Palolem Beach Travel Guide

Author

Joel Gales

Fri
22 ^nd

Palolem Beach Travel Guide

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

Palolem is one of those places that keeps seducing you after it has already won your heart, and every day you wake up knowing you will fall in love a little more. The beach is framed at each end by verdant cliffs studded with black basalt boulders, and its perfect crescent-shaped, palm tree-fringed dreamscape begs you to take one photo after another. At the northern end lies an estuary that serves as a sanctuary for birds and a reflecting pool for stunning sunsets, and each night the creamy yellow sand is washed clean by a high tide reaching almost to the sea huts at the edge of the beach.

After over a week there, it was still too soon to leave. I was so strung out on Palolem Beach itself that I didn’t get a chance to visit Agonda or Butterfly beaches to the north, nor had I taken a boat ride up the river to Floating Rock to watch birds. Worse still, some of the best restaurants and one very cool club were still closed because the season hadn’t officially started.

Sounds like a good argument to go back, but in the meantime, here are my recommendations for how to enjoy this magical place.

Stay

One of the guest cottages at Bhakti Kutir in Palolem, Goa

Bhakti Kutir
296, Colomb Palolem
Set high on a hilltop away from the crowds of Palolem Beach yet only a 10-minute walk through the forest to the southern end of the beach, Bhakti Kutir is a special place. Beautiful Indonesian-style cottages are scattered throughout the lush garden grounds filled with soaring bamboo, gorgeous tropical flowers, and coconut palms. Each unique cottage is equipped with an en-suite bathroom and has a lovely shaded porch with a huge chaise for lounging away the afternoon. There’s no hot water in most huts (#9 being one exception, shhhh), but they can bring you all you need in buckets for showering in the spacious tiled bathrooms. The cottages have an open, natural feeling as most windows are not glassed but covered with wooden shutters that create privacy but also allow the free flow of air. Ceiling fans and mosquito nets ensure a good nights sleep, and you will wake to the sound of the tropical birds as the light begins to poke its way through the canopy.

The restaurant serves up tasty, healthful, and modestly priced breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare, and is open from around 8 in the morning until the guests have finished ordering by late evening. During season, yoga classes, Ayurvedic treatments, and massage are offered on-site, and there are several common areas where folks can gather for yoga practice or community events. There is a well-stocked library next to the restaurant, and free Wi-Fi is available in that area as well.

The staff are unobtrusive, knowledgeable, and friendly, and they will help you to secure transportation or book tours for nearby attractions.

Crystal Goa
Rooms next to Cafe Inn in Palolem, apartments in nearby Patnem Beach
Well managed by the same people running Cafe Inn (see below), these rooms in Palolem and apartment homes in Patnem are designed with Western sensibilities in mind. The rooms are right in the heart of the action in Palolem, and the fact that they mention “free ear plugs” in their advertisements should be a hint as to what sort of stay you will have, while the apartments in nearby yet quieter Patnem are perfect for families or anyone wanting to cook a meal at home occasionally. Amenities include Wi-Fi, AC, television, organic toiletries, and, in the apartments, standard furnishings and a well equipped kitchen.

Pixels Oceanfront
No. 9/241, Palolem Beach, Behind Ciarans
I used booking.com to book my room, and I was told that I had lucked out in getting an AC room for under 1500 rs/night, even in pre-season Palolem. This hotel is very well run and exceptionally clean, and there are fewer than ten rooms (including an adorable free-standing hut), so it’s small and private. Only steps to the beach, it is in the middle of everything but still feels secluded, due in part to the peaceful, shady courtyard that provides a retreat from the party scene. The top floor has stunning views of the beach and is open for guests to watch sunsets or do yoga in the morning. Sunil, the manager, is a wonderful source of help for arranging cabs or recommending things to do.

Eat

Restaurants abound in this area, from the 5-starred to the dirt-floored, and the fare varies from classical Indian to fresh pasta to real espressos brewed in Italian machines. If you like seafood, you’re in luck—fisherman bring in fresh octopi, lobster, fish, crabs, and prawns daily.

Cafe Inn
Just to your right as you turn onto Main Road and are looking toward the beach.
The food is nothing special here but the drinks and the atmosphere more than make up for it. Real coffee drinks, delicious smoothies, and yummy desserts as well as breakfast/lunch/dinner fare. Cool tunes play in the background as a mostly foreign crowd takes advantage of the free and relatively fast wifi.

Paneer with lemon rice at seaside Dropadi Restaurant

Dropadi Bar & Restaurant
Directly on the beach to your left as you hit the beach from Main Road.
I ate here almost every day of the week because the food was so consistently good and fresh. Tons of vegetarian choices, with an extensive list of Indian and Continental dishes in addition to seafood specials featuring whatever was caught fresh that day. They have a great reputation, excellent service, and mesmerizing views of the sea to relax your mind as you chow down. You don’t have to give up the feeling of sand in your toes, either, as their floor is a covered in nice, clean sand. They claim to use only bottled (mineral) water to cook their dishes, which will give the wary some peace of mind about eating out.

Magic Italy
260 Main Road, Palolem Beach Street
The owners are Italian and they personally oversee the quality of the food and service. Cute, cosy dining room with a beer and wine bar as well as smoking and people-not-smoking right next to you sections. Homemade pastas that melt in your mouth in addition to a huge selection of wood-fired pizzas and salads. Good service to boot, but bring cash because they don’t take any credit cards.

Play

Silent Noise Club
Palolem Beach, south end, trail head marked by large painting on rocks of a cow wearing headphones
Perched on the promontory at the southern end of Palolem Beach, try to get directions from a local on how best to reach this place. Starting in November, this makeshift club on the rocks south of Palolem gets groovy every Saturday night as celebrity dj’s spin cool tunes that no one can hear—unless you’ve donned one of the pairs of portable headphones they provide, which is how they get around the no-music after 22:00 local ordinance. Lights on the headphones indicate what tunes you’ve selected so you can see who else is sharing in your auditory experience. Full bar, local and international flavors of booze. Don’t fall down the hill on your way home.

