India’s Deep South: Varkala Beach and Trivandrum

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

Before I headed south to Kerala from Bombay, a part-time musician and full-time lover of cannabinoids I know told me that the state was like the Hawai’i of India, and he urged me to try the local weed as it is supposed to be the best in the country. While I haven’t been interested/crazy/stupid enough to buy any of the local marijuana, I can attest to the “hang loose” attitude of the locals and a vibe which seems to grow more laid back the further south you go. Add the swaying palm trees everywhere you look, beautiful beaches, and lazy backwater boat trips, and you have a version of the country that has been called India for Beginners.

Varkala Beach

A couple of hours north of the southernmost border of Kerala, Varkala Beach came recommended as a place I might find hard to leave. I can see why some might want to linger here, but for those same reasons I was ready to go after only a week. The path along the top of the cliff was lined with enough tourist traps to keep a traveler busy for a month, but after a few days, the food and spa menus, jewelry shops, and souvenir stores all started to look the same.

The beach below the cliff was a welcome respite from the noisy commercialism on the cliff above, and my early morning walks on the mostly empty shores never grew old. The red lacerite cliffs that soar 80 feet above the golden sand are dotted with intensely green palm trees growing from whatever root hold they can manage, and the stunning backdrop they made vied to draw my attention from the rolling waves and endless skies.

From far away, even the multi-colored heaps of trash that local businesses drop down the cliff face are beautiful against the red rock, but the smell of rotting garbage dispels that romantic notion as soon as you get close enough to the dump spot. In recent years, there have been several slides as the earth has eroded under the pathway along the cliff where growing numbers of humans, motorcycles, and rickshaws impact the soil. In an effort to preserve the cliffs, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) recently declared them a Geologic Monument, and the entire area is destined to be India’s first geopark. There is a moratorium on building new structures more than ten meters near the edge of the cliff, but change happens slowly when it means businesses will lose money, and there was no sign of any of the proposed improvements like demolition of the stairs to the beach or relocation of the helipad.

For now, the two sets of stairs are the only way to reach the beach from the north end of the cliff. The northernmost set is by the Tibetan Restaurant and about 150 meters south is another set by Cafe del Mar. Alternatively, visitors can keep taking the cliff trail south as it descends to meet the beach at Papunasum past the helipad. Rickshaws gather in the helipad/parking area to wait for fares, so it’s a convenient place to grab transport to the city.

Once on the beach, there are surf and boogie boards for rent, with or without lessons, and umbrellas and beach chairs for rent by the day or half day. Around the border of Varkala and Papusanum beaches there is a riptide, but the danger zone is well signed.

Do

Yoga

There are dozens of yoga places scattered around the cliff and inland, and many home stays offer yoga classes if they have the space. I went to a good class at my home stay, but only because there was a substitute that day; the regular yoga instructor there was creepy.

Namasthe Ayurvedic Mission
Check in the main office for yoga classes and timings. The class was small—just two attendees—and the view from the rooftop shala was stunning. The teacher taught according to Sivananda (Hatha) style, and his instruction was fine but he repeated the phrase “no pain, no gain” too much for my taste. His adjustment of my headstand was inexpert and reminded me again of why I recommend telling teachers to skip the physical adjustments and to rely on verbal instruction instead. A gifted teacher will be able to instruct an adjustment using only her voice, and verbal instructions can be a good way to avoid injury from over-exuberant, ill-trained teachers.

colorful umbrellas shade the sadhu at Papasanam Beach — Sadhu stands at Papasanam Beach

Make Pooja at Papanasum Beach

Abutting Varkala Beach to the south is Papanasum Beach, which is considered a holy site for Hindus to honor theirdead. The waters here are considered sacred and instilled with the power to wash away the sins of anyone who bathes in them. In the service of making pooja, or offerings, are many sadhus (holy men) who set up shop on the beach under colorful umbrellas. They display their various wares on raised beds of sand and will create an offering of flowers, fruit, and ashes they make by burning herbs and sticks while saying prayers. The offerings are wrapped in a banana leaf for the devotee to carry to the sea where the tide will take them out and then usually wash them back up, but it’s mostly biodegradable.

