- india is everything, all at once
- colourful, agressive, friendly, yummy, intense, curious, overwhelming
- crazy busy, full of people
- too many hassles...too many people thinking i'll buy something if they make it cheap enough...if i don't want it, it doesn't matter how cheap it is...even if its free, i don't want it!
- honking all the time...each time we walked out on the street, i couldn't help but notice the symphony of honks...some are loud, some sound ill, some are rather just plain annoying...the there is the style of honking each driver has...timid, laying on the horn for ages, or honk honk honk honk...sometimes you can't even figure out what the honk is for!
- too many sleazy men with the wrong idea about foreign women
- i love that the women wear such bright, beautifully coloured clothes...men's clothes, by comparison, are boring
- i wish i had had interactions with more indian women...those that i did have, were amazing...
- i want to go back, and explore more of the country...there is so much i didn't get to see...
- indians focus on today, and now...not on the future...when you are poor, and will never get out of being poor, there is no point in focusing on the future, because it's going to be the same as now...you might as well enjoy now...that's one of the reasons they are so friendly and open with foreigners..
- many indians blame all the problems the country has on pakistan...
- there is a HUGE difference between the haves, and have nots...and that gap is growing wider each year
- there are huge differences in the entry prices for foreigners and locals...
- many bollywood movies have the same general plot line...that's what makes them so fun to watch...you don't have to speak the language to know exactly what is happening in the movie...and indians get so much more into the story line, and the actors/actresses
- not many postcards to be found in a country with over a billion people
- the train system is awesome
- religion plays a big part in daily life...even those who aren't religious (what few there are) still do many things the same way the religious folk do...
28 February 2009
notes on india
27 February 2009
india part 8
darjeeling is a hill station...originally created by the brits, there isn't much evidence of them anymore...some of you have probably heard the name, but in reference to tea...something like 25% of india's tea is grown in this area...darjeeling is part of west bengal, india's most populated state...it's a wierdly shaped state, and i'm surprised that it's all one state...kinda like creating one state out of washington, oregon and california...with alaska in there as well...the people at the top are nothing like the people at the bottom...darjeeling is in the himalayas, and it's totally different from the main part of the subcontinent...different clothes, languages, scenery, food, traditions, etc...the people look different too, as many weren't descended from the same ethnic groups as in the rest of india...they're much more closely related to nepalis, tibetans and burmese...it's a buddhist area...we felt completely at home, as it is quite similar to many of the areas we saw while trekking in nepal...i'm not sure why, but darjeeling wasn't at all what i expected...before arriving, i expected a smaller town, and a quiet town...it was far bigger than i had imagined, louder (though not at night, as darjeeling gets quiet not too long after the sun goes down...it's definitely NOT a party town) and had a lot more people...for travelers, it's a tea town, and an area in which to organize trekking...layna and i wanted the tea...we learned quite a bit about tea, and i learned that i have lower class taste in tea...i don't taste the difference between a good tea and a bad tea...each day we went to a tea house and tried a different tea, and i could only barely taste a difference...had i not known what i was drinking, i wouldn't have thought them that much different from lipton...(yes, i know, you tea people are shrieking that i could say such a thing)...
we didnt do a lot in darjeeling except enjoy tea...we saw another movie, called billu barber...again, despite it not being in english, it was relatively easy to understand...and of course, there was a happy ending...
after darjeeling we took the toy train to siliguri...the toy train has been designated a UNESCO world heritage sight...it was originally built between the two towns as a way to move potatoes around...it goes slowly, of course, and around rather tight corners...13 times it has a z crossing...that is, the train goes forward, stops and goes backward onto a diagonal track, then stops again, and switches again onto a new track, this one lower than the first track...it took 8 hours to go 80km...from siliguri we rode our last train in india, to kolkata...
the 2nd biggest city in india, and most often known as a poor city...mother theresa's motherhouse is there...so is a huge cathedral, st paul's...so is the victoria memorial, which is like a cross between the US capital building in washington DC, and i don't know what...you're not allowed to take pictures inside, which seems a little silly to me...i took a picture of a quote by queen victoria before finding out about the photography prohibition, and 30 minutes later as i was leaving, someone chased me down and had me delete it!!! i liked the quote, so i walked back over and wrote it down...why are pictures not allowed of inscriptions?