**The view behind Jo-Jo’s Sundowner Club**

Jo-Jo’s Sundowner Bar
Hut at northern most end of the beach, between Monkey Island & the cliff
Most easily reached around sundown when the tide is out, but even then you will need to wade through a foot or so of water where the estuary meets the sea to reach the spot. The view from the rocks is worth it, though. Unfortunately, Jo-Jo passed away last year, but his devotees have vowed to keep it going in his memory.

Yoga

There are plenty of yoga places around during season (October-February), and you only have to walk around to see signs directing you to shalas with drop-in classes.

Aranya Yoga
Palolem Beach Road next to Cafe Coffee Day
Daily drop-in classes offering Ashtanga in the morning and Hatha in the afternoon.

Arunachala Yoga Centre
Palolem Beach Road next to Star Gems
Daily drop-in Kundalini classes as well as healing services. I never made it there because I met the instructor (pictured left) and was somewhat put off by his sales pitch and terrible b.o., but who knows, maybe I missed out.

Kranti Yoga
Kranti Yoga Beach Resort House No 135 Patnem Beach
Take a short walk or even shorter ride to neighboring Patnem Beach to check out one of their two daily drop-in classes or sign up for a course at this acclaimed yoga center.

Ayurveda/Massage

Nothing was in full swing when I was here in late September, but just ask your hotel or host for recommendations. One place I looked into was right next to Pixels Oceanfront, and they offered the standard fare of abhyanga (oil massage with herbs; 1400 rs) and shirodhara (oil poured on forehead; 2000 rs) as well as various panchakarma treatments. They have both male and female massage therapists available, and the owner/manager is Kerala-trained. I heard good things about the massage services at Bhakti Kutir as well; email them to confirm when their massage and Ayurveda specialists will be back on-site and open for business.

A word of caution: while getting a massage or taking a simple treatment (like shirodhara) is fine even if you are not attended by a classically trained practitioner of Ayurveda, I would recommend skipping the deep panchakarma or “detox” treatments altogether. Goa is a place to play, but the Ayurveda spas and clinics there are not known for their authenticity. While there are a few exceptions in Goa, none of those I’ve heard of are in Palolem.

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Tue
19 ^th

In Praise of the Indian Toilet

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An Indian floor toilet at Bhakti Kutir resort in Palolem, Goa.

On the evening of my final night in India last year, my friends asked me what I was going to miss most about their country. “The food,” was my immediate answer. And the people, of course, especially them. “But I am going to miss the arse wash a lot, too.”

For those of you not familiar with the typical toilet scene in India, let me break it down for you:

In establishments that cater to a Western (or Westernized) clientele, there is the typical Western toilet that you see in countries like the U.S. along with a roll of toilet paper and a small spray hose (the device for washing the “arse,” or ass). When you see businesses advertising “Western-style toilets,” that’s what they are talking about. In more modest businesses serving a primarily Indian customer base or in public places, like trains, rarely will you see a Western toilet, and there will be instead an opening in the floor, typically with a treaded foothold on each side. There may or may not be toilet paper or a wash hose, but there will always be a water source along with a small spouted container, which you use to pour water over yourself until, aided by your hand, you are clean.

While I don’t really like the bucket-only scene, I still appreciate the use of water to clean down there. Not only does it cut down on the amount of toilet paper you use, but it gets your junk cleaner than paper alone, especially after passing solid waste. I have heard people decry the Indian toilet as being primitive, but once you have used water to get clean, it’s difficult and a little disgusting to go back to using only toilet paper. Westerners might be shocked at the use of water only—not to mention touching our naughties—but imagine how dirty to the Indian mind our method seems.

I know folks back in the San Francisco Bay Area who throw the toilet paper in the trash instead of flushing it; they do this not because they have old pipes, but because it is better for the environment to keep it out of the water system.

cartoon drawing of Spiderman squatting over a traditional Indian toilet — Spiderman, a natural yogi, having no issues with the Indian-style floor toilet.

But wait, you say, what about the extra water we will be using to wash our bums? Good question, but according to this article in Scientific American, the water used to produce toilet paper is so much greater than the relatively small extra amount we would use to clean ourselves that there’s no comparison.

If you just clicked that link above, you saw the article was praising bidets, which are typically the height of a Western toilet. But is the raised toilet really an improvement over the floor toilet? I know a couple other folks who use a device intended to lift up the feet when using the toilet in order to aid in bowel movements. We, as a species, are meant to squat when we move our bowels. The Western-style toilet precludes this pose as it puts us in a position halfway between squatting and standing, where, subconsciously, our bodies aren’t sure what to do. Ever tried taking a poop standing up? Me, neither, but I bet it would be damn hard because our anatomy is not designed to expel solid waste while we are standing (tigers chasing us might dispel that inhibition).

Of course, the floor toilet is not accessible to everyone, like people who are unable to squat, so this post is not directed toward the whole of our population. However, for most of us, with a little practice the position can become familiar enough to seem natural. Keep in mind the following when you are faced with using a floor toilet:

Larger end of the opening is under your spine; face forward toward the smaller opening.
Wash yourself clean with water and then, if you must, use a tiny bit of toilet paper to blot dry. Throw the paper in the trash can.
Get in the practice of using the non-dominant hand to do the cleaning lest there is no soap and you’re about to go back to your lovely thali in the off-the-beaten track restaurant you just discovered.
If you are on a train, hang on to something while you are squatting. You don’t want to go rolling across the bathroom floor if the car pitches suddenly.

