Mumbai, Taj Mahal & New Delhi

We arrived in Mumbai, after what seemed a horrific bus journey due to sickness!
After laying about ill in Goa it was time to catch our 11 hour sleeper bus to Mumbai ( glad to say we had the bottom bunk!) , and to say we was not looking forward to the journey was a understatement. Poor James was sick in a Topshop bag and thus had to chuck the  bag out of the Coach drivers window! CLASSY! In all seriousness it was not pleasant and I am very glad I am no longer ill - Definitely laying off the curries for the foreseeable future, that alongside any kind of meat! :)

We arrived at the hotel in Mumbai, very tired and still queasy from the sickness etc. The room could of been a squat for all we cared, we were just pleased and relieved to finally get to the hotel. Our plan was to go and explore Mumbai, however that did not go to plan. We skipped meals, stocked up on water and had plenty of rest ahead of our tour to visit the slums the following morning.
Morning arrived and we was still not 100% better, although we found enough energy to visit the slums in the city. We took a train to the slums with a local guide, who promptly told us that we had around 10 seconds to board/get off the train otherwise we was to be left behind. Mumbai is such a busy city with human traffic everywhere, that it worried us! Nevertheless we did not get left behind and made our way to the slums :)

The slums have some 1 million residents, it was a real eye- opener and for courtesy of those that cohabit there we were banned from taking photographs. It was a shame that we could not take pictures, although upon reflection I would not like it if someone was prying on me in my home! Before we entered the slums we had some perceived images of those who live there. We thought that there would be no education, high poverty and low quality of life. However this was soon changed , residents are employed in the slums and children attended schools. The children all said 'hello' and were curious to say 'hi' to us. At no part during the tour did we feel intimidated or threatened by those around us, we was surprised at how friendly and happy those who live there were! They are simply making the best of a bad situation , and I would like to thank them for making us feel safe and welcome! :)
James was still very ill during Mumbai and I was still recovering, so the rest of Mumbai consisted of us eating crisps and watching films in bed!

Next Stop was AGGRO, SORRY AGRA! ;) We had a short stop to this lovely town to visit the Taj Mahal. To put it frankly It was one of the worse nights of my life- James had a high temperature, anybody that knows me, knows I am a worrier. I could not get to sleep, it was cold and the hotel was a one star , (if that).
I was awake most of the night worrying over James, and could not wait for morning, so we could check out and visit the Taj Mahal!
The Taj Mahal was beautiful, and was well worth staying in such a tip to see it! Apart from the Taj there is not much else to see in Agra, we packed our back- packs and got the train to Delhi! I was so relieved to be finally leaving Agra!

When we arrived in Delhi, we was pleasantly surprised by the room especially after the night before where it could not get any worse! We ventured out to visit the 'India Gate' , however  James was still recovering from illness, so I ordered room service and watched films (again!) -Think I watched every film going lol.

India was an experience to say the least, although we enjoyed our time, it was slightly ruined by sickness etc. The slums were such a good experience, and I would recommend everyone to visit! It most definitely makes you appreciate what you have without sounding contradicting to those who live in the slums! India was now over with and both myself and James were relieved to be heading to BANGKOK.

So here we are, sitting in our hotel in Thailand, and it is so lovely we have treated ourselves to an extra night! We have a sauna room, swimming pools, a bath and a comfortable double bed and even bath robes with slippers. Just the luxury we need lol :)
I have just cooked me and James a homemade meal, felt so nice to eat 'home' food! - No wonder we have both lost weight lol!

Tonight we are getting an early night, and heading out to explore Bangkok tomorrow!
Until next time....


Georgia & James
xxx

Goa!

As a write this (James) I am suffering with "Delhi Belly" and have got one eye on the toilet whilst Georgia is lounging away in pain on a giant beanbag next to me so if none of this makes sense is because I am in pain lol (and the fact I have never done a Blog before). Does Myspace count from 5 years ago?

