Pictures HERE!

So , our last few days in Hampi were great. We actually met up with a friend of a friend, who saw our pictures on facebook, and realized we were also in Hampi. So we spent the last 2 days together. We ended up climbing to Hanuman temple, 565 steps up the highest mountain in the region. The temple was nothing spectacular, but view was amazing! You had a very nice 365 degrees view of the whole region. 

I also have to tell you about someone we met while we were in Hampi. It was actually our waiter at a restaurant we went everyday.
Sani  is 24 years old, live in north India, but has been working in hampi for the past 8 months to gather some money for him and his family. He make 2500rupees a month (about 55$can), works  7 days a week,  from early morning to late at night, sleep in the restaurant, and never take a day off… And the most important thing: he is very happy with all this.
When we realized that he hasn’t taken a day off in 8 months,  we took him to eat at the nicest restaurant in hampi, and we got him to take the afternoon, so we could go relax and enjoy the sun at some waterfalls. He seemed very happy about all this.

The next morning, we left Hampi at 4h30am, our train to Goa was leaving from  Hospet at 6h30. The train ride was pretty nice, about 8 hours,  all the way to Margao, in south Goa. Then we had to take another train to Pernem in the north, then a rickshaw to Arambole. 

Oh, and about that rickshaw ride, I don’t think I have ever been that stressed in a ride in my whole  life. You think people in Montreal are bad drivers, think again. There is nothing like Indian driving. It is the most chaotic thing ever.

 So after about 14 hours of travelling, we made it to Arambole. We got there, and we met up with Alexe, found a cheap room for the night, then went to get some food on the beach.  That was it for the night.
The next morning we moved in Alexe old house, since she is moving into a bigger place with friends. It it a very nice little place, we have a double bed,  a nice bathroom and shower, a little table, very cosy, and the best part, it cost 300rupees a night (about 7$).

Then we went to check out the beach, we stayed there swimming and drinking all day long. It was great!  The beach is beautiful, the sand is fine and the water is hot. We all ended up drinking until the early hours in the morning.  So what started out as a relaxing day on the beach, ended up as a drunken mess.  But you can’t expect less from 3 quebecers  arriving in goa ;)

The next morning  we all went to get breakfast with Julie and her boyfriend,  who just arrived in Goa. Then me and Marylin rented a scooter, we drove down to Anjuna beach, for the famous Wednesday  flea market.  Anjuna is where the old hippie crew used to hang out and trade stuff back in the days.  The market is huge, and when I mean huge, I mean really huge. So many beautiful things there, its incredible. Spice, fabric, jewelery, clothes, cds…Its all there. And the best thing, everything is really cheap! Too bad im on a really tight budjet, because I would probably have brought back a lot of things.

We spent the day there, then we drove back to Arambole at sunset. The drive back was amazing, riding the scooter up north, with the sunset on our left, with the sea and the palm trees.  I am not much of a romantic guy, but this was incredibly cheesy.  Then we went to get dinner, a drink on the beach, watched the stars, and went to bed…

This is life…

Namaste

Picture HERE!

So I just woke up, its very sunny and nice, and I just had the best masala chai in my life…so I though it could be a good time to write a little…

We have been in Hampi for about a week. What can I say, this place is beautiful. It used to be the capital of the  Vijayanagara Empire.  So the village is surrounded by ruins and temple. The atmosphere is very relax and peacefull.

Most people seems to stay here only for 2-3 days,  rush out everything, then leave…We decided to stay for about 10days,  to get a good grip on the place, and it was a very good idea! We are starting to know some locals, and this is great.

We didnt do much for the first few days, just hanging around in the village, trying the different restaurants. Also, we did catch a pretty bad cold (wtf). So we just chilled around until we got better.

Then we went temple hunting, walking aroound for hours findind weird temples and places, thats once, were part of a living society….I really wish I could go back in time, and see how it was back then, im sure it was amazing. The temples are massive, very detailed, and very well done, they must have spent so much time on these things…its crazy.  The temples are separated in 2 part, the Sacred center, and the Royal center. The sacred center, is mostly religious temples, filled with gods and nice sculptures. The royal center is where royalty used to live and prosper. The architecture is a little bit different,and they have things like baths, stables(for elephants), pyramid for rituals/festivals..etc. You can check the pictures, it will give you a good idea of what im saying.

The weather is great also, always sunny and hot, not as humid as I was expecting it to be, its awesome…

Anyways, we are staying for another couple days, then we will try to get to Goa…for some beaches and party..and most importantly: BEERS!!! (hampi is a very religious town, alchool is banned, I would pay a lot for a cold beer right now)

Will keep you updated ;)

namaste

Pictures  HERE!