kolkata is built on either side of a dirty river, and there is a busy, well known (to some people anywho, definitely not to me) bridge over it...the howrah bridge, i think? anywho, for yet another unknown reason (to me) photography of the bridge is strictly prohibited...but they do sell postcards of it...so of course i did my best to figure out how to get such a picture...i did, though it involved walking through slums, and dealing with the very pervalent smell of urine, and EVERY SINGLE GUY i passed calling out something along the lines of sexy mother, or worse...(for the record, the slums in mumbai weren't nearly as uncomfortable)...
layna and i had some tailoring done in kolkata, which was fun...i had one of the traditional salwar suits made...i've never had clothes made especially for me...i loved the way it turned out...it's probably a good thing we usually stick to our budget, because i was tempted to have several more made...they're colourful, and very very comfortable...
our last adventure before leaving kolkata was as a result of a mistake i made...i have no idea how i did it, but i thought our departure time was really really really early in the morning, so i thought we'd just go to the airport late evening...but i was off by ten hours...our flight left at 1145, not 0145...fortunately, we were able to stay with a local family, which was a fantastic experience...by far the best biryani i've ever eaten...they were incredibly friendly, and i had a good time getting to know them in the little time we had...
it's a good thing we stayed with the family, and didn't just spend the whole night at the airport...the international terminal of the kolkata airport is small, and has VERY few facilities...the ONLY duty free was alcohol, and a few chocolates...just one room...we were whisked to the premier check in line at our airline though, which was great...
goodbye to india...i miss it a lot...everything else will be so easy...
we didnt do a lot in darjeeling except enjoy tea...we saw another movie, called billu barber...again, despite it not being in english, it was relatively easy to understand...and of course, there was a happy ending...
after darjeeling we took the toy train to siliguri...the toy train has been designated a UNESCO world heritage sight...it was originally built between the two towns as a way to move potatoes around...it goes slowly, of course, and around rather tight corners...13 times it has a z crossing...that is, the train goes forward, stops and goes backward onto a diagonal track, then stops again, and switches again onto a new track, this one lower than the first track...it took 8 hours to go 80km...from siliguri we rode our last train in india, to kolkata...
the 2nd biggest city in india, and most often known as a poor city...mother theresa's motherhouse is there...so is a huge cathedral, st paul's...so is the victoria memorial, which is like a cross between the US capital building in washington DC, and i don't know what...you're not allowed to take pictures inside, which seems a little silly to me...i took a picture of a quote by queen victoria before finding out about the photography prohibition, and 30 minutes later as i was leaving, someone chased me down and had me delete it!!! i liked the quote, so i walked back over and wrote it down...why are pictures not allowed of inscriptions?
kolkata is built on either side of a dirty river, and there is a busy, well known (to some people anywho, definitely not to me) bridge over it...the howrah bridge, i think? anywho, for yet another unknown reason (to me) photography of the bridge is strictly prohibited...but they do sell postcards of it...so of course i did my best to figure out how to get such a picture...i did, though it involved walking through slums, and dealing with the very pervalent smell of urine, and EVERY SINGLE GUY i passed calling out something along the lines of sexy mother, or worse...(for the record, the slums in mumbai weren't nearly as uncomfortable)...
layna and i had some tailoring done in kolkata, which was fun...i had one of the traditional salwar suits made...i've never had clothes made especially for me...i loved the way it turned out...it's probably a good thing we usually stick to our budget, because i was tempted to have several more made...they're colourful, and very very comfortable...
our last adventure before leaving kolkata was as a result of a mistake i made...i have no idea how i did it, but i thought our departure time was really really really early in the morning, so i thought we'd just go to the airport late evening...but i was off by ten hours...our flight left at 1145, not 0145...fortunately, we were able to stay with a local family, which was a fantastic experience...by far the best biryani i've ever eaten...they were incredibly friendly, and i had a good time getting to know them in the little time we had...
it's a good thing we stayed with the family, and didn't just spend the whole night at the airport...the international terminal of the kolkata airport is small, and has VERY few facilities...the ONLY duty free was alcohol, and a few chocolates...just one room...we were whisked to the premier check in line at our airline though, which was great...
goodbye to india...i miss it a lot...everything else will be so easy...
