After Christmas the Palolem Beach has become more crowded, so we have spent our days at the quieter Patnem Beach nearby. 
We wish you all a Happy New Year 2009
We wish you all a Happy New Year 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
28-31 December – Goa, India
We have met many Swedish people in Goa. It seems to be a very popular tourist destination for Swedes. The children have found new friends and we have had a lot of fun with two Swedish families from Stockholm.
21-27 December – Grandmother in Goa, India
The week with grandmother was fantastic. She had not seen the kids in several months and it was a very happy reunion. We spent a lot of time on the beach, swimming and playing. We enjoyed the excellent food in Goa and talked for hours. 
Grandmother’s suitcase contained Christmas presents and some real Swedish herring! Our seafood platter on Christmas Eve is a lasting memory. 
And our day trip to Margao, Old Goa and Panaji was very nice, giving us a glimpse of Goa’s colonial past. 
The children were sad when grandmother left. The week passed so quickly.
19-20 December – Panaji to Palolem, Goa, India
We celebrated our arrival to Goa with a nice lunch at Hospedaria Venite in Panaji, the capital of Goa. After that we went to the Main Post Office to check on our Poste Restante. We were very happy to find five large envelopes with letters and gifts. Many thanks!
That night we had great difficulties to find a place to camp. In the end we simply set camp on a small street in the middle of Panaji. It was one of the oddest places we have slept in so far.
The following morning we were supposed to look for a garage/workshop which could help us to change the gearbox. We had ordered a new gearbox from the UK and it should arrive by air freight in one or two weeks. However, we were now told that 19 December is a very important national holiday since it marks the day when, in 1961, Goa became independent from Portugal after being a colony for more than 400 years. So we went directly towards Palolem Beach instead. From what we had read and heard, this would be an ideal beach for us during grandmother’s visit.
The countryside in Goa is very beautiful, with rice paddies, jungle, palm trees, spice plantations, rolling hills, Portuguese colonial architecture, Hindu temples, white churches and a wonderful coastline with sandy beaches. A few kilometers from Palolem, in the south of Goa, we took a detour to Agonda Beach to try to find a camp site on the beach which we had heard rumors about. That turned out to be a bad idea. You should not relax until you have crossed the finish line.
We ended up having to make a u-turn on a very narrow and steep road. We did not have a reverse gear, and the road was too steep to push the car. So we had to build bridges for the wheels to take us across a deep ditch. Just as we had crossed our improvised bridges they collapsed. But the car was now standing firmly on the road again! Relief.
Time to go to Palolem. No more detours. We found a nice hotel in Palolem and settled in. We went to the beach and found it to be a real paradise beach with white sand, coconut palm trees, clear and clean water, nice restaurants and a friendly atmosphere. Now we were prepared for the arrival of grandmother.
That night we had great difficulties to find a place to camp. In the end we simply set camp on a small street in the middle of Panaji. It was one of the oddest places we have slept in so far.
The following morning we were supposed to look for a garage/workshop which could help us to change the gearbox. We had ordered a new gearbox from the UK and it should arrive by air freight in one or two weeks. However, we were now told that 19 December is a very important national holiday since it marks the day when, in 1961, Goa became independent from Portugal after being a colony for more than 400 years. So we went directly towards Palolem Beach instead. From what we had read and heard, this would be an ideal beach for us during grandmother’s visit.
The countryside in Goa is very beautiful, with rice paddies, jungle, palm trees, spice plantations, rolling hills, Portuguese colonial architecture, Hindu temples, white churches and a wonderful coastline with sandy beaches. A few kilometers from Palolem, in the south of Goa, we took a detour to Agonda Beach to try to find a camp site on the beach which we had heard rumors about. That turned out to be a bad idea. You should not relax until you have crossed the finish line.
We ended up having to make a u-turn on a very narrow and steep road. We did not have a reverse gear, and the road was too steep to push the car. So we had to build bridges for the wheels to take us across a deep ditch. Just as we had crossed our improvised bridges they collapsed. But the car was now standing firmly on the road again! Relief.
Time to go to Palolem. No more detours. We found a nice hotel in Palolem and settled in. We went to the beach and found it to be a real paradise beach with white sand, coconut palm trees, clear and clean water, nice restaurants and a friendly atmosphere. Now we were prepared for the arrival of grandmother.
