Gujarat adventures

Last several days have been crazy...so much running around. I feel like I did more eunning around in last several days in gujarat than during any of my solo travel places. I have a huge family here and a whole lost of family friends, neighbors, and some friends. Which means everyone who finds out I am here expects me to go see them. Not once...but multiple times. I will just be honest...there is one of me and millions of them. I try my best to see everyone and spend quality time but it is not possible to see everyone. There are few very close friends and family eho I absolutely looked forward to seeing and hanging out with. Ibalready saw most of them yet I want to spend more time with them because I am close to them and will actually.miss them but i have to divide up my time. Today I get to see some morre family out of town..shall I catch a train or bus?! Hmm. I am excited to see them as they are such nice peoplr and it makes me happy to be around genuinely kind people. I was in thr same town yeaterday hanging out with one of mu closest friends..we had a blast roaming around the city and exploring. Mostly eating street food!! Memories like these I will cherish. I feel so blessed to have such family and friends. I have been surprising people one after another. I like surprising others. :) that is ehy I didnt tell anyone here I am coming to Gujarat. Haha. Some find out though... Anyway last night was great! Got to catch up with another friend who I had met at manav sadhna..it is so refreshing to meet old friends after 3 yrs.. Had a great time and tried cheese pani puri!! Nefore I met her, I sat at this ISKON temple that I used to go to. I love walking so I just walk over. It is so peaceful in the temple. I love that atmosphere! Lets see..my highlights have been my baby niece and catching up with friends!! Stuti if you are reading this.. Thanks for being crazy with me! And priyanks, thanks for meeting up and introducing me to cheese pani puri! I still have some more people to surprise when I go to Ahemdabad. I am excited to see my family there. I ruined my oen surprise and told my aunt I am coming. Oh well. My original plan was to just show up at the door. But it seems like evryone is at random events or busy so I realized thr need to call beforehand to give a heads up. Oh I finally had bombay sandwitch on my way back from the bus station!! Yummy...I love it so much! I should get ready for the day and head to Anand. I have a full day of visiting family and family friends. I dont like to bother anyone or upset anyone soI try to be very independent and transport myself my way through my 2 feet or public transportation. I refuse to be spoiled. Unless it is with street food. :) yay to seeing more family! I am excited. Like I said, being around good people with kind hearts makes me happy. :) you learn to value such relationship. and people that uplift you And make you want to be a better person by being in their presence presence ininstead of the ones.who drain you.

Welcome to Baroda

Here I am in the city I was born in. Each time I come it changes so much. I have to say props to the vadodara airport. It is so much better than 10 yrs ago when I last flew in there. I was impressed. Also rikshaws were lined up outside in an organized fashion. Unlike before. In Kerala, there were prepaid rikshaws where u pay 1rupee for reservation at thr counter n the voucher ticket states thr amount due at the end of the trip to be given to rikshaw driver. Smart concept. Except its not everywhere and some tickets dont havr amouny printed.so the rikshaw driver can still overcharge you. The genuine ones wont. I have met both. As I was indulging in airplane food,(Jet airways has good food fyi), the lady next to me rolled her eyes when the pilot announced please let us know how we can better serve you. I could tell she and her husband were NRIs visiting India probably after a long time. .I overheard their phone conversation requesting khichdi for lunch. then there was me listening to yeh jo des hai tera swades hai tera, i love my india, maa tujhe salaam..basically patriotic songs and pigging out :) change takes time..but.PM Modi has made a huge difference . Especially noticeable in gujarat. And there are already so many positive things about different parts of India. If you judge.a place solely by comarison to another place, then you are missing out on the hidden gems. I have such friendly neighbors in India whereever I stay. Take the good with the bad! Andnyou can decide with filter you will use..mind ofnlike polarized sun glasses...filter good rays out or filter the bad rays out. Your choice. Now moving onto the highlight of my journey so far, baby!! I love kids..and finally holding my 7month old niece is the best part of the journey. It beats any adventure I have had. There is no better feeling than having her fall asleep in your arms or playing with her. She is simply adorable. How I wish my cold would vanish..it is day 6. Past day 3 and 4..so hopefully it will get better. Even benadryl didnt make me pass out. Oh well..I am loaded up on vicks vapor rub..vicks inhaler...vicks cough drops... Haha :) ok thats all for now. I still havent ate pani puri here yet...

