Well beach life here is slightly different to what we have encountered in every other place we have been!
All the tourists go to the beach put out their towel or sarong to lie on, and wearing a bikini or equivalent lie in the sun with occasional trips to the sea for a swim or cool down.
This is not the tradition of the locals - they arrive in packs, often only men of a range of ages and they walk along the beach blatantly ogling all the scantly clad young women and then taking pictures of them while pretending to talk on their mobile phones.. Sometimes they do promenade with their wives who clearly just follow their husband knowing that he is not only ogling the talent on the beach but almost falling over the unsuspecting young thing, we would be much more diplomatic about our approach, and photos with telephoto lens only!
Once this escapade has been concluded they also go for a swim or cool down, but fully clothed, be it traditional dress or jeans and shirt the whole lot gets a good washing!!
Women and girls similarly stand at the edge of the sea and then in saris or tunic and trousers completely immerse themselves in the water!
Not sure which is the best way to spend the day? Well actually I do ours!
Only another day here then off to see the delights of Mumbai, I wonder what surprises await us there?
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Accommodation in India
Well like England there are many types of accommodation to be had here, but they are quite different. If you are very poor, you may have to live in a bivy ( a large sheet either fixed to a wall or some trees) or in a breeze block hut with coconut palms over the roof and used as a fence for privacy, whole families live in these!!! There are strict rules about drinking over here and getting some is tricky, but there are beer shops that are frequented by the locals who shouldn't be there, they tend to get half a bottle of sprits and knock it back and their accommodation for the rest of the day and night is either in the street or on the beach, we did see one person totally out of it in the middle reservation of the road, so accommodation can come cheap here.
If you make more money you can move upwards in the class system and live in a garage, they seem to be very popular here and if you are even more successful you can have one garage to live in next to your work which is another garage next door. Garages are cool here, not sure how you get one but there must be many 'garages are us' stores all around India to supply the volume required.
Moving up the scale you then progress to a house small with few rooms and lots of people living there and then onto a house with gardens and in an obviously prime area where the richer Indians live with car parking and many more nice houses around you. Then if your really rich you live in a sort of mini palace with gold paint elaborate gates and much more privacy provided by the trees and garden surrounding it.
If you need your breeze block hut painting you just have to call vodaphone or airtel and they will paint one side and the front to advertise their product free, a good job but very bright red with a logo may not be for everyone. A far as I am concerned my pad is good enough for me and India is not the place I would choose to live, interesting though!
If you make more money you can move upwards in the class system and live in a garage, they seem to be very popular here and if you are even more successful you can have one garage to live in next to your work which is another garage next door. Garages are cool here, not sure how you get one but there must be many 'garages are us' stores all around India to supply the volume required.
Moving up the scale you then progress to a house small with few rooms and lots of people living there and then onto a house with gardens and in an obviously prime area where the richer Indians live with car parking and many more nice houses around you. Then if your really rich you live in a sort of mini palace with gold paint elaborate gates and much more privacy provided by the trees and garden surrounding it.
If you need your breeze block hut painting you just have to call vodaphone or airtel and they will paint one side and the front to advertise their product free, a good job but very bright red with a logo may not be for everyone. A far as I am concerned my pad is good enough for me and India is not the place I would choose to live, interesting though!
Well here we are in Varkala. The weather is brilliant hot and sunny and a lovely breeze to keep you cool. Everything is very relaxed, so much so that Gordon seems to have abandoned the blog temporarily!
I have loved all the sights we have seen in Northern India, in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, but all the travelling did take it's toll and now we have been here for a few days we've been able to unwind and relax a bit more, and certainly the sunshine and warmth makes you feel so much better, especially knowing that its cold back home!
We decided much as we wanted to try out the trains in India, we ordered a car to bring us here! Just too much luggage to carry comfitably (sorry P and D we'll try harder next time)
More information and pictures soon. We are still enjoying ourselves and not too homesick!
I have loved all the sights we have seen in Northern India, in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, but all the travelling did take it's toll and now we have been here for a few days we've been able to unwind and relax a bit more, and certainly the sunshine and warmth makes you feel so much better, especially knowing that its cold back home!
We decided much as we wanted to try out the trains in India, we ordered a car to bring us here! Just too much luggage to carry comfitably (sorry P and D we'll try harder next time)
More information and pictures soon. We are still enjoying ourselves and not too homesick!
Monday, 21 January 2013
Bye Delhi - hello Cochin
Well if anything can be said about northern India then it must be that it is different!!!!!!
