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Goa is like a fridge…..

8

Dec
December 8, 2012 by Karen
Goa is like a fridge…..

We had always resisted going to Goa because we both imagined it would be overly developed and touristy, full of sunburnt Brits, loud Israelis and stoned Hippies. In need of some chilling out time we decided to give it a try. We took the day train twelve hours from Mumbai to Margoa in southern Goa, and then an auto rickshaw the further 9km to Benaulim. We arrived in the dark at Xavier’s, a hotel right next to the beach where we had a booking for two nights. In the morning we were pleasantly surprised by how beautiful Benaulim Beach and the nearby village actually were and we checked in for a further two weeks. There were a lot of fat Russians and British and German pensioners (a few of whom we managed to make friends with!). Best of all though was the very leathery old man in a tiny green g-string who kept popping into our line of vision just after lunchtime on a regular basis. We felt we knew him VERY well by the time we were ready to leave.

Our clean room!!!

It was so nice to have a rat free bathroom! Check out those tiles!

Our verandah where we could sit and read our books if it wasn’t too hot.
Benaulim beach

We swam, safe in the knowledge that someone would be on hand to rescue us if we got into trouble.

The sunsets were magnificent and…

…..at night we strolled down the beach to one of the many beach shacks who offered dinner.

We enjoyed the food on offer especially the veg momos……
And the garlic naan!

Each morning after our swim, we enjoyed a walk along the beach into the village for breakfast. We loved starting our day in a healthy way!

Benaulim village

All of the restaurants seemed to specialise….in everything!

We left Benaulim only three times. Once to visit Old Goa to see some of the churches.

We loved the first do not on this sign outside St. Francis Xavier church.

Just love this list! Seems someone enjoyed using the thesaurus!

The second time was a trip to the Saturday night market in Arpora. The pickpockets were working the crowd and the stall holders seemed to be enjoying selling to the cashed up Russians,

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Like a rat up a drainpipe!

3

Dec
December 3, 2012 by Karen
Like a rat up a drainpipe!

'Just breathe through your mouth and smile!'

Advice given to us by the air hostess on our BA flight as we landed in Mumbai.

As Airbnb had been so kind to us in the past we decided to give it a go in Mumbai. A few of the nicer places we wrote to had no availability so we found a hotel that looked okay from the pictures.
They say you get what you pay for and in our case it was a mouldy smelling room with a resident mouse, stained carpet and mildew curtains. Mumbai is very expensive and the location of our hotel was perfect so we decided to grin and bare it and extended our stay for an extra night. What were we thinking? On our last night we heard a noise and assumed it was the neighbours. Later when I got up to go to the bathroom I noticed a pile of wood shavings right next to the door. A rat had come up one of the drainpipes and had decided to try and chew and scratch his way into the bedroom. Thankfully he ran out of stamina and had left the building, scuttering back down the drainpipe again before I opened the bathroom door.
Stains on the carpet not shadows! Very dirty wood panels!
Check out our nice mildew walls! Thankfully the sheets and towels were clean. The bathroom was clean…ish.
We tried to stay out of our room as much as we could. The first morning we explored the local neighbourhood.
Check out the guys asleep on the top!
Everybody was getting ready for Diwali.
In the afternoon we checked out 'The Gateway to India.'
This man kept trying to sell us his gigantic balloon! No mate – we don't want one!
On Day two we booked a tour to Dharavi shanty town, the setting for the film 'Slum Dog Millionaire' and the novel 'Shantaram.'

'Despite the poverty, Dharavi has been described by the Uk's observer newspaper as “one of the most inspiring economic models in Asia……” Hidden amid the warren of ramshackle huts and squalid open sewers are an estimated fifteen thousand factories, employing around a quarter of a million people and turning over a stagging one billion US dollars annually…'

Rough guide India

The tour was camera free, except for a shot from the bridge as we entered the slum.

