Gokarna is untainted by tourism place where the streets are full of life...

Our hut

Gokarna is untainted by tourism place where the streets are full of life. Everywhere stalls with colorful jewelry and fried in hot oil sweeties. Local shopkeepers are not trying to convince to enter      their shops. You can walk through the streets without anyone nagging.

When we got to Kudle Beach after hike over the hill our faces brightened up. Half an hour walk with heavy backpacks up and down got paid off with a view of this peaceful paradise.  This tiny and abounded piece of beach is surrounded by hills that makes is being a hidden treasure. People here is an interesting crowd. Some of them are doing yoga, others dance with a hula hoop. You can see beautiful  performances of acrobats and dancers. Kudle Beach feels like taken from a movie about hippies in the 60s. When night falls, people are going back to their hats. Only few like us are still enjoying the sky full of stars and  listening to the bongos. 

One of many visitors

Palolem is a small village at the very end of the Goa...

 

Bus accident

  Palolem is a small village at the very end of the Goa. Before we got back to the seaside we have experienced some accident. While driving down the hill bus got broken in the middle of the reservation.  They told us to abort the vehicle and wait for next bus to come. While waiting several hours we were watching cars and trucks passing by. After some time a bus appeared. The idea was to get in to this almost full vehicle but with the decision of the majority this one will take women and children only. And there was me, the only woman left behind. While sitting on the pavement I was praying inside that none of these men will get any stupid idea. Luckily nothing happened. We took another full bus that arrived and few hours standing basically on one foot we finally got back to Margao covered in sweat and totally exhausted. The next day we left to Palolem.

When we get out of the bus, owners of huts started fighting for us. We choose to follow the one who says no word. Turns out it was a great choice. We end out in a cottage for 300 rupees only. Palolem was a short stop before we left to Karnataka. Goodbye Goa! We will miss you!

This is how you drink coffee in India

One of our activities

When we arrived, Hampi was basking in the sunset light....

When we arrived Hampi was basking in the sunset light. Once we found our accommodation we went to see the sunset on one the rocks overlooking the Hampi. To fully understand the energy of this place you need to come here to experience that 

on your own. While sitting and watching magical sunset surrounded by ancient buildings, leftovers of centuries and monkeys who were enjoying this moment as they were people, I was overwhelmed and speechless.  

Hampi is a tiny village but its surroundings are spread all over. To be able to see everything we wanted we rented a bikecycles. We were cycling between the rocks,ruins and banana fields. The heat was unbearable but that didn’t take away the excitement and happiness that was with us the whole time while being there. The next morning I went to see the sunrise and meditate on one the rocks. I wasn’t able to focus, I had million thoughts but feeling that was accompanying me was extremely good. After that I felt relaxed. The morning after I decided to change the venue of my meditation and I went to the rooftop of our hotel and then on top the rock that was just beside it. To be able to get there I had to fight my fear and crawl underneath the tiny crevice. The effort was worth I cleared my head and I let myself to be completely relaxed.  After 15 minutes I felt like a newborn. 

We arrived a couple days ago to beautiful village called Benaulim....

We arrived a couple days ago to beautiful village called Benaulim. After two days of sightseeing we felt exhausted and too tired to continue. Benaulim turned out to be the perfect escape. White and empty beach just a few meters away from our coco hut made this very enjoyable place.

Ponda- place we went to before we arrived to Benaulim was another loud and busy place but only 2 km from it we found a spice plantation where we went for a tour on which we found out many interesting facts about spices and fruits growing there.

Center of Benaulim is quite far away from a beach but that didn’t discourage us to go there every day. It was a tiny place with only a few streets. Much quieter than Arambol and any other villages in Goa. The path to the center was surrounded by green fields with rice.

On of the many walks to the village we found a quiet cafe where we stop by to have a coffee and pancakes. The owner invited us to join him drinking his homemade alcohol fenny. We spent a nice evening listening to his plans about travelling.

Jirka and his biggest fan- Trilok

Our days could have been quiet without any noisy locals bothering us while sitting on the beach if we didn’t make friends with Trilok or more precisely if Jirka didn’t make a friend with him. This particular Indian was very special. He knew a few words: beach, hotel, bike, sun and he kept repeating it over and over again with some gestures just in case we didn’t know what is he talking about. Whenever Jirka was coming out of a hut Trilok was following him to have a conversation with him.

When we were leaving Benaulim,early in the morning, he run after us with tears in his eyes to walk us to the rickshaw. 

After the big disappointment that we met in Anjuna...

After the big disappointment that we met in Anjuna we are in Calangute. It’s our third and last day here.

Anjuna was tiny, messy and quite unfriendly village. There was no place to escape the heat and we couldn’t even hide anywhere since our temporary home was a tent on top of the roof.

Our roomate

After a sleepless night I woke up sick. Feeling nauseous I had to spend an hour in hot and bumpy bus to Calangute. While trying to find an accommodation we stop next to the hotel where I was resting and Jirka negotiating the price. It was too high and I was willing to keep going and then owner of the hotel showed up again. He saw me nearly dying in front of his property. He offered 600 RPS that we could accept that.I could rest in the spacious and chill room.One day and I was completely fine. 

The next day I had an energy to go for a day trip to Panaji where we got disappointed again, “the cutest city of India” as the guide book described turned out to be nothing more than ordinary. The pick of a day  was a visit to the Mahalaxim Temple. We are leaving Calangute tomorrow and we are going inland to Ponda.

Chilli prawns in our favorite dhaba in Calangute

 

Panaji

It has been a week in Arambol....

It has been a week in Arambol . I will miss that place and people we came across like Sona- our cook, waiter, housekeeper, receptionist. His laugh  made me smile every time. This tinny toothless man was one of the most warmhearted people I ever met. Seeing him every morning brought to our life a bit of sunshine.

Sona

But the queen of a laughter was Lina.  This 50 years old Norwegian rail worker from Bodo with a husky voice and crazy hair had many stories to tell and we loved to listen to her. Our friend accompanied us many times during our meals providing us entertainment.

Being a woman in this country is difficult....

Being a woman in this country is difficult. Men treats you like an object. If you have white skin you are an exotic creature and Indian men won't hesitate to take a picture, touch you or even kiss you. I have witnessed or experienced myself their way of being. Several times I found myself feeling rather uncomfortable or disgusted. I was always a tough independent woman but here I feel like a small girl that needs a protection. My respect for single girls that travelling a world has raised. Good that I have Jirka with me, without him I would probably need to sit inside of my hut to avoid situations like those I have described above. Evenings are especially challenging here, it's a time when men coming out to fish for girls that are on the beach without male company.

During nights I feel safe as I'm never left alone, even when Jirka is not around I have a guardian- ginger dog that  always comes every night to sit with us. He won't let anyone near us, barking at everybody who is passing by.