Blog one Transport
The roads are full of traffic, much much more than we are used to, bikes are the most popular means of transport as there are traffic jams all over the place, most People use bikes, but there are lots of large trucks moving stuff around India, normal busses crammed with people and if there is not enough room inside you hang onto the back standing on the bumper, There are smaller busses built and licensed for 6 people but altered by the owners this making room for a well overloaded and unsafe cargo of 16!!!, Tuk Tuck's are a popular means of getting around however whilst they are licensed and have meters they are never used and you have to get the best deal that you can at the time, if it's a busy time you will have to pay over the odds or walk - they really have it sewn up, and everything in India seems to have some sort of rip off attached to it, seems to be a national game to be corrupt. The opening of a new metro to the airport has had to be postponed for nearly a year as the politician who was in charge of it saved money on the concrete mix and pocketed that and now the stations built with it have been pronounced as unsafe as they are collapsing - how bad is that - he has been sent to jail for it though. Taxis are good and you can hire the taxi and driver for the day and he wil get you to your destinations and wait for your return to take you onto your next visit, great and safe way to get around, although obviously more expensive than a tuk tuk.
Next instalment will be Gordon's rumblings on rules of the road in India
PS it's really quite warm here compared to Delhi - GREAT !!!!!!
Blog one Transport
The roads are full of traffic, much much more than we are used to, bikes are the most popular means of transport as there are traffic jams all over the place, most People use bikes, but there are lots of large trucks moving stuff around India, normal busses crammed with people and if there is not enough room inside you hang onto the back standing on the bumper, There are smaller busses built and licensed for 6 people but altered by the owners this making room for a well overloaded and unsafe cargo of 16!!!, Tuk Tuck's are a popular means of getting around however whilst they are licensed and have meters they are never used and you have to get the best deal that you can at the time, if it's a busy time you will have to pay over the odds or walk - they really have it sewn up, and everything in India seems to have some sort of rip off attached to it, seems to be a national game to be corrupt. The opening of a new metro to the airport has had to be postponed for nearly a year as the politician who was in charge of it saved money on the concrete mix and pocketed that and now the stations built with it have been pronounced as unsafe as they are collapsing - how bad is that - he has been sent to jail for it though. Taxis are good and you can hire the taxi and driver for the day and he wil get you to your destinations and wait for your return to take you onto your next visit, great and safe way to get around, although obviously more expensive than a tuk tuk.
Next instalment will be Gordon's rumblings on rules of the road in India
PS it's really quite warm here compared to Delhi - GREAT !!!!!!
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Last day in Delhi
Well like it or not northern India is different to say the least.
We have stayed in the heart of Delhi ( the real thing, not some protected foreign tourist enclave, which there clearly are, just out of town, near the government buildings ) the first night here was mind blowing with streets by our hotel filled with people, street vendors, street food, shops and any kind of vehicle you could think of all going up and down the half metalled road with humps, bumps, holes, concrete stones protruding out of the roadway, puddles and lots of rubbish with not enough space to pass each other, all competing to get into the space to get through by edging forward and leaning on their horns to try ands frighten someone into giving in or getting out of the way, all this and people shouting to be heard gives a type of noise we are certainly not used to - it is almost deafening.
The rules of the road appear to be very different from ours too. There are lane lines on the larger routes through the city, these appear to be to guide the user down the road rather than to separate vehicles into an orderly three lanes. Here you can travel in any lane at any time, change lanes without signalling, you can overtake and undertake and each movement in any direction must begin with horn blowing. When you get to traffic lights you wait as we do at the larger junctions with police controlling the masses, but on smaller junctions at a red light you can check if anyone is coming and continue your journey without stopping as long as you allow them to pass freely avoiding any collisions as they appear to do all the time. tuck tuck travel is decidedly the bestvwaybto travel through the small streets of old Delhi but you need to have nerves of steel, and really trust the driver to get you to your destination safely. So far we have been unharmed in any of our journeys although nerves have been on edge for most of them.
Along the routes there are also other obstacles to take into account, pedestrians take their life in their own hands when passing across a three lane highway to the middle and then another three lanes on the other side of the central reservation, confidence in the drivers is required to actually take the plungechance to get across, step forward and just keep going at the same pace and their radar will pick you up and avoiding action will be taken whilst tooting the horn in the process. Cows, bulls, dogs, goats and camels are also road hazards as these appear to be able to freely move anywhere on public roads.