Goodbye Kerala

The font might be off for this post. It is the phone being weird. Anyway here I am in Mumbai...airport. So much for my adventerous plan of exploring bombay but in the future for sure. I always sat that about every place and end up making it happen so its all good! I must say I am impressed by the security of kochi and mumbai airports..last time I flew through mumbai in 2005...was terrible. Security guards trying get money from us and no such thing as customer service. Things have changed in a decade here at the mumbai airport! So my last day in kochi was awesome. As usual, things did not go as planned. Which is perfect!! I made the most of the situation and had a blast! Instead of going to the mall to get soup, I got dropped off my rikshaw driver at a random place that happened to be by ton of outdoor shopping complexes where the locals chill! I got what I needed after bargaining a.lot and ate at a restaurant. It was a canteen sytle restaurant where you order at the desk and take a token and give it to the food counter. They then prepare and give you the tray of food. Pretty neat concept. I had paper dosa!! I shall try to attach the photo but it was the biggest dosa I have ever had!!! Half my height may be!! Then I walked around..felt so nice..reminded me of mandvi shopping area in baroda. Speaking of which I am heading to my hometown in couple hrs. I cannot wait to have pani puri. I dont care if i got luggage on me..had to buy a separate bag in kochi so i can get gifts for everyone. I have a huge family and that is an understatement. I feel like I am abandoning my backpacking ways by doing this and carrying an extra bag but if I am seeing family I have to. If I was noy stopping by in Gunarat, then my backpack would be my sole companion with all that I need. The simple life of travelling. Anyway I am stopping by a random pani puri lahri and pigging out soon as I spot one. I didnt find any pani puri in kerala. It is a north indian dish thats why. Nonetheless...I had plenty of dosas!! Oh and I had a lovely walk down this broadwalk next to the sea by the ferry station...eating masala daar mango slices!! Yumm..it is interesting how people start asking you for directions after you have been in a new place for some days. Even though they dont know that. I guess I blended in!! Always my goal! Remember in interlaken switzerland I was walking back to my hostel through this park and couple girls stopped me asked me for directions to the train station!! I told them with full confidence! I love how my knowledge and skills get to expand when on the road!! So this punjabi family asked me for directions and what to see in fort kochi. I got so excited... I was thinking please ask me more questions. I was like matancherry and fort kochi are two areas on the same land..adjacent to eachother..i can see how it can be confusing though. That is why walking is the best way to learn about a new place. I probably walked through places where not many women walk by themselves..at least not local women..but I refuse to let fear ground me. I know how to make friends with strangers when I am alone and develop bonds to get locals to be on my side and help me when needed... Haha such improper grammar and spelling. Everyone isnreally nice and helpful for the most part in Kerala. I encounter better customer service and kindness from strangers than I did elsewhere in India. My only other India experiences have been in gujarat and mumbai airport to be fair though..once I got to mumbai airport today, I was waiting in line patiently at the bathroom when all these ladies got in front of me and stood by the stalls. The bathroom attendant was like aap que mein ho..I was like mein jaanti hu woh sab mere aage chal gaye. Then she got all those cutting ladies to get behind me and wait their turn. I was like yupp this is mumbai and most of what India is like. People ruin it for others. People make or break every place! I know how to be assertive but I choose to follow the right path until others get way outta.line...like when rikshaw drivers or shop owners try to charge me more. Cant let others rudeness rub off on you or else you become cynical. I saw the positive and still let another lady go in front of me when she realized her mistake. Back to my kochi experiences, At night I roamed around..walking from the bus stand near where I was staying to down the beach side...sat by the beach and watched the sunset and kids play. Kids are always my attraction. Then walked to Dal Roti restaurant. Had amazing palak paneer and ginger lemon homey tea. Good for my throat!! Wonderful time in Kochi overall!!

