To all our fans...we have had over 1000 hits you know!
Yes India did get to the finals of the cricket world cup...do we care?? No...as we find the sport utterly boring!! Everyone here is obsessed wth it, they play it everywhere, rice fields....beaches any where with any open space. This time tomorrow we will be in Sri Lanka another obsessive cricket nation...And they have also reached the finals!! GREAT!
Anyhow since our last post we have been up to many wonderful things...
The houseboat was one of the highlights to the trip...it was amazing and in the most tranquil setting. It was just what we needed, a relaxing luxury experience on a private deluxe houseboat...although doing all these romantic things for couples- hope people are not getting the wrong idea. (In our current hotel we got a romantic red velvet heart bedspread for two--hmmm at least we give people something to talk about).
We met some a lovely Swedish couple who ended up spending the evening on our boat, there boat parked next to ours for the evening. (Our boat was way better!) Allepey backwaters are soo beautiful and we would definetly recommend anyone visiting Kerela to experience them on a houseboat and not a speedboat!! Yes we did go on a speedboat in Kumarakom...we thought it would be an experience and that it was but not a pleasant one !... I pretended to be brave as I knew saskia was bricking it but by the end of ti she was telling me don't worry!! We will not be trying that again in a hurry...water being splashed into your face as you travel at a ridiculous speed, tell me why do people enjoy this?
In Kumarakom we also went on a sunset cruise which throughout we could hear annoying children screaming and our butts got numb, but it was really pretty and we did have a giggle (Everywhere we go for some reason people seem to laugh at us, in a way this I suppose is good as laughter is contagious...although I don't know if we should be worried as this also happens in the UK.) The highlight of the sunset cruise were two men saying to me repeatedly tour guide?? They assume as me and Saskia are together it cant be as we are friends, we have got use to the staring and now find it odd if people don't stare! We had decided we were going to start charging for photographers but since us deciding this nobody seems to be asking us, its defiantly a conspiracy and they are on to us!
Kumarakom was really relaxing and our room was lovely! (Thanks Dad)....Balcony view with our own hot tub, cant be bad...After Sri Lanka the roughing it begins, how will we cope?
We are currently in Kovalam and have visted Kunyakumari and Trivandrum while we have been here. We went right to the lands end...Half way through our last day of touring we decided we needed some R&R and faked illness to cut our last day of touring in half as not to offend anyone! S0 basically we have been spending our last two days in India relaxing by the pool, going for long beach walks (In which I hyper ventilate when I see the wild dogs, seriously nearly wetting myself each time.) and getting harassed by sellers- best line we have heard so far 'You have beautiful eyes....come see my shop''. They try anything, you cant blame them for trying...our response now to hi, is no thanks!
Saskia is still trying to get a tan, from white she is now beige... I have got from medium brown to very very dark brown, you can almost mistake me for a local..well almost!!
Funny things that will hopefully make you laugh as much as they have made me and Saskia laugh:
* They put cherries on everything, we like cherries but now we pray that our food does not come with cherries...
It is like some weird garnish on top of everything, god why?
* Guys holding pinky fingers and acting way too friendly for my liking, we are all for a bit of man love but come on!! Their intimate displays are more on show with their friends then their girlfriends.
* Saskia still has not tried chai and it only dawned to her this afternoon on our last full day...it was like she had a revelation.
* We can easily stomach a dosa for breakkie now, no problem!
* The obsession with were we come from is getting annoying now, people asking if we are sisters? Really!! We have decided saskia is my white uncles illegitimate love child in which my father adopted and my mother was a Russian refugee. As the trip goes on the lies will get more interesting, they want a story we will give them a story!
* Women don't wear swimming costumes in india, or if they do its very rare and a bikini well that is a scandal, so me and Saskia have been stared at and oggled a a little with our tankini's on...we are half considering buying a wet suit. The funniest thing is they all wear full clothing when they swim but the men love wearing little speedos! One woman had a long cardigan, jeans and SOCKS on in the pool, no wonder me and Saskia look like whores!!! To be honest all American and British shows broadcasting here don't really help our plight or image, they assume we are all hookers!
* The school girls giggling and compliment Saskia for her fairness is lovely, the kids here are very innocent and friendly.