Sorry for all the shit talk, but in Ayurvedic and yogic philosophy, taking a daily dump or two is of primary importance. In this case, what is good for the body is also good for our earth. As the scientists who study this shit will tell you, using a little water will save a lot, and don’t forget all the trees we won’t have to chop down to make the t.p. If you are still in doubt about the cleanliness aspect, common sense will tell you that using water to clean down there is more hygienic than using dry toilet paper; if you don’t believe me, I have only one thing to say to you: dingleberries. So before you call the floor toilet and arse wash “primitive,” think about how each is better for our bodies as well as the environment, and perhaps you will see the traditional Indian toilet in a different light.

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Sun
17 ^th

Bye Bye Bombay, Goin’ to Goa

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After a minor snag in getting my train ticket, I was finally on my way from hot and hazy Bombay to the golden, palm-lined beaches of Goa. There was no heartache this time in leaving the city: the skies had turned a sickly, bilious yellow, and the air, devoid of wind, was heavy and thick with smoke. And I knew I would be back for the Christmas and New Year holidays when the weather would be less hot, or what a Mumbaiker might describe as being “a little on the chilly side.”

Quick digression: is it Bombay or Mumbai? As a Bombayite told me recently, Mumbai is a city, while Bombay is a feeling. Everyone I know who is Indian still calls it Bombay, although officially it’s Mumbai. Neither choice will offend.

I had booked tickets on the much anticipated new train, the Tejas Express, which supposedly runs with limited stops and will get you from CST in the Fort district of Mumbai to Karmali in central Goa in about ten hours. Not only that, but it was the exciting new train that had wifi and media display monitors with movies, music, and games. I’d read that the wifi was a pipe dream and only worked in the major stations, which turned out to be true, but the entertainment was alright, though there was only one movie in English: Zero Dark Thirty. I don’t want veer off into politics, but I felt a little self-conscious watching it, especially during the end when the troops rush in to kill Hussein and his men, but no one was paying any attention at 5:30 in the morning.

view from train window of lush green rolling hills on way to Goa from Mumbai — Nothing but green hills and blue skies on the train ride to Goa

For the first four or five hours of the trip, we were zipping along through gorgeously green, lush fields that I could not stop snapping pics of, but about halfway to Karmali we began stopping at every station, and sometimes we would wait for up to twenty minutes. During this time, the train doors stayed locked and no one was allowed to get on or off. Usually, there are various snack vendors who crowd on at every stop, and while some chikki and a chai would have been nice, I’d been warned before I took my trip that there were roving groups of thieves who were hopping on and off trains at stops to snatch everything they could from unwary travelers.

As people started to get exasperated with the long waits at the stations, the gentleman across from me explained that there was only one track, so we had to wait until another train passed before they would switch us back to the main track. That explanation seemed to make sense until we started to stop at the bigger stations where there were multiple tracks in view. A seasoned traveler on this express train was sitting across from me, and she said that she had never experienced the stopping and waiting before, so I am not sure what was going on. A number of people around me were complaining, and a dad holding his squirmy daughter as his tired and grumpy wife let out a series of sighs, joked that the train must be running on IST: India Stretchy Time.

We finally reached the station about half past five, which was only a couple hours beyond our original ETA. The woman sitting across from me with whom I’d been chatting during the trip kindly waited on the platform to make sure I found the pre-paid taxi counter. The prices were pretty reasonable, considering that I would have had to take four buses (all running on India Stretchy Time) and then schlep my bags another ¼ mile to reach my hotel. If you are trying to stick to a budget, I recommend you focus on keeping your lodging and meals on the cheap as opposed to skimping on transportation. Third-class train tickets in packed, non-air conditioned compartments full of men who may stare at you the entire time have been romanticized in novels and by young backpacking bloggers, but all my Indian friends have told me to take a AC class 2 or better. The price difference will be negligible unless you are a shoestring budget, but the hassle it saves is beyond monetary worth.

Overall it was a lovely trip, and there was even a western-style toilet in one of the bathrooms, as I discovered toward the end of the ride after swaying side-to-side over a glorified hole in the floor (glorified only because there was a flush button and I couldn’t see the tracks below) the first couple of visits to the bathroom. Our train left promptly at 5 a.m., so there wasn’t much to see for the first couple of hours, but when the sun started to come up, that all changed. Unless we were in a tunnel, I couldn’t tear my eyes off the gorgeous scenery as we flew past lush rice paddy fields, lazily meandering rivers, and distant mountains cut with rushing waterfalls. And as it was just past the monsoon, everything was a eye-popping verdant green that shone more brightly for the contrast with the red clay fields recently harrowed and seeded for the next growth cycle.

Next stop, Kerala, but for now I’m going to chill for a while in Goa to catch my breath and relax before heading to the Ayurvedic hospital in Kottakkal where I plan to have my main detox. For the next couple of weeks, my blog will be more focussed on the tourist tip angle and how to have fun and eat well in Goa. While it is lovely here and there are plenty of Ayurvedic massage and treatment services, Goa is not renowned for its authentic Ayurvedic healthcare centers, although I don’t see how a massage or two will hurt. Stay tuned.

Read more India train travel tips.

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Thu
14 ^th

Kaivalyadhama Center for Yoga and Panchakarma in Mumbai

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I wasn’t planning on getting any panchakarma treatments until I traveled further south to Kerala, but then I stumbled upon Kaivalyadhama in Mumbai while searching the web for a place to buy a neti pot. I was in the midst of a terrible head cold and was desperate to clear my sinuses with some neti pot action, but upon visiting their site, I learned they also had panchakarma treatments.

One such treatment is called Nasya, and they list the benefits as follows:

It is a wonderful treatment to remove the doshas or congestion in the ear, nose & throat. It cures problems of the respiratory track like chronic allergic asthma, cold, cough, etc.

It relieves mental fatigue, nervous disorders like depression, insomnia, epilepsy and insanity. It is also useful in problems of excessive hair fall and premature graying. It helps to induce calm and quiet sleep. It sharpens the intellect by enhancing nervous system.