16 February 2009
india part 7
agra, home to the most famous sight in india...though i am not sure i would have known the name of the city before arriving in india...the taj mahal...the most expensive sight as well...it was built by shah jahan, one of the mughal rulers...he built it for his 2nd wife mumtaz, after she died in childbirth...with her 14th child!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14 kids!!!!!!!!!!!! i can't begin to imagine that...layna did the math, and she spent just under half her life pregnant...WHOA...anywho, he obviously kinda liked her...his life ended up not being much fun though...for the last 8 years of his life, he was imprisoned in agra fort, and could only look out and see the taj mahal from 2km away...on a clear day...on a hazy day, he wasn't able to see the taj at all...the person who imprisoned him was his own son, aurangzeb...aurangzeb seized power by beseiging the fort and cutting off the water supply, then fought with his brothers for power...poor dad had 8 yrs in a mostly white marble palace inside the fort...the taj mahal is a HUGE white marble mausoleum...after shah jahan died, he was buried there as well, with a larger grave, of course...though mumtaz's grave is centered, so it's obvious it was built for her...there is a mosque on one side, made of red sandstone, that's still used a bit...it opens at sunrise, and closes at sundown...there are three gates, each with separate ticket lines for indians and foreigners...indians pay 10 rupees, foreigners pay 750...the line of foreigners is LONG...
i enjoyed wandering around the fort more than i did the taj...i was at the fort on the day the taj is closed (friday)...if you see both sights on the same day, you get a 50 rupee discount, but i decided not to do that, since i knew layna wouldn't be visiting the fort with me and i wanted to do it early in the morning...since the taj is closed on fridays, the fort isn't as busy then either, which ended up being awesome...the ticket guy at the fort gave me the discount anywho, AND i got to wander around in almost total quiet...there were very few other people in there while i was there...
i also took a day trip out to the old city of fatephur sikri...it was built as a capital city by akbar, but abandoned shortly after his death because there wasn't enough water...the ruins are still there, though it's a ghost city now...on one end is a mosque, still very much in use...another one called jama masjid...(i found out that jama means friday, which is the biggest day of the week for worshipping muslims...now i know why the biggest mosque in each city has the same name!)...the main gate into this mosque is 54m high...inside the courtyard is also a shrine to a sufi mystic...back in the day when akbar was still alive, he had 3 wives, and none of them had had kids...this mystic predicted that a son/heir would soon arrive, and when it happened, akbar built a city where this mystic lived...because of the pregnancy/family aspect of the mystic, women who want to become pregnant still come and pray at his shrine...they make wishes by tying little pieces of red string into the latticework of the shrine...the mystic is buried there, as are all of his descendents...to get to the area with the palace and gardens and such, i had to walk through a road where all the wannabe guides were hanging out...i didn't see a whole l0t of tourists, so they're all pretty desperate to find someone to hire them...they all tried to convince me that i couldn't properly appreciate the sight w/out their knowledge...i still decided against hiring one of them...all the signs inside were pretty descriptive, so i wonder what else they would've told me...
while in agra we also celebrated layna's birthday...this year she turned 33 on friday, the 13th of february...we didn't do much that day, in fact we spent most of the day waiting...waiting for the customs guy at the post office, waiting for the doctor (the bites on layna's feet were badly infected,) getting our hair cut, buying postcards, etc...that night we were on a train, so we couldn't even go out properly...i'm obviously not a good birthday celebrater...
after agra we went to varanasi...believed to be a holy city, along a holy river, the ganges...the city is mostly built on one side of the river, and there are ghats all the way up and down that side...a ghat is a set of steps leading to open water...(lake, river, etc)...a dhobi ghat is where laundry is done, and we saw several of those in varanasi...it's possible to walk for several kilometers along the ghats in varanasi, and by doing so, you get to see an amazing number of people doing an amazing number of things...bathing, laundry, and more...one of the ghats is the main burning ghat, where cremations are carried out...we were taken into a building that allowed us a higher view of this ghat, so we could see what was happening...first the body is carried through the streets by outcasts...then taken to the river and dunked in holy water...then the shrouded body is placed upon the pyre, and more wood piled on top of that...the guys who do this know exactly how much wood is needed to reduce the body to nothing but ash in 3 hours...the cost of the cremation is the cost of the wood...this is based on the weight and type of wood...sandalwood is the most expensive...we saw the start of 3 or 4 cremations, but didn't see what the end looks like...someone told us that the ashes are put in the river...before seeing the area, i imagined it would be rather smelly, but it wasn't at all...and the bodies are wrapped in shrouds, so you don't ever see a dead body...women (family members and friends of the deceased) aren't allowed to witness the cremations, because historically they would throw themselves on the funeral pyre...what an awful way to die...
