Winter Break Part VII: Traveling Home

After traveling almost the entire western edge of India in 4 weeks, it was time to head back. Rather than buy a plane ticket to Delhi, we opted for the slightly cheaper train option. This, along with our travels from Delhi to Mussoorie, turned out to be a 4 day adventure, thus worthy of a blog post.

The first leg of the journey was supposed to be a 46-hour train ride to Delhi. We prepared well for living in small quarters for 3 days and 2 nights...lots of snacks, good books, charged ipods, card games, a schedule of train stops so that we could stretch our legs for 5 minutes once or twice a day, and, most importantly, an entire watermelon. Naturally. Overall, the ride was great. It was nice to have down time to read and think. And, the watermelon was a joyful treat. I was in good spirits until Hour 48 (remember how it was a 46-hour ride?). Well, soon enough, it was Hour 52 and we were still on the train. Shortly, we got off the train with sea-legs and very hungry bellies. We found our hotel in Delhi, ate ravenously, and went to bed. I was disappointed because if we had gotten in at the scheduled time we would have had time to do some things in Delhi. The next morning we hopped on a 7am train back to Mussoorie and were back in our house by 5pm.

A few fun facts from the trip:
-Each of our major destinations was in a different state, totaling 7 states in total.
-We spent 10 hours in taxis, 31 on buses, and a whopping 104.5 hours on trains. That's over 6 days of being transported.
-Almost every destination had a different predominant language: Tibetan in Dharamsala, Punjabi in Amritsar, Konkani in Goa, Malayalam in Kerala, and Hindi everywhere else.

Now, I'm back in Mussoorie. It feels great to be back in the quiet hills where the weather is cool and sunny. Knowing we'd be exhausted from our travels, we chose to come back a week before our staff meetings begin. It's been so relaxing to be home and get putsy things like laundry, organizing, emailing, blogging, and grocery shopping done before the rush of the semester hits. Next week we have staff meetings and then students arrive. I'm gearing up for my new job as the High School art teacher, so have a lot to prepare before the first day of school. Overall, life is good, time is flying, and soon enough my family will be visiting!


Cutting the watermelon with a leatherman on my top bunk.

We ate the juicy watermelon near the door so we could spit the seeds out (and hopefully plant watermelons across India!).

Winter Break Part VI: Kerala

Sad that our week of waves and sun came to an end, our group said goodbyes and parted ways for the last leg(s) of our break. Three of us continued south to the state of Kerala. After an overnight train, we hopped on a commuter ferry to the peninsula of Fort Cochin (a neighborhood/borough of the larger city of Kochi). Fort Cochin is very small and feels almost European with narrow streets, relaxed atmosphere, art galleries, a Jewish district, and lots of good cafes. We spent a day sight-seeing in Fort Cochin, then went on a backwater tour the next day. Next, we took a 5-hour public bus inland to the hill station of Munnar, which was definitely a highlight of the trip. Munnar is famous for its tea and spice production. We enjoyed roaming around the tea plantations and shopping for spices in the lively bazaar. After Munnar, we spent one more day in Fort Cochin before our 52-hour train ride back to Delhi.

Anticipating "Death By Chocolate" at a cute tea shop. It proved to be the most satisfying dessert of the month.

Billygoats make Kerala a happier place. At least for people like us who like to feed them banana peels.

Coconuts drying in the sun.

Happy to be in a wooden canoe in the backwaters.

Early morning fishing in Fort Cochin.

Tea plants in the morning sun.

The rolling tea plantations.

Spice shopping in Munnar.

Morning bus stop.

Traffic jam on a tiny bridge.

Curious kid in Fort Cochin.

Winter Break Part V: Goa

I'm a pretty tolerant traveler, but the overnight bus from Mumbai to Goa definitely tested my travel endurance. The annoyances were well worth it; Goa proved to be a week of pure vacation.

