tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25912824615212932402024-03-05T01:14:55.276-08:00Bindi BloggingWelcome to Bindi Blogging, where you can follow Molly and Katelyn's adventure through India and Nepal. We will be travelling and updating our blog over the next three months, so we hope you enjoy! NamasteMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-75976163790680624042010-06-07T09:30:00.001-07:002010-06-07T09:30:30.905-07:00Arrival Into Alleppey!After a crazy bus ride with a Kamikaze bus driver who spent the whole trip just barely avoiding rickshaws, cart pullers, cows, people etc, we finally arrived in Alleppey thankful for our lives. At the bus station we ran into a nice young Indian man in his twenties named Ami, who approached us in a very un-Indian way by saying, "excuse me, but if you might be looking for a place to stay I could possibly help you." We went with him to his guesthouse; a ten minute ride with Molly riding on the back of his motorbike (backpack and all), and me, Dev, and Mel squished into a rickshaw for a not so comfortable 10 minute ride. When we arrived at his guesthouse we were pleasantly surprised; it was a big colonial looking house shaded under a huge mango tree, that he had converted into a backpackers place. We took two rooms, settled in, listened to his proposal for a houseboat and canoe trip, then decided to check out a few houseboats on our own.<br /><br /><div>After being taken down to the houseboat docks and hassled with by this annoying young business man whose ambition in life was to be in the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Lonely</span> Planet (which will never happen seeing as this guy <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">relentlessly</span> was trying to rip us off and force us into renting one of his houseboats). It got to the point where as we were trying to get off the boat he was trying to stop us by pretending to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">receive</span> these phone calls (mind you his phone never rang and he just picked it out of his pocket and started talking) saying that two whole buses of tourists were arriving tomorrow and going to take all the boats, (when there are hundreds of houseboats). He then continued to play his act by giving one specific couple on the phone, who <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">he was supposedly</span> talking to, specific instructions to wire 9,000 rupees into his account for the booking of the houseboat we were looking at right then. The whole thing was just so <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ridiculous</span> we could not stop laughing; he even chased us off the boat and continued trying to convince us to rent a houseboat from him as we sat in the rickshaw waiting for a ride back to our guest house.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yJFfCOlewBtZeIsm7alaz0OHM2enEFwffl5SygSkhAPsbkF5-y0LyO1T7JUKqPptDsj0x4TiDiHfMvO6iVre1CTxsfgWmbD0fYqNmfikceu57ieBK_Oh1m4PmxLLPzeOPt7nSNkYBzk/s1600/India+%28Big+Camera%29+076.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1yJFfCOlewBtZeIsm7alaz0OHM2enEFwffl5SygSkhAPsbkF5-y0LyO1T7JUKqPptDsj0x4TiDiHfMvO6iVre1CTxsfgWmbD0fYqNmfikceu57ieBK_Oh1m4PmxLLPzeOPt7nSNkYBzk/s400/India+%28Big+Camera%29+076.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480065376606087234" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div>That night Ami gave us some free Indian cooking classes and we made a huge feast with a Canadian couple and twoFrench travelers. It was some of the best home made Indian food we had so far. We went to the store and shopped for all the ingredients including fresh fish and spices; then we helped him prepare a delicious and spicy fish curry and tomato fry along with rice and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">parotta</span> (a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">parotta</span> is a thick stringy doughy tortilla.. if that makes any sense). Anyways this was the first night we had eaten <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">parotta</span> and over the next week it turned into our favorite breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner item.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZseUUmCFh6m6aBYhd44dFmHA444Aqc_QcvbRTjMYp91xn9esLWpPDdLp772aHkV6Ph_53yMf8oqrlVD6TY_QZc79ad-oVY-FgvtvIm9eSbqwBlb_VinEJjaT06Zw7pH-T1Pr2kHjZodQ/s1600/India+%28Big+Camera%29+088.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZseUUmCFh6m6aBYhd44dFmHA444Aqc_QcvbRTjMYp91xn9esLWpPDdLp772aHkV6Ph_53yMf8oqrlVD6TY_QZc79ad-oVY-FgvtvIm9eSbqwBlb_VinEJjaT06Zw7pH-T1Pr2kHjZodQ/s400/India+%28Big+Camera%29+088.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480065378617486818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxf5XHMJUWGaVh6NrvaxpQelJslt618yhnd3sLgK2MtqjbcBq94vsHbAPc8gA-zTkZmQX1weJkeHxxwHLfXj-N0-AE4q_O858yzAgKypBYCaXEvprDOglVroeZN_VRGtwoKDa4Lz0d44/s1600/India+%28Big+Camera%29+087.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxf5XHMJUWGaVh6NrvaxpQelJslt618yhnd3sLgK2MtqjbcBq94vsHbAPc8gA-zTkZmQX1weJkeHxxwHLfXj-N0-AE4q_O858yzAgKypBYCaXEvprDOglVroeZN_VRGtwoKDa4Lz0d44/s400/India+%28Big+Camera%29+087.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480065367404626130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSv9xhAleNabbNLb7iDsbbSERSIBPXdi0inEEy4Vkc7yzhdvy2spIqmEgP9R8DRy8VRXSmAHN6FobdPdpxQZ5J3feU0Maa0SSqcWslGoWTkYinXY3awadvcAJyk3c9enYEtLlUkhffLzM/s1600/India+%28Big+Camera%29+086.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSv9xhAleNabbNLb7iDsbbSERSIBPXdi0inEEy4Vkc7yzhdvy2spIqmEgP9R8DRy8VRXSmAHN6FobdPdpxQZ5J3feU0Maa0SSqcWslGoWTkYinXY3awadvcAJyk3c9enYEtLlUkhffLzM/s400/India+%28Big+Camera%29+086.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480065357723032562" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-81025166751466375952010-06-07T08:41:00.000-07:002010-06-07T08:44:38.600-07:00Thank You!Hello Everyone,<br /> I just wanted to say thank you for following the blog! I must admit that we are home now after a great 13 weeks in India/Nepal; seeing as we didn't finish telling you about our trip I am going to continue posting some stories and pictures from our adventure. So, know that we are safe and sound, and survived the craziness, and hopefully you can continue to enjoy our adventure!<br />Danya Vat<br />MollyMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-14985835957045828192010-04-21T06:32:00.000-07:002010-04-21T07:09:56.705-07:00The South Indian Weddings!While Kate and I were in Bangalore we were fortunate enough to attend two south Indian weddings. I was expecting the loud dancing weddings like the one in the movie Monsoon Wedding, but apparently those are north Indian weddings, and south Indian weddings are slightly different. First of all, they are entirely about eating! The first wedding we were invited to was one of Kate's old work buddy's brothers, so we went with a bunch of people from SEVA (the NGO she worked with). We showed up at the office on time, but of course didn't leave for an hour or so, true Indian fashion. As we were leaving the office and heading to the wedding I got my first taste of riding through the crazy streets of Bangalore on the back of a moto....quite an experience. There are no lines in the road, and people just weave in between each other and cross over three lanes of traffic with no light, it's pretty hectic. But, this is about the weddings, not the driving, so let me get back on subject.<br /><br />When we arrived at the wedding the ceremony was pretty much finished. It was 1 pm and apparently the ceremonies had been going on since 6 am; so when I thought we were going to see a real Indian wedding it turned out we were just showing up for lunch! We waited in line for awhile, then we entered the dining hall, below the reception hall, where tons of tables were lined up facing each other. The scene in that room was nothing like I have ever witnessed before. <br /><br />As a big group of people finished eating we got to watch the whole process. First there are shirtless men with strings tied diagonally across their chests (symbolizing their Brahaman caste status) that are running the whole scene, and there are about 40 of them. They wipe off the tables, then put a sheet of plastic down, then they set banana leaves in front of each person. Next someone comes around with cups, and they fill them with water and instruct you to wash off your banana leaf. Next comes the good part...the food! Men just shuttle down the rows of people each with a different dish, loading up your banana leaf. By the end of the routine we had about 4 different kinds of salads (including an amazing corn and pomegranate seed one), rice, dal, and all sorts of other yummy goodies. They keep coming around trying to give you more of everything, and you literally have to dash to put your hand over your banana leaf to signal that you don't want anymore, or they just load you up again. Then, after all the main food they come around with heaps of desserts. It's pretty crazy! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0Qnl0ePQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0Qnl0ePQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPPQelQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPPQelQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />So, our first wedding consisted only of eating lunch (and they were begging us to come back for dinner). It's pretty funny because people come to the weddings just for lunch, go home for awhile, then change and come back for dinner! It is seriously all about eating! Pretty amazing. They believe that the more people you feed, the better luck you will have. The couple we were staying with said that when they got married, they fed over 2,000 people! Crazy right! <br /><br />Anyhoo, our second wedding was a bit more of a cultural experience. Parimala's (the woman we were staying with) cousin was getting married, and she brought us along for the whole event. It started with an amazing breakfast, then we got to witness all the rituals. The couple has to do rituals that they don't even understand for about 6 hours, it's pretty intense. The woman has to change saree's multiple times, and there is one guy who pretty much runs the show (shouting different things and singing) in sanskrit. Most people don't speak saskrit, so they have no idea what they are doing, they just follow the lead of the guy. At the particular wedding we were at you would think the guy was some sort of holy person, but it turns out he was really a bank manager, but doing weddings was his weekend hobby. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPQJnlQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPQJnlQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />So anyways it was great to go to the wedding with Parimala (the woman changing her earrings in the picture above) because she explained a lot of the things to us. Most of the wedding takes place on a stage in the middle of the room (where we had to stand most of the time because they were so excited to have foreigners there), that is covered in all sorts of offerings like fruit, incense, idols etc...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQl0eQQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQl0eQQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnGoaPQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0a%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnGoaPQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0a%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />The bride is dressed up beautifully in an amazing saree, and her hands and feet have the most amazing Henna on them:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnloG0QQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0l%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnloG0QQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0l%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQnaaaQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0a%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQnaaaQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0a%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQn0oeQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQQn%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQn0oeQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQQn%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After awhile the ceremony moves outside and the brides family does all these things to the groom like wash his feet, give him a new pair of shoes, the father of the bride even holds an umbrella over his head to shade him from the sun! Quite different from an American wedding! The whole process is beautiful, kind of confusing but really interesting! Some of the best parts are the photos and the video shooting that is done. We had to pose in so many pictures, it was quite embarassing, especially because the women looked so beautiful in their sarees and Kate and I looked like crap compared to them. Then the funniest part is that you pose with the wedding party, and you have to stand there and hold your smile for about a minute and a half while they take pictures, and the video guy just points his camera at you. You feel like those people mannequins in San Francisco that hold poses for hours! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnloGJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0o%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnloGJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0o%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPGGQeQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQQn%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPGGQeQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQQn%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQJnnaQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQJnnaQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQeGGeQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQeGGeQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnlPa0QQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPn%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnlPa0QQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPn%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After about five hours the ceremony was apparently behind schedule because everyone was rushing and freaking out about the tying of the Thali. The tying of the Thali (a necklace) is like the exchange of rings for us, except it has to be done at a certain time according to the couples astrological chart. The family was getting really worried at this particular wedding because they were running behind schedule, and bad things would happen if the Thali wasn't tied during the specified time period. Eventually everything happened ok, and the couple were assured a happy life together! Kate and I decided to leave after the ceremony finished, and everyone was desperately trying to get us to stay for lunch. We were seriously so full from our huge breakfast that there was no way we could eat anything else. Apparently after we left everyone was giving Parimala hell for letting us leave without eating; even the camera guys came up to her and asked why she let us go! It was pretty funny...like I said, it's all about the food! <br /><br />Here are a few pics of Parimala, her brother, her son Vidit, etc...