julies

Wow it is a small world! Or, else many posters here are looking for kind of the same things in lodging and locales. Glover stayed at the Ascot in Mumbai. Calinurse stayed at Pranavam. Thursdayed stayed at Taj Gateway in Coonoor (we really liked it). I do recall reading Karen's (Thursdayed) report about getting food poisoning at the Gateway, but that didn't discourage us since we figure things like that are flukes that can happen anywhere, to anyone, and is usually just a matter of bad luck.

Actually, maybe I should correct a statement I made earlier about liking our hotels the least of all lodgings on our trip. They were all very nice hotels, and we'd certainly return to all of them if visiting those cities again. But, there is a formality and anonymity about hotels that contrasts to smaller, more intimate lodgings. After all, a hotel is a hotel is a hotel. However, at certain points in our trip (especially by the end) we were really, really glad to escape to the anonymity and autonomy of a hotel. We were at the point where we just wanted to be ourselves on our own schedules and not feel like we needed to make the effort to provide conversation at meals with the homestay owners.

Kathie--We'd recommend either tour we took (the slum tour was our favorite though). Mumbai Magic also offers some great tours, and we looked at those too. I guess I forgot to mention in my report that while in Mumbai we walked through and visited the markets on our own. Some companies offer tours of these markets , but we don't feel any need to do a tour of markets.

dgunbug--We are real seafood lovers, and we live inland, so I know for certain that we had seafood in those restaurants. Other patrons were eating non-seafood meals though. For both of the tours we took in Mumbai we met the tour at a central meeting point and from there rode in a mini-van type vehicle. I'm sure the evening tour would be easy enough to do on your own if you hired a taxi driver and told him exactly where you wanted to go. We are not really beach people and did not want to visit Goa to go to the beach; that is why we chose to stay inland there. Honestly, with only one or two nights I don't know if I'd make the effort to get all of the way to Goa from Hampi. No, we did not spend the night on a houseboat and have no regrets at all because we feel we saw more the way we did our trip.

Cali--perhaps you were there just a bit earlier than we were and/or the micro climates where you were are different. We really started to notice the oppressive heat about Feb. 20 and had been fine before that. Kannur was fine as far as weather (we even took a non-AC room), and so was Pranavam (we were there the second week of March). In answer to your question about the Taj Gateway in Coonoor, we liked it so much (and we couldn't figure out where else to go and be cool) that we kept extending by a day until we ended up with four nights.

thursdaysd

Just saw this (am traveling) - had been waiting for it. Great details!

Yes, heat plus humidity can be a killer. I did southern India last in Dec 2010, and that was plenty hot enough for me.

(BTW, I am Kathy not Karen.)

dgunbug

Julie - our plan is to take the overnight train to goa, thereby having most of the day in Mumbai and sleeping on the train which arrives early enough to see some of old goa for a day or two before our driver picks us up to head to Hampi. What did you do in goa (our interests are likely similar as we do not intend to spend the time at the beach). I'm confused by which area to stay in goa and if there is enough to do for more than one day without the beach. We would consider going by the beach if there is something unique to see there other than sand and palm trees which we have in Florida.

crosscheck

Relishing this. In spite of your heat issues (sorry!), I am finding myself reminiscing about my unplanned backpacking days and daydreaming about how we'd fill six weeks in the steamy subcontinent.

We spent a very short time in Mumbai and your report makes me sorry we didn't get a chance for more exploration. Looking forward to hearing the gory details about the bicycle trip from hell because that in theory would have sounded appealing to me. I do feel as if the right agency could have helped you book less vanilla hotels -- for me, our hotels were so stellar that they were destinations unto themselves. (I realize that this would be hard to sustain for 6 weeks, though.) Looking forward to more.

CaliNurse

Dgun--i didn't write a TR for my Feb trip. It as a three week trip which, due to family member illness, hd to be reduced to two weeks. Still, no excuse. I am glad t answer any specific questions
The trip where I went to the backwaters souht of Cochin was in Dec 2008.

If you search Google Images for "country boat Kerala backwater" you'll have a good idea of what they look like and the kind of narrow waterways they traverse.
Have you also checked indiamike for opinions on houseboat overnight, vs country boat? i could have sworn someone on here did the h houseboat and wrote of the mosquitoes while they were moored overnight.

