i arrived there at 4am in the morning can you believe it lol). noise was also not a problem as my room was way off the road and the road was not a main road.

also it was easy getting lost in the winding ghats of udaipur and most of the time i must walked into the lake bed which had dried up and went on my merry way to my guest house docks by the lake. which was way cool if i might add.

spend a relaxing 3 days there and did i say that the food on these wonderful sun kissed rooftop restaurants where fantastic? a great way to just idle the day away from the hussle that i happening inside.

mt abu at a glance

arriving from udaipur to mt abu , the first thing that hits me was. wow this is a really touristy place ! with mosty gujarats holiday makers. the ambience was predominantly indian. even the guides spoke in indian.
weather which was slightly forgiving with a cool mountain breeze, being the highest point in rajathan. i then gathered that i was here in high county and mingling with the local people who were also in holiday mode.
being a high point in rajasthan, there was of course a few temples, some ashrams, bhravin and also a peace park. what really astonised me was the jain temples built by the old empires of mt abu. they were imaculately carved an brought together.
the moment you stepped into one of these jewels , you thought, "how could they carve should detailed marbles, or the real question was , 'why' did they carve such elabarate structures." then the answer hit me . there was a time where the jain religion hit a high in populace and culture. this was it. a marvel in carvementship and detail work.
oh ok guys i will be changing my plans and i will not be going to pushkar , another mountainous region as i am tight for time , so i will instead be heading onto joghpur where there is the magnificient mehe fort ( or so i heard).
so will update soon . as long as i get internet access again.

till then , adious

from mumbai - hospet-hampi-aurangabad-ajanta-ellora-admedabad-udaipur

an update on the happenings and the places i have been.

trying to do my back dates of all my adventures and will post them up when i can !:)

love you all

elephanta caves and the areas around bombay.

one of the canons ( canon 2) perched on top of canon hill with a great paranoma of greater bombay. yes i was scorching hot...

the great shiva statue , a view of calmness and serenity. love this structure, one of the finest i must say.

elephanta caves

it was a 1 hour boat trip to the elephanta islands and i must say it was a really great way to see mumbai from the sea and upoon arriving. you can see the remoteness and sole serenity of the place. i love the bareness of it and the locals were all alot more friendier.

the climb was a 450 steps up to the top and it was an exhilarating (more like tiring) walk up the stairs.

but the rewards was unwarranted and at the top were the amazing ancient caves of elephanta. shiva is the main diety of worship and the main bust of shiva in eternal serenity was a sight to behold. altogether there were 9 caves but only 7 of the main caves were accessible. the caves were imaculately preserved and managed to stand the wiz of time and tale.

a remarkable momument.

ps , as i have been having trouble uploading into blogger do hit here for my latest pictures

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v280/lanman/

mumbai shots

that is the taj palace and tower hotel, you can see that the rooms that were attacked are now shauned and only the tower part is accessible. as mumbai eagerly awaits the report from the investigation team. but the views were great !

gateway of india on another hot hot day. this was built to welcome the arrival of one of the king of england , was it richard ? lol. has been 2 weeks now :P

CST terminal , when i first saw this structure i was flabbergusted, then i turned around and knew i was back in india. a stately monument worthly of being world reowned

bombastic bombay aka mumbai

mumbai
ok gotta update on the wordings as i have been having lots of problems getting photos onto blogger.

bombay
how should i put it, i arrived in cst terminus which is also known as the queen victorus terminal and well i thought i had came into old london.

old collonial buildings and wall street like side alleys , really not what i have expected it to be. also cst is one of india's most busy railway station handling a staggering 2 million people a day just for 1 terminal.

but as busy as it is , the area around mumbai is the fort and caloba area , is beautiful. also not to forget the long awaited mac donalds which i gobberted on after a long long hiatus of fast thrash food. ala heaven.

macs was a treat , they have the mac maharaja and the filet o fish and many other classics but then as long as it is western food i will shove it into my mouth. :)

mumbai was easy to get around , with an efficient metro and a great bus support system and systematic roads. i almost felt like home.

did lots of touristy things , visted an aquarium , a science center , chawpatty beach , watched a movie (expensive pvr cinema) , visted elephanta islands and its 2 canon high on canon hill(the shiva cave temple was spectacular),visited bollywood hill , 2 other gardens , gateway of india , leopolds cafe and the list goes on.

well you can never get tired of a city like mumbai. this huge city spanning across many other sub-urbs makes visiting this metropolis unforgettable.

goa frames

this is the church of bom jesus which is in southern goa and this building was a really weathered fantastic building where they housed the body of the saint.xavier.

churches are everywhere in goa , this one in particular was in the center of the captial of goa in panaji. and its huge.

the body of saint. xavier in the church of bom jesus.

more pics of the bom jesus church.

goa memories

goa was an amazing place to start with , full of western influence in artitecture and culture and religion.(not to forget the endless rows of churches around south and north goa ) . i do not know how to start with because i was there for only 2 days but first impressions were , it was the international beach resort that it was touted to be.

yes there was sun , yes there was coconut trees and yes there were tourists. but the one thing that strikes me was how fine was the sand. the soft soft sand even finer then the sloozy table salt i had on my lunch table. the place was fantastic. wish i had stayed longer.

