The Indian province of Goa has over 70 kilometers of beautiful beaches and excellent cheap food. That combination kept me in my beach hut two weeks longer than planned. India's transportation network kept me there another two weeks. Flying in and out of Goa seems relatively simple, but leaving by land proved exceedingly difficult. When I finally decided to leave and head … [Read more...]
Sea Kayaking in Goa: Hard Work Masquerading as Fun
Kayaking looks like a lot of fun on the surface, but that fun comes at a cost. I'd been watching people glide through the water in their kayaks and soar through the air on the tops of the small waves that break on Palolem Beach in Goa, India ever since the day I arrived. We were constantly talking about joining them, but kept putting it off, because we knew that as fun as it … [Read more...]
Survive New Delhi Station and the Rest of India is Easy
New Delhi railway station serves as a great introduction to India in that it combines much of what is annoying about the country into one location. Every visitor to India will have stories of annoying touts and scams and some people will have nothing but. In actuality, only a small part of the country provides the fodder for these stories; unfortunately, that small part is the … [Read more...]
How to Enjoy, but Not Visit, the Taj Mahal in Agra
The difference between the words 'enjoy' and 'visit' in that title is very important. This is not a guide on how to visit the Taj Mahal, but one on how to enjoy it despite not visiting at all. Why would anyone go all the way to Agra and not visit the Taj Mahal, you ask? Well, they probably wouldn't. Most people I know visited and some of them even felt they got their money's … [Read more...]
Even the Cows Demand Money in Pushkar
I though this photo pretty much perfectly sums up the town of Pushkar in the Indian state of Rajasthan: cows and demands on our money. To be fair, this donation box is obviously not aimed at foreign tourists and all cows have a tendency to look evil and angry when they stare straight into the camera, but I still found it fitting. As one of the five sacred pilgrimage sites … [Read more...]