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPPoQJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGQ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPPoQJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGQ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQnQJoQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGo%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PQnQJoQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGo%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnPJooQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPn%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0QnPJooQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPn%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPoGGoQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJe%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoP0PPoGGoQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJe%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" alt="" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-26030687120564158252010-03-30T01:59:00.000-07:002010-04-07T01:04:26.527-07:00Entering the state of Kerala, Fort KochinAfter a long hot train ride, we arrived at Ernkaulum station in the state of Kerala (south western side of India's tip), around 10 am. Even though it was only 10 am, it was the hottest we had been in all of India. It was about 95 degrees with 90% humidity...Horrible! We had plans to meet up with our friends Mel and Dev from Hampi, who took the bus down, so we headed to an internet place to track down there number. After climbing 3 flights of stairs with all our stuff in more of an apartment building than an office site, we dissappointedly reached a closed internet place. Luckily some guy that was walking down the stairs was able to call the man who ran the shop (who was apparently out for chai), and he came back and opened up for us. He was so excited that we were from the states because both of his kids lived there, and he was planning a trip there in the next month or so when, he said "the heat gets unbearable." Ha, apparently it gets much worse then what we were stuck in. So, of course we couldn't figure out how to get their number to work, so we decided to just head to Fort Cochin (at the tip of the peninsula, but more like an island), and find some housing, then look for them there. We took a nice ferry ride for 2.5 rs (realizing that the ferry guys in Hampi were making a killing by charging us 15 rs each way for a distance less than 1/20th of what we were doing), and landed in Fort Cochin. We found a nice tuk tuk driver who took us around to try and find a place. As we were driving a motorcycle drove up beside us and recruited us to check out his "homestay." The place was actually pretty nice, and a decent price for the overly priced area that we realized Fort Cochin was; so after looking at a few other places, we decided to take it. We had a big room with bright pink walls, a bathroom, a small balcony, and a powerful fan, which we took full advantage of! The place was pretty funny, because downstairs was a pharmacy, then as you walked up to the second floor, there was a dental clinic where tons of people were lined up for some pretty painful work I'm sure! Then, one more flight up, and there was our little apartment. It was nice because we had our own outside entrance, so it really felt like our own place. After awhile the lady who ran the place showed up with her son, and we were able to check in. Her son Akhil was super cute, and kept posing for pictures for us. Soba (the mom), was also very cute, and helped us learn some new phrases in Malyalum (the language of Kerala). She also managed to get the water working which was a miracle because we both were in desperate need of bathing. Unfortunately the water tanks in India are all on the roofs, and they are black, so as we jumped in the shower so excited to cool off, we found only Hot water! It was such a let down. By this point it was about 2pm and the heat was almost unbearable. We had gotten in contact with Mel and Dev, and arranged to meet up with them later on. So, after laying spread eagle under the fan for about an hour we decided to try and motivate. We attempted to walk around, but it was so fricken hot that we gave up and found a rickshaw driver to take us to the nearest bar (which was not so near). Of course, he ripped us off by charging us more than the agreed price, but we were so excited to be near AC and cold beer that we gave in. The place we found was super posh, but we didn't care. Luckily for us it was happy hour, otherwise we definitely couldn't have afforded the place. So, we were actually able to cool down, and come back to normal with some powerful AC and two cold beers (the first in a LONG LONG time). As the air outside cooled down a bit we headed back. We met up with Mel and Dev for an amazing meal of Chapatti's, Alu Paratha (a potato stuffed bread), and some delicious Veg curries. We all decided that there wasn't much to see or do in Fort Kochin, and it was much to hot to kick it, so we planned to leave the following day. Unfortunately we had paid for two nights in advance, but we were able to sweet talk Soba into giving us our money back, with the help of some silver plates we gave her! The next morning we set the alarm for sunrise and hit the streets early to avoid the heat. We walked down by the bay and found tons of men operating 500 year old chinese fishing nets. The process is really interesting. They have a huge pulley system where one side has the fishing net, and the other side is weighed down with thick ropes with huge boulders attached to them. The 7 or 8 men it takes to operate these contraptions stand at the ropes and pull the huge boulders down to raise the net. <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_ZIOSvxhhsdwFNnQwjKQ6LcrrBP7929HBGfs08Pg6FGZ1lohBywGwcWJRh4-2m12m1N7YAO7itPHc4di5vam8xRIOF4wz6JbK_YMtEWYVXaDH0cmyj7QQP_7Zossz0YVtcmXjc3g8os/s1600/MollyKate+477.jpg"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457297941787457042 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_ZIOSvxhhsdwFNnQwjKQ6LcrrBP7929HBGfs08Pg6FGZ1lohBywGwcWJRh4-2m12m1N7YAO7itPHc4di5vam8xRIOF4wz6JbK_YMtEWYVXaDH0cmyj7QQP_7Zossz0YVtcmXjc3g8os/s320/MollyKate+477.jpg"></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzBBJUpwTbPV742cv9qnaSbqpz_bBzGgAr4Jj4yUyBJEGQ1kfCnr_p9Qqs4RMWpFpBAvzKIpQL5Y0vjePpb6e0Uq1tk9lGR3W-p0w_y0hPQzOOyupogRyE9ggncS2cg-S9izj5ZdoV_4/s1600/MollyKate+486.jpg"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457297958309493746 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzBBJUpwTbPV742cv9qnaSbqpz_bBzGgAr4Jj4yUyBJEGQ1kfCnr_p9Qqs4RMWpFpBAvzKIpQL5Y0vjePpb6e0Uq1tk9lGR3W-p0w_y0hPQzOOyupogRyE9ggncS2cg-S9izj5ZdoV_4/s320/MollyKate+486.jpg"></A> <A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQRqDIxqXRj4vdQwRWsJo8FBGGZZBt29xgAqFdW2h-cQMLkcfrzrudPQw03ifMx0KIkL3G54gxdKjiX8HqQEXQ5fF2IybnL5OjcpJv2JT4NMau0f3n6eJr6LceDyXjvk37PkvC6Bti8s/s1600/MollyKate+478.jpg"><IMG style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457297950030682594 border=0 alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQRqDIxqXRj4vdQwRWsJo8FBGGZZBt29xgAqFdW2h-cQMLkcfrzrudPQw03ifMx0KIkL3G54gxdKjiX8HqQEXQ5fF2IybnL5OjcpJv2JT4NMau0f3n6eJr6LceDyXjvk37PkvC6Bti8s/s320/MollyKate+478.jpg"></A> The guys saw us wathcing and taking pictures and called us over. They seemed so excited that we came over, and they started having us man the ropes, and pull up the heavy fishing net. Once the net is in the air one guy runs over and scoops out the catch. Unfortunately it didn't seem like they were too successful. The fish that were coming out were more like minnows than fish, and I don't know how it's enough to support the 8 men that run the nets. After hanging out with them for awhile, they started asking us for donations, so we figured it was time to leave. It's funny because in India a lot of the time if you give someone an inch, they take a mile. If you are actually nice and super thankful to anyone, they take it as an opportunity to ask you for money. So it's really difficult to navigate the thin line between appreciation and invitation. Anyhoo, we met Mel and Dev for an amazing breakfast at this organic cafe. I spent the most I have spent on breakfast so far ($2) and got an amazing bowl of oatmeal with fresh bananas, pomegranite seeds, and wild honey...it was well worth the splurge! After some confusion we finally made it onto a bus to take us to Alleppey. As Kate will explain it was quite a freaky ride, but a successful ride nonetheless~<br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-FAILED class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="FAILED"></OBJECT>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-15254665901619243922010-03-30T01:40:00.001-07:002010-03-30T02:03:18.803-07:00Boys Orphanage,Tuition Center, few Slum pics in Bangalore..<div id="slideshow_div" style="VISIBILITY: visible"><div id="slideshow_div" style="VISIBILITY: visible"><img id="slideshowPicture" style="WIDTH: 418px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 350px" height="360" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0GPQlPlQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeen%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" width="480" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" 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visible"></div></div></div></div><div style="VISIBILITY: visible"><div id="slideshow_div" style="VISIBILITY: visible"></div></div><div style="VISIBILITY: visible"></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458312020223931505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-32282204568547345272010-03-30T01:28:00.000-07:002010-04-07T00:29:36.567-07:00The Face Moll-ing<div>So, seeing as we are in India, and all the women here have pierced noses, we decided to try and get our noses pierced. For those of you who know me well, I have had my nose pierced 4 times, but every time it seems to get ripped out or infected, but I thought heck...fifth times a charm right? Kate had her nose pierced on her last trip here, so we figured we should give it a shot. We met up with one of Kate's local friend who was going to help us find a decent place to get them done. We found a jewelery shop and Somya talked to the guy for us in Kannada, then told us to pick out some earrings, and that we could get them done here. So, we each picked out a nice small gold earring with a little diamond in the middle. Kate was going to go first, but then she started to get a little nervous (with good reason), and I said "No problem, I'll go first."<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCRy_wxv1IkdHDFtXJZL1VBi8bd3KGU-MjZj_KNYXol1Itxos_CpJFfXjxP50ZP3S5IWS1CDqCxLWDaYg0L_Q_wOg4AEKtM4gYcIE9kvIZPMZkliqw6hyphenhyphenxKLqiu8JGfvm1Lkg5tVT11o/s1600/MollyKate+450.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457292854801112258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCRy_wxv1IkdHDFtXJZL1VBi8bd3KGU-MjZj_KNYXol1Itxos_CpJFfXjxP50ZP3S5IWS1CDqCxLWDaYg0L_Q_wOg4AEKtM4gYcIE9kvIZPMZkliqw6hyphenhyphenxKLqiu8JGfvm1Lkg5tVT11o/s320/MollyKate+450.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Without even washing his hands, or marking the spot on my nose he was going to pierce, then man came from behind the counter and sat me down on a little bench. He opened a container that looked like it had an ice pick in it, that was soaking in alcohol (hopefully). Then, so quickly the guy shoved one finger up my nostril then started jabbing me with the ice pick! Usually when you get your nose pierced, you feel intense pressure and pain as the needle goes through, then as they remove it the quickly slip the earring in, and the whole procedure takes about 20 seconds. These are under ideal circumstances...and certainly not what happened to me.<br /><br />The guy poked the pick through two times, then on the second time he pushed it through so hard that it actually pierced the inside of my nose too! I kept thinking the earring was in my nose, but as I squeezed Kate's hand, the guy actually walked away from me and left the pick in my nose as it was sliding down, creating an even bigger gash! It was so funny, because at one point I looked up and Kate and she was white faced, and shaking just as bad as I was, and she looked at me and said, "I don't want to do it anymore," and I just looked right back at her and said "you don't have to!"<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmLkhPq4x60eGzDSon5ZBrSMJDTDXNe6ZDq2HgmaLmADIfeh0f_WP8bEmuq4ELd-IxDqRtch-zUMquD8mAE_4Dr7KL91sFbO-ujaOqHE8opFOqgyafjaddvmS2SD7VoV1xhO_2ioi-OQ/s1600/MollyKate+452.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457292862131628498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmLkhPq4x60eGzDSon5ZBrSMJDTDXNe6ZDq2HgmaLmADIfeh0f_WP8bEmuq4ELd-IxDqRtch-zUMquD8mAE_4Dr7KL91sFbO-ujaOqHE8opFOqgyafjaddvmS2SD7VoV1xhO_2ioi-OQ/s320/MollyKate+452.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />Apparently the guy was so excited to shove the pick through my nose that he forgot the earring! So, as he approached me again, I tensed up as he removed the pick. Right as I thought he was going to insert the earring and it was all going to be over, he dropped the earring on the ground and tried to pick it up and put the dirty thing in my nose.<br /><br />Kate and I both protested so he shoved the pick back in my nose and went to get a new earring. By this time, it had been about two minutes, and blood and tears were covering my face. As he approached me again he said that he needed to put the pick through one more time. That was when Kate and I threw up our arms and said "NO!" We told him to just stop, and I took the pick out of my nose as I was shaking in total shock.