OK, back to Julie!!!

julies

thursdaysd--One of these days I'll get your name correct. Sorry.

dgunbug--Today as I was looking through some photos from our trip I happened to see some photos from Elephanta Island. I have a photo of chairs with large bamboo poles attached to the bottom rungs. This is the transportation for those who aren't inclined (pun intended) to make the trek up the hill themselves from the boat landing.

crosscheck--Yes, we should have just let the bike trip be a nice idea "in theory". But, we lived through it and can now give others a heads-up. As far as the three hotels we stayed in, they were fine but I wouldn't want a steady diet of this type of lodging. Hotel Ascot in Mumbai was, I think, as well as anyone can do there unless one is willing to pay a heap for a room (we aren't) because Mumbai is an expensive city for lodging. The Taj Gateway in Coonoor was unique and atmospheric since it is from the pre-independence hill station era. Radisson Blu in Mysore was a brand new hotel built just like all of the others in the chain I presume. I think one of the downsides of standard hotels for us is that we like to be able to sit in nice common areas or out on lawns etc. rather than just sitting in our room or next to a pool or in a bar/restaurant. In the Ascot our room was the only option. In Coonoor we had an attached sitting room (we had a nice room that was just a little bit more pricey) and the extensive grounds. At the Radisson it was the standard pool area for lounging.

Back to India----


We had been very interested in visiting Hampi, between our time in Mumbai and Goa, but logistics finally made this out of the question. We’d been planning to fly from Mumbai to the nearest airport to Hampi (still a three hour drive from that airport to Hampi though). A flight cancellation nixed this thought, and as usual all of the train tickets were way overbooked, so there wasn’t a possibility of taking the train to Hampi instead. Thus, we settled on eliminating Hampi and just going directly from Mumbai to Goa.

Everyone has heard of Goa and primarily in the context of its beaches, but there is more to Goa. We are not huge beach fans and had no interest in going to the beach in Goa, so we instead made our plans around staying inland. For us it was a good decision. In fact, during our stay we visited two of Goa’s beaches (one in the north and one in the south) that are considered “nicer” because they aren’t so touristy and so built-up. In both cases, an hour or two hour walk along the beach in the evening was enough for us. If you just want beaches, we’ve found others in the world that we felt were a lot better, and in India we much preferred the beaches we visited in Kerala over those in Goa. But, we are the kind of people who enjoy more remote, natural, quiet beaches rather than those that are built up with restaurants, bars, lots of lodging etc.

Having read that the train trip down the Konkan Coast is beautiful, we planned to use the train (during daylight) for our journey entire journey from Mumbai down to Kochi. But, then we discovered that flights from Mumbai to Goa are dirt cheap, so now I knew why train tickets were actually available. The thirteen hour train ride vs. a quick one hour flight for not much more money became a no-brainer. We flew IndiGo. It was a good decision since we were in Goa by 1:00 in the afternoon.

dgunbug

Julie - looking forward to hearing about more of your adventures, especially the bike ride. Can't imagine it in the heat with your pants or shorts sticking to your legs and riding along wonderful Indian roads!

I understand there is more in goa than the beaches, but the logistics of getting from the train station to the old town or to a nice beach area, is absurd for such a short time. We are considering having the driver pick us up directly from the train station at 7 am and driving to Hampi. The drive is about 6 1/2-7 hrs which will kill a greater part of the day, but by giving up goa, we can add a day to Mumbai and somewhere else. Your thoughts?

dgunbug

Calinurse - we've been doing our homework - reading India Mike, etc and will opt for the smaller country boats which will actually give us more time on the backwaters of Kerala with the focus being on the small canals where we can visit villages and see the daily life of the people living there. After two days on halong bay several years ago, we realized that we will get bored with the boat in open water after the first few hours.

julies

dgunbug--If you do want to spend a day or two in Goa (after all you will be there already after taking the train), you could easily do what we did and have your lodging arrange a pick up for you at the train station. I assume you will be using the same train station we took when leaving Goa. This was only about 1/2 hour by car from Arco Iris where we stayed for our last two nights in Goa. It is something you may want to think about, and the owner of Arco Iris is very helpful as far as helping guests to plan their days, and she has a regular taxi driver guests use. Distances in Goa just aren't all that far.

Back to my report:

When we emerged from the secure area in the airport in Goa, there was a driver waiting to take us to our four night homestay at Olaulim Backyards. After we left the airport in Dabolim and started driving to Olalulim Backyards, we asked ourselves if we were still in India. Yes, things really are that different there. It was quite clean, there was no litter, women are much more visible in public roles, dress norms are definitely way less modest, and alcohol is readily available. This wasn’t the India we knew!

When planning our stay in the more northerly part of Goa I’d vacillated about where to stay and had initially contemplated Panjim for a stay of a couple nights with a few nights at Olaulim. Then, the owner of Olaulim Backyards told me that it is only perhaps half an hour away from Panjim. We didn’t want to move around when we didn’t have to, so we made the decision to spend four nights here rather than splitting the time between Panjim and Olaulim Backyards.

It was maybe a 30 to 45 minute drive from the airport. They had nicely waited to serve lunch to the group of guests until we arrived, so we had a rather late lunch. After lunch we relaxed, chatted with other guests, swam in the pool, got suggestions from Pirkko and Savio who own the place and made some plans for activities during our stay.