The tour was run by Realty Tours and Travel, who recently won the 2012 Virgin holidays Responsible tourism award in the UK. Eighty percent of the funds generated by the tour goes back into the community to pay for various programs including Youth empowerment programs, and an art and photography class for young children. It was a fascinating place with seventy percent of the rubbish generated in Mumbai recycled there. Lots of the high street fashion label handbags and wallets are also made within the walls for a fraction of the price!

On day three we ventured out to the Dhobi Ghats, where laundry from all over the city is washed and dried every day.

We carried on to visit an important Muslim site, Haji Ali's tomb.

We were stopped quite a few times and asked for photographs. Nick with some of his new Indian friends. I think it must be the hair!

 

The following morning, despite appearances, we were actually thrilled to be on the early morning train heading out of Mumbai and away from our hotel and towards Margoa.

 

Let's hope our hotel in Goa is mouse, mildew and rat free!

 

 

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Istanbul: Where East meets West.

23

Nov
November 23, 2012 by Karen
Istanbul: Where East meets West.
“If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul!”
Alphonse de Lamintine

 

 

We had a ten hour layover in Stuttgart airport before boarding our 10.30pm plane to Istanbul. This was how we were feeling by the time we got to our wonderful wonderful airbnb loft room at 4.00am! Our host Hakan went above and beyond by meeting us in Taksim square and walking with us to his place in the wee hours of the morning!
Our neighbourhood
Some friend Nick made at a local market just around the corner from our apartment.
Our regular breakfast spot on Taksim square! Don't let the lack of traffic fool you. The roads were closed to start a massive redevelopment project.
No trip to Istanbul would be complete without a visit to Grand Bazaar
Having a very expensive and strong Turkish coffee in the Bazzar.
It was very touristy in there and you could buy almost any souvineer you could think of.
Cups!
Lights
And more lights. There were lights for sale everywhere!

We also visited The Spice Market

Spices were not the only things for sale.
There were shoes and lots of other touristy things.

We also enjoyed trying all of the free samples of Turkish delight.

We joined the lines of tourists and visited the Blue Mosque.
And Hagia Sophia
The new mosque
We enjoyed wandering the streets looking at all of the interesting things on offer.
Need anything cured by leeches?
A baby turtle perhaps?
Some very sticky, sugary sweets
Chillies
These mini men outside a Taylor made us smile!
These two gorgeous men were on the street selling…….
Turkish flags
And massive posters
No matter what time of the day or night it was there were always people fishing off this bridge near the new mosque.
We sampled the local fish sandwich with the locals, cooked on these boats on the river.

 

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Did you know the Rubik’s Cube was invented by a Hungarian?

20

Nov
November 20, 2012 by Karen
Did you know the Rubik’s Cube was invented by a Hungarian?
We didn't know any Hungarian inventions until we took the 'Free' (Tip based) walking tour with the lovely Bianca. We also thought we were staying in Buda before the tour started by then realised we were in Pest!
The view over Pest from the Castle district in Buda.
Houses of Parliment inspired by the Houses of Parliment in London.
Matthias church
Some more views over Pest as the sun was setting on our walk back home.
We visited St. Stephen's Basilica, a beautiful catholic church which houses the mumified right hand of Saint Stephen. Apparently one of his fingers, obviously from his left hand, is in a museum or church in Melbourne!
Inside the church where tourists had obviously made a nuisance of themselves in the past!
We spent a lot of time just wondering around, admiring the beautiful buildings and soaking up the atmosphere.
Hero's square
One day we braved the long bus ride out to Memento Park.
'Memento Park is not merely a remarkable museum but also a completely different world! Through its display of the communist period, the theme park is a reminder of the overthrow of a dictatorship. Public statues fashioned in the years of socialism and subsequently removed from the streets and squares of Budapest after the change of political system in 1989-90 make this a dramatic and powerful historical openair gallery. It is a final glimpse behind the Iron Curtain and has become one of the most popular sights of Budapest. In short: hundreds of tons of communism!'

Memento Park website

We stayed at this gorgeous studio apartment we found on airbnb.

 

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