I’ve also been having problems with insomnia since my arrival in India, so the treatment sounded like a good one for me. I emailed them on Sunday, and they got back to me Tuesday morning to let me know they had availability that day. They also confirmed they had ceramic neti pots for sale (only 40 rs!), so I hopped in a cab and made my way to their facility conveniently located on Marine Drive across from Chowpatty.

After the receptionist did a quick intake, I was shown into the doctor’s office. Of all the doctors of Ayurveda I have seen, I liked this woman especially for her compassion in addition to technical knowledge. She worked with me on my short time frame to compile a couple hours’ worth of treatments to help me clear some of the sinus congestion lingering from my cold. I knew I wanted the nasya, which she confirmed was a good treatment for me at that time, and she added a full-body massage—abhyangam—with herbal steam. I didn’t argue with her, especially as the price for all three treatments was only 1800 rs in addition to her 250 rs consultation fee.

The panchakarma (PK) therapist was a sturdy woman (and they only do same-sex massages there, which is a hallmark of Ayurvedic authenticity) with kind eyes and strong hands. She showed me to the PK room and had me sit in a chair for the head massage with herb-infused oil. After about ten minutes of this heavenly treatment, told me to strip down naked and lie on the massage table, where she expertly rubbed down my entire body with long Swedish-style strokes and a lot more medicated oil. I was in heaven.

Next came the steam, which meant climbing into a box with doors in front and up top that folded shut around me to leave only my head sticking out. The steam became pretty intense after a couple of minutes, so I had to pop open one of the top lids to release some of the heat. The PK therapist had assured me she was within earshot if I became uncomfortable, so I didn’t feel trapped.

After the steam, it was time for my nasya treatment. The thought of oil going up my nose seemed strange, but since I had mastered the neti pot, I wasn’t too concerned. She first massaged my entire face with ghee, which was lovely if not a little bit weird smelling, and then gently tilted back my head to receive about five drops of oil in each nostril. As soon as I could taste the herbs in the back of my throat, she stuck cotton in my ears to protect them from the air after the nasya (the ears, nose, and throat passages are all connected) and told me to wait at least three hours before showering.

Ideally I should have gone straight home to rest, but it was my last night in Bombay, and I already had plans to see a movie with my friend. When I emerged from the movie, my friend pointed out that my neck and shoulders were glistening with the oil that had dripped down from my hair, so I’d recommend going straight home after treatment if for no other reason than to prevent the oil from running down your back and staining your clothes.

The center also offers yoga classes and is renowned for its yoga teacher certification and mission to understand yoga from a scientific as well as spiritual perspective. They can create yoga routines that are designed to treat specific conditions, so I plan to visit them next time I’m in Mumbai to see what Ayur-yogic asanas they recommend for my dosha type. And another hour-long massage doesn’t sound bad either.

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Sun
10 ^th

What To Do if You Get Sick

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The first time I went to India, I was lucky enough not to get sick, even though everyone told me I would. This time I was not so lucky, but lucky for you, I now have a lot of good tips for taking care of your health once you arrive.

First, you should have travel insurance. I followed the suggestion of some of my favorite travel bloggers to purchase insurance from World Nomads, which cost me about $350 USD for six months of travel coverage. I was mostly worried about medical insurance in case of catastrophe, but the policy also covers the cost of trip cancellation or even lost gear. When I needed a doctor a couple of weeks ago, I called the help line and was connected almost immediately to a friendly representative. She didn’t have any suggestions for clinics in my area, but told me I could walk into any one and just bill them later for the out-of-pocket charge.

I was looking for a clinic because I just had learned I had high blood pressure during my second visit to the R.A. Podar Ayurvedic College a few days before when I went to get herbs for insomnia. The student doctor at the College advised me to have my blood pressure checked every day, but that seemed like it would be inconvenient and expensive, so I set out to go buy a blood pressure machine.

Don’t be misled when you Google something like “blood pressure monitor Mumbai,” and you are shown a business name and exact address. In all likelihood, when you show up at the address, it will not be the store shown on the map (in this case Omron), but will be a line of stores for one or more blocks that carry the same brand name of supplies. I was completely confused when I could not find the store “Omron,” and everyone kept telling me, “yes,” whenever I asked where it was. That’s because each place I asked was a mini-Omron (and other medical brands) dealer, although there was no official store. (The same phenomenon will occur if you try to find the Asia Paint store down by Lamington Road…)

I began to record my blood pressure and, sadly, it was high every time, so I sought out a clinic for allopathic care. While I am a believer in the powers of Ayurvedic herbs, for critical situations I always seek the care of allopathic physicians. The two systems of practice are complementary, as any honest vaidya will tell you; if you are having a heart attack, go to the hospital first and then seek the care of an Ayurvedic doctor for herbs, cleansing, and dietary advice after you have recovered.

On the advice of a friend, I wound up at Healthspring in the Breach Candy/Kemp’s Corner area of South Mumbai, and I was happy with the care I received there. The doctor was concerned for my blood pressure, so he put me on medication right away and told me to come back in a week. I didn’t have an appointment either time I went in, but was seen nonetheless in under twenty minutes. The total cost of my visit was 600 rs (about $9.50 USD), and the cost of the medications only about 200 rs.

After you see a doctor, he or she will write you a prescription that you can have filled at any pharmacy (or “chemist” as they are called here). They don’t take the paper the prescription is written on, so hang onto it in case you need a refill. Last year, I was able to get refills on all my prescriptions from the U.S. simply by showing the doctor my prescription bottles, but in all likelihood he would have just written the prescription based on what I told him.

Bombay Belly

Warning: shit talk about to start. Before my follow-up visit with the blood pressure doc, I lost my damn fool mind and had a dosa from a street vendor, which probably would have been ok had I not dipped it heartily into the accompanying raw coconut chutney. This stand was right across the street from my pad in Breach Candy, and I had eaten from there with no consequences numerous times during my last visit. Not heeding the advice of my friends, I grabbed a dosa masala late one Thursday afternoon, and then felt the effects for the next 60 hours as I visited the bathroom more times than I wish to remember. Thank god for the arse hose is all I have to say. I guess that’s why it was invented here.

dosa street vendor in Breach Candy, Mumbai, India — Oh, dosa man, why hath thou foresaken me?