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpH4myIliBgHlKI1m0aN3Yu9SD1nLW2XTzBenIYP3FoDxKEsALqjW1fAW6XUzG9287RDGZxW8bHB-gdTDgG4beU9eq90p2-POVnULkh8B-eItDWzoaES-Cf3cE1EM9DMIfqajKH0D7bc/s1600/MollyKate+455.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457292866845958018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpH4myIliBgHlKI1m0aN3Yu9SD1nLW2XTzBenIYP3FoDxKEsALqjW1fAW6XUzG9287RDGZxW8bHB-gdTDgG4beU9eq90p2-POVnULkh8B-eItDWzoaES-Cf3cE1EM9DMIfqajKH0D7bc/s320/MollyKate+455.jpg" /></a><br /><br />All I wanted to do was get the thing cleaned and get the hell out of there, but then it turned into a question of what we were going to pay for the face Moll-ing. He wanted me to pay for the earring, but there was a huge crack in it, so after much debating, Kate pretty much just pulled me out of the shop, as the man sat there saying "very funny!"<br /><br />Luckily I was able to find an antiseptic wipe, but I was still pretty paranoid about infection. I had to ride on the back of Somya's motorbike through Bangalore, and I was just thinking about all the pollution that was probably getting in it! Luckily we were able to make it back to the house after a few hours and get some antibiotic cream and a bandaid on it before we had to take another 15 hour train ride.<br /><br />So basically I have decided that I never want to get my nose pierced again. 5 times is definitely not a charm! Kate still wants to get hers done, but this time we are going to make sure it's some professional, and not some guy that is just ice-pick happy who I'm pretty sure had never done the procedure before!!! </div></div></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-71494443294829009082010-03-30T01:13:00.000-07:002010-03-30T01:40:25.769-07:00Pics of Bangalore Streets and Market<a href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ=up6RKKt:xxr=o-qpDlfX7RPfr=Uofrj7t=zrRfDUX:eQaQxg=r?87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQeQQPGqpfVtB?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeelRup6lQQ/of=50,480,360"></a><br /><div><a href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ=up6RKKt:xxr=o-qpDlfX7RPfr=Uofrj7t=zrRfDUX:eQaQxg=r?87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0GQP0aeQPGqpfVtB?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaloRup6lQQ/of=50,480,360"><img style="WIDTH: 480px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 360px" alt="" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0GQP0aeQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalo%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ=up6RKKt:xxr=o-qpDGfX7RPfr=Uofrj7t=zrRfDUX:eQaQxg=r?87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0GQP0elQPGqpfVtB?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXelGRup6lQQ/of=50,480,360"><img style="WIDTH: 480px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 360px" alt="" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0GQP0elQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXelG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ=up6RKKt:xxr=o-qpDGfX7RPfr=Uofrj7t=zrRfDUX:eQaQxg=r?87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQGJQPGqpfVtB?*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaJaRup6aQQ/of=50,360,480"><img style="WIDTH: 360px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 480px" alt="" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQGJQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaJa%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" /></a> </div><div><br /><div id="slideshow_div" style="VISIBILITY: visible"><img id="slideshowPicture" style="WIDTH: 417px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 398px" height="360" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQeQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeel%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" width="480" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" caption="katemollyindia 321 " hrfilesize="567" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33557%3B92%3A2338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp9%3A8" incart="false" trimmedcaption="katemollyindia 321 " tempjournal="/of=50,480,480" tempheight="72" tempwidth="96" tempthumbnailsrc="http://images1e.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A3%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33557%3B92%3A2338vq0mrj" journal="/of=50,480,480" renderedpicturl="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2//is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3DTj6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xKjxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQeQQPGKjfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeP%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQeQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeel%7CRTj6eo%7CRup6lQQ%7CYTj6nl%7C" imgoid="98601482015" imgid="98601482015" productrenderprice="$4.95" productrenderdescription="Greeting card" productrenderimage="http://render1.snapfish.com/render//MONTAGE_FORMAT=PNG_RGB/MONTAGE_LAYOUT=landscape.xml/MONTAGE_RENDERING_HINTS=YQYYY4QQZ/MONTAGE_SIZE=/MONTAGE_SLIMLINE_ID=foldedcard_display_on_product/USERTEXT_TEXT=/USERPHOTO_ISOURCE_PREVIEW1_RES=Yup6aQQ%7C%3DTj6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xKjxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQeQQPGKjfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeP%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlQeQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeel%7CRTj6eo%7CRup6lQQ%7CYTj6nl%7C/USERPHOTO_RESOLUTION=PREVIEW1_RES/BACKGROUND_BOX_HINT=PRESERVE_SIZE/BACKGROUND_RESOLUTION=PREVIEW1_RES/OVERLAY_BOX_HINT=PRESERVE_SIZE/OVERLAY_RESOLUTION=PREVIEW1_RES" productrenderhref="http://www1.snapfish.com.au/cardsapps/AlbumID=/PictureID=98601482015_12459819/prd=/prdtype=5x7+folded+cards+rev2/" /></div><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458312020223931505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-74019255194631330842010-03-29T09:26:00.002-07:002010-03-29T09:28:12.036-07:00Bangaluru!!!Hi all, This is Kate here...<br />It was a crazy adventure to Bangalore but I was so glad to be back to the city I lived and worked in for 4 months last year. However, of course in the traditional Molly and Kate style we arrived into Bangalore at 6:00 AM unsure of where we were staying in Bangalore or what are plans were going to be. Molls was such a trooper as she was feeling pretty sick and we were having finding a place to avoid harassment as well as a place with a bathroom which is basically a hole in the ground inside with a door. Anyways everything worked out we were able to find a bathroom and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">internet</span> place where we found out we could stay at my old bosses house with his family...Ill briefly fill you in last year I was working for an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">NGO</span> called Youth for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Seva</span> and I lived and worked here in Bangalore for 4 months. I volunteered in a small slum at their small center which is basically a very old run down building with two floors no desk or chairs just one or two chalk boards and lots of dust and mold. I would come here everyday in the afternoons to teach the children <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">english</span> or help them with their math homework as the language barrier was too difficult for me to help them in any other subjects. I also worked in two different orphanages one with 40 boys and one with 35 girls. Both orphanages were well run by really loving great people however the facilities are very very minimal and simple. The boys orphanage is over a steel mill and is only two huge empty floors with outdoor washing facility all the boys sleep on the tile floors with only a blanket under them. The girls orphanage is more like a large home but they too all just sleep on the large open area with only a blanket under them. While working at these orphanages I taught them <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">english</span> and math but also helped set up special activities for the children on the weekend and special holidays including large <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">bday</span> celebrations for all since known of them really know their birthdays. In addition I was documenting as many of the stories of the children as possible about their back round and how the orphanage has helped change their lives for the better. This book is being used to help keep records of the children as well as for fundraising for the orphanages. I can not even begin to tell you about the number or struggles and difficulties these children faced and have overcome already at such a young age. It is amazing! I also worked to start a volunteer program at a hospital called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Kidwai</span>. It is a government hospital with very limited funding and staff and I wanted to set up a volunteer program here especially in the children's ward to help them stay up with their school work as well as provide entertainment and joy for them as they were going through chemo and living in the hospital. So anyways I was unsure how many of these projects would still be going on but I was thrilled to see that all of them are still running for the most part and work is still being carried on by other volunteers. I think the best part for me has been to return to these places and see all the children and their families as well as all the people I worked with last year and was glad that Molly could come and meet many of the children and their families.<br />Our time here in Bangalore has been jammed packed from the day we arrived! We have been taking the public buses as I try to remember my way around the city and the different buses we need to take from one place to the next. As Molly will testify my memory and skill of direction is not the best as we had one very long bus adventure which should have been 30 min but because of Bangalore traffic and the route of the bus we took ended up being close to a 2 hour bus ride in the 90 degree sun packed in like sardines into this old rickety bus with a bus driver that loved to beep his horn and turn off the bus every time we stopped and get out his paper...needless to say both of us wanted to die but <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">at lesat</span> I feel Molls got a really great tour of the city.. one <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">i'm</span> sure she never wants to see again! However in our time here we have attended 2 weddings, had many traditional dinners with friends and families that I had known here in Bangalore...it was great we got eat some amazing Indian meals sitting on the floor with our hands, took numerous buses, gone back to the small slum and after school center as well as the boys orphanage and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Kidwai</span> hospital, taken motorbikes throughout the city to different events, walked through numerous fruit and flower markets, and Molls attempted at getting her nose <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">pierced</span> but got mauled in the face by an India guy instead. It was a great 6 days in Bangalore .. we will head out <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">tmw</span> night on another night train for 13 hours ..hopefully that is much more mellow than our first train ride!! Thanks for reading and we will be trying to keep up with the blog more often.. when possible!!!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-6899930015725632812010-03-29T09:26:00.001-07:002010-03-29T09:26:24.180-07:00Leaving Hampi and Holi behind, Heading to Bangalore!As Kate explained Holi was a pretty incredible experience! We fully tired ourselves out, and unfortunately I woke up Tuesday morning feeling really ill. I had made it two whole weeks with no stomach problems or sickness at all, but it finally hit me. Just my luck, it happened to be on the day we had booked our travels to Bangalore. Luckily we didn't have to leave Hampi till about three, so we just laid around all day trying not to do too much. My sickness was weird because it wasn't just a stomach bug, but rather my whole body just felt so weak and restless. All I wanted to do was lay around our guesthouse and sleep all day. (I'm pretty sure that this came on as a combination of a dodgy veg curry lunch we had the day before, and getting lots of water and dye in my mouth during Holi). Anyhoo, we had a relaxing morning, but eventually we had to mission away from our peaceful abode!<br /><br />I felt so ill I had to walk super slowly in the heat for awhile to get to the boat dock to bring us to the other side. Once across we got a rickshaw to take us to the bus stand to head to Hospet (the town where the train was). On the way we had to stop and get our final seating assignments from the travel agent, and of course he was out to lunch at 4pm, and didn't come back for a half an hour, but eventually we made it to the bus stand, and even got a seat.<br /><br />Somehow this happened to be one of the worst bus rides we had taken so far. I was feeling so ill and tired that I was just resting my head on the seat in front of me while the driver laid on his horn for practically the entire 45 minute ride. It was so unbearable, but I had no other choice, so I had to deal. Upon arriving in Hospet we wanted to find a place to post up near the train station, so we went to talk to the bus driver to find out how far the station was. We were standing next to a ditch with the most foul smell ever coming out of it. It was a mix of urine and god knows what else, but I was pretty sure I was going to either pass out or throw up, so I walked to find refuge in some shade while Kate sorted things out. On the walk to the shady spot, I looked towards the end of the ditch and realized that there were four open air stalls where guys were just pissing into the ditch! It was so nasty! I have never seen a country where men pee so openly; everywhere you look there is a guy whipping it out and just having a wee on the side of the road, it's really gross.<br /><br />Anyhoo, we managed to eventually find refuge in an AC restaurant with bench seating, and I was able to just lay down and sleep for a couple of hours while we killed time before the train ride. Somehow I woke up feeling much better, and finally felt like I was strong enough to handle our first train ride, which was lucky because it was quite a mission.