Goa is famous for it's beaches and cheap beer. This combo attracts loads of foreigners every year. In fact, many Europeans make it their winter home for 5 months. (Americans are few and far between - I think we came across one during the whole week.) We steered clear of the popular beaches in hopes of a quiet and clean beach. Agonda is a small fishing town in southern Goa that proved to be the perfect spot for us. Though the town depends almost completely on tourism, the beach is not well known. I think in five years it will be quite popular, but for now it is still a quiet oasis. The beach was beautiful and sparsely populated. We stayed at a guest house across the road from the beach and spent our days swimming, sun bathing, body-surfing, reading, eating french fries, and playing cards. It was the perfect break from hectic travels.

This is what I looked like most of the week - beach bum!

Every night we would go out to a new restaurant directly on the beach. I like eating with my feet in sand.

Agonda Beach.

Local women on their evening commute.

I think the human to cow ratio is about 1-to-1 in Goa.

Out on a fishing boat.

A day outing to a new beach a little farther up the shore.

Downtown Agonda.

Hammocks are glorious.

Waiting for our daily order of french fries from our favorite restaurant.

Winter Break Part IV: Mumbai

From Jaipur, we took an overnight train to Mumbai. We stayed in the heart of the tourist district - Colaba. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the city. The parts we ventured around seemed very metropolitan and unexpectedly calm and organized compared to the chaos of Delhi. We spent the first day seeing sights around our hotel: the famous Taj hotel, the Gateway of India, and Marine Drive. The next day we took the ferry to Elephanta Island (famous for caves, not for elephants), saw the Modern Art Museum, and met up with some other Woodstock friends in the evening. The last day, we ventured out to northern neighborhoods and ended up meeting up with some Woodstock students. Overall, I really enjoyed the city and would gladly return. It was quite a treat to be in a metropolis. Oh, of course, we also saw a bollywood movie at a huge theater. You can't go to Mumbai without enjoying a little bollywood.


Mumbai is a funnier place due to the amount of street-sellers trying to sell "big balloons." I love it when they get your attention by slapping the balloon really hard.

Cricket in front of the University of Mumbai.

Public art display on Marine Drive.

The Taj Hotel (the one that was bombed last year) and The Gateway of India from our ferry. Our hotel was just behind the Taj.

Enjoying the view of the city from the ferry. (Photo credit: Laura)

A group photo at Elephanta Island. I couldn't resist...they just looked so spiffy!

Morning walk along Chowpatty Beach.

View from Malabar Hills

Winter Break Part III: Jaipur

From Amritsar, we took a train to Delhi, stayed overnight at a friend's house (and spoiled ourselves with a mall and a movie theater), then took a train to Jaipur the next day. Our group changed a bit to be 6 in total: we said goodbye to one friend and hello to three more.

I visited Jaipur once last year and really enjoyed the city. The state of Rajasthan is a favorite among travelers due to its bright colors, desert landscape, and plethora of camels and elephants. We spent our days seeing sights (there are many cool forts in and around the city) and shopping in the fun bazaars. The last night we indulged in Chokidani (I visited it last year) which is sort of like a carnival. Overall, it was great to be back.

One of the many giant sun-dials at Jantar Mantar.

Jaipur has a pulsing traffic - too many motorists and old, tiny streets make for lots of traffic jams.

The best way to travel in Jaipur is definitely by rickshaw. (Photo credit: Laura)

We came across a street that sells only seeds. Pigeons like seeds.

Hawa Mahal - a landmark in the heart of the old city.

Jaipur has some of the best lassis I've ever tasted. (Photo credit: Laura)

Happy bellies after eating at a restaurant located on top of the wall of the old city.

Amber Fort.

Enjoying the view from Amber Fort. (Photo credit: Laura)

Snake charmer from above.

A nice perch.

View from Jaigarh Fort.

Camel rides at Chokidhani!

Dinner at Chokidhani! (Photo credit: Laura)