we meet again Fort Kochi

Suhana safar aur yeh mausum hasin humein dar hai hum kho na jaaye kahi..   What a beautiful night. I was thinking I would just stay indoors all day n rest and drink water to help me recover from this cold that left me feeling so feverish, achy, and urghh.. But I AM GLAD MY advenderous inner me took control and decided to wander off. So I dis rest a little this AM after having breakfast at the hostel. But then I walked over to Matancherry from fort kochi which is couple km. Actually everyone kept saying Jewish synagogue is 1km away but I walked forever! I think it was more than that! I also ate at this great cafe called solar cafe. I am glad I walked instead of rikshawing (yes I just invented this term) because I eould have missed such nooks and hidden cafes otherwise. It was so nice and unique. They used organic ingridients and had huge collection of books to browse. i passed my time reading an old book called 101 Indian folktales. The traditional food was good. i finally got the soup I was looking for to help my throat but I enjoyed the shaas (buttermilk) so much more!! Gulped the whole pot down!! Then walked through a long road with a predominantly Muslim colony leading to Jew town. i love how everyone respects and celebrates different faiths here. Kerala is so diverse!! The world can learn a thing or two. As I study the hx of Kerala I realize how accepting Kerala has been to different migrating cultures and religious groups over time! Sure there were conflicts but for the most part people were given acceptance and made a home for themselves! I had a magical evening as I walked down to go to the beach but encountered an outdoor live band performance to celebratr christmas and new yr fro the kerala cultural community. It was beautiful. Classical music and vocals in Malayalam, Hindk, and Tamil! Music is a universal language even if you cannot understand the words. The beats will resonate with you. Loved every moment. Until of course my cough attacks came...I sat for as long as I could. Sucking vicks cough drops and sipping water. Gosh I am so glad God brought these moments in my life. I feel so blessed and grateful. I love India. Outsiders and Indians may see polltion, poverty, viral gastroenteritis, chaos when they think of India but I see my beautifully diverse and colorful country. I see the positive and make the most of thr negatives instead of complaining. Anyway, the singer sang this lullaby in Tamil and I recognized it immidetiately. I heard it in Hindi as a child and I could recognize the beats. Couple artists also sang Hindi songs. One was chadavi ka chaand ho tum... It was mesmerizing!  The beautful artists, their love for their music and sharing it with the public, the lit up trees with christmas lights, the honks of boats pulling into harbor, crowd of people gathering around.
Just as I thought the.night cant get more magical, they sang kora kagaz tha from Aradhana. Aradhana was one of the 1st old hindi movies that sparked my love for old hindi cinema and music back in middle school. The combination of RD Burman, Kishore kumar, lataji, and on screen rajesh khanna and sharmila tagore...pure perfection!
There I was in India in a live concert outdoors listening to mu favorite tunes surrounded by unity. I have never been to fancy concerts in my life. Never once have I paid for a ticket or even seen any live concerts. The only ones I have seen are free ones as such and let me tell you they are the most magical and beautiful. I might head out for dinner or might not. But I have gots to wash this bag full of clothes. It will take a good hr or so in the sink. Hopefully they will airdry under this fan by tomorow. If not then oh well. i will adjust. That is life. I really do hope my cold goes away fully by friday. i am seeing my family in my hometown then and I cannot and do not want to get anyone sick. Especially the little ones. I dont mind me getting sick from catching what kids have but definitely not vise versa. I guess as a nurse you get so used to caring for everyone  else and getting sick in the process despite proper precautions. But when you are the one sick...it just feels too odd to be the one needing to be cared for or resting. At least tbat helps me move forward in life and preservere. I refuse to let feeling sick keep me from walking miles in the afternoon heat. Mind over matter. i am only in India for so long. Dear India, kora kagaz tha yeh mann mera...likh liya naam ispe tera. Suna angan tha jeevan mera...bas gaya pyaar isme thera... Maa tujhe salaam!       I can talk about my teain ride from varkala to ernakalum(kochi mainland city) but it would be too long. So will leave it as travel like a local, sleeper class, bugs galore, kids galore, dont get up and hop off train at random station to blow ur nose when u spot as dustpin because someoen will take ur seat...but then nice gentleman scoots over to make room for you!! Haha..i was like really?! Anyway everyone was so nice making room for eacother in sleeper class. The lil ones where turning the upper berths/bunks into their jungle gym!! Well kids should be active and playing with eachother instead ofbbeing tied to a phone 24/7 so that was refreshing to see in this generation. The next lil kid was on his dads phone, his uncle phone, and even tried to see my phone! I was like back to the majority! Anyway...he was really bored andeextremely active so i cant blame him for wanting to be entertained!! Anyway...before I left Varkala I went to Papasana beach which is one of the places for pilgrimage in south India. I wN.Yent and said hi to the kind lady I met the day before who was the shop owner.. And 