<br /><br />We arrived at the train station about an hour early and headed in through the main station doors. There was a room about 50'x70', and there were people scattered around sleeping. In the middle of the floor there was a man passed out with urine stains on his pants and throw up covering his face and the surrounding floor. I have no idea how long he had been there for, but it was quite disturbing that there was no one there to help him, or move him. The stench coming from him was enough to make a grown man curl over!<br /><br />We found a couple other foreigners waiting on the platforms and struck up a conversation as we waited for our train. Within minutes we had a crowd of about 20 people (mostly women and children, but some men too) gathered around us staring! Some asked some questions, but most just stared. It's really quite akward being stared at. I thought that my dreads attracted a lot of attention, but it doesn't even compare to being a foreigner in India! After most of them dispersed, the beggars began. A guy with two nubbins for arms and a nubbin leg tried begging, as well as a deformed man that had to crawl on the ground to get around, it was really quite sad!<br /><br />We got on our train after waiting for about three hours, and we were excited to finally just chill out and lay down. I was feeling pretty good, but I was definitely ready to take a load off. Right as we pulled out of the station, Kate and I opened up some crackers and were having a little snack when the guy with nubbins for arms and legs approached us begging again. We tried to ignore him, but the second Kate put the cracker in her mouth he lashed out and punched Kate with his nubbin!<br /><br />I yelled out to hopefully make a scene as Kate and I grabbed our bags to protect us. Luckily he had only punched Kate in the arm, but it was still super scary. There had also been one of the train employees sitting near us and he looked up as it happened, so he jumped up and started yelling at the guy. But, instead of just kicking him off he started to yell and beat the guy right in front of us. The compartments are super small, and we were afraid that the nubbin guy was going to lash back out at us, so we were still protecting ourselves as our blood rushed through our veins. There was a lot of yelling, and punching, and eventually the nubbin guy took off, but then there was a huge crowd of people looking at us as the train guy explained what happened to us with vivid hand motions and loud Kannada (the language in the state of Karnataka). The whole thing was super freaky, and way more than we were expecting!<br /><br />Just as we started to relax this kid came out from pretty much right under Kate's legs and was sliding on the ground; since we were so on edge I said watch out, and we both jumped a little at the startle. The kid was apparently just sliding on the ground cleaning the floor and begging, and we were so over having people in our space that we gave him some food or money so he would just leave us alone. After that, we just wanted to get away from everything, but we were supposed to be sleeping in a middle and lower berth which are very open and people are constantly walking past you, and guys stare etc... We pleaded with the train employee and, after everything he saw happen to us, he let us take the two upper berths, so we were out of the way of weirdos.<br /><br />So, our first train journey was a little crazy, but we managed to arrive in Bangalore in one piece which was awesome! Once in Bangalore, we figured out where we were staying and caught a bus to Kate's old boss's apartment. I was still struggling a bit, so we just relaxed, and I ended up sleeping all day! I tried to go out to lunch, but I felt so weak that I just went back and crashed for 8 hours or so! Kate is going to write a little bit about her experience with volunteering in Bangalore, and let you know about some of the programs she helped to set up. We were very fortunate to stay with amazing families in Bangalore, and take buses all over the city checking out Kate's old job sites. I'll write again soon with some pics and info about the two Indian weddings we attended!<br /><br />Until next time!<br /><br />MollsMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-30216305066553502882010-03-29T09:23:00.001-07:002010-03-29T09:23:57.944-07:00Holi!!!!<img id="slideshowPicture" style="visibility: visible; width: 205px; position: relative; height: 302px;" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A7%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338nu0mrj" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp9%3A7" hrfilesize="452" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601565015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="72" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp936%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 220" realheight="800" realwidth="600" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A7%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601565015" imgid="98601565015" width="331" border="0" height="442" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="visibility: visible; width: 202px; position: relative; height: 299px;" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A8%3B%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338nu0mrj" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp%3A8%3B" hrfilesize="582" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601570015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="72" tnurl="http://images1e.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp996%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 223" realheight="800" realwidth="600" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A8%3B%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601570015" imgid="98601570015" width="331" border="0" height="442" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="visibility: visible; width: 247px; position: relative; height: 299px;" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A9%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338nu0mrj" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp9%3A9" hrfilesize="634" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601557015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="96" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A%3A%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 215" realheight="600" realwidth="800" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A9%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601557015" imgid="98601557015" width="589" border="0" height="441" /><br /><br /><br />When we arrived to Hampi we had heard that there was suppose to be a big festival that weekend called Holi. However, no one seemed to know what is was for or what day it was actually on. We continued to hear many different things from travelers and local Indians. At first we were told Holi would be celebrated on Sunday only to find out on Sunday morning that it was actually going to be moved to Monday since it was recognized as an official holiday and people could take a half day off work to celebrate and join in on the festivites. To fill you in on what Holi actually is..Holi is an annual festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna (early March). It celebrates spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology and is time of disregarding social norms when friends and family spray each other with colored powders and water and cover each other in paints. It basically becomes mayhem with tourist and locals all just going crazy and wild in the streets dancing and covering each other in paint. Everyone in Hampi joined in the festivity from children to adults locals and tourists -it is a festival that also celebrates the breaking of all barriers of discrimination between caste systems and toruists and locals by covering eachother in paint everyone looks the same so it was really nice to be a part of it after witnessing the caste system and feeling such a barrier from locals while traveling and being tourists.<br /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="visibility: visible; width: 224px; position: relative; height: 268px;" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp939%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338nu0mrj" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp939" hrfilesize="518" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601574015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="96" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A89%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 225" realheight="600" realwidth="800" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp939%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601574015" imgid="98601574015" width="589" border="0" height="441" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="visibility: visible; width: 198px; position: relative; height: 270px;" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3B2%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338nu0mrj" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp9%3B2" hrfilesize="358" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601611015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="72" tnurl="http://images1e.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A3%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 246" realheight="800" realwidth="600" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3B2%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601611015" imgid="98601611015" width="331" border="0" height="442" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="visibility: visible; width: 246px; position: relative; height: 279px;" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp937%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338nu0mrj" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp937" hrfilesize="599" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601586015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="96" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A95%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 231" realheight="600" realwidth="800" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp937%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601586015" imgid="98601586015" width="589" border="0" height="441" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Molly and I along with our good friends Mel and Dev that we had met at the hostel went full out on Holli. We saw it all begin and marched through rice paddie fields with local children and drummers to the othersied where the full Holi madness began. We stopped at our hostel to mix sand dye and water in waterbottles and joined in the festivity and spraying everyone while being sprayed with paint! With in the first 10 minutes we were covered head to toe in paint. The celebration went on for hours.. we walked through the town spraying eachother, dancing with locals and children to loud drumming and music, and just fully joining in the festivities. It was a memorable day that we will never forget. It was quite crazy walking around town the next few days seeing people still covered in paint as it takes about 3-4 days for it to wash off your skin and who know how long it takes to get out of your hair as I sitll have traces of the paint in my hair a month later!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-22222919157349338442010-03-21T03:24:00.001-07:002010-03-21T03:38:52.462-07:00More Pics from Hampi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lGnQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lGnQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a> The View from our sunset hike:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0laaQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGP%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 479px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0laaQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGP%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480" alt="" border="0" /></a>Molly and Kate!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0PJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0Q%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0PJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0Q%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a>Our Favorite restaraunt, the Mango Tree....amazing view and great coconut curry !<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QGQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0l%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QGQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQ0l%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a>The boat guys hanging out in true Indian style (the men are so touchy here!)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QlQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPG%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 479px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QlQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPG%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480" alt="" border="0" /></a>Walk back from the Mango Tree restaurant through the Banana plantations<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPo%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 479px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPo%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0Q0QQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJn%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0Q0QQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJn%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lGPQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJn%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 479px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6G00%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lGPQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJn%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,319,480" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJonnQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJonnQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQon%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a>Bangles Galore:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QoQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGQ%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlJ0QoQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQGQ%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0l0eQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJG%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0l0eQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJG%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a>The women here are truly Amazing!