*The lorries on our long journeys do make us laugh, our driver did think we were crazy, but they say BLOW HORN OK PLEASE on the back of them all! Quite ammusing!!
That is all we believe to say from India, well all we can be bothered to put into a blog, you will have to wait till we get back for a little more detail..
Love, Hugs and Sparkle
Poonam and Saskia...
Write to you all from Sri Lanka..
p.s The weather is hitting over 40 degrees c now and we melting like witches! mMmHAHAhahaha!!
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Periyar Wildlife reserve
We are now in Perriyar which is right in the centre of a wildlife reserve, we went for a 'boat safari' which was relaxing (I almost fell asleep) and the views were really nice but unfortunately the only wildlife we saw was a few birds! Our driver said, "You have to fill out a form before you go on the boat as 6 months ago one of the boats tipped over and loads of people died" Really not the thing to say to us just before we get on!!!!
We have recently noticed that all the shop keepers chuck water on the road outside their shop, we asked them why and apparently it is to keep the dust away. But with 40 degree heat the water doesn't stay long. I have a sneaking suspicion that its just because they are bored and want something to do.
Tomorrow we are off to Alleppey to catch a deluxe houseboat for an overnight stay. I am really looking forward to it as the backwaters are supposed to be spectacular.
We are now getting used to sharing the streets with cows, horses, chickens, goats,cats and dogs etc...though the dogs still scare us and we do skirt round the animals as much as possible! We are also trying to work out why they sell dog food in the shops as no one seems to have them as pets they just roam around the streets...hmm.
Bye from Saskia & Poonam xx
We have recently noticed that all the shop keepers chuck water on the road outside their shop, we asked them why and apparently it is to keep the dust away. But with 40 degree heat the water doesn't stay long. I have a sneaking suspicion that its just because they are bored and want something to do.
Tomorrow we are off to Alleppey to catch a deluxe houseboat for an overnight stay. I am really looking forward to it as the backwaters are supposed to be spectacular.
We are now getting used to sharing the streets with cows, horses, chickens, goats,cats and dogs etc...though the dogs still scare us and we do skirt round the animals as much as possible! We are also trying to work out why they sell dog food in the shops as no one seems to have them as pets they just roam around the streets...hmm.
Bye from Saskia & Poonam xx
Monday, 21 March 2011
Hilltops of Munnar...
Hi beautiful and not so beautiful family and friends...
We are now in Munnar...the remote scenic view and simple villages make the real world feel unreal... I can not believe how quickly the month is flying by, before I know it will be a month and our time in India will be finished... :(
I accidentally managed to break a tap in our last hotel in Cochin and me and Saskia ended up arguing with management for over an hour...I could not believe it even Saskia was haggling them down so we had to pay less for the damages...the man started at 1500 rs, we ended up only paying 500 rs...all be it only because of guilt of them telling us they would take it out of the wages of the staff if we did not pay!!! What happened to maintenance cost allowances?? Only in India... Yep we are becoming hard asses!! GO us! We even haggled our washing costs down to a 20% discount due to being slightly damp!!
We are addicted to Dexter...it has been our 10pm mon-fri ritual before bed to watch Dexter (A show about a serial killer).....Evenings are spent indulging in US sitcoms...yes you can not beat home comforts wherever you are in the world!
Our journey of spiritual enlightenment and to lose all material value is not really happening, hahaha (well it is me..I am struggling without my lippie and straighteners..and all the shops seen to have some kind of magnetic force that draws me and Saskia to them, but every so often our desires come in, we look around and we soon snap back to reality and feel a bit guilty for our vanity.)
From Ooty we went to Cochin and saw lots of random churches (to be honest we were a bit bored)...so decided to ditch most of it for Shopping!
In the evening we went to a traditional Kerla dance show (Katchakali)..It was kind of cultish and surreal..we were not sure at the end of the show weather we found it amazing or really weird...definitely a must see just to take you out of your comfort zone...
After Cochin we made our way to Munnar...4 hour drive
There are tea plantations everywhere..it is soo scenic and pretty, we have taken lots of pics but they really do not do the place justice...If only you all could see what we are seeing!
Saskia thinks the views are better than Ooty but I think they are on par...Perhaps I am bias to liking Ooty as we had an amazing time there!
