Temporarily out of Asia!!

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6 months were almost over and some good news arrived from Spain. Mi sister, 3 years older than me, gave recently birth to a handsome and friendly boy named Nico. This is the right moment, we thought, to come back shortly to Spain and have a holiday from our holidays or, in another words, rest a bit from so many months travelling. It is not that we were sick of travelling but we have missed some things that you only have when you are settled in a place, like the same bed everyday, like all our clothes stored in the same place and not in the backpack…

Kanyakumari, a short visit to the end of the Indian Subcontinent

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The southernmost point of the Indian Subcontinent is an apparently small fisherman town, which actually spreads out very wide in a big piece of land where the Indian Ocean meets the Arabian Sea. It is also a place of pilgrimage for Hindus, which makes from this town an interesting place to stop over and rest for a couple of days, visit the temple and join the morning and evening puja (prays and offerings in Hindu religion) in the beach.

Munnar and the tea plantations

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Munnar is another one of India’s long list of hill stations, this one lying in between square kilometres of emerald green tea plantations that satisfy the needs of many of the tea lovers/drinkers around the world. The town is also know for its spice plantations, and the aroma of all those spices spreads in the wind coming out from the high number of shops in every street.

Too high expectations about Kochi

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We arrived in Ernakulam, twin city to Kochi, by train and very early in the morning. The good idea we had, was to store our luggage in the cloak room in the station, just to be free during the first morning hours to walk around and find a cheap place to rest for that night. Ernakulam and Kochi are divided by a wide deep channel home to many species of fish, such as the dolphins we saw during our lunch break in a roof top restaurant by the river.

Kerala: God’s own land

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Chapora and the North of Goa

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Many western travellers are very attracted to Goa’s beaches and landscapes and spend most of the winter time chilling out on a hammock or sitting on one of the many bars and restaurants along the state. The average temperature here from October to March is around 30°C. Chapora and other towns in northern Goa are some of the hits for young travellers and backpackers and also the party scene for all those ravers and party-seekers.

Prearranged marriages

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Our visit to Varanasi coincide with an auspicious time for marriages. We saw many Indian couples offering “puja” to the Ganges river and many other wedding ceremonies all around. While relatives sang and danced very happily, couples seemed to be in most of the cases sad and not having a very good time. We wondered why…

The Holy Cow

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The holy cow, known as Gau Mata or Mother Cow, has a special place on the Indian psyche. But why are the cows holy in India? For sure this is a question that most of us have thought at least once. During our visit to Jaisalmer we were staying at a very nice a cozy hotel inside the Fort. We noticed that a cow came everyday to the same house and waited in the entrance until an old men gave her sweets or food. We asked him why and he told us that cows are holy and everyone respect them and also explained to us the reasons why. Many centuries ago, when the Indian civilization was still nomadic and based on the agriculture, money wasn’t established yet on the rural areas and the cow was the way to measure someone’s wealth. Therefore it became the legal currency, exchanged for food and services, given for the marriage dowry or to pay the taxes. Besides, the cow’s milk was the main nutritious source for the majority of the country’s population. The cow’s dung was also used as a combustible in the house stove and as construction material when mixed with clay.

Goa

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Goa is the selected place for many tourists to spend their long term winter vacations due to its mild weather, its scenic palm-fringed beaches, natural harbours, wide rivers and the occidental ambience all around the state. The coast line has everything, from white sand beaches and river mouths to Portuguese fort ruins guarding rocky caves. Goa’s inland is also beautiful, with tropical forests, paddy fields, coconut palm groves and small villages. Due to its colonial past, Goa has a character quite distinct from the rest of India. Goans are easy going and friendly people with a good sense of humour.

Matheran, the hill station

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After the visit to busy Mumbai, our wish was to find a good place for a quiet and cheap stay. To relax, trek and work a bit on this travel blog to keep it up to date. We thought we have found the right place in Matheran, an environmental friendly town in the mountains where motor vehicles and plastic bags are banned. This thing surprised us, since it is not very common in India at all. After arriving there we realised that the town was by far not what we were expecting. We arrived uphill with a toy train, which was good fun, paid the compulsory 25 rupees entrance fee to town and wandered around the over lightened main street. Surprised by the lights, colours and products of the multiple surrounding shops, it seemed to us for a moment that we were in an fair. The town was busy and loud, even though that vehicles are not allowed inside. Most of the visitors were groups of young Indian friends, wanting to party and escape of the high temperatures of the plains. So we didn’t find the quietness we were expecting to.