Anyway, we landed in Mumbai and was transferred to the domestic terminal to catch our flight to Goa although our flight was delayed and we had to wait around in the terminal for a few hours. Our experience in the airport was a taste of what was to come, we were taken back by the fact that the slums of Mumbai was surrounding the airport, with washing being hung on the airport security fence to dry! If you can imagine two storey tin houses packed together in a cloud of smog and pollution with rooms so small it was hard to believe anyone could sleep in them. At that point I think me and Georgia was glad to have been getting a flight to Goa and not leaving the airport even though we did not say it to each other. The next shock was the toilets, if you can imagine them being worse than toilets you would find in bar at 3am in the morning with piss everywhere and toilet roll everywhere.

Arriving in Goa Airport in the afternoon, we was hot and tired and just wanted to get to the hostel and jumped in a taxi which was probably older than us with the decor inside being leopard print with a dodgy hooter, reminded me of India's version of Mr.Bean. On our way to the hostel we couldn't believe how many churches around, nearly all the population of Goa are Christians. We arrived in the hostel during a power cut. just what we wanted after travelling for 18+ hours and was guided to our room a few minutes walk away. The hostel is basically a converted Goan house with a new block of rooms around the corner. After being jet-lagged we just quickly went out for a meal where I was pleased to see 50RP beers (60p).

We headed to the local beach for a couple of days where the beach is not great but different. It can only be so relaxing when there are cows on the beach, I had to keep one eye open when sunbathing especially after witnessing a sleeping Russian couple in front of us having their bags looked down by a cow. On the back of the beach were wooden shacks made from bamboo selling jewellery, crafts and Bob Marley towels. We watched the sunset on the beach in a wooden hut restaurant.

We visited the next resort up called Anjuna beach although the taxi driver thought it would be wise to drop us off about a 20 minute walk from the beach in a dark road where he was insistent on the beach being a short walk away. The dirt track road we ended up walking down was dark and was immediately approached by some dodgy looking man trying to sell us drugs. We were the only tourist within site and was probably the only time I have felt unsafe in Goa. Georgia doesn't like going to places that she has never visited before so you can imagine the panic on her face! We just paced into the nearest restaurant that we could find which was bizarre. There was like music from a 5 piece boy group but they were all high along with 90% of the customers and staff! Although one of the musicians was quite good playing the Trumpet whilst swaying side to side. We read that this part of Goa in the 1990's was full of hippies and not much has changed by our experience. There were no roads in site and we had to find a taxi but we ended up walking along the beach going past hippies and the constant sound of trance music. How can anyone like that type of music?? We felt like an old couple, got in a taxi, got back to our room and watched the Big Bang Theory lol.

The next day we got a moped out to have a little drive around but stayed clear of Anjuna! Although we were told by a few others in the hostel that there was a night market open from 9am-3pm which was surprisingly good. Georgia just enjoyed haggling her sunglasses from 8 pound to just 2 pound, sure I have not heard the last of that!

We have spoken to a few characters in our short stay in Goa including a boy called Shaun from up North, he looked like he was from Kasabian or Kings of Leon with a headband on and long ginger hair. We even met a couple who lived in one of the corners of Leyton Orient's ground, wasn't jealous at all!

After 4 nights in Goa, we have been told that this part of India is so laid back compared to Mumbai and New Delhi so we are a bit more cautious, especially when we have been told there are not many white people and hearing that in Mumbai they pass their babies to white women for a picture for good luck. Lets hope Georgia doesn't drop any of the babies! Haha, we will wait and see....

The day has Arrived....

The Day has arrived.....

15/01/13 

The day has finally arrived, after months of planning and saving we are FINALLY going travelling :) 

Our back packs have been packed, our money has been saved and our nerves are very high! 

Our first stop of travelling will see us arrive in Goa, India- With a weather average of 28c, you won't see us complaining about the weather today haha :) 

Although we are nervous, we are very excited to create new memories and experience new things! 

So in just a couple of hours time, we leave our families and start our adventures....... 

James&Georgia