If you are into country walks and photography you could easily spend a month here even though we are in the middle of nowhere and the area is very remote...well hey they have Internet!!
Next stop Periyar...only a four hour drive not too bad..we will be staying in a wildlife sanctuary which will be interesting (those of you that know me will know how I feel about animals!)
Mosquitos are the bain of my life...They seem to give me stupid bruises which sucks...although besides one hotel we have not really seen any, touch wood!!
Our addiction to Miranda (kind of like a sweeter fanta)...makes us slightly crazy and hyper...caution: Do not have before bed!!
Hope you all are well...we send smiles and sunshine from Beautiful Munnar!!
Quote of the day .... ''Spitting causes TB''...EVERYONE HERE SPITS AND IT IS GROSS!!...Me and Saskia abuse people who spit by shouting errrrr!!!!
xXx Love, Hugs and Sparkles!
We are now in Munnar...the remote scenic view and simple villages make the real world feel unreal... I can not believe how quickly the month is flying by, before I know it will be a month and our time in India will be finished... :(
I accidentally managed to break a tap in our last hotel in Cochin and me and Saskia ended up arguing with management for over an hour...I could not believe it even Saskia was haggling them down so we had to pay less for the damages...the man started at 1500 rs, we ended up only paying 500 rs...all be it only because of guilt of them telling us they would take it out of the wages of the staff if we did not pay!!! What happened to maintenance cost allowances?? Only in India... Yep we are becoming hard asses!! GO us! We even haggled our washing costs down to a 20% discount due to being slightly damp!!
We are addicted to Dexter...it has been our 10pm mon-fri ritual before bed to watch Dexter (A show about a serial killer).....Evenings are spent indulging in US sitcoms...yes you can not beat home comforts wherever you are in the world!
Our journey of spiritual enlightenment and to lose all material value is not really happening, hahaha (well it is me..I am struggling without my lippie and straighteners..and all the shops seen to have some kind of magnetic force that draws me and Saskia to them, but every so often our desires come in, we look around and we soon snap back to reality and feel a bit guilty for our vanity.)
From Ooty we went to Cochin and saw lots of random churches (to be honest we were a bit bored)...so decided to ditch most of it for Shopping!
In the evening we went to a traditional Kerla dance show (Katchakali)..It was kind of cultish and surreal..we were not sure at the end of the show weather we found it amazing or really weird...definitely a must see just to take you out of your comfort zone...
After Cochin we made our way to Munnar...4 hour drive
There are tea plantations everywhere..it is soo scenic and pretty, we have taken lots of pics but they really do not do the place justice...If only you all could see what we are seeing!
Saskia thinks the views are better than Ooty but I think they are on par...Perhaps I am bias to liking Ooty as we had an amazing time there!
If you are into country walks and photography you could easily spend a month here even though we are in the middle of nowhere and the area is very remote...well hey they have Internet!!
Next stop Periyar...only a four hour drive not too bad..we will be staying in a wildlife sanctuary which will be interesting (those of you that know me will know how I feel about animals!)
Mosquitos are the bain of my life...They seem to give me stupid bruises which sucks...although besides one hotel we have not really seen any, touch wood!!
Our addiction to Miranda (kind of like a sweeter fanta)...makes us slightly crazy and hyper...caution: Do not have before bed!!
Hope you all are well...we send smiles and sunshine from Beautiful Munnar!!
Quote of the day .... ''Spitting causes TB''...EVERYONE HERE SPITS AND IT IS GROSS!!...Me and Saskia abuse people who spit by shouting errrrr!!!!
xXx Love, Hugs and Sparkles!
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Freezing our bottoms off in the beautiful mountains of Ooty...
We have now reached ooty and are currently staying in the mountains... am wearing 3 layers (resembles British spring)..it is crazy to think just a few miles down and we have plus 40 degrees Celsius temperatures mid day.
To bed yesterday me and Saskia have been even wearing winter socks and hoodies... hehe!
So far from our last post we have been all around Hampi, Hospet, Hassan, Bangalore, Mysore and now are in Ooty...All in just over week...with about 20 plus hours of travel...