varkala adventures

So I am a little under the weather. Viral uri..no biggie except it is causing me to have general malaise and I feel woozy if that is even a word. But I made the most of today and tried to get adequate rest as well. I need to drink more water for sure. I felt at edge with heat exhaustion today as I got near syncope and dizziness with very very mild headache waslking down north cliff through an alley of stairs going to south cliff/helipad area. I got a popcicle to help! Anyway the wonderful things that I experience today....where to start?? For one I am at a wonderful roadside restaurant with lit lights and candles. Its the same one I ate at yesterday. i needed someplace nearby as my body is not letting me walk 5 km. I will have to do that tomorow anyway. I walked enough today...walked all the way down the road this AM to black beach! Loved how untouristy and calm it was. Due to lack of shaded area to camp out and read, I walked back. Then went to north cliff aka the tourist hub. Its crazyyy. I preffered more cultural side of travel so I was on a mission to get to south cliff where Hindus come from across the country for pilgrimage to do the antim sanskar (final rites) of their loved ones. I also wanted to go to the temple there so I walked and walked and walked some more till I found it!!! It was closed but going at night when it opened was not a valid option. So I prayed from outside. I also met this lovely young woman with whom I formed an instant friendship. i wont see her again though. She came from out of state to start a business of clothes and stuff and she told me how this season she has not made much or any profit. She was all of 20 or 21 and I connected with her. We talked a lot and I was so amazed to learn so much about her and I decided I would not bargain the price down and I would buy something from her shop. Her genuine story touched my heart. I knew I couldve easily bargained the price down to half the asking price but in some situations I value the persons livelihood from the earnings a lot more than saving how ever many rupees.  I definitely dont let people take advantage of me though. Far as people I meet here are concerned...I am from Gujarat. i barely mention USA. Unless its the place I am staying at. I am gujju so I am not lying. Was born in Gujarat afterall. They dont rip me off as much when I leave out USA when  ask where I am from for obvious reasons. I also prefer speaking in Hindi. It is interesting how amazingly diverse it is here. All sorts of religions and cultural groups. People from tibet, nepal, kashmir, karnataka, kerala of course, and so many other places... I met this gentleman over breakfast and wr got to talking about how he loves Kerala. He is from UK and stay in India for extended time and learned so much about his journey. We all have our own journeys. Everyone we meet and everyplace we go shapes us somehow. Staying at hostels and similar guesthouses allows for that socialization and learning about people from all across the world and their journeys!! Unlike fancy hotels! so as I was typing this at the restaurant...the. 3 yr old cutie whose family owns the restaurant was dancing to the music and just so energetic!  So much entertainment and cutness ! I just chilled there for a while. I was like I am in nonrush.  I am so glad I got myself to get up and go eat dinner. I feel better having been there now!:) AND I finally got a blanket and vicks vapor rub. i can sleep tonight instead of shivering under my makeshift blanket aka sweaters. Somethinga gotta give I told myself. Budget travelling is no luxury and its all about adjusting. i needed my clothes to dry so fan has to be on high!! Only have several pairs of clothes!! This morning was rough ad my malaise was bad and I spent an hr washing my clothes in the sink! They smelled like oil from the massage yesterday which I hated...tried so hard to get the smell out! But on the positive note...today was beautiful. I feel blessed...and lucky...I met womderful people..got to know locals..pray at thr mandir....experience amazing views at the cliffs...and got me some vicks!!! Good night!