I knew that I had more than a case of simple traveler’s diarrhea because I had cramps and the symptoms endured long past my last dose of hot chili sauce. Luckily I was not also throwing up as the dehydration would have been more severe, but I knew enough to start drinking water with electrolytes immediately. Here that product is called Electral, and it comes pre-made in small juice boxes or you can buy the more economical sashes (aka packets) that you add to a liter of water. While there is no Pepto-Bismol (Bismuth subsalicylate) product here, there is the equivalent of Tums, which is called Digene, and there is also Imodium, but I don’t recommend stopping up the pipes unless you are so dehydrated you are in danger, in which case, get yourself to the hospital.

In the medical kit I’d packed, I also had a broad spectrum antibiotic that my doctor in the U.S. had prescribed for traveler’s diarrhea, although my doctor here told me it was not the best choice for my condition. Regardless, something worked, because things started to get markedly better within twelve hours after popping my first pill. I now have a new prescription in my kit in case something happens again, but NO MORE STREET FOOD, especially not uncooked, and especially not after monsoon when the water supply is super dirty.

It’s Always a Summer Cold in Bombay

During my last visit with my daughter before taking off, I introduced her to the joys of using a neti pot. She loved it so much that I gave it to her because I knew, just knew, I could get another one easily in India. Wrong. As a matter of fact, not one person in the four chemist stores I visited knew what one was. The closest thing I could find was a plastic salt water solution that you shoot up your nose with no indication of how it will come out. And not cheap, either —300 rs. No thanks, I can get, like, six street dosa for that!

shop attendant hand mixes herbs at Kapiva Ayurvda in Breach Candy — The shop attendant conveniently mixed the three powdered herbs for me

On my miserable walk up to the grocery store and chemist, I found a neighborhood Kapiva Ayurveda herb store open,so I popped in to see if they had any neti pots. They did not, but the young man minding the counter called the doctor to find out what herbs I could take to help me. He gathered up four: sitopaladi churna, prawal pisti, giloy satwa, and laxmi vilas ras (nardia). The first three were powders, which he gracefully mixed together to form one that I was to make into a paste with honey to ingest after each meal; the laxmi vilas ras was in tablet form, and I was to take two after eating along with the herb honey paste. However, after doing some research on the web after I got home, I learned that the laxmi vilas ras had small amounts of strychnine in it and should be used only under a doctor’s close supervision, so I opted not to take that.

I have no idea about the reputation of these herbs, but the shopkeep assured me that they were made of the finest organic ingredients, and they seemed professionally packaged. I declined the more expensive herb with gold in it—sorry, but I’m dubious of the alchemical properties of gold in herbs—which brought the price down by a third. The total for all four herbs came to about $670 rs ($10.50 USD), including the jar of organic honey I bought. Not bad considering the cost for the same in the US would have been over $50 from my usual organic herb dealer. Now let’s just see if it works.

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Thu
07 ^th

Tourist Tips for the Final Day of Ganesh Chaturthi: Anant Chaturdasi

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There’s a lot about Mumbai that makes me think of my home town, New Orleans, and Ganesh Chaturthi, which reminded me a little of Mardi Gras, was no exception. But unlike in New Orleans, where the party comes to a sharp close at midnight when mounted policemen walk their horses in formation down the French Quarter streets, this festival doesn’t stop until the morning after its final day.

Wondering where you can catch it? Ideally you will have some friends with a view of Girgaum Chowpatty from their place, but, barring that luxury, you will need to do a little walking because many streets surrounding the routes will be closed to car traffic. Google maps started showing the routes a few days after the festival began, and you can check Twitter for any updates from the @MumbaiPolice account. These routes will show the streets the biggest Ganpatis will parade down, but smaller processions will arise from various neighborhoods as personal or community Ganpatis make their way to the sea as well. There are lots of places to see immersions, but the main areas are the beaches: Juhu, Versova, and—the biggest—Girgaum Chowpatty.

There will be many immersions, including that of the beloved Bappa, Mumbai’s largest Ganpati, the evening and into the night of the final day, but many of the Ganpatis will not make their way into the sea until the following dawn. I had spent some time in the evening of Anant Chaturdasi following the revelers down toward Chowpatty, but it got a little crowded and hectic for the enochlophobic in me, so I went home early to get a good night’s sleep.

watching ganpati procession from malabar hill in south mumbai — Revelers still stained pink from the colored powder thrown in celebration the night before watch the procession of Ganpatis from Malabar Hill.

Early the next morning, I woke up and headed out to Chowpatty. It was still dark out as I walked down deserted Warden Road past the street dwellers still sleeping on the pavement and the cabbies stretched out as far as possible in their cars. Thinking there would be a crush of people still up and partying in the streets, I took a long detour around Malabar Hill to descend on the beach from above. I need not have gone out of my way as it wasn’t so crowded as to preclude passing on foot easily from the Gamdevi area fronting the beach, but I’m glad I took the route because I got a splendid view of the procession of Ganpatis and people on the beach just as the sun was coming up.

Once down on the beach, I was able to walk around and get pictures with no problem. There were a lot of people, but the crowds were mostly around the Ganpatis rolling out to sea, and I had no desire to get in the water (nor should anyone, in my opinion, who isn’t devout; also, people drown every year all over India during submersions). I never felt any apprehension even though I was the only foreigner I saw, and certainly the only solo female. There were groups of young men who asked me to take selfies with them, but the whole site was well policed and pretty chill, so I felt very safe. I think the main partying (drinking of bhang and liquor) comes the night before, and hardly anyone seemed intoxicated with anything more than a big love for Ganesha.