We have seen...
in Hospet: Virupaksha temple, Ugra Narasimha, Lotus Mahal and queens bath- which me and saskia imagined being the queens...I am planning to be a millionaire so I can build one of these in the UK, although not sure how it will go down having an open air bath during the winter seasons...
in Hassain: Belur and Halebid- Hoysaleshwara temple, Shantaleshwara temple and Belur which is located on the banks of river yangchi... Many of the locals call Belur the vanaras of south.
in Banglore: I went to visit some family and me and Saskia got a good home cooked meal, my auntie had cooked enough to feed a small city. we also visited the botanical gardens called lal bagh which means red garden., the banglore palace and the fort and palace of tipu sultan (a muslim ruler who very nearlly defeated the british). I'm sure we must have seen more but I can not remember it all at the moment.
in Mysore: The amazing mysore palace- the largest structure of its kind in the whole of India, Brindavan Garden which we saw at sunset-beautiful fountains and colourful lights....
in Ooty: The beautiful blue mountain view, peak, botanical gardens, tea factory, chocolate factory (yes me and saskia did pig out)...and otty lake.
The mysore palace was my favourite....it was beautiful and the architecture is genius...they have taken best of each from all over the world and combined it to create a wonderful palace that by no means looks out of place...Although many of the structures throughout India are damaged due to cultural or political differences by Hindus, Muslim's, French British etc...this palace remains as it is as celebrates each...the floor tiles are Portuguese, the beautiful lamps Czech...the carvings and mural work Islamic or Hindu, the pillars from Scotland yard, I could go on!!!
We have not had much time to breathe and have been constantly on the go, the constantly getting ask to pose for photos is starting to wear thin, we feel a bit like celebs being followed by paps! Although the children are adorable and the school kids are charming.
Ooty is very relaxed and people keep themselves to the themselves...
Ok this has been the hardest post to write due to using the oldest, slowest computer in the world,(imagine acorn computers) so all you that have been moaning we don't post enough i hope you appreciate this!!
Love to all... xXx signing out from India...Poonam and Sassy!
To bed yesterday me and Saskia have been even wearing winter socks and hoodies... hehe!
So far from our last post we have been all around Hampi, Hospet, Hassan, Bangalore, Mysore and now are in Ooty...All in just over week...with about 20 plus hours of travel...
We have seen...
in Hospet: Virupaksha temple, Ugra Narasimha, Lotus Mahal and queens bath- which me and saskia imagined being the queens...I am planning to be a millionaire so I can build one of these in the UK, although not sure how it will go down having an open air bath during the winter seasons...
in Hassain: Belur and Halebid- Hoysaleshwara temple, Shantaleshwara temple and Belur which is located on the banks of river yangchi... Many of the locals call Belur the vanaras of south.
in Banglore: I went to visit some family and me and Saskia got a good home cooked meal, my auntie had cooked enough to feed a small city. we also visited the botanical gardens called lal bagh which means red garden., the banglore palace and the fort and palace of tipu sultan (a muslim ruler who very nearlly defeated the british). I'm sure we must have seen more but I can not remember it all at the moment.
in Mysore: The amazing mysore palace- the largest structure of its kind in the whole of India, Brindavan Garden which we saw at sunset-beautiful fountains and colourful lights....
in Ooty: The beautiful blue mountain view, peak, botanical gardens, tea factory, chocolate factory (yes me and saskia did pig out)...and otty lake.
The mysore palace was my favourite....it was beautiful and the architecture is genius...they have taken best of each from all over the world and combined it to create a wonderful palace that by no means looks out of place...Although many of the structures throughout India are damaged due to cultural or political differences by Hindus, Muslim's, French British etc...this palace remains as it is as celebrates each...the floor tiles are Portuguese, the beautiful lamps Czech...the carvings and mural work Islamic or Hindu, the pillars from Scotland yard, I could go on!!!
We have not had much time to breathe and have been constantly on the go, the constantly getting ask to pose for photos is starting to wear thin, we feel a bit like celebs being followed by paps! Although the children are adorable and the school kids are charming.
Ooty is very relaxed and people keep themselves to the themselves...
Ok this has been the hardest post to write due to using the oldest, slowest computer in the world,(imagine acorn computers) so all you that have been moaning we don't post enough i hope you appreciate this!!
Love to all... xXx signing out from India...Poonam and Sassy!
