The End / Lists

It's our last day in Marissa and again it's been a bit of an adventure what with Carolyn "Bondi Rescue" Williams and then y'day a bloody big rat in our room! No damage done! An update on Ron, who Carolyn rescued, he's in a stable condition in Colombo and will be flown out to the States in the next few days. He's expected to make a full recovery. The family and friends continue to make a fuss of Carolyn who in her usual fashion thinks it's all a bit much! Love that girl.
We've been lucky to meet up with a great family of English people from Essex - Chris and Jill and Paul and Emma. We've had some great times in the days and nights with Jill regaling us with tales of "2 pound of sand in me draws" and rats under plastic bowls running around bathroom floors. We loved Chris's "new" rules of Uno as well. Enjoy the stout and keep an eye on your David Beckham look alike son-in-law mate. They're a terrific family and it was sad to say goodbye to them.
We head to the airport town of Negombo today and this is the last post. Thanks to all those who have followed our travels and I hope I didn't bore you too much. As promised here are some lists to enjoy!
TRIP BY NUMBERS
85 - days on holiday
24 - flights
9 - train trips
7 - countries visited (include Bali as we had to buy a visa and pay departure tax for a 2 hr stay!)
4 +1 - no of times sick (Carolyn 4 Me1)  i.e. Rangoon Runs, Delhi Belhi
11 - different beers
6 - wines from Oz, France, Spain, SL, India and Chile
5 - No of security checks at Kathmandu airport on departure
4 - dodgy bus trips
4 - No of Lonely Planet guides
15 - forms of transport used on the trip

16 - books read by me
2 - times walked out of dodgy guesthouses/hotels
1854 - No of photos taken

... and finally the number 1 - the number of arguments we had and yes it was the wrong street to head down in Kathmandu!

 ONE LINERS
"No more steps Lhakpa" - to our Nepalese guide  on our trek

"You want taxi?" - I never want to hear this again. If I want a taxi I'll hail one you muppet! It wears after the 1000th time each day.
"Opium, hashish, marijuana sir? - I got asked this all over all over India and Nepal
"Please slow down" - to various taxi and bus drivers in every country we visited
"How do you want your eggs? - every b'fast for 3 months you are asked this whether yuor slumming it or flashpacking
"Where you going?" - every tuk tuk driver thinks it's ok to ask this
"Real Pashmina Maam" - yeah ok fella!
"Maybe tomorrow" - when you say no to look at something this is what shopkeepers say

and in closing I had some advice to pass on to would be travellers but I realised it would sound pompous so I'll just say this - get out there and do it, book the ticket, jump on the plane and enjoy the journey and the destination. See you.

Carolyn the lifesaver - Serious!

The beach here in Mirrisa is idyllic - palm fringed, white sand, clear water and good waves but it can also be dangerous  as Carolyn witnessed yesterday (Sat).
 Carolyn was lying on the beach when she saw an American guy get dumped by a wave in the relatively shallow water. When he came up he was face down and not moving. She went to the young SL lifeguard who didn't understand and she then ran into the water to rescue the bloke. With assistance she got him out of the water and noticed he was foaming at the mouth (water in the lungs), she stuck her fingers in his mouth to clear his airway, checked his pulse, put him in the recovery position on his side and then had to tell the gathered group not to lie him on his back as they were attempting too!! She then slowly melted into the background and came back to the room. Others had noticed Carolyn's actions and told the family who were overwhelmed with what she did. They took him off to hospital where he remains in a stable condition but will survive. When his wife came into the dining room last night she walked up to Carolyn embraced her and said "do you realise you saved my husbands life today?" she went onto say that in the hospital he told her that when he was face down in the water and unable to move (temporary paralysis) he stated to think of their 2 daughters and that this was it. At this stage we were all bawling - Carolyn, me and the guy's 3 family members. Talk about powerful.
All Carolyn kept saying was that she did what anyone else would do - true but she did do it and she saved another person's life. Carolyn can't understand the fuss and wants to forget it but I am so proud of her and how she handled the whole thing and I don't mean that in a patronising way. Even writing this I'm emotional!
All those years at the beach, 1st Aid courses and watching Bondi Rescue paid off!
As for me I was asleep on the balcony of our room! I saw the guy karted off and when Carolyn came back to the room I asked if she saw what happened - her reply was priceless. "I think I might have saved his life: she then asked for a sugar drink to calm her nerves. What a woman!

I'll post the promised list tomorrow as there is no A/C in here and I'm drenched. I'm off for a swim and I can only hope Carolyn  is keeping an eye out for me!