I asked a sadhu if I could take his photo (and you should always ask, especially if the person is in the middle of a religious ritual), which he seemed happy to let me do. After I clicked a couple of photos and showed them to him, he asked me if I wanted to perform a ritual for an ancestor. I thought he said 5 rupees after I asked the price, so I dug out a 10 and told him to keep the change. “Five hundred,” he said a little more loudly. Oooh, well, I love my grandmother, but she was Catholic, and I can usually light a candle in a church for under a buck. I apologized and said I didn’t have enough money with me and offered for him to keep the 10 rs piece, but he declined, smiling at me like I was a little daft. I’m not sure if I would have felt comfortable carrying the offering out to the sea with the true believers, but given the non-discriminatory policy of the sadhus, I’m sure it’s been done.

Massage/Ayurvedic Treatments

Namasthe Ayurvedic Mission
I got the uro basti treatment here as a woman in my yoga class had recommended it for calming the heart and attendant emotions, but it’s more for angina-like pain symptoms in the heart. Regardless, it sounded fun to try but ended up being a little painful as the attendant was not well trained and kept making the oil too hot. I told her repeatedly that the oil, which I could hear spattering in the pan over the stove in our treatment room, was too hot, but she could not seem to correct on a consistent basis. The result was that the treatment was a little stressful, and I emerged with a big red spot on my chest from the oil being overheated.
Note: any professional Ayurvedic center will not let a patient self-diagnose and order treatments, and typically any treatment will require multiple sessions before there is an effect.

Ksetra Ayurveda
There’s a barker who stands out on the street next to the Tibetan Restaurant handing out fliers, and I was lured in by the 500 rs massage offer. Aside from the place being little dirty, the massage was very good and the masseur was well trained. I asked to use the restroom after the massage ended, and I was directed to go through another massage room where a nude woman was in the middle of getting her massage, so I can’t recommend the facilities for anyone who might be shy.

view of varkala beach — The view from a cliff restaurant.

Eat

Tibetan Restaurant and German Bar
Good food but rude treatment by one of the waiters who would not stop aggressively flirting with me both inside the dining room and once when I ran into him outside the restaurant. I felt so uncomfortable on my second visit there that I stopped going, which is a shame because the view of the ocean was one of the best on the cliff.

Coffee Temple
Open at 6:30 am. Great coffee and desserts as well as wood-fired pizza. The veggie burger is ok, but nothing spectacular. Homemade ice cream was a treat that was not overly sweet.

ABBA Restaurant & Everest German Bakery
German bakery items and good food all around. Nice views of the ocean, courteous and professional wait staff.

Cafe Del Mar
Great food at reasonable prices (for the cliff); efficient, unobtrusive service; delicious fresh seafood in the evening.

The Juice Shack
This place had good juice and soup, which I appreciated when I arrived with a cold, but I stopped going after my second visit when my waiter casually picked his nose while taking my order.

See

Janardanaswamy Temple in Varkala — Janardanaswamy Temple

Janardanaswamy Te mple
Just inland from Papanasum Beach, there is a huge scum-covered pond where worshippers bathe and across the street is the long flight of steps to the 2000-year old Janardanaswamy Temple. While approaching the temple, I kept hearing a startlingly loud noise that sounded like a gun firing, but I assumed it was construction work because no one else seemed to be paying attention. On my way up the temple steps, after depositing my shoes at the slipper counter, I learned the source after I paid what I assumed was an entry fee but was actually an offering so that this gentleman would light what looked like a large firework to announce my visit to the gods. At least Vishnu would not be still be wearing his house coat when I made it to the top of those steps.