14-18 December – The long road to Goa
The time had come for us to head south towards Goa. The children’s grandmother (Ola’s mother Lisbeth) would come to Goa on 21 December to spend Christmas with us. We did not want to be late for that! And we had to find a nice place to stay in Goa. We had about 2000 km to drive, so we knew it would take several days. But we ran out of luck (Murphy’s Law). Strange noises started coming from the gearbox. Suddenly we discovered that fifth gear had disappeared. Then the reverse gear stopped working. And we continued losing a gear every half hour until only fourth gear remained. Terrible noises were heard from the gearbox. We still had more than 1700 km to go.
The fourth gear was still working an hour later, so we decided to take a crazy gamble and try to drive the whole way to Goa. Since we could not reverse, we spent the nights camping at the roadside at bus stops, petrol stations and canteens. The closer we got to Goa, the more our spirits rose. After five very challenging days and 1700 km in fourth gear we actually reached Goa. Our gamble had succeeded and we were very happy!
The fourth gear was still working an hour later, so we decided to take a crazy gamble and try to drive the whole way to Goa. Since we could not reverse, we spent the nights camping at the roadside at bus stops, petrol stations and canteens. The closer we got to Goa, the more our spirits rose. After five very challenging days and 1700 km in fourth gear we actually reached Goa. Our gamble had succeeded and we were very happy!
11-13 December – Great Thar Desert, India
We liked western Rajasthan very much. The hills give way to a semi-desert with small villages where time stands still. People live in rondavel huts. Women are carrying water and firewood on their heads. Goats are standing on their hind legs to reach the acacia leaves. The colors of the landscape are sun bleached, but the people dress in bright colors. It reminds us very much of Africa. 
Our first interaction with the deep sand of the Great Thar Desert was when we got stuck in soft sand while trying to find a good bush camping spot. The whole family took turns digging us out. After half an hour we were on firm sand again and could camp under the stars. The Milky Way was very bright. The temperature fell quickly that night, from 25 degrees at sunset to only 4 degrees at night. Those extra blankets we bought in Pakistan came in handy.
We continued to Jaisalmer and walked through the narrow alleys of the old town which is surrounded by a fortified sandstone wall with 99 bastions. There are many Jain temples in Jaisalmer, and of course many cows. This holy cow thing is really very strange in India. The cows can do what the want. Most of all they seem to enjoy standing in the middle of the street, and while Indian drivers will blow their horns furiously at anything that moves, they wait patiently for the cows to finish their business. Perhaps we have discovered the real purpose of having many cows. The cows of India are the equivalent of city dumps in other countries. The cows are eating the garbage which is randomly collected in dust bins, or just thrown at the roadside. They start with the plastic bags (the average cow in India has 20 kg of plastic in their stomachs – slowly dying from this) , and then devour and regurgitate the rest of the trash. If you think the milk in India tastes a bit odd, you know why…
About 40 km west of Jaisalmer, the real sand dunes start. The most popular spot to experience the real sand dunes is at the village of Sam. We found that place to be a mess, with irresponsible tour operators sending in hundreds of tourists every day, but leaving all the empty water bottles and garbage among the sand dunes. The garbage situation in all of India is really a major problem. We left Sam and the main road, driving straight out into the desert in really tough terrain. We wanted to try to find untouched sand dunes, far away from the tourists. After a few very challenging and fun kilometers we had to stop as the sun was setting. The noise from our engine disturbed some gazelles that ran away at full speed. A full moon rose and we did not need any lights as we were having dinner in our lovely bush camp. Suddenly a voice was greeting us. A man came riding on a camel. He had heard voices and thought that some ghosts had ventured into the desert. Bravely he decided to investigate the nature of the ghosts (four blond kids with parents and a red car with a rooftop tent). We talked a little, and the man offered to return the next morning to take us by camel to some untouched sand dunes. We happily accepted.
The next morning we woke up to the sound of farting camels.
Our first interaction with the deep sand of the Great Thar Desert was when we got stuck in soft sand while trying to find a good bush camping spot. The whole family took turns digging us out. After half an hour we were on firm sand again and could camp under the stars. The Milky Way was very bright. The temperature fell quickly that night, from 25 degrees at sunset to only 4 degrees at night. Those extra blankets we bought in Pakistan came in handy.