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0l0GQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPP%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0l0GQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQPP%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lonQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJo%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lonQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJo%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a> The Walk to our Home was pretty Amazing!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlQaeJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJG%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDofRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0JlQaeJQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQJG%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a>Our home at Manju's place! (The middle big bungalow)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lPGQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQQe%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 479px; height: 319px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3DJ-qpDPfRtHef7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQGQxalPxl0Jxv8uOc5xQoQ0Jl0lPGQQaqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXJQQQe%7CRup6G00%7C/of=50,480,319" alt="" border="0" /></a> All our bikes on our lake days!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlleGQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlleGQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlleQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlleQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlllnQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeQJ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlllnQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeQJ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllleQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGe%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllleQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGe%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlllaQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeln%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlllaQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeln%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllllQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllllQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" alt="" border="0" /></a>An all around amazing scene!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllloQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXele%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllloQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXele%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" alt="" border="0" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-10164869000752214902010-03-21T03:19:00.000-07:002010-03-21T03:24:12.380-07:00Cheeky Monkey Pictures<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlleaQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlleaQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllGGQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalG%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllGGQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalG%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllGeQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeen%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllGeQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeen%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllG0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalo%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllG0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalo%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllGJQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeQ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllGJQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeQ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" alt="" border="0" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-86653796417973831962010-03-12T21:21:00.000-08:002010-03-29T09:09:30.013-07:00Holi!<img id="slideshowPicture" style="VISIBILITY: visible; WIDTH: 205px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 302px" height="442" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A7%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338nu0mrj" width="331" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp9%3A7" hrfilesize="452" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601565015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="72" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp936%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 220" realheight="800" realwidth="600" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A7%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826567338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601565015" imgid="98601565015" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="VISIBILITY: visible; WIDTH: 202px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 299px" height="442" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A8%3B%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338nu0mrj" width="331" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp%3A8%3B" hrfilesize="582" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601570015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="72" tnurl="http://images1e.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp996%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 223" realheight="800" realwidth="600" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A8%3B%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826572338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601570015" imgid="98601570015" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="VISIBILITY: visible; WIDTH: 247px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 299px" height="441" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A9%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338nu0mrj" width="589" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp9%3A9" hrfilesize="634" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601557015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="96" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A%3A%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 215" realheight="600" realwidth="800" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A9%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826559338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601557015" imgid="98601557015" /><br /><br /><br />When we arrived to Hampi we had heard that there was suppose to be a big festival that weekend called Holi. However, no one seemed to know what is was for or what day it was actually on. We continued to hear many different things from travelers and local Indians. At first we were told Holi would be celebrated on Sunday only to find out on Sunday morning that it was actually going to be moved to Monday since it was recognized as an official holiday and people could take a half day off work to celebrate and join in on the festivites. To fill you in on what Holi actually is..Holi is an annual festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna (early March). It celebrates spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology and is time of disregarding social norms when friends and family spray each other with colored powders and water and cover each other in paints. It basically becomes mayhem with tourist and locals all just going crazy and wild in the streets dancing and covering each other in paint. Everyone in Hampi joined in the festivity from children to adults locals and tourists -it is a festival that also celebrates the breaking of all barriers of discrimination between caste systems and toruists and locals by covering eachother in paint everyone looks the same so it was really nice to be a part of it after witnessing the caste system and feeling such a barrier from locals while traveling and being tourists.<br /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="VISIBILITY: visible; WIDTH: 224px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 268px" height="441" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp939%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338nu0mrj" width="589" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp939" hrfilesize="518" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601574015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="96" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A89%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 225" realheight="600" realwidth="800" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp939%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826576338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601574015" imgid="98601574015" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="VISIBILITY: visible; WIDTH: 198px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 270px" height="442" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3B2%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338nu0mrj" width="331" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp9%3B2" hrfilesize="358" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601611015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="72" tnurl="http://images1e.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3A3%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 246" realheight="800" realwidth="600" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp9%3B2%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D33558265%3B3338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601611015" imgid="98601611015" /><img id="slideshowPicture" style="VISIBILITY: visible; WIDTH: 246px; POSITION: relative; HEIGHT: 279px" height="441" src="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp937%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338nu0mrj" width="589" border="0" name="slideshowPicture" lrp="232323232%7Fjwvs%3C%3E%3Dvh5%2Fotf81odj40vhr41uqcshluk0fqp%3C%3A2%3B2%3EfiuBRdvk%3F%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338nu0mrjAVvrtdihEhnoPdoh%3Fofp937" hrfilesize="599" isvideo="false" incart="false" pictureowneroid="12459819" pictureoid="98601586015" isfavorite="false" tnwidth="96" tnurl="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3A95%3Evq%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338vq0mrj" caption="katemollyindia 231" realheight="600" realwidth="800" realsrc="http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp937%3Enu%3D3244%3E68%3B%3E%3A4%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3355826588338nu0mrj" isownedone="true" imgoid="98601586015" imgid="98601586015" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Molly and I along with our good friends Mel and Dev that we had met at the hostel went full out on Holli. We saw it all begin and marched through rice paddie fields with local children and drummers to the othersied where the full Holi madness began. We stopped at our hostel to mix sand dye and water in waterbottles and joined in the festivity and spraying everyone while being sprayed with paint! With in the first 10 minutes we were covered head to toe in paint. The celebration went on for hours.. we walked through the town spraying eachother, dancing with locals and children to loud drumming and music, and just fully joining in the festivities. It was a memorable day that we will never forget. It was quite crazy walking around town the next few days seeing people still covered in paint as it takes about 3-4 days for it to wash off your skin and who know how long it takes to get out of your hair as I sitll have traces of the paint in my hair a month later!Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458312020223931505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-51884913413165321162010-03-07T08:49:00.000-08:002010-03-13T21:34:47.570-08:00Heading to HampiSo, Kate and I have slacked big time on writing, but we finally managed to post a few pictures for all to see, and now we are working on writing about our past 10 days of India! Basically, from where I left off last time we were in Palolem (beach town in south Goa), and about to head to Hampi. A few days earlier on our way to Palolem (during our 4 bus day trip), we decided to be responsible travelers and book our travel plans in the hub city as we passed through there. So, we woke up on Friday morning, said our goodbyes to the beach and headed off around 2 pm to venture on some more awesome hot, jam packed government buses! We arrived in Panjim (the hub town where we had booked our bus tickets) after about three hours of traveling in the hot sun. We found a nice place to eat and kill some time before our night bus was leaving. We loaded up into our night bus (the tiny little space we came to call home), and tried to sleep for awhile. Before closing our eyes, we both noticed that it seemed like we were heading back the way we had came, but we thought that that couldn't be possible, so we just dozed off. Basically we woke up at 11:30pm on the exact street in Palolem that we had left at 2pm!!! We both looked at each other and started laughing about what idiots we were! We traveled all day in the heat, just to be back at the same place we started nearly 10 hours earlier! To add insult to injury we fell asleep once more and woke up in another small town. After inquiring where we were, we realized that we were in Gokarna, the town that is closest to Om beach! We had heard about Om beach from our first day in India; it's supposed to be super chilled out, not many people, perfect beaches, huts right on the beach...blah blah blah...yeah, paradise. Well, after looking at the map when we were in north Goa, it looked like we would have to back track about 7 hours if we wanted to go to this beach; and since we are thinking about going to the Andaman islands, we decided to bag the idea of backtracking just to kick it on a nice beach. So pretty much we realized that we were the biggest idiots in the world, because not only did we travel an unnecessary 10 hours to pick up a bus, but we were also in the one town that we had wanted to go to the whole trip. (And not to mention, the entire time we were in Hampi all we heard about is how great Gokarna is, especially Om beach. Everyone talks about how they got stuck there for weeks, met tons of great people, and just had the best chilled out time...so yeah, we don't want to talk about it)<br /><br />Besides our travel mishap, and the tumultuously bumpy road (which is a little creepy when you are sleeping with two people in a tiny bed 10 feet off the ground with only two metal bars to keep you in place), we arrived in Hampi happy and healthy! Driving into Hampi was beautiful; Hampi used to be a bustling trade town of about 500,000 people that was built in the 1300's, but was destroyed in a religious battle in 1565 (I think). So the town is scattered with ruins amongst amazing granite boulders. We hopped off the bus and followed a friend's suggestion to cross the river and try to stay at Bobby's place (thanks Gabi). You have to take a little boat to cross the river, and it just runs back and forth all day, with a cute little teenage boy that wears a cowboy sombrero conducting it! After walking for awhile in the opposite direction as everyone else, we arrived amidst the rice paddies at three little guest houses. Bobby's ended up being full, so we stayed next door at Manju's place. We ended up getting our own large room with shelves and a bathroom for 225 rupees (rs) ($5) a night (but sssshhhh....don't tell anyone, secret price! That is what they have said to us at every guest house we stay at. They always tell us that the person staying next to us is paying more, so we can have the room at our desired rate, but we can't tell anyone...funny huh?). We almost stayed in a mud hut with dirt floors and a shared bathroom for $1.50 cheaper, but because of all the bugs and the distance to the bathroom we decided to splurge and each pay an extra 75 cents each per night (it's funny because talking about it now is ridiculous...it's just dollars and cents, but when you're haggling 75 rs seems like a lot!)