This is one of those places that appeals to those who want something different from standard lodgings and is for people who want to interact with the owners and other guests because meals are eaten together in a communal outside dining area. We met and talked with people from India, England, France and Finland. (I guess very few Americans must visit India, or they just must take the standard group tours, because in our entire trip we ran into only 2 or 3 others from the US.) We enjoy this type of interaction, and for us it was a good decision to stay here. We liked the spacious grounds right on a river with kayaks and bicycles for guests’ use. Our own private little cottage was nice, the food was excellent, and the hosts were amazingly helpful.

We are not shoppers at all, but their suggestion was that since it was Saturday we should visit Anjuna’s weekly night market. When I asked about appropriate dress (after all I am used to visiting conservative and modest northern India) I was told that anything would be fine. That was a major understatement! Let’s just put it this way: this is a western hippie market, and the attire of many of the people there was really, really extreme. I should have taken photos of “the natives” at this market because often their attire was much more exotic than anything else I saw on this trip. And, I say this as one who lives in the heart of the city in a major metro area with a huge university. And, I used to teach at a college so it is not as though I am not accustomed to the offbeat. I cannot imagine what traditional Indians must think when they see this type of get-up. After wandering a bit through the market (didn’t buy a thing) we had dinner and a beer (Goa’s lack of alcohol restrictions also seem quite different to those who are used to the near prohibition in most other parts of India) before calling our taxi driver and heading back to bed.

thursdaysd

Yes, the hippie culture is alive and well in Goa, as is inaprpriate dress. I once saw a man walking along the beach in what amounted to a thong.

dgunbug - no problem getting to Panjim from the station (not Magao). Either have your hotel send a car, as julie suggests, or take a tuk tuk or taxi from the station. I highly recommend the Panjim Inn. Easy to get to Old Goa from Panjim.

dgunbug

Thursday - the overnight train from Mumbai comes into the magao station which is about 1 1/2 hrs from panjim.

thursdaysd

Not sure which night train you are looking at, but for a random date in October on cleartrip.com, there are several night trains, with 1AC accommodation, that stop at Karmali, which is the station for Panjim. Madgaon, according to wiki, is 45 kms.

Not sure whether you read my India TR, but I was not especially impressed with Hampi, aside from one temple.

julies

dgunbug--We took the train from Madgaon station when we were heading down into Kerala. I suspect that this is the same train you will be arriving on since we had around a 7:00am departure. We chose two different bases in Goa-one more northerly near Panjim and one more southerly close to the historic, colonial houses. As I said before, where we stayed in the south might be a good option since it was reasonably close to the station. Perhaps by mid-week I'll get to the part of our trip where we visited the south, and it will give you some idea of what there is to do there.

Kathy--I read your TR and know you didn't like Hampi, but I need to mention that everyone we talked to during our trip who had visited Hampi really liked it.

On this trip we saw what might be the ultimate in inappropriate and overly revealing attire. The Sunday (the day when many of the locals have free time for relaxation and will visit the beach) we were in Mararai Beach we were walking down the beach when we saw a group of about 25 young Indian men (all dressed in jeans and shirts because that is how Indian men usually stroll on the beach). As we got closer, we discovered that there was a European woman in her mid to late 20s dressed in a string bikini that left nothing to the imagination. She was bending, reaching, throwing while playing Frisbee with an Indian guy. As you can well imagine, this was quite a spectacle, even to those of us who are used to seeing women in bikinis. Apparently many of these young men had called or texted friends to come to this part of the beach to get an eyeful of what they normally wouldn't see. To me, this was just another example of those un-informed tourists who have done no prior research on cultural norms for the areas they are visiting.

For those of you who haven't visited a beach destination in India, Indian women who walk the beach (we didn't see any swimming, just wading) typically wear leggings and long sleeved tunics. With a few exceptions the men were also fully covered. When we swam I did wear a one piece tank suit, but when we walked the beach, I wore a cover-up and/or a skirt over it.

dgunbug

Just curious - I already was aware of dress for the beach, but what about at hotel pools? Do people wear bathing suits?

Thursday - I seem to remember you were not overly excited by Hampi, but weren't you also not feeling well at the time?

Waiting to hear about the big allure of goa besides beaches.

thursdaysd

My problem with Hampi was that many of the ruins were very ruinous. I believe dogster had the same issue with Hampi. It used to be popular with the hippie crowd because of the availability of drugs, but now that has been cleaned up, and now some Indians have more money, I was told that visitor numbers are down.

crosscheck

In northern India all guests at hotel pools -- mostly Indians, Europeans and Aussies -- wore standard swimwear, including bikinis. The older India women wore one pieces and younger wore bikinis, but Europeans of all ages wore bikinis, with sarongs for cover ups. We were the only Americans everywhere and I wore a one piece and a sarong.

julies

Just getting back to this because we've been away at a cabin for a few days in an area with no internet.