So I woke up the next morning, feeling much better.
We grabbed some food, then went to a small city tour. Visited some temple, gardens, schools. We also went to a house where Ghandi was living while in Bombay.
The next day we took a boat to Elephanta island, to visit the caves. The caves are massive, carved status everywhere, very peaceful place. The place is also filled with monkey, which I though was amazing, until they started attacking us for our drinks! yes, I am not lying we got our drinks stolen by monkeys!

Anyways, that was a great day!

The next morning we decided to  try to get to Hampi, which is a small village built around temple,  in the south-center part of india. So we went to the train station. booked some train tickets…We took the train at 2pm.

3 trains, 24hours, and a 30min rickshaw ride later. We arrived in Hampi.

Unfortunatly for us, apparently, that day, there was a Festival going on there, we faced a massive crowd when we got there…
It was not easy to find a place to stay, since everywhere was totally booked because of the festival, but we found a room in a family house, which are charging us about 9$ per night, pretty expensive, but for now, its going to be ok…

So… Im not sure where to start…

After spending 48hours in various airports, delayed flights, lack of sleep…I made it in Bombay. I arrived at the airport early in the morning, everything was good then.

I got out of the airport to have a cigarette, then I tried to get back in to go grab some wireless to check my email. Unfortunatly the nice guards with the ak47 didnt want to let me back in, since I didnt have a flight tickets….

The only things I wanted to do, is get into my email box to find where Marylin was staying…So now the mission was to find internet. Easy it seems? But this is india, after asking around, I realised that internet is not as common as it is in canada.

So, I decided to go and take a walk, and look myself. Bad move. I ended up in some low class suburb, and when I say low, imagine the poorest people you can, then go lower again…

So there I was, at the other end of the planet,walking around all shiny like a dollar in a pot of penny, getting harassed and followed by tons of small childrens, getting weird looks from everyone around, trying to find internet…I can’t even describe the feeling, this is really not where I wanted to be, especially after not sleeping for 2 days..

after walking 1.5 hours in this suburb, I finally found an internet place, thanks god…I got into my email, found the address of the guest house, then I was out of there…I took a cab back to the airport, then got a pre-paid taxi from there, to the guest house.
The cab ride took about 1.5 hours. And beleive me, it was a crazy cab ride, I can’t beleive how people drive here, There is no way to explain it, it’s just pure chaos.. No stop light, no signalization, people go where they want…all that surrounded by motorcycle and bike. Extremely chaotic.

So I got to the hotel, completely freaked out. I knew there was going to be a culture shock, but I never though it would hit me that hard. I mean, I have seen some messed up stuff in my life, I am very open minded, but this, is beyond everything…The smells, the crowd, the noises, the chaos, the poverty…
You can check as much picture, read all about it, but while you are right in the middle of it, you realise that you had no idea how it really is…

So I was there, laying in the bed, and I was really wondering what the fuck I was doing there, what crazy part of me decided to sell everything and jump on a plane, to come here… I felt trapped, stucked in the middle of all this chaos and all those people… with no way to get out of it…

So I took a shower, and relaxed a little bit, I tried to get some sleep, but all that just happened left me on an adrenaline rush, that even after not sleeping for 2 days, I was not able to rest…

Marylin was going to take a walk, so I decided to join her. Being with her helped me a lot, she had been here for a few days, so she knew the place a little. We walked for a while, and again chaos was everywhere, but I was getting used to it. This chaos was nothing compared to what I had seen earlier. We grabbed some food, which was amazing, and dirt cheap. Then we ended up seeing a music concert in the street.

I was starting to feel much better about all this…

Thats it, here I am, sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight to toronto…

Last night, I had a goodbye party with my friends. Most of them were asking: “So, are you ready?”I didn’t really know what to anwser, I dont think one can be ready for whats coming.

Here I am, sitting there, drinking my 9$ heineken,  the moment I have been awaiting for the past few months. I am very excited, but for some reason, I am filled with melancholy, and it feels good…

Sometimes I wonder where all these crazy plans comes from, and why I always jump right in without really thinking…But thats life isnt it?

I spent my whole life living like that, obsessed with a project, putting all my energy into it, then move on to something else…I guess it keep life interesting…

So here I am again,  backpacking through life…It’s been a few years since my last trip,  I am a little bit rusty.

But I guess its like riding a bike, once you get it,  you will always have it in you…

namaste