Sri Lanka - Cultural Triangle / Death by Temples

Days 63 to 68 saw us traversing SL to look at what's  called the Cultural Triangle. We spent most of the time looking at Buddhist relics and statues as well as ruins of the various conquerers of the island. It was all very interesting but our interest levels we starting to wane - over 6 countries we have seen every stupa, dagoba, pagoda, church,  museum and everything inbetween. In the end I told our driver (no public transport) that we didn't want to see anymore temples etc. Both Carolyn and I just wanted to lay on a beach! We had been to Anaradapuya the ancient capital, and Sigariya with its 600m high magma  rock, that was an adventure to climb, before ending up in the the hill town of Kandy for a couple of days.
In between we had walked out of a guesthouse that was filthy and ended up in another that was only marginally cleaner! During the night Carolyn killed 3 ants, we both had insects in our ears and the shower was a trickle! Ah the joys!
After Kandy we caught a train and a bus to the fort city of Galle which is quite interesting - spared from the tsunami by its 20m tall ramparts it's going through a huge makeover with boutique hotels springing up everywhere. A great place to while away a couple of days but the rest of the town is pretty average.
For the last 2 days (2 Nov onwards) we are in Mirissa a very quiet beach 40 kms east of Galle. Our room is 30 m from the ocean, the food is brilliant and Corona's for $3. There's even a good wave for body bashing.
The deal we got includes meals and last nite we witnessed the Germans at the buffet. There were 4 of them dressed head to toe in black, all seated together, the dessert table had a choc mousse dish that each of them had a bowl of. That was just the start! Each time the large bowl was repalced you could see them nudging each other and then jumping up to refill their bowls! It was a sight to behold and very funny to watch. Carolyn said I spent more time watching them than looking at her - oops! Mind you people watching is a great holiday activity.
We'll stay here before heading north to leave the country and as such you don't want to hear about the coconut fringed beach with white sand, warm water and a bar man just a click of the fingers away so this will be our last post - nearly.
Tomorrow (or the next day) I'll put some lists together i.e. the trip by numbers, best food, advice for travellers, best one-liners etc.
Again no foto's, the issue with my card is terminal but I've still got the pics I just can't upload them.
I'm off for a swim!

Kerala Backwaters / Farewell India - hello Sri Lanka

Days 59 - 61 of the trip saw us on a rice boat in the Keralan backwaters having caught a train from Trivandrum to Kottayam which was interesting due to the cockroach infestation in the seats and the site of a rat between the 2 panes of glass on the windows - ah the joys of sub-continent travelling. The boat crusie was great, very relaxing with good food (prawns like lobsters) and having your own cabin complete with ensuite.
Kerala has strict alcohol laws and you have to queque in an enclosed shoulder width mesh fence with males (no ladies) until its your turn. On the way to the jetty I asked the cabbie to stop so I could get a bottles of wine at one of these places. I stood in line patintly for 20 mins and was next to be served when a bloke came through the exit and tried to push in front of me and the other 15 blokes. I politely said I was next and he needed to go to the back at which point he shoved me in the upper arm. I turned towards him and put both hands on his chest and gave him a good shove back at which point the crowd roared their approval and the man in the shop told him "no service" . I walked away with my wine and dignity intact. This type of incident is common in India, everyone pushes in and you have to hold the line otherwise you never get served. I\ve seen Carolyn serve it up to bigger guys than me who have thought they could get away with getting in front of her!
All too soon our India trip was over and we were on a plane to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
For both of us India threw up so many challenges - the abject poverty, the rubbish, the filth, the brilliant food, the kindness of locals, the jaw dropping beauty of parts of the country, the ever widening gap bewtween the rich, the middle class and the poor. It utterly and totally consumes your every sense - from the smell of spices on the street, the stench of open urine pits on streets to the sight of a pink sunset over the white buildings of Udaipur to seeing the number of people living hand to mouth. It really is sensory overload and it can be overwhelming. Sorry to sound like a prat.
I came away with loving the experience but not really loving India - if that makes sense.
I\m also aware that what I\m writing here is really just what is going through my mind at the moment. With reflection that might change. Who knows.
The flight from India to Colombo was remarkable for the fact that there was only 3 'westerners' on a plane of over 200 and Carolyn and I were the only 2 without moustaches! when we arrived in Colombo the 3 'westerners' were the only ones to go through immigration as everyone else was transiting to the UAE for work.
First impressions of Colombo were that it is orderly, clean and they obey the road rules! People are unerringly friendly and it\s a bit more expensive than India.
We're off to the country for a few days to the Cultural Triangle before  heading to Galle and the beaches on the south coast.
I'll log a post in the next few days.