Alleppey to Varkala journey

Here is a series of pictures of all the good stuff! I realized I complained too much. A little rest goes a long way in refreshing the mind and I was running around on 3 hrs of sleep so...highlights from the journey:  little kids discovered I speak spanish and we had a blast! They were asking a million questions, and then showing off how they are using long pipes as trumpets...it was precious!! The hostel owner was so.grnuinely nice and sincere. He asked me at check out how much I was to pay and what I ordered to eat! So I looked online and told him my remaining balance. For someone running a business to trust a guest or customer to decide the total charge takes a lot of trust and selflessness because other places may try to rip you off by adding additional costs and all. Another highlight was on my way to the bus station there was a temple festival going on so I asked the rikshaw driver to just drop me off there. It felt so nice to go to the mandir after so long! No pushing and shoving. People were polite and respectful like a mandir should be! Then checked out the stalls. Saw a haathi...poor elephant was tied in chains and made to do labor. I felt so bad for it. Elephants are mammals and have feelings like humans. They prefer living in groups and a life of freedom yet they are used to be tourist attractions by turning them into some decorative amusement ride in the forest or city. I love haatis and felt bad for them. DidnI mention the museum I went to 1 day ago had a whole section of ivory carvings. The statues were cultural and religious but I couldnt get the fact that haathis were probably hurt out of my head. I walked away fast.  Anyway back to another highlight which was catching a train last second literally. I felt accomplished as after a series of twists and turns leading me to the railway station and finding the right route. I walked into the ladies compartment seeing how I had most of it to myself!! There were 2 or 3 other women but whole benches and section to myself!! It was a scenic and beautoful ride listening to my old hindi songs watching villages go by and seeing backwaters and farms. I am glad i ended up on a train instead of a bus. Then I got on the wrong compartment of the 2nd connecting train i had to take. Haha. Oh well. I stayed. It felt nice and there were many empty berths as it was a train from.delhi all the way close to its last station in south Kerala! The inspector dude told me get off and go to the 1st compartment at the next station when I boarded but I neevr did. I was going to because I wanted to be honest but I xouldnt risk missing the train if I got off. To my surprise the journey was soooo fast. I had estimated 3 to 4 hrs from onlinr railway timings on indiarail site but i did end up taking completely dfferent trains last min...and it took me may be 1.5 hours or so!! Since it was a fast express train mayb thats why! Not complaining there! The cutest little kidnwas in the compartment as me. I would watch him and then the window and so forth...another highlight was successfully bargaining the price of a full body massage down to 400Rs from 600. I saw the lady charge another woman after me 600...the initial price. Its a tourist filled cliff in this town. Never seen so many toruists in one place in India like this before!!  Anyway, the last hgihlight was friendly locals. Showing me the way back in the dark when I was lost. They are so used to tourists by now I bet. Luckily a flashlight app doenloaded on my phone while eating at this amazing simple family owned road side kerala restaurant. Their 3 year old was so sweet...and I did not miss the sunset at the beach!! Right as I walked out of the ayurvedic spa. The water felt good brushing aganisht my feet and the waves so soothing. The undertides are very strong in varkala apparently so the coast guard wisteled for people to get out of the water. I am not going completely in with strong under tides...no way. I love practicing my newly acquired swimming skills but not supid enough to go in a ocean known for people getting swift away every year! I was content where I was :)