Ganpati rolls out to sea at Ganesh Chaturthi 2017 — Fishing boats gather in the Back Bay to watch the procession of Ganpatis, including this particularly well balanced one

This year for the first time, the city had set up a special covered pavilion for tourists and “executives,” but it stood empty the morning of the immersion. I talked to a Mumbai policeman who told me that the pavilion was used the day prior as a viewing area while the Ganpatis were walked to the edge of the sea. He said there were no tickets to buy in advance and that tourists didn’t need to show passports, but check with your hotel or local papers to know for sure if you decide to go next year.

The Maharashtra Tourism site was selling bookings for GC tours this year, but none included the actual immersion. Luckily, as I found out quite early the morning after Anant Chaturdasi, you don’t need a tour to experience this beautiful ritual. Just show up, be respectful, and make sure your camera battery is charged.

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Wed
30 ^th

R. A. Podar Ayurved Medical College in South Mumbai

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Lord Dhanvantari welcomes students to the RA Podar Ayurvedic College in Mumbai — Lord Dhanvantari welcomes students outside the hospital entrance

Amid a lush garden of banyan trees, the stately yet somewhat decrepit R. A. Podar Ayurved Hospital just south of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link offers no-frills treatments for locals and foreigners alike at some of the lowest costs I have encountered for Ayurvedic care. I have visited the institution twice, with the first time being almost a year ago for virechana treatment, and the second time being a week ago for some vata pacifying herbs to help with my jet lag. Overall, I’d recommend this place as an option for treatment in Mumbai, but there are some caveats.

Virechana Treatment November 2016

Before my first visit, I began by filling out the online consultation form available on the college website, and I highly recommend taking this step first if you decide to go. I was able to correspond with an upper level professor at the college who arranged for me to see a doctor before I arrived.

The morning of my consultation, the doctor recommended virechana, and I was given a set of instructions for purvakarma, which is the preparation for treatment. For those of you who have not had virechana before, this is the treatment where you drink ghee every day in order to loosen the ama, or built-up toxins, in the body. My orders were to drink increasing amounts of ghee mixed with special salt for the week leading up to treatment. I had to ingest the ghee and salt mixture first thing every morning at home, and by the end I think I had worked up to drinking close to 100 ml or more at once, but I don’t recall the exact amount as I have buried this memory, along with the ones of bearing my child, deep in my subconscious.

The doctor at the clinic had warned me about the difficulties inherent in ghee drinking, but I thought it wouldn’t be too bad because I love ghee so much when it’s warmed and spread on chapatis or drizzled into dahl. Clearly I was in denial, because—I am not gonna lie—there’s nothing nice about drinking salted ghee first thing in the morning. By the time I had worked my way up to drinking the full amount, it was all I could do not to throw it all up as soon as I had choked it down. (Pro-tip: hold your nose closed and drink it as fast as you can.)

There is also a special diet to be followed, but after you drink a big swig of ghee first thing in the morning, nothing after that will look like a hardship. The diet is basically kitchari, steamed veggies, and light vegetable soups. If you are not staying in a place where you can do your own cooking, it will be hard to find what you need in a typical Indian restaurant as the amount of spice in practically everything will only provoke the pitta dosha, which is the imbalance virechena seeks to address.

I did pretty well at following the diet, aside from falling off the purvakarma wagon once for an amazing thali on the day we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. I also may have taken too much to heart the advice that I could snack between meals on chikki, a jaggery and nut or seed-sweetened snack available in markets (“chikki” may be the Hindi word for “crack”), but otherwise there were no major offenses.

After a week of cleansing, I showed up at the hospital for my treatment, which I was told would take the entire day. During my first visit the week prior, I had been massaged by two women PK specialists (there is no opposite-sex massage in true Ayurved) and treated to a session of svedana in their special steaming apparatus that looked like a cross between a beautiful wooden coffin and a tanning bed. This visit, I was again treated to a massage with medicated oil and steam before I started the treatment. If you’re a California gal like me, you might be tempted to strip down to nothing before you are massaged with oils, but I recommend you wear an old pair of panties because they really do want you to keep them on, as I found out the hard way.

hospital treatment room at R A Podar Ayurved Medical College in Mumbai — Private hospital room used during treatment

Massaged, steamed, and dressed again, an attendant took me to a hospital room to start the therapy. I had to drink some nasty concoction and then sit and wait for the pooping to begin. Be sure to bring a book, because there’s a lot of waiting. After a couple of hours and a couple more drinks, my bowels were still hanging on stubbornly, but after a third drink served with the attendant’s assurance that “this one will work,” I began to get some results. Finally, around 6 pm, I was pronounced fit enough to take a cab home.

For the following week, the doctor suggested continuing in the same detox diet while slowly introducing foods that are harder to digest. Again, I think I did pretty well, but it’s Bombay, and I’m a foodie, so there was a lot more cheating than during the purvakarma phase.

Did it work? Yes, I think it did. The symptoms of my primary complaint abated significantly, although they returned a couple of months later to a lesser degree. However, that may be due to the diet I followed while traveling in South America in the subsequent months, which mostly consisted of bread, cheese, coffee, and chocolate.

Podar Hospital Pros & Cons

First the good:

Cost: my entire treatment from consult to hospital stay was under rs 20,000, which was about $30 USD at the time.

Ease of use at facility: the hospital is well staffed with English speaking doctors and student practitioners, and they are welcoming to foreigners despite serving primarily to treat locals who are unable to afford more expensive treatment.

Authenticity: if you are from the US or another foreign country, it’s really cool to be able to see a real government-run Ayuvedic hospital from the inside.

Quality of care: as someone who is just starting to study Ayurved, the treatment seemed legitimate to me, although there was no examination during purvakarma to determine the level of oleation resulting from the ghee drinking. I was also impressed with the staff and doctors at the hospital in how I was treated and in the communication I received.