Photo's at last

I've just added some photo's to the Chitwan, Udaipur and Mumbai posts. Will add more later.

Goa / Kerala - Trivandrum, Kovsam

On Day 54 (Mon 17 Oct) of our travels we departed Goa and headed to Kerala further south. Goa was good but that was mainly to do with our hotel which Carolyn managed to get for 1/2 price. A pool, brekkie, peace and quiet, kingsize bed for under $55 per night. As I said in an earlier posting the beaches are largely unappealing and full of pervy Indian  men checking out the western women - you can imagine my reaction to that.

That said we had a great time including me  guiding a motor scooter on a 4 lane highway with no helmets, no insurance, Carolyn on the back and the mad Indian drivers! Our travel insurance didn't cover this either I later found out! I was fine until we hit a huge roundabout where there are no rules - you just go! Great fun.
We arrived in Trivandrum southern Kerala and again Carolyn score well with the hotel - close to half price I'm not a tight arse I promise)  and in a good location in the town. Trivandrum whilst not a tourist mecca is very pleasant and the people super friendly and no hassling to but or get in a taxi or tuk tuk. People say hello and excuse me and if you need help won't then ask you to visit their brother's silk emporium.
We are now in Kovasam just south of Trivandrum and it's a beach town - the beach and water are clean although the sand is dark - not dirt just volcanic. We've both swam and the waves are good. All the restaurants arre on the beach and we had a huge feed of Tiger prawns cooked in a Tandoor oven last night. Very tasty - still no meat though! On the subject of food our hotel in Trivandrum ($40 per night) had over 35 chices for its buffet plus 4 desserts and 3 flavours of ice cream all for $8 per head. What a bargain! (ok I watch the pennies a bit)
We are here for another day before heading north to go on a houseboat for a night on the backwaters. It's supposed to be a highlight of a trip to India - we'll see.
Monday we go to Sri Lanka for 16 days and then start of think of home.
Before signing off I have started some list of best foods, one-liners from our travels and some travel tips. I'll put them in separate postings closer to the end of our trip.
 I'm off for another body surf - see ya!

Mumbai / Goa

Arrived in Mumbai on 7 Oct late at night and it took 2 hours to get to the hotel because of all the Dessara festival celebrations which went late into the night - plus I had to map read as the taxi driver didn't know the way. Mumbai is a city of 15 million!!!
 The hotel we booked online and recommended by the LP was shocking. Dry rot on one wall, flaking paint, wet smell, bird feathers on the floor and a stinky shower. It was 11.30pm so we went to bed and checked out in the morning! Accom in Mumbai is really pricey - budget starts at $AUD50. The couple of days in Mumbai were taken up with checking out some of the tourist areas - Gateway to India, Taj Hotel, Chowpatty Beach, Victoria Terminal and then the cricket on Maidan Oval on Sunday. A space the size of 10 cricket fields had about 50 games going on - all in perfect harmony even though the makeshift boundaries crossed over. Some players were in whites and others in street clothes but there was no aggro and they all seemed to co-exist. It was something to behold. We ate locally and even had a meal in Leopolds which is made famous in Shanataram the popular novel (I couldn't stnd the book!). Food was good and relatively cheap. We even ran into Nelson and Francois from Udaipur!
Sunday we caught the train to Goa - supposed to take 10 hours! We arrived 5 hours late - ah well! Our accom in Goa is excellent. Huge room, kingsize bed, balcony, swimming pool, full brekkie all for $AUD57 per night. Competition for accom is keen here so online bookings are the way to go. The normal price for this room is over $AUD100. We like it so much we ended up staying the week! Goa is ok but the beaches are average by Aussie standards. Rubbish everywhere, coarse sand and not appealing. Sorry to sound like a snob! We hired a motor scooter for 2 days and we checked out Old Goa which is full of the Portugese influence and on Friday went to Mapusa markets which was an experience especially the freshly hung goats in the 33 C heat ...mmm.
It was good fun the 2 of us on a scooter motoring around the back blocks of Goa - palm trees and rice paddies. Very relaxing except for the sometimes frenetic Indian driving!
So far we've been to most of northern and middle Goa and we'll see how much more we can do before we head to Kerala on Monday (17 Oct). Mind you the pol looks good!
After 40 odd days of no meat we finally had some Goan seafood which is served very spicy - Extra tasty and washed down with a Kingfisher beer - or 2!
Sorry about the lack of photo's. the card has a virus. I've had all the photo's so far coped onto a DVD and had it cleaned so I can keep taking photo's. As soon as I can I'll add some pic's to the blog posts I've done so far.