the main historical ground was the bom jesus church which was where the incorruptable body of st francis xavier was buried and the place was magnificent i must add. ancient with a magical feel in the air about the place , it was almost heavenly!

hampi adventures

me hanging around on the vineyards of one of the tatelan argricultural dams at hampi, you can see the panorama of the whole ruins at the top of the hill gardens
the elephants stable at hampi and yes a fellow local indian traveller took the picture for me , if not i would have self camed myself ;)
this is rama , the 6th reincanation of vishnu, this structure was immaculately restored and bare in mind that hindus do not worship to damaged statues as these were destroyed by the muhul invaders who tried to burn it but failed.
a fellow traveller(wife and husband) whose son is actually working in singapore and they treated me like their son

hampi is a facinating place with a wide area of ancient temples beautifully thought out and carved. the masterpiece is the temple of music which is aesthetically built to harmonise music that is being play to pitch perfect results.

bangalore snapshots 3

this garden with the british looking glass house and lots of store side vendors selling mango. yummy
this is the botanical gardens perched on top of a hill in bangalore and lots of people too. thus garden is huge and windy.

this is neil who is here from antonio on a working trip, nice guy with a care-less about the world attitude. was a pleasure to meet him:)

bangalore snapshots 2

this is the summer retreat palace for tipu sultan , the wise king who was one of the first king to defy the invasion of the british.
this is the city government hall of bagalore reading "the work of the government, is the work of god". can't be said in another way
the new king fisher building which looks deceptively like the empire state building in new york. maybe shorter :) ekeke. but princely beautiful

arggg the internet here is too slow : P kekeke

bangalore snapshots

short recaps of my trips

bengalore

with its cool and high elevation. also a main transport hub with very affluent people working and living in it. bengalore has been a great place to stay in.no lack of historical and monuments to visit. visiting bengalore has been an eye opener itself. the palaces of the tiku sultan and all his wisdom and splendor was really an eye opener.not to forget the mumerious musuems deidicated to education and science.

mysore

using bengolore as a base. mysore as not as bad as the name suggests as it has got an incredible palace which is rich in historic culture and magnificience.on sundays and public holidays, the palace will come to light and show its colourful side of itself.there is also an audio guide which was very carefully thought out that really enhances your experience when you first step into the palace.worth every penny paid for the entrance fee.

hospet - hampi

as te name sound , hampi is a world heritage site listed in the unesco listing as one of the sites that is worth protecting and heck i say this site MUST be worth protecting. the scale of the site in hampi and the cultural importance as a hindu site of worshipping and where the monkey god hamuna was born too. i didn't know how big the area was until i saw rows and rows of temples , tanks and hill top stone balancing precarilous on the side drops. also beautifully preserved and the temples are tactfully spaced out in order of which temples anyone will visit first is really amazing. these temples are literally polished white and stands in a shining glare against the dessert like back drop of the indian grasslands.

mumbai

this city is one word - MASSIVE ! duh , i actually took the wrong bus which does not go to the main station cst and dropped off in socin then to dardar and took a communter train to cst terminal. i did;t know how big was bombay till i saw the outskirts and such. will update when i have the time.

ok , this is a quick update , am now in aurangabad and will be making my trip up north ( 14 hours) by bus to ahmedabad where gandhi first built his ashram based on non violent and is also a mojor transport and transit hub to the inter parts of gajurat.

till then miss you all !.

now posting through my mobile. Leaving mumbai tomorrow and heading for aurangabad for the ellora and ajanta caves. A world unesco world heritage site. Combining scruptures of the 3 major religions. Am doing fine and will do a big update if i can. Till then need to wake up at 4.30am for the train tomorrow zzz . Hee

now posting through my mobile. Leaving mumbai tomorrow and heading for aurangabad for the ellora and ajanta caves. A world unesco world heritage site. Combining scruptures of the 3 major religions. Am doing fine and will do a big update if i can. Till then need to wake up at 4.30am for the train tomorrow zzz . Hee

from cochin to bangalore to mysore to hospet to hampi to goa to mumbai

this whole week was an amazing race for me. constantly on the bus boat , train. whatever transport you can think of.
covered many miles and saw many things that i have always dreamed of seeing. yes i am making my dreams come true.
so sorry to those who are eagerly awaiting my updates , but i have been travelling non stop through central india that i didn't have the time to sit down and recap all the experiences and happenings of my trip.
but i still love and miss you all !
(will update in detail as my 1 hour at the internet cafe is almost up)

backdated photos

this does look like the wild venice of india does it not ? still its romantic to cruise thorough the stream on a boat and see the everyday lives of the people.

got stuck in the monsoon rain and came here , the other guys brought a couple of those sweet buns and offered me to eat but i dare not as i have overeaten for the last few days and am apprehensive about eating too much

skipper on the bridge, monkeying around with the other guests keke

these girls are really great ! from holland but too bad we were heading the totally apposite direction from each other :) . wish they had fun in ooty =)

some photos of previous days more of it

the fiesty fish market at fort chochi :)

vvvarkala and looking very touristy with my full sun protection and the tangy unbrella haha

the strong waves at varkala, yes no swimming allowed

the motorised rice barges modified for tourists to stay in and idle the time away.