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Touring Hampi
So today we spent over 7 hours looking at temples and architecture, very interesting, we learnt a lot but it was very hot. The views were spectacular and it felt as if we were in ancient Rome. All day we were getting stopped by the local people to have their photo taken with us...we felt like celebrities! The people in Southern India are really friendly and did not even mind us crashing a wedding, they invited us to throw rice (like confetti) when the wedding rituals were completed.
Hampi is the second biggest archelogical site in the world after Rome. We also saw The Sisters which are two rocks leaning on each other. The interesting aspect of these Sister Rocks (popularly known as Akka – Thangi Betta) is they lean against each other and touch each other only at the top tip. Local legend has it that two sisters were walking towards Hampi and the were very tired and the weather was very dry. As a result they insulted Hampi and they were cursed to become rocks. Later on in the day our tour guide got a phone call and the rocks had broken! We were lucky enough to see the before and after! We have photos of the after which we will download but we can't be bothered at the moment...we would rather have a hot shower!
Tomorrow we are going on to Hassan, we have a long journey ahead of us so early to bed.
Bye from Saskia & Poonam x
Hampi is the second biggest archelogical site in the world after Rome. We also saw The Sisters which are two rocks leaning on each other. The interesting aspect of these Sister Rocks (popularly known as Akka – Thangi Betta) is they lean against each other and touch each other only at the top tip. Local legend has it that two sisters were walking towards Hampi and the were very tired and the weather was very dry. As a result they insulted Hampi and they were cursed to become rocks. Later on in the day our tour guide got a phone call and the rocks had broken! We were lucky enough to see the before and after! We have photos of the after which we will download but we can't be bothered at the moment...we would rather have a hot shower!
Tomorrow we are going on to Hassan, we have a long journey ahead of us so early to bed.
Bye from Saskia & Poonam x
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Goa to Badami to Hospet
Hi All,
Mumbai hustle and bustle, modern Goa and now to rural, beautiful and conservative Hospet!!
...So far we have reached Hospet and are slowly working our way down the South of India...the weather is getting hotter and hotter and slowly we are melting.
Goa was amazing and we stayed in a great resort...visited a spice farm and portugese inspired church and temple...Goa was not what we expected, it felt like we were in Portugal not India!! We enjoyed long beach walks and managed to haggl e people down to next to nothing! I think they were not expecting that of a white chica and a NRI...go us!!
After a four beach hour walk and on return to the resort we decided to trek back to the beach in search of Rogers...The owner promised us some special veggie treats to our taste...The only problem was the dark, we both set out with torches like a scene from a horror movie and on the way I got scared by a German tourist also walking the same way, he was lovely and apologetic for making me jump so we asked him to walk us to t he beach. After an amazing dinner on the sea front, with mocktails , music and candle light we h eaded back almost pooing our pants at the thought of walking back in the dark. On the way...10 metres down a dog decided to follow us... (Dogs are everywhere and are friendly but we have not had our rabies shot so got a little nervous)...Running into the next restaurant and bar a women laughing at our plee sent her 12 year old son to walk us home...he chased after the dog and we laughed so much we almost wet our pants the whole way back...to be honest I think I did a little bit!
After going pretty insane of no communication and talking to ourselves, receiving all your advice to not talk to strangers we finally cracked and met 3 guys from the UK...We ventured to the north of Goa and had a brill time clubbing till the early hours of the morning ( Girls get free entry and drinks in clubs in Goa- can't be bad!!!).
After 1 hour of sleep we had an epic 8 hr journey to Badami (named after the almond due to colour of the stones used in buildings and histor i c monuments- just a bit of history for u)...I am now a historian...be warned all those who speak to me on my return I will spout random facts!!...
By the time we reached Badami we were feeling very sick and the lack of sleep had definitely caught up with us... Dinner and bed was all we could manage and dinner consisted of two mouthfuls before feeling nauseous.
Early morning today we headed out on our long 5 hour journey to Hospet, visiting the Badami caves and temples on the way...learnt a lot but could not really understand the tour guide and often gave him blank looks which he did not read, his information on the Karma Sutra made us look a bit uncomfortable which he mistook for not understanding and decided to repeat group sex repeatedly very loudly...We need to work on our facial expressions so people can read what we mean!...How embaressing!
