All posts tagged: India

Your Guide to Agonda, Goa

Published by

Agonda was the perfect place for me to end my trip to Goa, India. It’s definitely a restful place, so if you want parties and action then nearby Palolem might be more your bag. I really wanted to RELAX on my holiday – something that I don’t usually do while I’m away. So Agonda was ideal because there’s no temptation – the pace of life is so slow and there’s a huge yoga community, so it’s hard not to get caught up in the healthy lifestyle while you’re here.   I f*cking glowed after a few days here. Seriously, my skin was radiant, I was well-rested, I developed triceps after the most intense vinyasa classes I’ve ever tried. And the beach is wonderful; quiet and full of adorable cows that I took to feeding each evening. In fact, I had quite the menagerie of animals: two dogs that slept under my sun lounger each day, a drunken white horse (for real), kittens and, of course, a herd of cows of various shapes and sizes. Anyway, …

Why You Should Visit Palolem, Goa

Published by

Palolem is a must-visit part of Goa as it has a huge and wonderful beach with super-colourful beach huts that are perfect for The ‘Gram. There’s a nice mix of beach activities, clubs and bars to keep you entertained too. I had a great time here… read on to find out what to do, eat and see in Palolem. WHERE TO STAY I stayed in a really crappy hostel called The Roadhouse – don’t stay there. But do stay in a hostel if you’re travelling alone as they really are the best places to make friends. If I were you I’d walk along Palolem beach and get a sea-view beach hut. There are literally hundreds. I did stay one night in one for 1000IR. GET A BOAT For the small sum of 1800IR between 3 people you can hire a boat (with driver) to take you around some islands and to spot the dolphins that play around them. We saw a pod of about 10 dolphins, all jumping and doing dolphin-y things and after speaking …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Goa

Published by

This January I knew that I did not want to be stuck in cold, grim, rainy London Town – so I took a trip back to India. A place I absolutely love. This time I went south, to the beaches of Goa. Here’s my 2 week Goa itinerary if you fancy a holiday there yourself. FLIGHTS I booked my flights with Jet Airways, they’re owned by Etihad, and while they aren’t the best they’re fine. A return from London Heathrow cost me £375. The flight to Mumbai takes 10 hours and then another hour flight from there to Goa airport. ROUTE I could never stay in one place for a whole 2 weeks – I get bored of things sooooo quickly, so I spent 4 days in Anjuna, 4 days in Palolem and the remainder of my time in Agonda. It’s easy to travel around Goa. I just took taxis everywhere as I wanted this to be a truly relaxing holiday. But you can easily take buses or trains. ANJUNA I STAYED… At the Funky …

27 Things You Didn’t Know About India

Published by

India is fast becoming my favourite country, it really is unlike any other, but with the good comes the bad, and it’s this mix that makes India a conundrum inside a riddle covered in a mystery… wrapped in pancetta. Anyway here are 27 things I learned during my month in India… The wifi here is a myth. It just doesn’t work. End of story… which is so annoying for a blogger, I have so many stories to tell and pictures to share! On that note, when you do get wifi (rarely) the only website or app that seems to work is Whatsapp. I have no idea why but I love love love all the web developers at Whatsapp for making contact with my fam possible. India doesn’t smell. I arrived expecting gutter stench as so many people warned me that I’d be overwhelmed by a disgusting aroma. I was actually surprised that India smells, for the most part, amazing. A heady scent of spices, marigolds and masala chai. Masala Chai. HEAVEN! I drank at least …

The River Ganges, Varanasi

Published by

Varanasi is probably the most spiritual place in the world, I guess you have Lourdes and Vatican City, but trust me this places smacks you in the face with religion. You can’t turn a corner without seeing religious icons, ceremonies or indeed dead bodies being burned. I’m not making it sound very appealing but it is one of the most interesting places I’ve ever been.  I was lucky enough to take a boat on the river Ganges that flows through Varsnasi both at sunrise and sunset. It’s the best way to see the ghats where locals bathe in the supposedly holy water, dispose of cadavers and ashes and even do their laundry.  In the morning it’s a very serene and tranquil affair, seeing the sun rise over the haze (it’s always hazy in India) is such a calming experience. Probably because you miss the worst of the heat too. I even did some souvenir shopping on the river, I bought some Ganesh dolls forms man in a boat. Obviously I haggled but it’s definitely the …