We continued to Jaisalmer and walked through the narrow alleys of the old town which is surrounded by a fortified sandstone wall with 99 bastions. There are many Jain temples in Jaisalmer, and of course many cows. This holy cow thing is really very strange in India. The cows can do what the want. Most of all they seem to enjoy standing in the middle of the street, and while Indian drivers will blow their horns furiously at anything that moves, they wait patiently for the cows to finish their business. Perhaps we have discovered the real purpose of having many cows. The cows of India are the equivalent of city dumps in other countries. The cows are eating the garbage which is randomly collected in dust bins, or just thrown at the roadside. They start with the plastic bags (the average cow in India has 20 kg of plastic in their stomachs – slowly dying from this) , and then devour and regurgitate the rest of the trash. If you think the milk in India tastes a bit odd, you know why…
About 40 km west of Jaisalmer, the real sand dunes start. The most popular spot to experience the real sand dunes is at the village of Sam. We found that place to be a mess, with irresponsible tour operators sending in hundreds of tourists every day, but leaving all the empty water bottles and garbage among the sand dunes. The garbage situation in all of India is really a major problem. We left Sam and the main road, driving straight out into the desert in really tough terrain. We wanted to try to find untouched sand dunes, far away from the tourists. After a few very challenging and fun kilometers we had to stop as the sun was setting. The noise from our engine disturbed some gazelles that ran away at full speed. A full moon rose and we did not need any lights as we were having dinner in our lovely bush camp. Suddenly a voice was greeting us. A man came riding on a camel. He had heard voices and thought that some ghosts had ventured into the desert. Bravely he decided to investigate the nature of the ghosts (four blond kids with parents and a red car with a rooftop tent). We talked a little, and the man offered to return the next morning to take us by camel to some untouched sand dunes. We happily accepted.
The next morning we woke up to the sound of farting camels.
After breakfast we boarded the ‘ships of the desert’. Nina, Temba and Atlas rode on Patang. Ola, Tinna and Disa rode on Raket. After half an hour we came to some beautiful dunes. No garbage. No human footprints. We struggled to stay on the camels when ascending the steep dunes, and then again when the camels folded their legs like a Swiss army knife and lay down on the sand. 
Then we played among the pristine sand dunes until we were completely exhausted. The kids led the camels down from the dunes, and then we rode back at a leisurely pace to the car. It had been a great morning and we felt very lucky to have met Romer and his camels in the middle of the desert. 
7-10 December – Pushkar and Jodhpur, India
Pushkar seems to be very popular with tourists, but it was perhaps not our kind of place. We are probably not spiritual enough to appreciate the many hundred Hindu temples, the dirty lake (very holy) or the many gurus (beggars) who claim to offer Western tourists the key to inner peace. But we will always remember the cacophony of the many wedding parties going on that night. There is no lack of loudspeakers in Pushkar... 
We continued to Jodhpur and spent a few days there. We camped in a beautiful garden next to a noble villa turned hotel. Disa had come down with a stomach infection, so we rested most of the time. But Nina and Temba visited the Meheranghar Fort which sits on a 125 meter high cliff in the middle of the city. Jodhpur is called ‘the blue city’. Some people say that the special blue color of the houses helps to keep the mosquitoes away. Anyhow, the view from the fort is very blue. And both Nina and Temba had their fortunes told by a man who was presumably and expert at reading the palm of your hand. Temba was very fascinated by this experience.
We continued to Jodhpur and spent a few days there. We camped in a beautiful garden next to a noble villa turned hotel. Disa had come down with a stomach infection, so we rested most of the time. But Nina and Temba visited the Meheranghar Fort which sits on a 125 meter high cliff in the middle of the city. Jodhpur is called ‘the blue city’. Some people say that the special blue color of the houses helps to keep the mosquitoes away. Anyhow, the view from the fort is very blue. And both Nina and Temba had their fortunes told by a man who was presumably and expert at reading the palm of your hand. Temba was very fascinated by this experience.
5-6 December – Jaipur, India
Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan, one of India’s most fascinating states. We read that Rajasthan is now the number one tourist destination in India, ahead of Goa and Kerala. We can understand why. Rajasthan is full of impressive forts, old cities, natural wonders, temples, camels and colorful people. 