The number of bikes that intersperse other forms of traffic is unbelievable, there are
limillions of people most of whom travel on bikes, in all on the roads chaos rules
We have stayed in the heart of Delhi ( the real thing, not some protected foreign tourist enclave, which there clearly are, just out of town, near the government buildings ) the first night here was mind blowing with streets by our hotel filled with people, street vendors, street food, shops and any kind of vehicle you could think of all going up and down the half metalled road with humps, bumps, holes, concrete stones protruding out of the roadway, puddles and lots of rubbish with not enough space to pass each other, all competing to get into the space to get through by edging forward and leaning on their horns to try ands frighten someone into giving in or getting out of the way, all this and people shouting to be heard gives a type of noise we are certainly not used to - it is almost deafening.
The rules of the road appear to be very different from ours too. There are lane lines on the larger routes through the city, these appear to be to guide the user down the road rather than to separate vehicles into an orderly three lanes. Here you can travel in any lane at any time, change lanes without signalling, you can overtake and undertake and each movement in any direction must begin with horn blowing. When you get to traffic lights you wait as we do at the larger junctions with police controlling the masses, but on smaller junctions at a red light you can check if anyone is coming and continue your journey without stopping as long as you allow them to pass freely avoiding any collisions as they appear to do all the time. tuck tuck travel is decidedly the bestvwaybto travel through the small streets of old Delhi but you need to have nerves of steel, and really trust the driver to get you to your destination safely. So far we have been unharmed in any of our journeys although nerves have been on edge for most of them.
Along the routes there are also other obstacles to take into account, pedestrians take their life in their own hands when passing across a three lane highway to the middle and then another three lanes on the other side of the central reservation, confidence in the drivers is required to actually take the plungechance to get across, step forward and just keep going at the same pace and their radar will pick you up and avoiding action will be taken whilst tooting the horn in the process. Cows, bulls, dogs, goats and camels are also road hazards as these appear to be able to freely move anywhere on public roads.
The number of bikes that intersperse other forms of traffic is unbelievable, there are
Monday, 14 January 2013
OK so Dubia goodbye as our last day there was very good weather and we spent the morning on the other side of the creek having got there by Abra (the local boat crossing for passengers) we saw some sights and then packed up ready to move on.
Having reached the airport we hit the lounge to get topped up with fizzy before our departure, then we had some more on the plane which as it turned out was just as well.
When we arrived at Delhi we were told that it was very foggy which appeared to have been the truth as the pilot lost his way on the taxi into the terminal so we sat somewhere 'out there' waiting for a car with someone who knew the way back to the terminal blind as it were - I'm not an expert but I think that situation must have been dangerous, but we eventually got through to our next problem which was getting back from the airport
We had arranged a taxi - a fifteen year old who thought he could drive, like on the dodgems, at horrendous speeds whilst not being able to see the roads or other traffic (which was all over the place) all trying to be the one in front, and then when they were in front they realised they could not see anything. One on the brightest points of the journey was when a sikh cyclist came out of the fog in the middle of the road shouting at everyone who he thought were going the wrong way, much to the dismay of all the other drivers, classic movie piece but in real life even better.
Today we have tasted the delights of tuk tuk negotiations and traveling through Delhi on the speedway with no rules what so ever how they don't have crashes and injured people all over
the road I have no idea but I am happy not to try and drive here.
We have also sampled what appears to be the standard taking the piss out of tourists by giving false directions, droping off at uncle mahatma's shop and the false ministry of tourism all of which we have more or less avoided and therefore not completely gone off track and beenstung, it may get us yet!!!
So out for a meal later - not sure where and how! and then catch up on sleep as it is very noisy here.
Another day of chaos rules tomorrow and then up sticks again to Agra.
Will try and get some photos include but at present having some difficulty doing that, have made
contact with our eastern techy (Emma) to try and get that resolved.
Having reached the airport we hit the lounge to get topped up with fizzy before our departure, then we had some more on the plane which as it turned out was just as well.
When we arrived at Delhi we were told that it was very foggy which appeared to have been the truth as the pilot lost his way on the taxi into the terminal so we sat somewhere 'out there' waiting for a car with someone who knew the way back to the terminal blind as it were - I'm not an expert but I think that situation must have been dangerous, but we eventually got through to our next problem which was getting back from the airport
We had arranged a taxi - a fifteen year old who thought he could drive, like on the dodgems, at horrendous speeds whilst not being able to see the roads or other traffic (which was all over the place) all trying to be the one in front, and then when they were in front they realised they could not see anything. One on the brightest points of the journey was when a sikh cyclist came out of the fog in the middle of the road shouting at everyone who he thought were going the wrong way, much to the dismay of all the other drivers, classic movie piece but in real life even better.
Today we have tasted the delights of tuk tuk negotiations and traveling through Delhi on the speedway with no rules what so ever how they don't have crashes and injured people all over
the road I have no idea but I am happy not to try and drive here.