<br /><br />I know I started explaining the beauty of Hampi earlier, but this place is really something else! The landscape is just so contrasting and beautiful. There are guest houses scattered within rice paddies, palm trees, granite boulders, ruins, a big river, some lakes, and lots of temples. Hampi is one of those places that you end up staying longer than you planned to when you arrived, yet when you leave you feel like you could have stayed longer. It's pretty special!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloJoQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXela%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 360px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloJoQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXela%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Shortly after arriving we were hanging out at our little communal gazebo area and started chatting with a guy from Montreal. He had a pink cast on, and told us how he had broke his ankle a week back from bouldering, he also told us that one guy had just died from jumping off the rocks into the lake (I seriously still had to plead with Kate not to do it even after she knew someone died...haha), that his roommate compressed a disc in her spine from jumping off the rocks, and that another guy had Malaria in the guesthouse next to us. What a welcome right!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllenQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 360px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllenQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next day we decided to rent a motorbike and see some temples. We met some funny guys that were renting out bikes and managed to get a good deal on a bike. Little did we know that our bike was a piecer! One of the guys was obsessed with Kate, and wouldn't stop calling her Kate Winslett....plus he wanted to marry her! haha...all in good fun. Anyhoo, Shortly after our first failed attempt at riding off, we hit our first hill...and let me tell you, that didn't go so well! The whole day was spent with Kate getting off the bike on every hill and literally pushing the bike up to the top. Riding a bike in India is quite an experience, even in the countryside. First off you are constantly running into herds of animals; our day began with 2 herds of goats, then a huge herd of buffalo, then the cows...endless cows. It's difficult because the herders don't help get them out of the road, instead you just have to go slowly and hope that one of the animals you are passing doesn't decide to turn around and spike you with their horns!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloeoQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeea%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 360px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloeoQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeea%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" /></a><br />We managed to overcome the bike issues, and ride all over looking at temples. Luckily at our second temple we were 'adopted' by a sweet Indian family that drove us around to a bunch more temples, while their 16 year old son drove our bike! We ended up being able to go to a super spiritual place that not many foreigners go to because it's difficult to find, and it's not really clear what it is without some explanations. So, after a long morning in the sun we decided to head out to the lake that everyone was talking about. On our way out there we got lost twice, and spent about 20 minutes looking for the swimming hole. As we were driving around we got stuck on yet another hill, and I was waiting at the top for Kate to hike up, and there was a guy standing at the top. Half of his body was behind a rock, and I didn't think anything of it until Kate got on the bike and looked back at him while he gave her a huge smile. Kate screamed and said "Go, Go, Go!" Apparently the guy was playing with himself as he watched us! GROSS!!! It was kind of scary too, because we ended up driving past this guy two other times that day, and both times it was the same thing...and the last time he started chasing us! We were really freaked because we were on a hill, but our bike must have sensed the urgency because luckily it sped off just fine and we left the creeper in the dust!<br /><br />So, we eventually ended up finding a nice swimming hole with a group of English tourists, but still the vibe was a little creepy. Whenever you get in the water in Hampi loads of Indian guys gather around and just stare at you...it's super creepy. We were trying to enjoy ourselves because it was so hot, and the lake was so refreshing, but it was just not a good scene. Luckily a nice little Indian boy helped us out and told us to cover up because those were bad guys, so...we decided to leave.<br /><br />In the afternoon we headed up to the Hanuman (Monkey God) Temple! There are 577 steps that lead you to this amazing temple high up in the sky. It is probably one of the most amazing views I have ever seen! It's one of those places that makes you think that no matter what care in the world that you had, it would go away once you got to the top of this temple. The temple is situated on huge granite formations, so you can just walk around and find a chilled out place to kick it! The contrasts of the granite and the rice paddies are unbelievable! And, I'm not sure if this is true or not, but someone told us that the Flintstones movie was filmed there, and I wouldn't doubt it because the scenery doesn't look real! I think these pics will explain it better than my words:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllJnQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 360px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnllJnQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnnGPPQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 480px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 360px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnnGPPQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnnGQ0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGJ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 480px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://render5.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnnGQ0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGJ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,360,480" border="0" /></a><br /><p>The pictures don't really show the complete beauty of the place, but it gives an idea! The funniest/scariest part about the Hanuman temple we are the cheeky monkeys!!! As we were walking around Kate had a bottle of water, and a bottle of petrol in her pack when two monkeys attacked her! One jumped onto her backpack trying to steal the bottles, and the other one crawled up her leg and onto her pack...Someone had to help us get rid of them, it was a little freaky! They are small but super strong. They all look cute from a distance, but the rest of the time we were really weary of them! </p><p>The rest of the time in Hampi was really chilled out. We were staying at an awesome place where we were able to chill everyday. We also rented Motorbikes and swam at the lake (with a group of people this time to avoid the creepers) almost everyday, it was awesome. We met a great couple from England Melody and Dev (Mel's actually from Zimbabwe, and Dev is Indian so he's been here a few times) who have already been traveling India for 3 months at the beginning of two years of traveling! They gave us some good insight for northern India, and we have actually made plans to meet up later this trip! So, all in all Hampi was one of the best places we visited so far! Super chilled out, awesome hiking, bouldering, temples, lake...just perfect! Our last full day in Hampi was a festival called Holi (pronounced Holly), that Kate is going to write about! It was complete madness. The pictures are pretty insane!!!! So, sorry it's been so long since our last posts, but we are working hard on catching up on everything! Thank you all for your wonderful comments, it is great to know that people are reading this! Love to you all, and I hope this message finds you in good health and happiness!</p><p>MOlly</p><p>(This computer isn't allowing me to post anymore pics from Hampi or the Hanuman Temple, so next time I'm online I'll post some more pics!)</p>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-7587145390411164832010-03-07T03:17:00.000-08:002010-03-07T03:29:12.571-08:00One of our Favorites!<span style="font-size:130%;">We were leaving the bus stand walking through the crowds of people when Kate pointed out this amazing photo opportunity! We struggled to find the camera, as hordes of people were staring at us with looks of bewilderment at what the heck we were taking a picture of! Look closely and hopefully you can read the sign above the building (if not is says "Symbol of Cleanliness", while the building is surrounded by trash)!!!! It's funny because you will visit some of the most beautiful places in India and they are still littered with rubbish! We are also adding a pic of one of our favorite meals!!! (Masala Uttapam, and a South Indian Veg Thali...Mmmmm)!</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloPaQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloPaQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeeG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloooQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeaP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloooQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeaP%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458312020223931505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-83598666364466337802010-03-07T02:53:00.000-08:002010-03-07T03:34:53.138-08:00Pictures from Goa<span style="font-size:130%;">Here are some pictures from our adventure throughout the state of Goa. There were so many stalls selling teas and spices, it was beautiful! If you recall in our earlier post we spoke about all the crazy people that we encountered in Goa, especially Arambol. You will see the David Bowie double from the Labyrinth balancing a glass ball on his head. Topless women doing handstands, men in speedo's juggling. Luckily amidst all the craziness there were also many beautiful parts of Goa, from the fishing boats to the cows roaming the beaches. There is also a picture of our jammed pack bus rides, and a few others just for fun! Thanks for waiting so long for all the pictures! We are finally starting to motivate, and will hopefully have some new posts coming your way!<br />-Molls and Kate</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0Jn0aPJQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0Jn0aPJQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloP0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeQG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloP0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXeQG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloPQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXlnl%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloPQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXlnl%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloQGQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloQGQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXalJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlPnQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDlfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnlPnQQPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXee0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0JnloQ0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXelG%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 360px;" src="http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3Do-qpDGfX7RPfr%3DUofrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxJGnxaPnxv8uOc5xQPo0Jn0en0QPGqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6qgXaGJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,480,360" alt="" border="0" /></a>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08458312020223931505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-23787534127250178512010-03-05T20:53:00.000-08:002010-03-05T21:58:21.038-08:00Mumbai Pictures!!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAbXKILkaC1jwuUlLe6T7rnzTmHAewW-cMFFPf-nS9u3Mfx99OEiiTusjrjIG5P1fa1_mYBHOg-fOX9mAZTBUbzqxhky9uUUhRXg0xg5qPu6XTEVI8C-J5Ed9t1M5qwoPIQ5BIeDdfUM/s1600-h/katemollyindia+029.