Outside Jaipur, up on a hill, lies the magnificent Amber Fort. We rode up to the fort on elephants – definitely a highlight on our journey so far. The elephant carrying Nina, Temba and Tinna got a head start and the elephant carrying Ola, Disa and Atlas had difficulties catching up. It was a close race, and it ended in a draw.
At the top, the kids were allowed to pat the huge elephants.
After exploring the labyrinth structure of the enormous Amber Fort we headed back to Jaipur.
We camped at a beautiful ‘haveli’, a summer town house for the wealthy which the heir to a noble Rajasthani family had turned into a guest house. Our car was parked next to a Shiva temple and it was very interesting to see all the religious ceremonies carried out to please the demanding goddess. It is hard work to keep Hindu gods happy and benevolent.
Jaipur is called ’the pink city’. Apparently the whole city was painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales. Strange, but nice for today’s tourists. One of the nicest buildings in the city is the Hawa Mahal where the noble ladies could sit and watch city life from behind the lattice screens.
Outside Jaipur, up on a hill, lies the magnificent Amber Fort. We rode up to the fort on elephants – definitely a highlight on our journey so far. The elephant carrying Nina, Temba and Tinna got a head start and the elephant carrying Ola, Disa and Atlas had difficulties catching up. It was a close race, and it ended in a draw.
At the top, the kids were allowed to pat the huge elephants.
After exploring the labyrinth structure of the enormous Amber Fort we headed back to Jaipur.
We camped at a beautiful ‘haveli’, a summer town house for the wealthy which the heir to a noble Rajasthani family had turned into a guest house. Our car was parked next to a Shiva temple and it was very interesting to see all the religious ceremonies carried out to please the demanding goddess. It is hard work to keep Hindu gods happy and benevolent.
Jaipur is called ’the pink city’. Apparently the whole city was painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales. Strange, but nice for today’s tourists. One of the nicest buildings in the city is the Hawa Mahal where the noble ladies could sit and watch city life from behind the lattice screens.
4 December – Fatehpur Sikri, India
A couple of day’s camel riding west of Agra is Fatehpur Sikri. In the 16th century it was constructed as the new capital of the Mughal Empire. However, due to water shortages the city was abandoned after only 14 years. This means that the palaces are extremely well preserved to this day. The most impressive structure is perhaps the 54 meter high Victory Gate which is the entrance to the huge Jama Masjid mosque complex. 
We strolled around the Jama Masjid and the royal palaces for a few hours, impressed with the fine stonework and the mixed Indo-Islamic architecture.
We strolled around the Jama Masjid and the royal palaces for a few hours, impressed with the fine stonework and the mixed Indo-Islamic architecture.
2-3 December – Agra, India
On our way out of Delhi we saw the Qutb Minar, an impressive minaret from the 12th century. It is 73 meters high and very well preserved. 
The next destination was Agra, a chaotic and pulsating city filled with poverty. Our first stop was the massive Agra Fort, built during the 16th and 17th centuries by the Mughal dynasty.
From the fort we had our first glimpse of Taj Mahal across the river. But the smog was so thick that we could hardly see the Taj.
We continued to Taj Mahal, a spectacular mausoleum which the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built (together with 20,000 workers) for his second wife Mumtaz Mahal. She died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. The Taj is built from white marble with delicate inlays of semiprecious stones. It took more than 20 years to build and the result is still fantastic 350 years later. We had high expectations, and were prepared for a disappointment. However, we were truly impressed with the mausoleum and the surrounding gardens and buildings. This is really a highlight of any trip to India.
The next destination was Agra, a chaotic and pulsating city filled with poverty. Our first stop was the massive Agra Fort, built during the 16th and 17th centuries by the Mughal dynasty.
From the fort we had our first glimpse of Taj Mahal across the river. But the smog was so thick that we could hardly see the Taj.
We continued to Taj Mahal, a spectacular mausoleum which the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built (together with 20,000 workers) for his second wife Mumtaz Mahal. She died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. The Taj is built from white marble with delicate inlays of semiprecious stones. It took more than 20 years to build and the result is still fantastic 350 years later. We had high expectations, and were prepared for a disappointment. However, we were truly impressed with the mausoleum and the surrounding gardens and buildings. This is really a highlight of any trip to India.
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