as i've said before, layna and i like to walk, and we often walk out of the typical tourist zone in each town...this time we walked farther along the ghats than most people...at one point we heard some drumming, and saw some women dancing, so we stopped to watch...before we knew it, they had pulled us in and we were dancing with them...it was a wedding celebration!! i felt guilty, as we were getting far more attention than the bridal couple...they weren't dancing though...the sari of the bride was absolutely gorgeous...(traditional indian brides wear a red and gold sari)...anywho, the dancing was great fun, and it was one of our only interactions with indian women...we'd love to have more, but indian women don't go out and about like indian men...
walking in town we saw a couple other marriage processions during our days in varanasi...florescent lights (all connected to each other, and the generator being pushed along as well) being carried by people, guys in marching band costumes playing happy music, and women in nice clothes walking along...impressive, and fun...we saw other processions as well, but weren't able to figure out what they were...people dressed all in black, and hitting themselves (HARD) in time to the beat of a drum...a funeral procession? we saw circles formed around men and boys dancing/performing with knives and sticks on the streets too...varanasi is a city where you'll see a lot of traditions that have been a part of life for a very long time, but arent so much on display in other cities...at least, not that we've seen...
we did hire a boat a couple times, which is a typical thing to do...it's quite an experience to be rowed along the river, watching each ghat go by...they are all different, and it's a great people watching experience...our first ride was during sunset, which was great...until we were attacked by moths...not so much attacked as surrounded...yuck...they landed on us constantly, and we were very glad to get out of the boat at the end...the next morning we saw the sun rise, which was beautiful...it's the time of day when many people do their puja (ritual, giving an offering of some sort) along the ghats...and no moths to annoy us:)
i enjoyed wandering around the fort more than i did the taj...i was at the fort on the day the taj is closed (friday)...if you see both sights on the same day, you get a 50 rupee discount, but i decided not to do that, since i knew layna wouldn't be visiting the fort with me and i wanted to do it early in the morning...since the taj is closed on fridays, the fort isn't as busy then either, which ended up being awesome...the ticket guy at the fort gave me the discount anywho, AND i got to wander around in almost total quiet...there were very few other people in there while i was there...
i also took a day trip out to the old city of fatephur sikri...it was built as a capital city by akbar, but abandoned shortly after his death because there wasn't enough water...the ruins are still there, though it's a ghost city now...on one end is a mosque, still very much in use...another one called jama masjid...(i found out that jama means friday, which is the biggest day of the week for worshipping muslims...now i know why the biggest mosque in each city has the same name!)...the main gate into this mosque is 54m high...inside the courtyard is also a shrine to a sufi mystic...back in the day when akbar was still alive, he had 3 wives, and none of them had had kids...this mystic predicted that a son/heir would soon arrive, and when it happened, akbar built a city where this mystic lived...because of the pregnancy/family aspect of the mystic, women who want to become pregnant still come and pray at his shrine...they make wishes by tying little pieces of red string into the latticework of the shrine...the mystic is buried there, as are all of his descendents...to get to the area with the palace and gardens and such, i had to walk through a road where all the wannabe guides were hanging out...i didn't see a whole l0t of tourists, so they're all pretty desperate to find someone to hire them...they all tried to convince me that i couldn't properly appreciate the sight w/out their knowledge...i still decided against hiring one of them...all the signs inside were pretty descriptive, so i wonder what else they would've told me...
while in agra we also celebrated layna's birthday...this year she turned 33 on friday, the 13th of february...we didn't do much that day, in fact we spent most of the day waiting...waiting for the customs guy at the post office, waiting for the doctor (the bites on layna's feet were badly infected,) getting our hair cut, buying postcards, etc...that night we were on a train, so we couldn't even go out properly...i'm obviously not a good birthday celebrater...
after agra we went to varanasi...believed to be a holy city, along a holy river, the ganges...the city is mostly built on one side of the river, and there are ghats all the way up and down that side...a ghat is a set of steps leading to open water...(lake, river, etc)...a dhobi ghat is where laundry is done, and we saw several of those in varanasi...it's possible to walk for several kilometers along the ghats in varanasi, and by doing so, you get to see an amazing number of people doing an amazing number of things...bathing, laundry, and more...one of the ghats is the main burning ghat, where cremations are carried out...we were taken into a building that allowed us a higher view of this ghat, so we could see what was happening...first the body is carried through the streets by outcasts...then taken to the river and dunked in holy water...then the shrouded body is placed upon the pyre, and more wood piled on top of that...the guys who do this know exactly how much wood is needed to reduce the body to nothing but ash in 3 hours...the cost of the cremation is the cost of the wood...this is based on the weight and type of wood...sandalwood is the most expensive...we saw the start of 3 or 4 cremations, but didn't see what the end looks like...someone told us that the ashes are put in the river...before seeing the area, i imagined it would be rather smelly, but it wasn't at all...and the bodies are wrapped in shrouds, so you don't ever see a dead body...women (family members and friends of the deceased) aren't allowed to witness the cremations, because historically they would throw themselves on the funeral pyre...what an awful way to die...
