Thats All Folks!

Not Treading Water

So there was a bold generalization made by my dear mother that I was just "treading water" for my final two weeks in India and I would like to make it clear that while that is often literally true since I am doing lots of swimming it is not true in the sense that I am just sitting around waiting to come home. Gokarna was a crazy beautiful beach but a bit too quiet and isolated for how long I stayed there. It was nice though cause I had a bit of a cold so I was able to recover in a beautiful and quiet setting. The town of Gokarna was pretty chill, lots of Hindu temples that I wasn't allowed in as a non-Hindu but it was very pleasant to walk around. One of the best parts of going to the beach in India is watching the huge groups of young Indian men who will literally spend a full hour taking photos of each other in every imaginable pose. The only other people that I have seen get so absorbed in photographing themselves would be 16 year old girls. Its kind of like watching a swimsuit editorial being shot only with dudes but with all the same poses.
So besides relaxing on the beach, swimming, eating, drinking, making friends and all that I am occupied alternately by dreading going home and getting really excited. I am dreading it as I will eventually have to deal with real life and think about getting a job and will have to give up my wildly indulgent lifestyle of doing whatever I want when I wake up every morning. Most of all I am dreading the two question that I know I will be pelted with the moment I set my feet on American soil: How was Korea and you traveling? So what are you going to do now? Two worst questions ever. In regards to the first one how am I supposed to sum up a year in Korea and seven months of travel in a sentence and why should I? No one actually wants to hear a real answer when they ask that so they shouldn't ask unless they are prepared for a full on conversation. Next, I have slight ideas for my future but I don't really want to share them with people until I have actually started doing them. So essentially if you love me don't ask me these questions.
On the other hand I am very excited to come home for the obvious reason that I haven't been in America or seen my family and friends in 19 months! I am also extremely excited for all the amazing food and drink that I will be able to have again.
Anyway, my final week is being spent in Palolem in Goa and so far it is beautiful here and the food is delicious so I think it is going to be a good final week. Today is the first day of the Ganesh festival so I think there is supposed to be some excitement on the beach this evening!

Hampi

So I don't know if it is the people I am with or the place itself but Hampi is by far the best place I have been in India...probably in this whole trip actually. Hampi is yet another Hindu holy city as well as an UNESCO site of an ancient Hindu empire where much of the Ramayana is meant to take place. Pretty much the scenery is very flat with huge red boulders creating little mountains. Throughout all this is scattered the ruins of this ancient city that looks like and Indian version of ancient Greece. On top of all of this there are tons of palm trees and banana plantations and a giant river. Its pretty picturesque, google it. In terms of people, to my two Australians we have added a guy from Montreal and a guy from Norway. The five of us have pretty much spent the last couple of days cruising around the ruins and eating tons of amazing food. At one of the active temples there is a beautiful and quite happy looking elephant that will bless you for Rs. 10 (totally worth it). We hiked to the top of this mountain/rock hill where we found a young naked sadhu, though he was actually wearing clothes. He had only been a monk for four years but had grown up in Rajasthan and had studied science in University. He says he spends most of his time in the Himalayas and with his guru and other naked monks. It was pretty cool to get the chance to talk to him and drink some chai. Since he has only been a sadhu for four years he was still able to relate to us and spoke great English. When we left he asked us to come back and bring him some suger (for the chai) which some of us did yesterday.
Other excitement included renting motorbikes and driving through a banana plantation to get to a mini little waterfall. I was on the back of the bike and inevitably we got into a bit of a crash so I know have two of the main traveler injuries (the first being branding myself with the tailpipe of a scotter in Vietnam). We were going quite slow so I only sustained minor injuries and more importantly the bike wasn't hurt at all. A super nice Indian guy helped us out and then lead us through the plantation to get to the waterfall.
The locals in Hampi are the nicest and least pushy of anywhere I have been in India. They all seem so happy and proud to live here and it is just so wonderful to stay in a place where no one is bugging you to buy things or begging. The family that runs our guesthouse is adorable and last night the mother gave Jordan (the Australian girl) and I henna on our hands. There is also the cutest little six month old girl next door that I like to visit. Yesterday I saw a whole class of little kids come out of school in their uniforms and before I knew it the entire pack was peeing in the road. It was hysterical but I didn't think it would be appropriate to photograph. The restaurants and food here are excellent and there has been lots of eating and lounging about.
Tonight we all go our separate ways, I will be taking a bus to the cost to Gokarna, yet another Hindu holy city where their are apparently some very nice beaches. I can't believe I only have two weeks left in India, it will be very sad to leave. 

Panaji and Old Goa

Spent the last two days in the beautiful capital city Panaji and visited the old capital, Old Goa for an afternoon. The Portuguese influence is amazing, Panaji is like a little European city with small streets and beautiful old houses and lots of churches. The city is pretty mellow and quite small so mostly just walking around and then eating delicious Goan food. We took the bus to Old Goa today where there are some crazy huge cathedrals from when the Portuguese had their capital there and it is super quiet with lots of huge palm trees and not much going on. Again it was pretty much walk around, check out some churches and then eat awesome food. Goa really feels different form the rest of India, especially the parts of India where I have been traveling. There is tons of cheap alcohol and you can get beef and pork which I had never seen on a menu before. Everything is super chilled out and for some reason I am reminded of Cuba back in the day, I think its because the women all where these beautiful floral fifties dresses and all the palm trees. The weather has been really nice so I am looking forward to coming back to the beaches after Hampi.

GOA: Arambol

So completed my first week in Goa. If you weren't aware this is very off-season for Goa as it is the end of the monsoon period and things don't really get crazy until Nov./Dec. (which is best as I have pretty much had my fill of beach raves in Thailand). Anyway, despite things being very mellow and there being some rain its been really nice to be back by the ocean and feels totally different from the North. First of all its a proper ocean with real waves unlike Thailand and Cambodia which was just lovely still water. I much prefer the waves but the lifeguards are quite strict about not going out too far, I think because most Indians that I have seen swimming don't show much of an aptitude for it. Either way it was great to get in the ocean. The food is awesome, my two months of being a vegetarian went right out the window along with my two months without drinking alcohol. Both were well worth it. Arambol was super chill, mostly just a few restaurants right on the beach where I would hang out, eat delicious food, meet people, and read. There were some crazy storms but I love watching them so the weather hasn't bothered me. And when you are sitting outside the Goans will know a good five minutes before the rain is coming. At first I wouldn't believe them as it was still beautiful and didn't want to go inside but sure enough the rain would always come. Its their fifth sense.
Anyway, after a week I was reading for a new scene so I am now in Anjuna a bit down the cost. I was planning on spending a week or so here but there isn't much of a beach and the restaurants aren't as nice to spend days in so I am going to go with some people to Hampi for however long and then come back to Goa for some final beach time but head to the South.