You will need to pay a fee to use your camera, and it may be worth it to be able to take a photo of the collection of baby dolls suspended from ribbons from a huge banyan tree. As always, don’t take photos of worshippers. Non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple.

Beaches
Aside from Varkala and Papasanum, there are miles of beaches to the south to explore. I never went further south than Papasanum as I wasn’t sure how safe it was, but it seemed much less crowded. As for entry and exit points, I am not sure; the beach is impassable at high tide from Papasanum.

Trivandrum

Since India achieved independence in 1947, the governments of more than 100 cities have changed the names from the colonial to the native versions. Now officially known as Trivananthapurum, Trivandrum is what most people still call the capital of Kerala. Despite having the largest population of any city in Kerala, Trivandrum is known as the most relaxed capital in all of India. However, the downside of it not being overwhelming is that it’s a little underwhelming, so don’t feel bad if all you have is two and a half days—that’s all the time you need to see the main sights and to eat some delicious, authentic south Indian thalis.

Getting there

Trivandrum has a major airport, and flights from Cochin barely have time to get off the ground before they have to land. I opted for the train, which takes about an hour from Varkala Beach and passes pleasantly through typical Keralan countryside of green fields and banana tree farms. It rained the entire way down, which made the passing countryside even more beautiful.

Once off the train, be sure to ignore the rickshaw drivers who meet you in the lobby—they will try to scam a high fare. Instead, proceed directly to the pre-paid cab counter outside. A 200 rs fare offered in the lobby dropped sharply to 30 rs at the pre-paid counter.

Do

Spa

My hotel offered Ayurvedic treatments, but after the heartburn of my last experience, I decided instead to get a Swedish massage at the Naturals spa near the Carmel Hill Monastery Church. My massage was thorough and relaxed me for the upcoming train ride that evening, and it was a nice change to smell like almond oil instead of medicated oil used in Ayurvedic massage. The lip and bikini wax were expertly done (she warned me they had no cold European wax, but she was fast), and the pedicure de-nastified my feet after a week walking the beach at Varkala. Total price: 2100 rs, including the hour massage.

Eat/Coffee

Ariya Nivas Hotel
Manorama Rd, Opp to Railway Station, Thampanoor

This is the place all the tour books and online guides recommend, and it didn’t disappoint. I went for dinner on my night in town, and as there’s no thali at night, I ordered the masala dosa. I was presented with a dosa as long as my arm, and it was perfect. Right up the street from the central railway station, it’s a great place to stop for breakfast if you’ve just hopped off a long train ride with nothing but crappy railway food the night before.

Hotel Arulakum
Railway Station Rd, Pulimoodu, Overbridge, Santhi Nagar, Pulimoodu

This place came recommended by a native son of Trivandrum, and while spoken English was scarce, there wasn’t much need for it as the thali was the only thing anyone was ordering. I skipped the buttermilk that came with it but everything on my plate was superb.

Indian Coffee House Maveli Cafe in Trivandrum — Maveli Cafe

Indian Coffee House Maveli Cafe
Near K.S.R.T.C. Stand, Overbridge, Thampanoor

Probably the oddest cafe I have ever visited, this place just across from the central railway station. The building is several stories tall but with a spiraling ramp inside that winds up past ascending cafe tables until it reaches a main kitchen several “floors” up. The waiters must have calves like racing cyclists because it was not an easy climb to the top, which is how far as I had to go to find a table in this busy cafe. Aside from coffees and teas, there are curries, sandwiches, and desserts, all for very reasonable prices.

See

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
West Nada, Fort, East Fort, Pazhavangadi

While you won’t be able to enter unless you profess to be Hindu, it’s worth a visit just to walk around this stately temple built in Keralan and Dravidian style. Primarily devoted to Vishnu, there are treasures stored in its vaults estimated to be worth over $15 billion, which makes it the richest temple in the world.