Alleppey beach and ayurveda

London dekha paris dekha aur dekha japan...michael dekha elvis dekha sab dekha meri jaan...saare jag mein kahi nahi hai dussra Hindustan...yeh mera India...I love my India

Beach picnic party?

They were headed for a a photo shoot at the beach. I took their first photo! (they dont know that..the picture is too blurry to identify anyone so its all good!)

Dibs on the hammock. Adcantages of sleeping during the day and waking up extra early!

Haste gaate jaha se guzar...duniya ki tu fikar na kar...muskuraate hue din bitanna...yaha kal kya ho kisne jaana?!

Gobi manchurian

I love hammocks...weeee. Literally brings out the child in me. I had a hammock  little in India. It was red. i still have it in my closet with no place to hang it. This makes up for it!

As the title implies,  today was a day of relaxation. Also add confusion to that but thats part of the journey! You make the most of situations that dont go as planned. But for starters, had a beautiful morning walk on the beach and had a crazy encounter with a crow. At first I was trying to call the crow, then as I was walking by I decided to feed one some leftover malai from coconut as I was about to eat it anyway. i sympathized with the crow but what followed was hillarious. A littlw freaky at first but harmless so i kept my calm.  You can guess what happened.  Ok I will tell you...I kept walking to avoid any additional attention from that crow's fellow companions on the beach. I was then approached by a very stubborn crow. It stood in front of me refusing to move. Then as I walked it kept flying and standing in my path. Then it finally flew and sat on top of my head. It tickled and I was like is that the crow? I of course tried to shoo it away and shook my head. Dude crow that is unacxeptable. Now you definitely are not getting any of the leftover malai from yesterday. Then it kept following me some more but eventually realized I would not feed it. I know they are hungry n feel bad but I am not about to be attacked by huge group of crows at the beach. I walked away...fast...very fast.. Haha anyway then i had an ayurvedic massage!! First professional massage ever! It was a head/scalp/face/neck/shoulder/arm massage. I was like so this is what massages ceel like! (The only one I had previously was by my friend which was just as good!) It was unique..but nice. The ladies were so nice and kind. They were so down to earth and sweet in how they talked to me. I was so impressed. I think I will visit them tomorow before i leave. Not for a massage but just to say bye and see if they have tea tree oil. That leads me to my other point...so hard to find anything in alleppey. Even rikshaw drivers r unaware. They are sincere enough to ask others and call the place for directions though. I wont write too much more..as I want to go chill on the rooftop..read...and listen to music or the waves. Aww little kids singing jingle bells next door! I did go to a museum today but it wasnt too significant for me as it was buncha fancy imported objects from europe and usa. I only liked the sea shell from deep ocean on display and the traditional kerala display of natraj murti, traditional paintings, sitar made of wood, old traditional lock, carvings of encarnations of lord Vishnu, and any local items from kerala itself. The people were really nice and corteous to me! Then sat at sea side restaurant (palm beach...it is also where I did the ayurvedic massage) and ate lunch after an hr of wandering around town looking for a restaurant that some people recommended. Rikshaw driver had no clue and his speech was not understandable.. I tried to communicate but he couldnt enunciate clearly. It almost seemed like he had a stroke in the past affecting his speech or aomething but he was so kind. He was trying to help me fild that place but I knew this wasnt going anywhere so i just told him to drop me off at the beach and i will walk back. All in all a good day. Oh did I mention my 3 hr nap. The massage and then roaming the town  really made me pass out! Soo relaxaing. Good night or good morning.