On our way we visisted a local school to distribute pens and biscuits...We are in love with the kids here they put us to shame! Along the way to Hospet we distributed food to the poor kids, I almost got attacked by starving adults but our driver Pradip is a hero and soon put things right.
We now have arrived in our hotel in hospet...well more like a shack (a beautiful shack none the less with the most amazing scenic view that is undesirable)..No A/C for two nights...in words of Gloria Ganor we will survive...
The sights and views in Hospet are beautiful...I dont think our photos can do it justice...Photos coming soon to a computer near you..
Over and out...
Poonam & Saskia!!
xXx
Love to all our Family and Friends...
Don't miss us too much..I know it is hard!! :)
Mumbai hustle and bustle, modern Goa and now to rural, beautiful and conservative Hospet!!
...So far we have reached Hospet and are slowly working our way down the South of India...the weather is getting hotter and hotter and slowly we are melting.
Goa was amazing and we stayed in a great resort...visited a spice farm and portugese inspired church and temple...Goa was not what we expected, it felt like we were in Portugal not India!! We enjoyed long beach walks and managed to haggl e people down to next to nothing! I think they were not expecting that of a white chica and a NRI...go us!!
After a four beach hour walk and on return to the resort we decided to trek back to the beach in search of Rogers...The owner promised us some special veggie treats to our taste...The only problem was the dark, we both set out with torches like a scene from a horror movie and on the way I got scared by a German tourist also walking the same way, he was lovely and apologetic for making me jump so we asked him to walk us to t he beach. After an amazing dinner on the sea front, with mocktails , music and candle light we h eaded back almost pooing our pants at the thought of walking back in the dark. On the way...10 metres down a dog decided to follow us... (Dogs are everywhere and are friendly but we have not had our rabies shot so got a little nervous)...Running into the next restaurant and bar a women laughing at our plee sent her 12 year old son to walk us home...he chased after the dog and we laughed so much we almost wet our pants the whole way back...to be honest I think I did a little bit!
After going pretty insane of no communication and talking to ourselves, receiving all your advice to not talk to strangers we finally cracked and met 3 guys from the UK...We ventured to the north of Goa and had a brill time clubbing till the early hours of the morning ( Girls get free entry and drinks in clubs in Goa- can't be bad!!!).
After 1 hour of sleep we had an epic 8 hr journey to Badami (named after the almond due to colour of the stones used in buildings and histor i c monuments- just a bit of history for u)...I am now a historian...be warned all those who speak to me on my return I will spout random facts!!...
By the time we reached Badami we were feeling very sick and the lack of sleep had definitely caught up with us... Dinner and bed was all we could manage and dinner consisted of two mouthfuls before feeling nauseous.
Early morning today we headed out on our long 5 hour journey to Hospet, visiting the Badami caves and temples on the way...learnt a lot but could not really understand the tour guide and often gave him blank looks which he did not read, his information on the Karma Sutra made us look a bit uncomfortable which he mistook for not understanding and decided to repeat group sex repeatedly very loudly...We need to work on our facial expressions so people can read what we mean!...How embaressing!
On our way we visisted a local school to distribute pens and biscuits...We are in love with the kids here they put us to shame! Along the way to Hospet we distributed food to the poor kids, I almost got attacked by starving adults but our driver Pradip is a hero and soon put things right.
We now have arrived in our hotel in hospet...well more like a shack (a beautiful shack none the less with the most amazing scenic view that is undesirable)..No A/C for two nights...in words of Gloria Ganor we will survive...
The sights and views in Hospet are beautiful...I dont think our photos can do it justice...Photos coming soon to a computer near you..
Over and out...
Poonam & Saskia!!
xXx
Love to all our Family and Friends...
Don't miss us too much..I know it is hard!! :)
Thursday, 3 March 2011
And it all begins!!
Mumbai we have landed!!! Travelled BA premium class was great!!!....Now only two days into our journey and we have experienced missing our luggage on the luggage belt, nearlly getting lost getting out of the airport, a powercut, cold water, a minor car accident and many more maddness that does not come to mind yet...Ohh and getting looted by a religious man on the street (only 100Rs which works out less than than 2 pound but still dumb moment made and lesson learnt!! We are loving the sun and looking forward to heading to Goa tomorrow...only a hr flight which is a bonus!...p.s ACT the mosquito net is amazing!! ;) x
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