Puthenmalika Palace Museum
Padmanabhaswamy Temple Road, Near East Fort, Pazhavangadi, Fort, East Fort, Pazhavangadi

Worth a visit just to see the building itself, this palace is filled with beautiful photos of historic figures as well as important artifacts. A good guided tour is part of the entry fee (50 rs), but photography and wandering off alone is not allowed.

Matsya Kanyaka in Trivandrum — Matsya Kanyaka

Matsya Kanyaka next to Shangumugham Beach
About 8 km west of city center next to the airport

Whenever I would ask someone what the best beach in Trivandrum was, they would tell me to go to Kovalam Beach, which is about 20 km south of the center and not actually in Trivandrum. I didn’t feel like venturing that far out of town, so I took an auto rickshaw to Shangumugham to catch the sunset and check out Matsya (from Sanskrit for “fish”) Kanyaka. This 30-meter-long mermaid sculpture was created by the famous artist Kanayi Kunhiraman, the Raja Shilpi (royal sculptor) of Kerala, out of a single piece of stone.

Many families gather here to let the kids ride on ponies or frolic in the nearby children’s park, and vendors have small stalls set up to sell snacks, drinks, and plastic toys. It’s a nice, safe place to relax and watch the invariably spectacular sunset over the India Ocean while mingling with locals. Adjacent to the mermaid statue is a coffee house selling all kinds of south Indian snacks and drinks, and rickshaws are easy to come by in the parking lot outside when it’s time to go home.

If I had to do it over again, I would have stayed in Varkala Beach only four nights, hung in Trivandrum for a couple days, and then headed down to Kovalam for four nights before leaving the area. The beaches south are supposed to be stunning, and then as long as you’re down that far why not keep going to the tip of India in Tamil Nadu where three oceans converge at Kanyakumari. Sometimes I wonder if Indians believe in reincarnation because one lifetime in this beautiful country is not enough.

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Sun
29 ^th

A Few Days in India’s Wayanad Disrict

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

tea leave pickers on a Wayanad tea plantation — Local women harvesting tea leaves

After suffering through an Ayurvedic treatment that not only required me to adhere to a limited diet but also to restrict my exercise to gentle walking for several weeks, I was ready to get out and stretch my legs. The mountain country of the Western Ghats a few hours southeast was calling me, so as soon as I was released from my doctor’s care, I hopped a train south to make my way toward the hill station of Wayanad.

To take me from the coastal train station in Calicut (also known but never called by its new non-Imperialist name Kozhikode) to the interior, I had hired a private car for about $30. The mountain pass that led to Wayanad had nine notorious hairpin turns that I had been warned about with no little bit of anxiety from my previous home stay host, and I was glad that I had arranged for a car once I saw the steep windy road that traversed the mountain range. I dared not look down the entire time, but instead rehearsed my mantra, “The driver is a professional, he knows what he’s doing,” over and over. That same mantra came in handy when I departed the area by way of the local bus back to Calicut instead of a private car. I had wanted to save some money, and the bus back to the train station was less than $2, but I spent the entire time questioning if my life was not worth more than $28 as I held onto the metal bar on top of the seat in front of me with whitened knuckles while the driver split lanes on blind curves all the way down the mountain. No one else on the bus seemed to be affected, but I frequently had to remind myself to breathe.

Despite the difficult passage, I’d do it all over again for a chance to glimpse an Asiatic elephant in the wild or to see the mists pooled like lakes in the valleys of the mountain ranges burn off as I ascended one of the most famous peaks in the region, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I had gone for trekking, mainly, which is a relatively expensive solo activity, especially as I was not interested in squandering precious hours of my visit sitting on long bus rides. Also there is the issue of being a lone female in a strange, non-urban area, so I had to hire guides and drivers to accompany me on my adventures. While Wayanad seemed like a big splurge at the time, my costs for activities averaged around $40 a day, and I saw some beautiful sights I will not soon forget.

