Relaxing in Goa

We arrived in Goa on Friday night after some lenghty air travel delays. Our "vacation from our vacation" began yesterday when we woke up in this small fishing village here on India's coastline in the state of Goa. It is very tranquil here and Kavita and I enjoyed the first morning by having breakfast on the beach and watching the fishermen haul in the day's catch. Benaulium is in South Goa, away from the hectic party atmosphere of Anjuna and Vagador to the North. We are relishing the chance to get away from the crowd and have been treating ourselves to long lazy days on the beach and wading in the Arabian Sea.

The prices of food and beverages here have not been inflated by tourism so we are essentially living like millionaires. Last night, Kavita and I split a whole Sea Bass (likely one we saw hauled in that morning) prepared in Tandoori style. We had a gigantic feast with plenty of drinks and the total bill was only about US$20. This morning I enjoyed a nice big breakfast with two tall glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice, a pot of tea, eggs and beans on toast for 120 rupees ( about US$3). Large 22oz bottles of beer are only 40-50 rupees (aboutUS$1) each. Wine drinkers should note: though we have found relatively inexpensive beer and liquor in each state, wine has remained consistently expensive at 350-500 rupees per glass (about $9-10).

We are overjoyed to have finally found a spot that has speedy internet access and should be able to upload some additional photos for your viewing pleasure. Also, keep an eye on my You Tube page for some new videos including a belated holiday greeting we filmed in New Delhi!

Agra, home of the Taj Mahal

We are having a wonderful time as Justin said in his post. We are at the Clark Shiraz Hotel in Agra and surprisingly their business center has a pretty fast connection so we were able to post more pics.

We saw Fatehpur Sikri yesterday which was amazing, and the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was breathtaking. I had seen it in 1986 but had no idea at age 9 how amazing it was. Now 20 years later I was really quite in awe of the monument and surrounding gardens.

We have posted more pics and have included the links in the "other links" section on the left hand side of this blog.

Our travel mates Cali and Steve have also been blogging, the link is also on the left.

Enjoy!

-Kavita

Quick stop in Agra

We woke up yesterday morning and piled into our Tempo Traveler for the four hour road trip to Agra in Uttar Pradesh. Along the way we saw many villages and Indian countryside. It was quite sobering to see how some people live after seeing life in larger cities like Mumbai and Jaipur. Along the way we stopped to see the abandoned city of Fattehpur Sikri (sp?) where Akbar ruled India during the 16th century. It was an amazing site, built completely of red sandstone. There are some photos available in my India Preview photoset on Flickr. Following our tour of this city we drove into Agra and toured the Taj Mahal. One of the most photographed buildings in the world, it is true that you can't really appreciate its beauty until you are standing before it. The sheer scale of the monument is breathtaking as are the rarely seen details that adorn its walls.

Today we will visit the Agra Fort where Shah Jahan (the king that built the Taj Mahal) was imprisoned by his son. Tonight we are catching an express train to Delhi for more sightseeing and exploration.

We are having a fantastic time, all the hotels and english-speaking guides have been top-notch and the food is second to none. One disappointment: the two hotels we have stayed at in Jaipur and Agra have actually been playing Christmas Music in their lobbies and restaurants. Christmas Music, in India. I guess you can't escape the season. Even halfway around the world.

-J

Elephants, Cobras and Palaces

Having a great time in Jaipur. We rode up to the Amber Fort on elephants this morning and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the old city palace. Tomorrow morning we are off to Agra where we will tour the Taj Mahal.

Gotta run as we are just about out of internet time at the hotel. Check out my India Trip preview photos for some early shots of our trip! Kavita also has some photos available on her Flickr account.

Jaipur

We got into Jaipur last night and said good-bye to Mumbai for now. Mumbai was a really great time, the city is so unique. We ate, drank and even went out dancing one night and not to mention we had tea at the famous Taj Hotel Sea Lounge. The flight to Jaipur was only an hour and fifteen minutes, but there was about an hour delay. This was to be expected, domestic travel is unpredictable but it's not really that inconvenient when you think it was on $40 for the flight! :)

We arrived at our hotel in Jaipur around 7 pm...and lets just say it is amazing. It's absolutely gorgeous, as you will be able to see in our pictures. We settled in our rooms and met in the dining room for a dinner buffet. This was no ordinary buffet, Indian food...western food and Thai!

Today Justin and I woke up and tested the "fitness center", followed by another great meal. The breakfast was delicious and Justin got a chance to try some traditional Indian breakfast items, such as aloo paratha and vada. He must of liked it because he went up for seconds.

After breakfast our guide met us in the hotel lobby and we were off to explore Jaipur. We went to the Ambar, where we road up to Ambar Fort on an elephant! Followed by a tour of the palace and gardens at the palace in Ambar. We then headed to Juntar Mentar, which has the largest stone sun dial in the world. We ended our tour at the City Palace, where the Maharaja still lives today! Needless to say, today has been jam packed with amazing sites! We are back at the hotel now, trying to upload some pictures of our adventure. Hopefully, pics will be posted today!

Tomorrow, we're off to see the Taj Mahal!

Jaipur up next

We are at the Mumbai airport now waiting for our flight to Jaipur. Mumbai has been amazing. I think we all agree that the past few days have been a sensory overload as we adjust to the new sights sounds and smells of this country. The city runs at a very hectic pace and learning the new culture has been exhilarating against its backdrop. It has been 80's and humid here but we are now headed up to Rajistan where the climate should be a bit cooler.

Internet access has been quite difficult to come by and this cafe has a particularly slow connection. I do hope to be able to upload photos at some point but as for now I'm not holding my breath. Rest assured, I have captured some great images of our experiences thus far and our trip is only just beginning!

Hope to write more soon.

-Justin

Amsterdam Airport

Justin and I are halfway to India now, just sitting in the communication centre at the airport. I must be getting old because I am feeling a lot more tired on this trip than I remember being in previous plane trips to India. Or it could be that I didn't sleep a wink because of all the fantastic free movies I can watch in the air...it is awesome! The movies make the plane ride seem faster...sort of...it is still 6.5 hours! Now comes the even longer leg, I think closer to 8 hours...oh so close...

Justin and I are going to head to grab some breakfast before the last leg of our trip! :) Next time I post, I will be in India!

Touchdown in Amsterdam

We have completed the first leg of our journey and are now in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. We made a quick stop in the communication centre to check on when Steve's flight would be coming in to Mumbai so we could be sure to meet him. Our next flight (Amsterdam - Mumbai) leaves in two hours. Both Detroit - JFK and JFK - Amsterdam were delayed but we made up time in the air thankfully.

Next stop India!

Welcome to our India Blog!

We are now T-minus four hours to liftoff for our trip to India! The bags are packed, the tickets printed out and one of our travelmates has already arrived in Mumbai!

Keep an eye on this blog for updates from our trip. I will do my best to duck into cyber cafes in each city.

-J