Gorgeous Goa

Wow well after the shock of Delhi we traveled down to Goa for a two week holiday with my parents. It has been amazing. I feel so relaxed I don’t want to leave. We have just waved them goodbye and we are now sat in a sweaty Internet café in Margo waiting to board the train to Mumbai. Were feeling very deflated to I thought writing my blog would help!

Before my mum and dad got here we stayed in a place called Calangute for 2 nights. To put it bluntly it was Costa del RANK. We were gutted. It was full of fat, bold, beer louts! The beach was rammed and the bars were playing the worst 90’s dance music.. far too loud. We escaped there as soon as we could and met my mum and dad in panjim.

We stayed at a place called Panjim Inn. It was the most beautiful place, very old and colonial. There were 4 poster beds in our rooms, which were so old. (We could tell they were old as one night we were all sat on my mum and dads and it broke… whoops..)

We had a big catch up over tea and galaxy (mmmmmm). It was great. We spent most of our time in Panjim drinking tea and eating the best Indian food. In one place It was hilarious to see my dads face when we told him you have to eat with your hands!

I also had my first experience at Diving. I loved it. We dived a wreck, which was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I definitely want to do more of that, so James and I are tempted to come back after Kolkata.

From Panjim we visited Old Goa then traveled down to Colva. This was a nice simple beach, not half as busy as Calangute and much nicer. However there were the most stray dogs you’ve seen in your life. Most of them were covered in scratches and flesh rotting diseases. They looked so sad.

We started to relax there and me and mum became obsessed with the street stalls.. We found it very difficult to say no! (No surprise there then.) We also visited a spice plantation, which was beautiful. It was great to see where the spices came from. When the guide would ask us what spice we thought it was James would more often than not get it right (because of his love for cooking) and the other people on the tour would tut and giggle. It was funny because they clearly thought he was a massive geek! But he didn’t really give a shit!

Then from Colva for our last 5 days we moved on to Palolim. We had been advised not to go there because of how busy it was but we must have struck lucky because it was beautiful and empty. It was a tropical Glastonbury! The crowds hadn’t arrived yet. Mum and I did Yoga on the beach with this ancient Indian man who looked unbelievably supple for his age! We drank Chai and ate cake every day and I had the best massage of my life. We really didn’t want to leave this place AT ALL.

But we have to and to be honest I feel we’ve been so lucky to have the last month doing what we’ve been doing we need to pay it back!

So we’re waiting for our train to Mumbai, then up to Kolkata to start work. Although I’d like to stay by the beach forever, I am really looking forward to Kolkata as I can’t wait to take what we’ve learned in Uganda and see if it helps here in India.

I hope everyone is well and getting ready for Christmas.. James and I are going to see if we can sus a place to have a crimbo dinner!

Lots of love Amy xxx

Indiaaaa

Well here we are… after a looong journey from Uganda we finally arrived in a hot and smelly Delhi. It was not how I imagined. My first impressions were as if the place had been in a war. But no James assured me its just India. We headed straight to a place called main Bizarre. A load of streets jammed packed with people trying to sell you everything, tugging on you for money, trying to run you over… Dogs and rats everywhere…

Coming from Uganda where the place and people are practically horizontal it was a huge shock. It’s also Dawali which is amazing but just adds to the craziness. We decided to find our bearings (as much as you can in one day). We ate the most gorgeous dal and naan and had our first chai (mmmm). We then booked ourselves a train ticket to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The train was surprisingly nice (apart from the rat running down the light strip). We got up at 5am to see the Taj Muhal and it was beautiful. There was fog coming from the river, drifting across it, which added to the eerie atmosphere. It was ace.

We were unable to book a train ticket back to Delhi as they were all full so we had to wait in line at the booking office first thing in the morning to make sure we got a cancelled ticket. This was hell. The place was rammed and people were literally fighting for the tickets. There were police there but it made no difference as everyone was bribing them! We got our tickets finally and to be honest I was pretty pleased to leave Agra by that point. We are now back in Delhi with one day to do a bit of sight seeing before we leave for Goa. I am so excited about the idea of relaxing on a beach and seeing my mum and dad.

A few things I have noticed since I have been here which has been a huge shock to me is… people generally pooh wherever they want. There is shit all over the train tracks. (not everyone though). Also so many people live on the platforms at the train stations. There are tents erected and whole families live there and make there living by begging on the trains. The poverty smacks you in the face as soon as you come into Delhi and it is so heartbreaking to see. I thought coming from Uganda I may be a little prepared but I was not at all.

I have only been here (like I said) for 4 days so can only write about what I have seen so far. My opinion I am sure will be very different in a couple of months. I am looking forward to staying in this country for 5 months as already I am fascinated. I can’t believe were finally here!!

Gorrillas and hot showers and on we go..

My last post from Uganda, how sad:(. I have completely mixed feelings. I adore Uganda and really don’t want to leave as I am so comfortable here. However we are going on to India. I am so excited as I’ve wanted to go for years (but I am a little nervous too).

Our last 2 weeks in Uganda have been amazing. We picked up James’ mum from the airport which was so nice to see family. We had a huge catch up in Kampala then headed off down to the south of Uganda. It was exciting as we have not ventured down there yet. Our first stop was a place called Lake Bunyonyi. It is a huge crater lake. Very beautiful but very cold! A big change from what we were used to. We borrowed a dug out canoe and James paddled us round the Island. It was so peaceful.

We then went on to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Here we went Gorilla tracking. This was unreal. We were so close to the gorillas, I was a little scared! They sat there eating and farting… It reminded me of humans. It took 4 hours to find them but was well worth it.

The next day we headed onto Ishasha. This was to see the tree climbing lions but they clearly were not bothered about seeing us as they didn’t show their faces. We were a little sad but instead we saw many elephants. They were huge and one of the elephant’s trunks was hanging on by a thread. The guide said it had been in a fight.

We did however get to see the lions the next day. There were 6 lying in front of us. (We were in the safety of the car of course). They were so sleepy and cuddly… (well maybe not cuddly.)

We saw many hippo’s, croc’s, cob’s and buffalo. It was amazing to see and it was the Africa we all see on TV. We also went chimp tracking and stayed in the most amazing lodge overlooking the set of King Kong. Well not quite but it could have been. It was such a contrast from what we have been doing for the last 3 months. It took a while to get used to having access to a hot shower every day but I soon got used to it!

The rest of this week we have been showing James’ mum around saying our farewells. This was very hard. The children in the school sang to us and the teachers and directors made very emotional speeches. I was in tears by the end of it. But as they keep saying it’s a necessary evil and we must head on!

So we are spending our last day in Uganda in Jinja (the source of the Nile). We are relaxing in the sun and getting ready for the crazyness of India. We are flying into Delhi then making our way down to Goa for 2 weeks to hang out with my mum and dad. Then we are off to Kolkata to start work again.

I hope everyone is well and happy. Sorry the photos have been few and far between. I will try to upload some soon. Also sorry individual emails have been thin on the ground. Time is running away with me but I shall sort it out! Lots of love xxx