Chandro and Paru

Well the last month has been a blast! Let's go back to mid December...

Abi, Cosmo, Gitte and I left Munnar for Wayanad in a Super Deluxe Air Bus. It was so Super Deluxe that a bolt fell off the ceiling and hit me, it broke the screen of my phone it was so bumpy and broke down twice. We finally arrived in Wayanad, had a few hours a sleep, then got up to go on safari. During breakfast at our hotel, two drunken Germans walked in and were very pleased to see white people. They joined us for the safari but slept through most of it. In the morning we stopped at a wildlife park and had a little walk and a swim in the cool, freshwater river. As girls, we couldn't really take off our clothes for the swim and Abi managed to forget she was wearing her money belt, so she took her passport and cash for a swim too! Fortunately they dried out in the hot weather while we ate a delicious thali for lunch.

Well done Abi!

In the afternoon we went to the Wayanad National Park. Tourists are only allowed in for an hour and a half at a time, so we didn't have too long to spend in there. We saw buffaloes, deer, butterflies, a wild boar and we were really lucky to spot a wild elephant's bum through the trees! Unfortunately my photography skills were rubbish, as we were in a moving jeep, which is too challenging for me, so I don't have much to show for this.

In the evening we had a party to celebrate Gitte's birthday which was the next day. This meant that again we didn't get much sleep but we got up early again to go on another trip. This time we went to visit a cave with ancient carvings and then swam in a waterfall! The water was freezing and the waterfall was so powerful, but it was a great experience. It was lovely to share Gitte's birthday as it was a pretty special day.

Cold! (Cosmo's pic!)

Our next destination was to be Hampi. It's about 650km away from Wayanad and we looked into the public transport, but it looked like a nightmare, so I made the crazy suggestion that we hire a car all the way to Hampi. Incredibly, everyone managed to justify it to themselves (it's Gitte's birthday, you only live once etc...) and we roped in the drunken Germans, who were too drunk to understand that the price I told them was per person, not for everyone and off we went! We played the music loud and got very drunk. We checked the driver was OK. "I happy!" he exclaimed. Probably happy with the price we were paying him. Amazingly, we saw a large group of wild elephants on the side of the road an hour or two in. The driver turned round so we could see them again. There was a baby elephant so we had to be quiet to make sure we didn't make its mother mad. That's probably the only time I'll ever see wild elephants when drunk.

Gitte on our ride

Roadtrippin'

Hampi is probably one of the most incredible places I've ever visited. The landscape is just out of this world. It's covered in massive rocks, which must be something to do with volcanoes, I don't really know! And there are ruins of temples and buildings everywhere that date back to the 1st Century AD. Me and Cosmo got out scooters for the day which was a great way to see the ruins and enjoy the landscape. It was a bit scary (I still don't have a driving license), but Cosmo's a pro on all forms of transport so he made me feel safe! One of the temples we went to has it's own elephant called Lakshmi. We saw Lakshmi being washed in the river in the morning and then later in the day we went to the temple and were blessed by her. Hampi had a great backpacker vibe and I really enjoyed my time there.

Beautiful Hampi

Being blessed by Lakshmi (Cosmo's pic!)

Afer Hampi we moved on to Goa, where I pretty much didn't move for 3 weeks. We stayed on Palolem Beach in a beach hut, so there was no need for shoes at all! On our first night we had to say goodbye to Abi and Cosmo as they were heading back to Scotland. We had a delicious meal on the beach, then we headed to an outdoor silent disco at the end of the beach on a hill that looked out over the sea. Silent discos are popular in Palolem, I think because it means they don't break any laws about making too much noise. I don't know how many I went to while I was there! They varied in quality between awesome and terrible.

Silent disco

I spent most days lying on the beach and going for a nice swim once I got too hot. It's a beautiful beach so it's very easy to do very little. Gitte and I became regulars at a restaurant called Neptune Point and the waiters there named us Chandro and Paru, meaning Moon and Queen. Apparently it comes from a Hindi song about Chandro and Paru and how when they get together it's a big party! On one of our rare walks I had a run in with a palm tree. We heard a rustling above us.. I thought it was a coconut and Gitte thought it was a monkey but then an entire branch of the palm tree fell on top of me. They're actually really heavy and I'm still sore now, I can't fully move my thumb and my arm's feeling a bit dodgy. But it kept us amused for the rest of the day so I suppose it was worth it!

Paradise

Chandro and Paru and our favourite waiters

My painting of Chandro and Paru on our beach hut

Christmas in Goa was brilliant, but it felt weird that it was so hot! Because most people I met were from Continental Europe, I celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. I had dinner with Gitte and two Danish friends we made called Jannis and Nikolaj. We ate delicious seafood on the beach (I have finally come round to the pleasures of prawns!) and unwrapped our presents from under our fake Christmas tree. After dinner we danced round the Christmas tree (Danish tradition) singing songs and then we went to a club so I ended up ridiculously hungover on Christmas Day.

We decorated the beach hut!

Waiting for Christmas Dinner!

Christmas lobster

I was very happy to be joined by Andy, Fini and Gi Gi (fellow volunteers from Project Why) for New Year's Eve. About 20 of us got together for another tasty dinner on the beach. The amateur fireworks were insane, it was non stop banging, only a few metres from our seats! We lit lanterns and sent them into the sky with our wishes for 2013, they looked so beautiful as they floated upwards. At midnight, I was dancing on the beach to slightly dubious music (I remember Sandstorm being played) and enjoying the fireworks. The partying carried on all night, all over the beach and it was the best new year I've ever had! It was also a time when I really missed my friends and family from home and I can't wait to see them when I get back in May and share this year with them too.

Gi Gi, Fini, Andy, Gitte and me - dolled up for NYE

Lantern

Dancing on the beach

Happy New Year!

On my last day in Palolem I was at last a bit more adventurous and went on a boat trip. We spotted dolphins really close to our boat and then relaxed on quiet Butterfly Beach. I had an amazing 3 weeks on Palolem Beach and met so many great people there! I hope I get to meet them again and I know I'm definitely meeting my friend Alex in Bangkok next month, which is exciting. I'm really missing Gitte, but Chandro and Paru will be reunited and there will be a party! I left Goa on January 6th and headed for Mumbai on my own.... that's enough for now. I'll update you on the rest soon!

Bye bye Palolem!