Sunday, Feb. 8

Savvio and Pirkko’s suggestion for today was for us to take in the final performance at the annual Monte Music Festival at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount in Old Goa. This would take place at sunset in a setting high above the old city, overlooking the Mandovi River. So, our plan was to leave after lunch for a visit to walk around Old Goa and then make our way to the grounds of the chapel for the performance.

In the morning we borrowed bikes to ride around the area where Olalulim Backyards is so we could get a feel for the neighborhood. It was a nice way to spend an hour or so, and we love how up close to an area to observe the smaller things one can get when bicycling. As we rode we took in the local houses, a church, the birds, the flowering plants, the people working around their homes and farms, the local waterways.

A taxi was arranged for us once again (Pirkko and Savvio have a friend who is a taxi driver, and he is quite available for guests’ use), and we left around 3:00 or so. Once again we were sharing the taxi with some other guests; at Olalulim Backyards this taxi sharing is encouraged when possible as a more ecologically sound way of living, and we are fine with this arrangement.

Old Goa was fine for an hour or two, but for those who have spent an amount of time visiting Europe (as we have), it is not all that unique. The Old Goa area isn’t at all that large, and there truly isn’t all that much to see in our opinion. Being a local, the taxi driver obviously knew that best places to drop off and pick up tourists, had tips on seeing the different buildings, and directed us to where to go.

After visiting Old Goa, we found out that there were shuttle buses available for people who were attending the concert, so we hopped on one and headed up the long hill to the top. As a part of the festival there was also a performance going on inside the chapel itself, but those tickets are booked up way ahead of time, and we’d been told it can get terribly hot with the chapel filled full of sweaty bodies. So, we arrived early enough to stake out chairs for this outside performance. It was a gorgeous setting with superb views of the setting sun over the river behind the performer. We got a few snacks for dinner from the vendor on site (some upscale restaurant was catering) and sat down to wait.

The featured guest performer for the concert we attended played the santoor, which is kind of like a hammered dulcimer. Attending musical performances during our travels is something we try to do because it makes for a unique memory. So, even though we had no idea ahead of time what we would be seeing and hearing, we were game. The artist was incredibly talented as he used the instrument’s small hammers to produce some enchanting musical sounds we had never heard before.

When we were ready to leave, we phoned the driver who had been waiting for us. A phone was definitely extremely useful to have, and we used it all of the time when we had different drivers. This, rather than for staying in touch with home, was why we purchased a local Indian SIM card.


dgunbug--To me Goa is not that much of an absolute must-visit, and I would never take a trip there to just visit the beach. But, we like to just be observers of the ordinary in places where we visit, rather than running around crazily trying to tick off must-visit places on our list. And, there is no way in the world on a six week trip that we'd ever want to do the crazy every second typical tourist routine.

Goa's lifestyle, vegetation, houses, villages, historical places, etc. were definitely were enjoyable and different from what we saw eleswhere. We don't at all regret the time we took to visit there. In fact, we know we should have probably spent an extra day in the south at Arco Iris because we definitely had not run out of things to do in the area.

dgunbug

Julie - thanks for your useful insights. We decided not to stay in Goa, but rather to use the extra time (2 days) for one extra in Mumbai and the other to be determined as we continue to make our plans. Looking forward to hearing more about of your adventures.thanks for taking the effort to do this.

dgunbug

I see you stayed two nights in Cochin. Can you tell me how much touring you actually did in Cochin? did you arrive late the first night or did you have two full days there? We are thinking of four nights there, the first getting in late and one day for a boat in the allepy area. So, we would have two days for Cochin itself. Opinions?

CaliNurse

Dgunbug, you addressed the above question to Julie, so i hope it is ok if I chime in. Re: your question (4 nights in Cochin) it is better to know what you're planning for after Cochin. I wouldnt recommend a day trip to the Alleppey area for just a boat ride, then return to Cochin that night. I'd instead recommend a boat ride as combined with a back water homestay, to get a more complete sense of the backwaters. It's nice to have the boat ride AND to sit out by your lodging, just relaxing and watching the world go by (fisherman, families, etc)--and most waterside homestays will be able to arrange the boat for you.
So if you're talking about how to spend four nights, fwiw, this would be my recommendation: if you arrive into Cochin on the first night, you can spend the entire next day exploring the area (most likely, around Fort Cochin/Jewtown) spend that night (night two) and then proceed south the next morning, spending two nights in the backwater area. Depending on your itinerary, you could then return to Cochin (If that's the direction you're headed) after night four.