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAbXKILkaC1jwuUlLe6T7rnzTmHAewW-cMFFPf-nS9u3Mfx99OEiiTusjrjIG5P1fa1_mYBHOg-fOX9mAZTBUbzqxhky9uUUhRXg0xg5qPu6XTEVI8C-J5Ed9t1M5qwoPIQ5BIeDdfUM/s320/katemollyindia+029.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445392623782951458" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2mRBOlOXt6aJboEaJ0imzB_MdHrPSDhGDnYk2QGoUYCwAQDF9BurWizGvV6-vk3Nm87058FCaLSCvkRtTjAcFpZL7kWyHkLdjfuVZ0zGi9f8NsYgJi2RFsACOcvqu5IUANDr5OSugL8/s1600-h/katemollyindia+021.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2mRBOlOXt6aJboEaJ0imzB_MdHrPSDhGDnYk2QGoUYCwAQDF9BurWizGvV6-vk3Nm87058FCaLSCvkRtTjAcFpZL7kWyHkLdjfuVZ0zGi9f8NsYgJi2RFsACOcvqu5IUANDr5OSugL8/s320/katemollyindia+021.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445392615975666690" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGN4IyA6NBtdGI-51LV0VxewcMWMYJurIQhKNCvutgoWXcyBeF4YpMNCMBVWnYVguk2BUdpGlUaT02MBjaSI7UjIhO7bE-IctI8M3S4lD73zwPr97Kdd0VIMqiO48wWPNcEgim-aFkOU/s1600-h/katemollyindia+027.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGN4IyA6NBtdGI-51LV0VxewcMWMYJurIQhKNCvutgoWXcyBeF4YpMNCMBVWnYVguk2BUdpGlUaT02MBjaSI7UjIhO7bE-IctI8M3S4lD73zwPr97Kdd0VIMqiO48wWPNcEgim-aFkOU/s320/katemollyindia+027.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445391260435466626" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDUXHxci8XnXmr-gzo62anLj3riGNSkQ1BF0tNjigfq4Mtho4tJuAcv4XI5hBiTdkoE8DqWdT9gh08BeQQ6z-Xem19DlMk1l5k6tIN4IzJWMKjUjt2KucrqVTmWk085HLWluwTsxaVBA/s1600-h/katemollyindia+040.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDUXHxci8XnXmr-gzo62anLj3riGNSkQ1BF0tNjigfq4Mtho4tJuAcv4XI5hBiTdkoE8DqWdT9gh08BeQQ6z-Xem19DlMk1l5k6tIN4IzJWMKjUjt2KucrqVTmWk085HLWluwTsxaVBA/s320/katemollyindia+040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445382174993041282" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEpIcLqv0aK5Rv1_cEZkrS7TGM_7tm5LHb_A-GQQHIOi4HTLw3-m17bIh0Z29dE8G7rvnoOfv-p74So6mBqIyIUwi1NOCDoLSoqNPeIbrT4qypuUDeI8SBRcreHzUwf2Dh6X67x-GKOU/s1600-h/katemollyindia+018.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEpIcLqv0aK5Rv1_cEZkrS7TGM_7tm5LHb_A-GQQHIOi4HTLw3-m17bIh0Z29dE8G7rvnoOfv-p74So6mBqIyIUwi1NOCDoLSoqNPeIbrT4qypuUDeI8SBRcreHzUwf2Dh6X67x-GKOU/s320/katemollyindia+018.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445382167045166338" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbn3N7MKKDVHjk8zrb1KWnnS4xVhEy98RwVmLGx637a55eoriyKGSrEW-S_jBeXVyO-suzSvHqCJT_39ly2FI3DAA9z4EdiZvr5M0gToJErbPxl-VFIy-kDDGYAOrC64FJtFS6Fr99OI/s1600-h/katemollyindia+009.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbn3N7MKKDVHjk8zrb1KWnnS4xVhEy98RwVmLGx637a55eoriyKGSrEW-S_jBeXVyO-suzSvHqCJT_39ly2FI3DAA9z4EdiZvr5M0gToJErbPxl-VFIy-kDDGYAOrC64FJtFS6Fr99OI/s320/katemollyindia+009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445382157383266178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitW-_VVxueOlXWRlbFj6DCLMEd08CmkE2gLtY6LiKUiiDs1Hb4xTggNCLPICHlGkip8n36n_Vtu4bIYc7gOP96xWpTEawVfJmCxOafdkVSO9TvcJCMto-ur5vNl5s4IV_sSHUMP3QV1mI/s1600-h/katemollyindia+011.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitW-_VVxueOlXWRlbFj6DCLMEd08CmkE2gLtY6LiKUiiDs1Hb4xTggNCLPICHlGkip8n36n_Vtu4bIYc7gOP96xWpTEawVfJmCxOafdkVSO9TvcJCMto-ur5vNl5s4IV_sSHUMP3QV1mI/s320/katemollyindia+011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445382152499778914" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcdhYbXSry7EmnXA3bbAfrlmZK100m3Sqr5K70t-SET44cpGqTns_aUNfUx6UtpklH2fDTr1tYk_shDvd_eKWpOYQx84tKjKLIGSLuzpQ1AKwglshPt2oRJ50xSM2pemj4OeI4f8copw/s1600-h/katemollyindia+001.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcdhYbXSry7EmnXA3bbAfrlmZK100m3Sqr5K70t-SET44cpGqTns_aUNfUx6UtpklH2fDTr1tYk_shDvd_eKWpOYQx84tKjKLIGSLuzpQ1AKwglshPt2oRJ50xSM2pemj4OeI4f8copw/s320/katemollyindia+001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445382143103911106" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-21872043964181668022010-02-24T04:05:00.000-08:002010-02-24T04:35:10.458-08:00North Goa to South Goa; PalolemWe have only been here 5 days, but it feels like so long. From previous trips I remember that the first two weeks on a trip feel like they are so long, then the rest of the trip flies by. In the beginning days feel like weeks, but by the end months turn to days. India was a real shocker at first (which I'm sure you can tell if you've been following the blog), but it's funny that it's already beginning to mesh together and feel more comfortable. As crazy as everything/everyone is here, it all seems to work. For example, yesterday we had to take four buses to move from North Goa to South Goa (it would have been $40 by taxi, or $1.50 by buses). <br /><br />Seeing as there is no real bus schedule or timetable you would think we might spend a lot of time waiting; but it was quite the opposite. We caught our first bus after about a 20 minute wait, and were packed in like sardines. It's pretty crazy here, because you squish together till you think you can't get any closer, but then the guy who collects your bus tickets pushes his way to the back and pinches you and grabs you, and literally picks you up and squishes you even more! (It's quite an experience, you have no control at all! haha).<br /><br />That bus was an hour ride, then we hopped off we managed to find the next bus almost immediatly. It was creeping through the bus parking lot, and wouldn't stop for us, so we just had to jump on with all our gear. But it was pretty awesome because we actually got seats! We felt VERY lucky! <br /><br />At the stop where we were to grab our 3rd bus we decided to walk around and try to book some travel plans for a few days in the future. We tried to get some train tickets, but the ticket office was CRAZY. We had to pay to get a number to wait, and there was one foreigner in there who said she'd been there for 1 1/2 hours and her number was finally next. She said they were going through less than 10 numbers in an hour! When we realized that our number was 20 numbers away, plus the fact that we didn't even know if there was a train to Hampi we decided to bail on that one, and head to the beloved Paulo Travels Bus Service to book another cozy bed for 2 for a 13 hour bumpy ride! <br /><br />Anyways, when we made our way back to the train station our third bus was conveniently boarding and we were able to buy a ticket and hop right on...into a seat again!!!!! At the Fourth stop we decided to get some food and walk around a bit, then miraculously showed up at the buses once again right as ours was leaving; so we dodged the cars to cross the street and loaded up. <br /><br />This bus was a little comical, because first of all they were bumping Bhangra tunes! (Our fave was a little ballad that was a woman singing in Hindi, then a man would come on and sing in English with a heavy accent "I don't know what you're Saying, I don't know what you're saying, but I want to dance with you!" It's our new theme song for the trip!) Also, we got charged 2 1/2 times what the locals paid for the ride, but all in all everything worked out so smoothly it was amazing! <br /><br />So, like I said things are starting to mesh together and not feel so foreign and crazy; but that's not to say that there aren't at least 20 things a day that happen to us that make us look at eachother and just laugh out loud about how ridiculous it is. Here are a few examples:<br />-Constant Horn Honking....they seriously will hold the horn for 10 seconds at a time...or just constantly give little beeps. Apparently they honk when they want to pass a car, so trucks have signs painted on the back that say 'Horns yes please.'<br />-The cows on the beach! It's one thing to get used to sunbathing with cows, but as Kate learned the other night, you aren't expecting to have to dodge cow pies at night!<br />-We decided to drink a beer on the beach last night and a skinny Indian man in red undies (tighty whitey stylie), decided to stand less than 5 feet in front of us when there was no one else near us. He was staring out into the water, then turning around and staring at us. So finally I looked at him and said hi. He took this as an invitation to talk to us...but he kept telling us his wife was in the water and pointing to some people in the water. We told him he should go join her, but he just wanted to keep talking, so we decided to pick up and move. Of course, as we passed his "wife" in the water...it was really just two white couples! He was icky. <br />-We think Kate may have been involved in some sort of drug deal on the bus! Some boys made her pass a bag with some conspicuous brown powder in it, then made her pass money to the other guy!<br />-The Constant hassling is too much. This new beach we are on is by far the worst so far! The women come up to and just stand over you, trying to get your attention by asking you questions. If you look up and say "no thank you," your trapped...they just keep talking to you and won't leave, it's totally ridiculous. This has been one of the hardest things for me, because the only way to get them away is to completely ignore them...and I'm not good at that. In one hour on the beach you will have 20 people come up to; each one offering the same things: jewellery, manicures/pedicures, henna, and sarongs. It's so hard to be rude, but it's all you can do. You will be reading your book and they just stand over you shooting questions at you!<br /><br />So, now we are on Palolem with the constant hagglers. We have found the best garlic naan here that we've had so far! It's so delicious! We are staying in a cute little bungalow for $2 a night each! Unfortunately we are staying next to some Israelis that brought huge speakers travelling with them, and they love to bump techno and smoke hash all day long. They somehow manage to stay up talking till 4 am, which I have no idea how it's possible after the amount of hashish they smoke! But all in all the bungalow is great. We have pigs all over...about 20 piglets running around, plus chickens...tons of them. And last night we were sitting on our deck and a cow just strolled right through (they have carte blanch here). Also there seemed to be a group of rabid dogs attacking eachother all night, so I guess that dogs just seem to be nocturnal in all of India, not just Mumbai! hehe. <br /><br />But everything is falling into place nicely. We are headed to a great town called Hampi tomorrow and we are really excited to post up for 3 or 4 night and relax in this ruin town. <br /><br />I will be hooking up my camera in Hampi and posting some pics, so even if you've read the last blogs keep checking them for pictures!!!! <br /><br />Love to you all, thanks again for listening!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-81026498045160613052010-02-23T20:58:00.000-08:002010-02-24T04:05:15.120-08:00North Goa; ArambolWe woke up on Sunday morning to the shouts of "Mapusa, Mapusa!" Kate and I looked around at our home for the night (the small sleeper bed on the bus) and realized that we had our stuff scattered all over the place, and our stop was just seconds away. So we jumped down off the bunk found our packs and quickly started shoving everything we owned back into our packs. We finished with barely a time to take a deep breath before we were off the bus and getting attacked by people trying to give us taxi rides and auto rickshaw rides. We didn't really know where we were or what we were doing, so we really just needed a minute to regroup, sit down, open the LP and figure out what the hell to do next. Unfortunately we had the mob of drivers following us halfway down the block, so we ended up just ducking into a hotel to get a minute of silence! It's funny here, because most places you can find solace on a street corner or on a bench or in a park; but here, if you are in the open you're free game! <br /><br />We figured out that we needed to get a bus, and we headed off to the famous beaches of North Goa! Upon arrival we were shocked that we weren't harrassed by any taxi or rickshaw drivers, and we just assumed that everything must be really close. The irony of it all is that the ONE time we would have enjoyed a taxi ride, no one was around to help! We ended up walking about a mile and a half in the blazing sun...then wandering down the beach till we found our new home! We got a sweet little beach bungalow for $7 a night between the two of us! <br /><br /> We were so excited to get to the beach after crazy Mumbai. I don't know exactly how to explain Goa because it is quite different than any other place I've been before. Not the scenery....it's a nice beach, warm water, little waves. But I guess it's more the people that flock to Goa. It seems to be a sort of winter retreat for all the Euro Burners. The people are just totally whacked out. Kate and I were just constantly people watching, and totally amused by all the different outfits and hairstyles/lifestyle choices of the Goan Vacationers. First off, most people that were there seemed to be staying there on a long term basis. Lot's of Russians, Ukranians....people from all over Europe, looking for an escape. Also, most of India is very conservative; you have to have your shoulders and your knees covered at all times. But it Goa, that flies right out the window....it's hard to tell who is wearing less clothes: the guys, or the girls? Literally there are guys on the beach in leopard print G-strings...it's a little much! <br /><br />I wish I could go into further detail about Arambol, but it would take a long time, so Kate and I jotted down a list of some of the most memorable things that we saw:<br /><br />-We saw a guy with a mohawk that was short in the front, but then turned into a dread mullet in the back<br />-A guy walking down the beach with tight bright blue pants that bell bottomed, with a fanny pack, and blonde dreads down to his butt<br />-Weird Moon Boots....(who travels with moon boots right?)<br />-Sack Pack Attack Everywhere (for those of you who aren't familiar with this term, yes, they are speedos....thong ones too)<br />-Sack Pack with a Fanny Pack<br />-Trans Euro Hippies EVERYWHERE<br />-2 guys juggling in speedos<br />-1 guy juggling butt naked....and yes, he kept dropping the balls and bending over...GROSS<br />-A group of about 30 people standing in a circle with a "leader" in the middle, doing what Kate and I call 'Kelp Dancing'...very weird<br />-We saw a bald guy sitting on the beach balancing a crystal ball on his head (I think we was David Bowie's crystal ball double guy from the Labyrinth)<br /><br />Those were some of the best ones that stick out in our minds! (I have some good pics to prove that we really saw these things...so check back soon; my plan is to edit some of the posts and add some pics in the next few days!) Also, it's pretty crazy trying to walk on the road here. Everyone rents motos, and the streets are so small, but everyone thinks they own them, and it'a a constant movement of cars, rickshaws, and bikes. It's crazy because they literally aim for you, and when you hear the horn you have to jump out of the way as they speed past you only inches from your body. It's hard to get used to!