What I did:

Phantom Rock, so named for its phantom-skull shape

Sunday
Through my home stay host, I had arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to pick me up late morning, and for a mere 700 rs ($10.50) he drove me around for the rest of the day, primarily to see the famous pre-historic carvings at the Eddakal Caves. Once there, the admission cost was negligible, but there was a steep hike of about 1 km and then lots of stairs to the entrance to the caves. I saw more than one grandma being pushed up by helpful relatives on the way, but the climb was not that bad and the exquisitely preserved carvings (circa 6000 BC) were a fine reward. The views from the top were also spectacular and made great selfie opportunities, although no photography of the carvings inside the cave was allowed.

On the way to the caves, the driver made a brief stop at the unusual natural formation called Phantom Rock, which is an easy half kilometer walk up a hill. At the top there are lovely views of the two valleys on either side of the ridge as well as of the rock itself.

Plenty to look at if the game gets boring at Krishnagiri Stadium

The locals are very proud of their impressive new Krishnagiri Stadium, which is the highest altitude stadium devoted solely to cricket, and my driver was keen to show it to me on the way home. It a beautiful if not somewhat incongruously located place to watch sports, and it draws teams and fans from all over Kerala. If you are in the neighborhood, it is worth a quick drive up to see the players practicing with the stunning mountain peaks framing the lush green fields. Almost makes me wish I understood cricket.

Monday
My driver arrived around 10 am for a full day that would start with a visit to Soochipara Falls in the morning and then a long drive to Mulanga Wildlife Santuary for the afternoon Jeep safari. We had a lot of ground to cover, so he told me not to take too much time hiking into the falls. Luckily, the path to Soochipara is not nearly as strenuous or as crowded as the one to Eddakal Caves, so it was easy to make it to the pools at the foot of the falls in about 10 minutes. There was a slippery climb into the pools but the water was clean and cold, and luckily my driver had prepared for me to return soaked after jumping in with all of my clothes on (this ain’t California, folks), which is almost required for all except for the fussiest visitors.

After my brief dip in the “healing waters” of the falls, we had enough time to stop by the Ananthanatha Swamy Jain Temple on the way to the wildlife sanctuary. The stone carvings surrounding the 13th century temple are in excellent condition, and although visitors are not allowed into the inner sanctum of the temple, I was able to walk around the raised platform surrounding the building to get a clear view inside. The entire structure is made of granite, and it’s considered one of the most important Jain temples in Kerala.

My driver had told me not to take too much time at the temple as we were aiming to arrive at Mulanga Wildlife Sanctuary by 2:30 pm, which was half an hour before the safari tickets went on sale. There are only two opportunities per day to go on Jeep safari, and, as it is the only way tourists are allowed to access the sanctuary, the tickets usually sell out right away.

After we arrived, my driver sent me to the ticket office where there were about twenty people already waiting to queue up. Once the ticket window opened, there was a lot of jostling and some fights over line cutting, but I politely held my ground until I reached the window. Being solo, I was put with a two-Jeep group composed of a couple of families traveling together, and they didn’t seem too happy about having me along, but I just smiled a lot and acted oblivious to their obvious disgust as I trespassed on their family affair.

One of the gentlemen in the group spoke English pretty well, and he asked me the usual question of where my husband was. “I’m alone,” I responded, whereupon the women in the group started to giggle and talk among themselves in Malayalam, and while I couldn’t understand what they were saying, I got the gist. I started to make up stories in my head about what I was going to say the next time the dreaded, “Where is your husband?” question popped up, but I didn’t have too much time to ruminate on my answer because we saw our first elephant, six-foot tusks and all, as we rounded the corner.

elephant at Mulanga Wildlife Sanctuary in Wayanad District, India — Maybe if I hide behind this tree the humans won’t see me…

Our guide slowed the Jeep to take a closer look, and suddenly the beautiful beast decided he’d had enough of our staring and, more quickly than you would ever think, started to charge straight toward us. Our driver immediately threw the Jeep into gear to speed us away, but for a thrilling moment it looked like the elephant was going straight for the ladies in the back of the vehicle. After that, there was no more complaining from them about how there “weren’t enough animals,” and the adrenaline rush I felt lasted until well after the tour was over.