And the maybe-not-so-good:

Ease of use at facility: this is not a spa, and you will have to stand in a queue with other folks to await your treatment. At times there is also a lack of privacy in discussing your medical issues as some consults will take place in rooms with other patients.

I had a private bathroom in my hospital room, but I think it was well known as a place to go pee for the workers there. Twice while I was in the room, employees entered the room without knocking and then went into my bathroom to use it. Being a whiny, uptight American, I complained, but let’s just say I’m glad that I didn’t need that bathroom during those interruptions.

Self-care during preparation: no one is going to hold your hand during all that ghee drinking, and no one will provide your meals. Patients must be prepared to follow the instructions for preparation and post-care or the treatment will not work as well.

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Tue
22 ^nd

Ganesh Chaturthi 2017

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Lord Dhanvantri might be the deity most frequently associated with Ayurveda, but Lord Ganesh is also said to know the ancient teachings of the practice. One of the most beloved gods in the Hindu religion, he is worshipped during the holiday of Ganesh Chaturthi all over India, but no where as lavishly as in Mumbai.

The festival this year begins on August 25 and runs for ten days, with the final dedication taking place on September 5, when thousands will walk from the shores of Chowpatty Beach into the Arabian Sea to submerge his likenesses into the water.

In Hindu mythology, Ganesh was created by Pavrati, the wife of Shiva, one of the three gods of the Hindu trinity (Brahman, Vishnu, & Shiva). Pavrati made Ganesh from some earth surrounding her bath, and afterward she asked him to guard her while she bathed. While he was guarding her, a god approached and demanded entry. This god was Shiva, and upon Ganesh’s refusal to let him in, Shiva cut off Ganesh’s head.

When Pavrati learned of her newly created son’s murder, she was inconsolable. Shiva ordered his men to search for a new head for Ganesh, but they could find only the head of a young elephant that had died. Shiva had to act quickly before the body of Ganesh decayed too much, so he accepted the elephant head, and, after affixing it to the body of his wife’s dead son, he brought the god back to life. In celebration of Ganesh’s reincarnation, his birthday is celebrated on the 4th day of the Hindu calendar month Bhadrapada. Typically this date coincides with some time in August or September.

Known for removing obstacles to journeys or undertakings, Ganesh is the god frequently invoked when beginning something new. As this is a travel blog about healing through Ayurveda in India, it seems appropriate to begin this journey delighting in the energy of Lord Ganesh, the benefactor of writing and new beginnings.

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Fri
04 ^th

Ayurveda and Panchakarma Basics

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Ayurveda is a Sanskrit term meaning the “science of life,” and it is considered the sister science to yoga. At the most basic level of understanding, Ayurveda is the area of knowledge that allows us to keep our bodies healthy so that we can achieve union with the divine through the practice of yoga.

If you think of someone contorted into a difficult pose when the word “yoga” comes to mind, you may want to let go of that preconception, especially if it’s discouraging you from practicing. While the practice of asana (literally, “seat,” or what the yogic postures are known as) is a part of the eight-fold path of yoga, it is not the highest goal. The highest aim of yoga is to attain moksha, or full realization of the soul’s union with the divine. Asana is merely a tool that helps us find comfort in our bodies so that we may practice meditation with more ease.

In this way, Ayurveda is also a tool to maintain health in the body so that we are not hampered by pain and disease in our quest to understand our relationship with the divine in the universe. Anyone can practice yoga‒even someone who is confined to a wheelchair‒as anyone can benefit from Ayurvedic healing. Ayurveda addresses the physical body as well as the subtle bodies, and therefore can benefit where there is disease in the body or imbalance in the mind.

When trying to explain Ayurveda to someone with no familiarity with it, I often describe it as the Indian counterpart to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Many people have heard of acupuncture, which is a healing modality employed by TCM, but not many people understand that it was Ayurvedic physicians who first discovered the energetic points (called marma points in Ayurveda) that are used by acupuncturists.

When patients are treated by Ayurvedic practitioners, it depends on the state of disease as to what recommendations the physician or health advisor will make. While it is possible to treat and cure diseases that have been active in the body for many years, it is not an overnight process. Ayurveda strives to treat the disease at its root cause rather than the symptomology the disease presents, so it may takes months or even years of treating a disease through herbs and diet before a reversal is seen. This eventual elimination of the disease is complete, though, and will not include a host of obnoxious or even deadly side effects as are common in the pop-a-pill quick fixes proposed by pharmaceutical companies.

The strength of Ayurveda lies in preventative measures and a holistic approach to healthcare, which makes it a complementary practice to allopathic medicine. While allopathic medicine is well designed to treat sudden traumatic injuries and diseases in their most advanced stages, Ayurveda is best used as a preventative strategy. It can be efficacious in later stages of disease, but it is often to the patient’s advantage to work with allopathic health care givers in later, more intractable stages of disease or during acute situations, like a heart attack.

For treatment both of strongly rooted chronic disease and for yearly preventative maintenance, panchakarma is recommended. Panchakarma comes from the Sanskrit “panc” (meaing five) and “karma” (meaning action). This practice is composed of deeply detoxifying and healing treatments designed to treat the vikruti, or current condition of imbalance, of the patient.

As the name implies, there are five detoxification treatments designed for particular doshic imbalances: vamana (therapeutic vomiting), virechana (purgation), basti (enema), nasya (nasal purgation), and rakta mokshana (bloodletting). Each of these treatments is related to a specific imbalance, with rakta mokshana used in cases where profound and speedy relief is required.

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Sat
22 ^nd

Packing for India

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The one-month countdown has officially begun! I’m set to leave August 22 from San Francisco, so it’s time to get packing.