<br /><br />We spent two nights in Arambol, and decided it was time to move on. We were really hoping that we were going to head somewhere with Indian food (All the restaurants in Arambol had huge menus with every kind of cuisine from Israeli to Italian to English, then a small section for Indian food) but unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case. <br /><br />Anyways I'll write about our next adventure in the following blog! Thanks for Reading!!!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-35286080861475202952010-02-21T20:29:00.000-08:002010-02-23T05:22:46.578-08:00Mumbai cont.So, let's see here....where did I stop last. Oh yeah, so we stayed the night in the shoddy Salvation Army hostel...which was quite a trip...Literally, right after I wrote the last post I was trying to pay for my hour of internet and ended up getting in a fight with the internet operator from our hostel. He wanted me to show him my passport, but all he needed was the number. So I kept trying to tell him my number, but he wouldn't accept it. When I told him that it was locked in our locker and my roommate was out with the key, he just threw the book at me and said, "fine, but next time no passport, no internet!" Anyhoo getting on with the rest of our trip...We were so tired from the travelling that we fell asleep kind of early. Our night was filled with endless dogs barking outside the window. It's funny because in India the dogs are nocturnal. They literally sleep in the street and on the sidewalks all day long, then when night arrives they all seem to wake up. They stand on the street barking and attacking anything/anyone who dares to walk by their precious plot of concrete. Then to counteract the attack from the dogs, the cars and auto-rickshaws honk incessantly; so pretty much, sleep in Mumbai is a wee bit difficult. <br /><br />We had read about a big market north of Colaba (where we were staying), and in the morning we decided to try and walk there. On the LP (Lonely Planet) map it only looked to be about 3km or so. We started walking and got completely turned around at our first roundabout. Only about 1/5 of the streets are actually labelled with a street name, so it makes it pretty difficult to get around. We kept asking people where MG Road is (one of the MAIN roads that runs in this part of town), and no one seemed to know. When people would ask where we were going they would say "oh no, too far walk...must take taxi...too far." Kate is reading 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga right now (a book that takes place in India) and when we read this excerpt after our excursion it seemed to sum it up perfectly: <br /><br />"And then another thing. Every road in Delhi has a name, like Aurangazeb Road, or Humayun Road, or Archbishop Road. And no one, masters or servants, knows the name of the road. You ask someone, 'Where's Nikolai Marg?' And he could be a man who lived on Nikolai Marg his whole life, and he'll open his mouth and say 'huh'?"<br /><br />So after the third person we asked for directions told us that it was too far to walk we decided to finally get in a taxi. The driver must have taken us about 5 blocks further down the same road we had been walking on for 45 minutes. Literally, his meter didn't move from the starting off price of 14 rupees (about 30 cents)! Ha...<br /><br />We walked around the streets in awe. Unfortunately it wasn't the fun markets filled with sarongs, scarves and jewellry, but it was more of a local market with everything from electronics to tools to chai. The street were filled with so much life that we were just walking through in awe. Men and women alike were carrying loads 5 times their size on their heads! I have some great pics that I will figure out how to upload onto here soon! Unfortunately it's not always kosher to snap photos of people, so we had to do a lot of sneaky shots. But I was just wishing that I could have an hour there of free photo time where I could take pictures of anyone/thing; it was a beautifully ugly sort of place if that makes sense. The people have so much beauty and stories in their face and dress, that I just want to capture it all on camera, but I'm trying to not step over the boundary of being rude. <br /><br />After that market we walked over to another market where a guy wouldn't let us inside because there was a sign that said foreigners had to pay someone to take them through the market. Instead we walked down 30 feet and walked in on our own. The market was beautiful, filled with fruits and vegetables, and teas. The weirdest thing we saw there were little puppies in cages....lord knows what the plan was for those cute little guys! <br /><br />Our walk back consisted of your average walk down an Indian street: Non-stop hassling, dodging cars, and honking horns. All you hear is "excuse me miss", "Hello miss", "very good price", "where you from"...then a few will even reach out and grab you. Especially the children. It's so sad because they are so dirty and living on the street. I saw a baby girl standing next to a wash basin and she grabbed a pair of wet dirty undies out and started sucking on them. A few blocks later there was a little boy taking a poo in the street drain. It's really hard to see. And the kids are the most persistent with the begging. They grab you, and will follow you a whole block just tugging at your arm then pointing to their mouths. It's super sad! The saddest part about it too, is that any money you give them just goes to someone else. It's a bad situation. <br /><br />Once we got back to Colaba all was good, except that we got followed for half a block by a religious guy who kept pestering us, then finally he got me by saying that we was a Hare Krishna and wanted NO MONEY...so I got suckered into a minute long prayere that, of course, ended in a plea for a donation. When I said no, he got super upset and mean and wouldn't leave us alone for another block. It's pretty crazy. You really want to just trust everyone and talk to everyone, but there are so many alterior motives that it's difficult. Even when you go to buy something, you ask for a price, then they say something too high, so you say how much you want to pay and they say no, but when you start to walk away they ok, that they'll give it to you at that price. Typical haggling right? Almost, except when you go to pay them for the item, they guilt trip you saying, oh pay me more i make no money...it's a little weird; you either get ripped off or guilt tripped. haha. <br /><br />Anyhoo...we ended up meeting up with Kate's cousin's girlfriend and her friend and got some good advice about travelling and odd things like never pay more than 10 rs (25 cents) for 4 bananas, and watch out for people that will come onto buses or trains and tell you it's your stop, then you get outside and they say its a 500 rs taxi ride that they will take you on... always gotta be on your a game here. <br /><br />So, after an attempt at ripping us off from the taxi driver, we ended up getting onto our bus ready for our 15 hour bus ride, and we were shocked at what we found. First, we had each paid 800 rupees ($18), for two sleeper class bunks. When we got there every Indian had their own bunk, but what the driver said was ours was one bunk about 2 1/5 feet by just 6 feet...smaller than a twin size bed, for 15 hours for two people! We thought that for sure we got taken! All we could do was laugh at how naive we are...but then an Indian passenger assured us that the bunks were for two people. Then we realized how fortunate we were that we were travelling together, bc those are too close of quarters to be with anyone that you aren't very close to. After the shock had settled, we ended up making a pretty cozy little area for ourselves, with a comfy bed comprised of all our sarongs and a sleeping bag. With the help of some pills, we ended up having the best sleep we had had the whole trip on that ride; and by the end we fell in love with our new little home. (It's the little things when you travel). <br /><br />I'll write more tomorrow about what we found when we arrived in Goa! I would love to get into it now, but it is such an adventure filled with crazy people that I will wait till tomorrow when I am motivated to keep typing. Somehow everytime I try to write about one day it ends up being a novel! <br /><br />So, I hope you all are enjoying the craziness that India has brought to us so far, and keep checking back for more stories from the road!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-78262714454071593972010-02-19T03:43:00.000-08:002010-02-21T20:19:49.595-08:00Arrival!!!!Hi Everyone,<br /> Just thought I'd let everyone know how I'm doing! I was able to find Kate pretty easily in MN, and our flights were pretty painless, It just started to get super long towards the end. 20 hours of flight time and 30 hours total with airport waits...kinda lame! Anyhoo, we were pretty stoked bc when we showed up there was a guy with a sign with kate's name on it, which was promising. We though all was well, until the driver started taking us down the most random back alleys you've ever seen! Literally....I thought we were headed straight for the black market. Luckily I had kate with me and all we could do was laugh! Even when we got there, it seemed so weird...no sign, it wasf pretty much just an apartment that they had turned into a hostel. It was a little strange, but all good. Apparently she tried to book a room in a double hotel room, but it ended up being two hostel beds for $15 (which was good bc it was going to be $60 for the room), but it just sucked coming in so late (1 am), then wanting to shower and kick it, but having to be super quiet. I fell asleep ok, but then I woke up in the middle of the night and could NOT go back to sleep. I think I was just filled with nerves, excitement, and fear. So, yeah, I've pretty much been up since about 3 am which sucks...I read a bunch in my book...but it was just so weird laying in an uncomfortable hostel bed in Mumbai reading about all the crazy shit that goes down in this city! So, after a long night of missing you we finally woke up and were trying to figure out our shit. Since we were literally in the middle of nowhere we decided to get a taxi and head to Colaba (the budget travelers destination). <br /> <br /> We managed to share the 45 minute taxi with another girl fromt the hostel so it was a pretty cheap ride; far from boring though! Everyone uses their horns here like they are going out of style! LITERALLY, apparently that's the signal for I want to pass you...who knew right? Also, half the time there aren't any lines in the road so instead there are just hundreds of cars attempting to navigate down a four way freeway.....all the while honking....while people are trying to cross the street. Which is really a whole other story in itself. Crossing the street is like risking your life in a game of frogger. You literally don't know if you'll make it to the other side or just be crushed by a tuk tuk or a bus. It's a wee bit freaky. Let's just put it this way...Kate and I have become great runners! <br /> <br /> So, anyhoo, we got to Colaba and booked some dorm beds in the Salvation Army hostel....pretty bare and basic, but I guess it works! There were no sheets on the thin little mattress so we went out and bought some fabric to act as a bottom sheet (2 yards for $4), and a little extra to make a pillow out of (bc I don't know what is growing in that pillow, but it makes airplane pillows look super sanitary)! We also decided that the city is a little crazy for us gals, so we went to a travel agency to help us make some sense out of the nonsense that surrounds us, and make an escape south to the pleasant beaches of Goa! Unfortunately all the trains are booked for a few days and we don't really want to wait that long, so we decided that we are going to take a night bus tomorrow night (only 15 hours!!!!), and that way we'll arrive in Goa in the morning! We are pretty pumped to leave the craziness of Mumbai.<br /> <br /> And crazy it is, let me tell you!!!! Besides the crazy ass drivers, there are people everywhere; begging, selling, trying to give you things in exchange for money. Everyone has something to say to you its crazy! You literally cannot walk 100 feet undisturbed. If you look at anything at all in a street booth they start yelling and grabbing you, it's a little bit to get used to that's for sure! <br /> <br /> Kate and I decided to walk around for awhile, just perusing the streets....of course I ended up with a new sarong, earrings, and bangles (and I am trying HARD to resist shopping even more). We found a place to eat thanks to the LP (lonely planet). It was nice, ac....clean, and cheap. Unfortunately we didn't really know what to order, so kate ordered something she remembered was good, and I just kind of blindly chose another option. Our food ended up being pretty good! The spices are delicious...and most of the food is vegetarian, which is great when you don't know what you're ordering! Our meal consisted of a huge crepe with a yummy potato/onion curry thing inside, a big bowl of rice with two chapattis (tortillas pretty much), and a plate with 5 or 6 different sauces and stuff to eat with the rice and chapatti. We also got a large bottle or water, and our bill was just under $2! And this place was one of the nicer places to eat! It was awesome! <br /> <br /> So, that about sums up where we are at right now. Kate's cousin's girlfriend is staying at the same hostel, and she has been travelling around northern India, so we are hoping to bump into her and get some tips. Other than that, we are going to find someway to occupy ourselves in the a.m...then we take the night "sleeper" bus at 5!Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2591282461521293240.post-24012151257636204222010-02-06T09:26:00.000-08:002010-02-06T09:28:41.383-08:00Takeoff...Getting ready for our 30 hour adventure to Mumbai on February 17th!!!! Woo-HooMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09125047628991737420noreply@blogger.com1