By the time the ride was over, we had seen three elephants, but I heard that we were lucky. There were also some spotted deer and a few jungle bees nests, but the likelihood of seeing a tiger or some other big game animal was almost nil, which was probably for the best. Our guide told us that the best time to go was January through June after the monsoon was long past and the water deep within the jungle had become scarce enough to drive the animals toward watering holes close to the road the Jeeps followed.

Tuesday
The highest peak within a reasonable distance of Kalpetta is Chembra Peak, and it was second on my list of places to go after Mulanga despite the hefty price tag of almost $50 for a half day tour. I could have save $15 by not hiring a guide, but I wanted to be on the safe side while climbing in unknown territory.

There are only 20 groups let in per day, and each group can number no more than 10 people, so it never gets too crowded, but weekdays are still best for escaping the crowds. The park opened at 7 am, so we got there shortly afterward to beat the crowds as well as the climbing sun and temperatures. The entrance fee is 1500 rs ($23) per group for foreigners, so I had to pay the entire fee because I saw no other obviously non-Indian tourists at the gate when I approached, and my annoying guide said we should not wait, although I suspected he was hurrying me so he could try to talk me into booking an afternoon tour with him.

In hindsight, I should have ditched him at the gate. The walk up was strenuous but only a few kilometers each way, and there were park employees posted at regular intervals to make sure visitors kept to the well marked stone paths as well as groups of outdoorsy tourist couples and families, primarily from Europe, the U.S., and Bangalore.

The views on the way up were so lovely that I must have taken fifty photos as the early morning mists burned off to reveal miles of tea plantations in the valleys. There were flying squirrels in the trees, beautiful birds, and butterflies almost in swarms. If it weren’t for the jabbering of my guide, Ramesh,who was as short on knowledge of the flora and fauna as he was long on annoying small talk, the gentle breeze blowing through the tree tops would have been the only sound on the climb up.

“Where is your husband?” he asked, finally getting to my favorite question after “How old are you?” and “How much money do you make in your job?”

“He’s dead,” I responded, hearkening back to the imaginary life I’d created for myself during the socially awkward ride through Muthanga.

“No, no,” he protested, “when this happened?”

“A long time ago, don’t worry about it,” I said, beginning to feel sorry I had lied because now I had to extend the story to respond to his further prying.

“Was it when you were pregnant?” he asked quietly, his voice quavering and his eyes moist.

“No, Ramesh, can we please talk about something else now?” I finally snapped at him, vowing to stick with what amounts to an ugly truth for so many people in this country, at least in the less urbanized areas: I’m divorced.

We managed to get up to the peak and the famous “heart-shaped lake,” but Ramesh warned me not to go into the water because the elephants were just there a couple days before, and the muddy brown color was not due solely to recent rains. We sat on one of the flat granite rocks that formed a perfect seat for viewing the distant mountains and tea plantations, peaceful for a moment until Ramesh decided it was selfie-time. After I sent him a friend request on Facebook, it seemed he had gathered enough evidence of our meeting to head peacefully back down the mountain with me in the lead, and I had to raise my voice to tell him to stop nagging me about one thing or the other only a few more times on the way down.

For next time:

The following were recommended excursions had I stayed longer:
Kuruva Island
Banasura Dam
Karlad Lake
Pookot Lake
Lakkidi view point
Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary

Tip: make the DTPC (District Tourism Promotion Council) your first stop once in Kalpetta. They can give you updated information on tourist places as well as contact information for local guides and tour companies.