as i've said before, layna and i like to walk, and we often walk out of the typical tourist zone in each town...this time we walked farther along the ghats than most people...at one point we heard some drumming, and saw some women dancing, so we stopped to watch...before we knew it, they had pulled us in and we were dancing with them...it was a wedding celebration!! i felt guilty, as we were getting far more attention than the bridal couple...they weren't dancing though...the sari of the bride was absolutely gorgeous...(traditional indian brides wear a red and gold sari)...anywho, the dancing was great fun, and it was one of our only interactions with indian women...we'd love to have more, but indian women don't go out and about like indian men...
walking in town we saw a couple other marriage processions during our days in varanasi...florescent lights (all connected to each other, and the generator being pushed along as well) being carried by people, guys in marching band costumes playing happy music, and women in nice clothes walking along...impressive, and fun...we saw other processions as well, but weren't able to figure out what they were...people dressed all in black, and hitting themselves (HARD) in time to the beat of a drum...a funeral procession? we saw circles formed around men and boys dancing/performing with knives and sticks on the streets too...varanasi is a city where you'll see a lot of traditions that have been a part of life for a very long time, but arent so much on display in other cities...at least, not that we've seen...
we did hire a boat a couple times, which is a typical thing to do...it's quite an experience to be rowed along the river, watching each ghat go by...they are all different, and it's a great people watching experience...our first ride was during sunset, which was great...until we were attacked by moths...not so much attacked as surrounded...yuck...they landed on us constantly, and we were very glad to get out of the boat at the end...the next morning we saw the sun rise, which was beautiful...it's the time of day when many people do their puja (ritual, giving an offering of some sort) along the ghats...and no moths to annoy us:)
09 February 2009
india part 7
after hyderabad we visited bengaluru...the name was only officially changed from bangalore in 2006, so people still use the old name quite a bit...it's more of a business destination than a tourist destination...this ended up working in our favor...since the economy is based on business and IT, that means leisure tourism isn't so important, and therefore there are no touts...AWESOME!!! it was great not to be hassled...we found the city market, and enjoyed walking around it...just like so many other markets in india, if you want it, you'll find it at the city market...toys, clothes, silverware, kitchen supplies, spices, food, chai, etc...everything...we were able to buy fresh produce at local prices, and layna even bought a spoon for a whopping 3 rupees...we were also able to take a lot of people pictures inside the market, and received the bindi mark from a guy selling all the powder used for those marks...
i like to visit gardens, and there were some mentioned in the guidebook, so one morning we set off to find those...they ended up not being all that great, but we enjoyed our walk to get there...we passed a sports arena, and in an effort to find a women's bathroom somewhere in the facilities ran into a guy who offered us chai...he just held it out on a tray, with no spoken words...when we finished he showed us where to put the rubbish, then let us go...strange, but awesome...next to the arena we saw a volleyball tournament...according to the sign, it was sponsored by an indian company, and involved teams from all over india...the first time i've seen tall indians...i didn't even know they existed!!! anywho, one of layna's sisters used to play volleyball, and my roomie as a frosh at uni was a volleyball player (we want mudge!!!!) so we were both curious to watch...we stood outside the fence, figuring only people involved in the tourney should go inside...but rather quickly we were motioned in, to seats at one end of one of the courts...then we were left alone to watch and enjoy...AWESOME!!!
i loved bengaluru...a friendly city without any of the hassle we've experienced in other cities...talking to locals was a joy...
our last day there, we reconnected with ben, though only for four hours...he had gotten distracted in hyderabad...hee hee...we were moving on, but agreed to meet up again later...