We have also sampled what appears to be the standard taking the piss out of tourists by giving false directions, droping off at uncle mahatma's shop and the false ministry of tourism all of which we have more or less avoided and therefore not completely gone off track and beenstung, it may get us yet!!!
So out for a meal later - not sure where and how! and then catch up on sleep as it is very noisy here.
Another day of chaos rules tomorrow and then up sticks again to Agra.
Will try and get some photos include but at present having some difficulty doing that, have made
contact with our eastern techy (Emma) to try and get that resolved.
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Etihad flight and Dubai
Well OMG springs to mind with the limo, pre flight experience and the flight itself. It was all so smooth and easy. Checked in , fast track through security and down to the executive lounge. Once here we were waited on with any breakfast we liked , then Chris had a leg and foot massage while Gordon had a back massage. Then time for Buck's Fizz before boarding. No queuing for us - straight through to the plane, once on board well it would have been rude not to accept another Bucks Fizz! And other delights just kept on coming!!!
Hotel in Dubai good and spent all day yesterday seeing some of the sights and getting some exercise down the Creek looking at the stranger side of Dubai, in the afternoon we went downtown!!! And hit the mall, the burj kalifa, waitrose for some tonic!! And saw a short but good fountain display with associated music then headed home for a snifter before bedtime after a long day out.
Today went to the palm and had a look round then onto the monorail which took us all the way down the trunk (as it were) overlooking the "fronds" then to an art gallery for some culture and some lunch and of course the free wifi which we don't have in the hotel. More sightseeing this aft and tomorrow morning we intend to get a abra(small boat thing to you!) across the creek to have a look there, and then the flight to Delhi in the evening arriving at some ridiculous time Monday so may not be in touch till we have done the triangle unless we have wifi in the hotel, so Ciao for now.
Hotel in Dubai good and spent all day yesterday seeing some of the sights and getting some exercise down the Creek looking at the stranger side of Dubai, in the afternoon we went downtown!!! And hit the mall, the burj kalifa, waitrose for some tonic!! And saw a short but good fountain display with associated music then headed home for a snifter before bedtime after a long day out.
Today went to the palm and had a look round then onto the monorail which took us all the way down the trunk (as it were) overlooking the "fronds" then to an art gallery for some culture and some lunch and of course the free wifi which we don't have in the hotel. More sightseeing this aft and tomorrow morning we intend to get a abra(small boat thing to you!) across the creek to have a look there, and then the flight to Delhi in the evening arriving at some ridiculous time Monday so may not be in touch till we have done the triangle unless we have wifi in the hotel, so Ciao for now.
Monday, 7 January 2013
Getting Scary
So only a few days to go and we are still getting things ready for putting into the cases, clearing up issues that need to be resolved before we go, and generally getting a bit jittery about what lies ahead. I suppose it's not the going that is scary but just the apprehension of not knowing where we are going to stay, what the areas are like, what the people are like, and in reality, are we going to like being in the places we have chosen to go.
So collecting things that are really important is the routine for the next couple of days, medication for all eventualities, well maybe not all but it seems that we have got most things covered, music and films loaded and ready to go courtesy of the technician 'Grant' bit's and bobs related to previous travellers experience courtesy of 'Ros' - things like rehydration powders, super towels, mosquito net and other such travelling paraphernalia are all slowly being assembled.
Whilst it looks a lot of stuff lying on the spare bed at the moment, is actually not as bad as it looks, as my quick trawl yesterday through the assembled clothes and goods showed me. I am hoping that once we start to pack properly things assembled will fit into the space easily, we will see if that is the case in reality but we have been really selective about what we take, despite some of our 'travel light' friends who's comments on our packing is not positive in terms of the lightness of our bags compared to theirs, however all we want is the stuff to fit and for it not to be too heavy to move. I will keep you posted!!!!
So collecting things that are really important is the routine for the next couple of days, medication for all eventualities, well maybe not all but it seems that we have got most things covered, music and films loaded and ready to go courtesy of the technician 'Grant' bit's and bobs related to previous travellers experience courtesy of 'Ros' - things like rehydration powders, super towels, mosquito net and other such travelling paraphernalia are all slowly being assembled.
Whilst it looks a lot of stuff lying on the spare bed at the moment, is actually not as bad as it looks, as my quick trawl yesterday through the assembled clothes and goods showed me. I am hoping that once we start to pack properly things assembled will fit into the space easily, we will see if that is the case in reality but we have been really selective about what we take, despite some of our 'travel light' friends who's comments on our packing is not positive in terms of the lightness of our bags compared to theirs, however all we want is the stuff to fit and for it not to be too heavy to move. I will keep you posted!!!!
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