India: The Best & The Worst

Published by

It seems ages ago since I went to India, needless to say I loved it and I will be back. You have my word. So to refresh my memory and to also give you guys some travel tips here is the best (and worst) India has to offer. The Best Bits The Best Food Definitely momos which are kind of steamed filled dumplings and apparently tibetan, but wherever they’re from they are good. They cost roughly 30-40IR (30-40p) from street vendors. Or there is a fast food chain version called Wow Momo which does every kind of momo known to man – chocolate, tandoori style, momo burger, fried, steamed, you name it and they do it. Wow Momo, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi  The Best Vibezzz Varanasi at sunrise was an unforgettable experience. Being in the holiest place in India and therefore the world (FU Vatican City) was pretty spesh, the river Ganga is where Hindus and some other religions burn their dead to send them off to the spirit world all pure. I also …

G-Adventures ‘India on a Shoestring’ Review

Published by

Overview G-Adventures offers tours for young travelers all over the world including several tours through India. The ‘India on a Shoestring’ tour is 20 days traveling around Rajasthan or the ‘golden triangle’ and takes in many of the most famous sites of the area starting and ending in Delhi. Highlights I personally enjoyed the lesser-known (to me anyway) places we visited such as; Pushkar, Bikaner and Udaipur. As they were smaller it was easier to head off alone and do some exploring. The trip into the Thar desert was pretty amazing, and the food the local people cooked there was so tasty it’s hard to believe they cooked it in the middle of nowhere, without a kitchen. The river ganges was beautiful too and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. What’s right with it… The itinerary ensures you take in lots of things you wouldn’t if you were traveling solo, such as visiting the tiny village of Tordi Sagarh, eating at a Sikh temple and staying at THIS amazing hotel. The pace is quite fast and you get …

The Dreaded Delhi Belly and How it Nearly Broke Me…

Published by

Call it hubris, cockiness or just plain stupidity but I *honestly* thought I would avoid Delhi belly while travelling. I’ve never been ill because of food, I’m the person who eats with a group who all get food poisoning and remain unscathed, my stomach is legendarily strong.   That’s not to say I wasn’t careful, I didn’t eat meat for a month while in India, avoided tap water and religiously sanitised my hands – seriously, what more can you do? And I thought I was safe, I lasted one month feeling fantastic, so on the second to last night (in an expensive western restaurant, it’s never the street food) I indulged in some chicken. On the afternoon before my flight to Bangkok I began to feel *really* sick, I was sweating, nauseous and confused and just had to go to bed. Then the vomiting started. Now, before that, the last time I vomited was 2 years ago after the Hotbox London launch party where I drank 435 free cocktails and ate a whole cow, and …

Art Class in Udaipur, India

Published by

Udaipur in Rajasthan is such a lovely, peaceful town – set around a dazzling lake (featuring a swanky 5* hotel that I was sadly not staying at) – this creative place is famed for its miniature artists. You can find intricate paintings adorning pretty much every surface and wall plus you can buy yourself a piece of art or two to take home. Being a little bit of an artist myself *toots own horn* I decided to take in an art class with one of Udaipur’s many miniature art schools. I painted a camel because one nearly killed me in the Indian desert and I thought it might work as a kind of ‘face your fears’ therapy. It didn’t. While I wasn’t cured of my camel aversion I did come to appreciate the immense skill of the miniature artists, their brushes are soooo fine and they grind their own paints out of all natural colours – needless to say, my camel didn’t turn out quite like the instructors, but I had a great time painting …

Cooking and Eating at The Sikh Temple

Published by

There are many religions practiced in India, it’s a very spiritual place, Hinduism is probably the most common faith, but there are Muslim, Christian and Sikh people too. In Delhi I was lucky enough to attend a Sikh temple, and what an experience! I absolutely loved it. On entering the temple you must cover your head, I donned a lovely orange bandana (ever stylish even in India), remove your shoes and wash your hands and feet – then you enter into the temple to the sound of rhythmic drumming, chanting and singing – it’s quite a meditative experience just silently sitting cross-legged in thought, listening to the prayers beings called. After a quick prayer (I’m an atheist but it doesn’t hurt to put out some positive vibes into the universe) we went to the temple’s kitchen. Sikh temples (depending on the size) can feed hundreds or even thousands of people for free each day. Sikhs volunteer their time to cook chapattis, dahl and vegetable curries for anyone who wished to eat. Sikhs also see all …