Well it has been ages since I last posted or have been on the forum and I am very out of touch. Myself (Sian) and the OH (Doug) have been travelling, mostly in India, since January 2008.
Thought I would give you little information of where we have been in case anyone is thinking of seeing more of India other Goa. Then if any of you have questions about any of the places we visited I will do my best to answer them.
We started in Goa in January after a few days in Mumbai. Spent 6 weeks chilling on the beach mostly in Candolim but also Palolem, Agonda, Colva before we set off on our trip.
Since leaving Goa in February we have visited the following states/cities (not necessarily in the order shown):
Karnataka - Mysore and Hampi.
Kerala - Wayanad National Park, Allepey (from where we did 2 nights on a house boat), Periyar National Park, Cochin, Varkala and Trivandrum.
Tamil Nadu - Madurai, Kanyakumari, Pondicherry, Mamallapuram.
Delhi
Uttar Pradesh - Agra, Varanasi.
Rajasthan - Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner.
Gujurat - Ahmedabad, Diu.
Punjab - Amritsar (where by chance we bumped into Chilly and Mike!), Chandigarth.
Himachal Pradesh - Shimla, Manali, MacLeod Ganj.
Uttaranchal - Nainital, Rishikesh, Haridwar.
West Bengal - Calcutta, Darjeeling.
Sikkim - Pelling.
As we speak we are in Pokhara in Nepal. We have been in Nepal since 28th October and are leaving on 25th November. We reach Delhi on 26th and then fly to Goa on 27th. We plan to do some beach hopping in Arambol, Ashvem, Palolem and Agonda before settling in Candolim on 14th December for 5 weeks before returning home to Blighty where we will need to find gainful employment again!
We escaped India in May for 2 weeks (Nepal) and then had to leave in June as our visas ran out. So for 8 weeks we travelled around Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Bangkok would only give us a 3 month Indian visa so we had to leave India again at end of October to get another one and decided to come back to Nepal as we loved it so much the first time around in May. (Chilly - we are staying Ganesh's place in Pokhara again!). We got another 3 month visa last week.
Can't wait to get back to Goa for a few weeks relaxation after months of backpacking and moving every 2 - 3 days. Hope to make a few December meet ups and meet a few you.
We have had an amazing trip although I have to say travelling in India is hard work (compared to Nepal, Thailand etc). I wish someone had told me before we started this trip that 3 - 4 months in India (when you are moving every few days) is enough in 1 stretch. As long bus and train journeys are exhausting especially just before monsoon in 45 degrees! I am also mighty sick of filling in 3 forms before I can check into a guesthouse (which thankfully you don't have to do in Goa) and as for rickshaw drivers, don't get me started!!!! They are a nightmare everywhere (1000 x worse than in Goa).
Obviously I can't remember the names of everywhere we stayed but if anyone is thinking of visiting any of the places above I will be happy to delve into my memory banks and tell you what I can remember. If I don't reply for a few days I apologise in advance - internet is a bit slow here plus we are going rafting for 2 days next week. So please bear with me.
Hope to see some of you in a few weeks.
Cheers
Sian (dogfish)
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Edited by
dogfish
2008-12-05 15:37:09