While there are plenty of sites out there with suggested packing lists for India, what you will need on your trip will vary greatly depending on the particulars of your vacation plans. Before you start packing, think through some of the following questions to better prepare:

Where will you be traveling and when? India is a big country with temperatures that can vary widely depending on time of year. Consider the altitude if visiting mountainous regions as these areas will be cooler. Deserts can be really hot during the day but then chilly at night, while beaches maintain a more temperate albeit muggy climate. Cities in the far north get cold in winter, while further south temperatures stay relatively consistent year-round. Don’t forget to check the monsoon forecast for that time of year and area.
What will you be doing? Are you planning a trip where you will be trekking in the hills or mostly lying on the beach in Goa? The more varied your anticipated activities, the more gear you will need to take with you.
How will you be traveling? If you are going to be traveling by air and taking cabs once you arrive, a few pieces of luggage might not be a problem. However, if you are planning to take trains, buses, or other forms of public transportation, a backpack that you can easily carry when walking might be a better solution. Personally, I carry a Kelty Redwing 50L Backpack as well as a smaller pack that I strap to my front while carrying the Kelty on my back.

Don’t forget that you can buy clothing there! I am packing the bare minimum of things that I know would be either

harder to find there or would cost more due to import tax. For example, I love my khaki Kuhl pants for a light weight every day pant that I can adjust as either a capri or as long pants. I would not know where to look for these in department stores in Mumbai, so those are coming with me.

I’m saving room in my bag to fit in whatever I might buy there, like the beautiful kurtas or salwar pants. These pieces are wonderful options for when I want to dress up a little for dinner, and they are modest and suited for the climate. Keep in mind that Indian women are, in general, shorter than some European, Australian, or American women, and they definitely have smaller feet. I wear a size 10.5 (US) shoe, so I had a really hard time finding a pretty sandal to wear as the sizes in most stores only go up to a size 39 or 40 (UK).

My packing list:

Medications. I worked with a travel nurse before leaving to determine if I would need any vaccinations or medications for the areas I would be traveling. Last time I was in Goa, malaria medications were recommended, but I ended up not taking them after I learned that there was no real danger in the area I stayed. I decided to take a chance rather than endure the side effects, but that’s a personal decision that you will have to make, and I recommend you follow the advice of your medical practitioner.I also needed a refill for a medication while I was in Mumbai, so I found a doctor who saw me and wrote me new prescriptions. I then filled these as the local pharmacy, and the whole cost for the doctor and the medication was under $10. You will have easy access to doctors and pharmacies in the larger cities, but it will be much tougher outside major metropolises. Err on the side of caution and take enough to cover the duration of your entire trip.
Toiletries. It’s pretty easy to find toothpaste and other common toiletries there, but if you are fond of organic or natural products, I would bring those as they are harder to find in India. I was able to get some wonderful Ayurvedic skin products from Forest Essentials in Mumbai, but they didn’t come cheaply. However, coconut oil and essential oils are super inexpensive, so don’t bother packing those. Ditto on Ayurvedic herbs, although be sure to buy only from certified pharmacies that adhere to standards of purity. Your Ayurvedic practitioner will either provide the medications or tell you where to purchase them.
Shoes: running shoes (which I wear on the plane because they are bulky); good walking sandals, like my Keen’s water shoes; flip-flops, although these are readily available provided you can find your size if you have large feet like I do. I have a fancy pair of flip-flops for when I go to dinner and a regular pair for everything else. The streets can get pretty dirty, so it’s good to have shoes you can rinse off once back home.
Sarong and beach wear. Bikinis are fine in Goa, but you may want to carry a more modest suit or cover ups for other areas. I love having my sarong with me as it serves as a cover up, a wrap in the evenings, and a beach towel.
Hats. I carry a ball cap and a folding sun hat. The sun in India is intense, so I never went out without my hat.
A light sweatshirt for the plane and in case I was ever chilly, but that never happened once 🙂
Five pairs of socks & undies – or more! Washing clothes is not the easiest thing in India. There are no laundromats although you can pay someone to clean your clothes, which is the best option. My airbnb host had a washing machine, but dryers are rare. The washing machines are not the same as in the US, so my clothing was a little torn up from the rougher agitation. When I was staying in Goa, the washing service meant that my clothes were washed in the river, and anything I sent out that was white came back a little dingy from being washed in the muddy river. Keep in mind that things take a lot longer to dry in the high humidity, so light materials will keep you cool and won’t take two days to dry.
Yoga clothes, although you can find these readily in Goa or other resort areas. I also am packing a folding Gaim mat this time as I could NOT find a decent mat in Mumbai. The quality just isn’t the same, and you will be hard pressed to find an eco-friendly option.
Bottoms. Two pairs long pants, two pairs of knee-length shorts, one pair of mid-thigh shorts for the beach. Depending on the area of the country, women will be expected to dress in a certain way. In Goa, anything Go-as, and you can walk around town in a bikini top and shorts without attracting too much attention. Likewise in Mumbai, I never felt odd going out in mid-thigh shorts, but I would never have done that in the northern areas like Udaipur or Jaipur, where women dress more conservatively. Also remember that you may be visiting holy places, so there the expectation of conservative dress will be even higher.If the cultural differences with respect to women’s dress offend any of your feminist sensibilities, just remember that if you don’t draw a lot of attention to yourself, you will have an easier time fitting in and being able to observe the culture.
Tops. Three t-shirts, two long-sleeved light tops.

In my backpack, I have the following:

Computer. I bought a light weight, relatively cheap Chromebook for my trip. I write, so it’s necessary, but leave it at home if you don’t absolutely need one. I wanted a comp that worked well with cloud-based applications so I could store all my data in the cloud in case it was stolen. Easy to get your life back that way, and no crying big tears over the loss of a $1200 Mac or some such.
Kindle. Oh, Kindle, how I love you for travel. All the books I can read in under half a pound.
Journal & pens, although these are easily found in India.
Extra glasses. I had to go to an optician in Mumbai to find simple reading glasses, and they weren’t cheap. Take along back-up pairs to save yourself hassle.
Canteen for water or whatever else. I love the Hydro Flasks for keeping bevvies cool in scorching temperatures.

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