Accommodation/Food

Nothing much to recommend here as I was trying to do this pricey area on the cheap. After my short home stay in Kalpetta, I moved up to a decent hotel about 4 km southwest of Kalpetta called Soorya Castle, which had an okay restaurant with hygienically prepared food. The best part was that it was away from the mosques and churches in town, so there was no 5 am wake-up call to prayer or 5:30 am ringing of church bells.

There are tons of restaurants and hotels around Kalpetta for budget travelers, but don’t expect much for your money. The only way to get good food and nice digs is to spend accordingly, and there are plenty of options for luxury resorts with gourmet restaurants out of town, but you will pay handsomely and will also have to spend more on transportation.

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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

Posted by Joel Gales - 2 Comments

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

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

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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Sun
10 ^th

What To Do if You Get Sick

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

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

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

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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Sat
22 ^nd

Packing for India

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

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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Sat
01 ^st

Getting Your Indian Visa

Posted by Joel Gales - Comments Off

If you’re anything like me, you think reading boring stuff is boring, and there’s lots of boring stuff to read on the Indian government website where you can apply for a Visa. I’d like to say that it was the fault of that website when I screwed up my Visa before my first visit, but really it was all my doing. I was impatient and trying to save money, so I thought, “I know, I’ll just get the cheap 30-day e-Visa and then straighten things out when I get to India.”

Straighten things out when I get to India. You know, that country that is notorious for its constipated bureaucratic system, terrible prisons, and underpaid government workers working in offices with no air conditioning. (Actually, that sounds a lot like the U.S. except we have a.c.)

I went to the official Indian government Visa site initially, where I saw they offered a 30-day e-Visa for about $40, which was significantly cheaper than securing the document through the highly recommended Cox & Kings Visa service. If you will be in India only a couple of weeks and don’t intend to return, go with the e-Visa offered on the Indian government site, but for anything more complex, use the official 3rd party company Cox & Kings.

C&K will cost you more (I paid somewhere north of $250), but it’s totally worth it. Besides, you can get a 10-year Visa, and that works out to only about $20 per year. Best of all, they will hold your hand through the application process, which would have saved me so much time and grief spent struggling to understand how to fill out the form. C&K has a help line, but you will probably wait at least 10 minutes each time you call before an agent can get to you, so unless you really like listening to the same Kenny G over and over, I suggest you make a list of all your questions before you ring them.

So, what happened last year when I got to India with a Visa that would last me only 30 days when I intended to stay for several months? I had no choice but to fix the issue before I left the country. Indian officials don’t take Visa expiration lightly—it can mean prison time if you are caught with an expired Visa.

I enlisted the help of my new friends in Mumbai, and they recommended I go down to the FRRO (Foreign Regional Registration Offices) to see if I could extend the Visa. No dice. I almost offered a bribe, but then I chickened out. I would get the opportunity to offer baksheesh to a cop later, but that’s another story.

My only option at that point was to exit the country and re-apply for a new 6-month Visa. My friends had heard that Nepal and Sri Lanka were both easy places to get a new Indian Visa fast, so I chose Sri Lanka because the flights were cheaper.

Once you apply at the Visa office in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, you have to wait 5 business days before returning to sign for the Visa, and then you have to go back the next day to pick it up. Gandhi’s birthday came right in the middle of that, so I was stuck there for a couple days more than I wanted, but it worked out.

It’s also important that you pick the correct kind of Visa. If you will be visiting a medical facility or taking courses, you may need a medical or student Visa, but check first with the place you are visiting to see if the business is recognized as an official school or medical office. The best bet is a tourist Visa.

Cox & Kings can also help you navigate through some questions that may be unusual to Westerners, like what religion you are. I think I put Buddhist or something until I read that you are supposed to put the religion of your family, so I finally chose Christian. Don’t frivolously choose a religion as these things are taken pretty seriously in India. If you are a Buddhist, then choose that, but if you’re not, then choose Christian. No one will give that answer a second glance if you are coming from a Western country, and, believe me, when it’s time to go through immigrations at the airport in India, you don’t want any extra scrutiny.

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