after bengaluru we headed for a destination that hadn't been on our originally itinerary...goa...the beaches of goa are known worldwide...well, some people think so...goa is a very small indian state, and not like any of the others...it's one of the richest states...(tourists, farming, and fishing are the major sources of income)...we spent 5 days relaxing on a beach...we picked a VERY QUIET beach...ours was populated mostly by older, mostly upper class europeans...there was no night life at all, and very few other backpackers...unfortunately, layna was rather sick for a couple days, so she didn't enjoy it as much as i did...(you all know how i love to soak up sun)...i did wear suncream though, and even covered my face...i guess i've picked up a few habits over the years...lol...on the train to goa layna was bit by mosquitoes again, this time around her feet and ankles...they didn't bite me at all...strange...her bites ended up getting infected, causing her feet to swell a bit, and cause quite a bit of pain...(they looked gross too!)...one day layna rented a bike and went riding down the beach...she stopped for lunch at a random restaurant a ways up, on a totally different beach...she ended up talking to the owner for quite a while, and he wouldn't let her pay for her meal at the end, telling her she could pay when she returned for dinner later that night...so for dinner we walked back to that restaurant...a measly hour and a half walk at a pretty quick pace...(it did feel pretty good though even though it's such a cliche...a long walk on a beach)...dinner was absolutely fantastic, and again the owner sat down with us...not surprisingly, there is a lot of seafood in goa...YUM...and i had the best mango juice i've ever had...in the end, he wouldn't let us pay for our meal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i still feel guilty for that...it was fantastic, and he was a great guy...layna repaid him our last afternoon in goa by calling him up and inviting him down for lunch...he's entirely self made, and helps other people in the community...very very cool...we both want to go back to goa...(yet another idea of what to do after we finish the major portion of this trip...not that either of us knows when or where that will be)...
goa is a part of the country that was formerly ruled by the portuguese...so it seemed that most locals have "Christian" names...they are also Catholic...
i like to visit gardens, and there were some mentioned in the guidebook, so one morning we set off to find those...they ended up not being all that great, but we enjoyed our walk to get there...we passed a sports arena, and in an effort to find a women's bathroom somewhere in the facilities ran into a guy who offered us chai...he just held it out on a tray, with no spoken words...when we finished he showed us where to put the rubbish, then let us go...strange, but awesome...next to the arena we saw a volleyball tournament...according to the sign, it was sponsored by an indian company, and involved teams from all over india...the first time i've seen tall indians...i didn't even know they existed!!! anywho, one of layna's sisters used to play volleyball, and my roomie as a frosh at uni was a volleyball player (we want mudge!!!!) so we were both curious to watch...we stood outside the fence, figuring only people involved in the tourney should go inside...but rather quickly we were motioned in, to seats at one end of one of the courts...then we were left alone to watch and enjoy...AWESOME!!!
i loved bengaluru...a friendly city without any of the hassle we've experienced in other cities...talking to locals was a joy...
our last day there, we reconnected with ben, though only for four hours...he had gotten distracted in hyderabad...hee hee...we were moving on, but agreed to meet up again later...
after bengaluru we headed for a destination that hadn't been on our originally itinerary...goa...the beaches of goa are known worldwide...well, some people think so...goa is a very small indian state, and not like any of the others...it's one of the richest states...(tourists, farming, and fishing are the major sources of income)...we spent 5 days relaxing on a beach...we picked a VERY QUIET beach...ours was populated mostly by older, mostly upper class europeans...there was no night life at all, and very few other backpackers...unfortunately, layna was rather sick for a couple days, so she didn't enjoy it as much as i did...(you all know how i love to soak up sun)...i did wear suncream though, and even covered my face...i guess i've picked up a few habits over the years...lol...on the train to goa layna was bit by mosquitoes again, this time around her feet and ankles...they didn't bite me at all...strange...her bites ended up getting infected, causing her feet to swell a bit, and cause quite a bit of pain...(they looked gross too!)...one day layna rented a bike and went riding down the beach...she stopped for lunch at a random restaurant a ways up, on a totally different beach...she ended up talking to the owner for quite a while, and he wouldn't let her pay for her meal at the end, telling her she could pay when she returned for dinner later that night...so for dinner we walked back to that restaurant...a measly hour and a half walk at a pretty quick pace...(it did feel pretty good though even though it's such a cliche...a long walk on a beach)...dinner was absolutely fantastic, and again the owner sat down with us...not surprisingly, there is a lot of seafood in goa...YUM...and i had the best mango juice i've ever had...in the end, he wouldn't let us pay for our meal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i still feel guilty for that...it was fantastic, and he was a great guy...layna repaid him our last afternoon in goa by calling him up and inviting him down for lunch...he's entirely self made, and helps other people in the community...very very cool...we both want to go back to goa...(yet another idea of what to do after we finish the major portion of this trip...not that either of us knows when or where that will be)...
goa is a part of the country that was formerly ruled by the portuguese...so it seemed that most locals have "Christian" names...they are also Catholic...
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