Holiday Vacay Round-up: Christmas in Goa

23 Dec 2012 to 8 Jan 2013

WOW. I was gone for a really long time! Now that the Christmas and New Year holiday vacation is over, it made me realize how loooooong I have been travelling. So far, this is the longest on my record - 17 days! There are also many firsts and records in this journey that took me back to Goa in the West, then to the freezing Delhi in the north before I moved further northwest into a more freezing Amritsar (Punjab) and to the relatively pleasanter weather of Jaipur (Rajasthan) in the northwest/central India.

Here's an account of the Goa episode:

Sequernim Beach, Candolim, Goa (north)

Fully booked

To say that my train to Kolkata from Mumbai has many passengers is the understatement of the century. Well, at least that is the case on the sleeper class bogie of Gitanjali Express that I am in.

I should have known it this morning by the very very long line of the passengers queued for the second class carriage or the general or the unreserved class. This was not the first time I saw the line moving and this morning's was indeed longer and more frantic than before.

SRO at night time

Of course, the Gitanjali Express is not dubbed super fast for nothing. It only takes 30 hours to reach Kolkata from Mumbai. Other trains I have checked that matches my schedule range between 32-36 hours of journey from Mumbai in the West to Kolkata in the East. (The hours of course not include the delays which happen with trains often.) I believe this is the reason why there are a lot of passengers in the Gitanjali. It's the Durga Puja season or the Duhserra (Dasara) festival which is widely celebrated in West Bengal, the state of Kolkata, an everyone wants to make it home.

Lost ticket scare

This morning, I was losing my mind as I frantically searched for my train tickets for the East India vacay! How can someone lose five tickets being showed off at Skype just two nights before?! The answer: forgetfulness blamed on stress and lack of sleep!

Ok, ok. Erase the stress part. My stress levels, I believe, is gradually going down as I have completed most of my tasks for YUVA Urban and for VSO and I have already secured my tickets for the five inter-state trains spanning thousands of kilometers and tens of hours on a non-ac sleeper class triple bunk. As Amanda commented on the Indian Rail system, "I'm just so amazed that it works!"

I sooooo love bus commuting

Three hours after I left the centre, I am still sitting on a bus, traveling. In days like this, I miss the overcrowded and dilapidated killer buses ruling EDSA in Metro Manila. For the simple reason that they are available in multitudes, almost 24/7.

It was the first time that I have taken an AC bus from Kharghar to, well at least I though I was heading to, Dadar. After almost an hour's waiting at the train station for the CST-bound train that never arrived, I decided to catch the bus. I actually wanted to take the Thane-bound train then catch a fast rain to Dadar but was advised by colleagues not to do so.

Bodh Gaya: the journey to Nirvana

30 September 2012

Ok. Actually, I just can't think of an apt title at this moment that I am writing this. Hahaha :) But, yeah, you can pretty much say that this post indeed is about the journey of Buddha, not necessarily into Nirvana but in the achievement of enlightenment. Also, this will be about the journey of me, Juls and Amanda as we tried to understand what Buddhism is and how it has began here in India.

my favorite of the snaps at Bodh Gaya:
the "pilgrims" with the Giant Buddha

Hello South India (video version)

15-21 August 2012

Yep, by some miracle and after cancelling my Goa and Bangalore legs, I managed to get over the malaria scare and book a foreign tourist quota (after getting denied twice!) ticket to Chennai, state of Tamil Nadu, South India!

Chennai Central Railway Station

Tag Along Beach and Foothills Weekend - Journey to Revdanda

July 21-22, 2012

Sravan, my CS neighbor and friend, called me up on Thursday asking me if I wanted to join him and his colleagues for their company outing. Since they've already booked the place, cars and all, it will be a shame to not put it into use and not have fun on the weekend. As my social calendar had no entry yet on those days, of course I said yes!

Kashid Beach, Alibaug, Maharashtra

First Alone Time

March 19, 2012

Well, my skin's allergic reaction was getting worse. The tablet and the cream, originally prescribed by the doctor for my neck allergy, was working. I was sure of it since my neck and collarbone area has shown signs of improvement. Unfortunately, I started having rashes on my arms and legs as well.

First Prescription

Sabz Burj: a monument almost forgotten

March 17, 2012

On the way to Humayun's tomb, we saw another monument serving as the centerpiece for a very busy roundabout.

Sabz Burj at the busy Mathura Road

Humps, holes and everything in between

March 11, 2012

After the Jalebi treat, Maeve arranged for rickshaws (aka pedicab in Pinas) to take us from this section to the spice market. The road was kinda bumpy and traffic rules generally don't apply. We were literally holding on for dear life as our driver made its way through the busy streets!

Julie, Angie and our driver

This is either a mosque or perhaps a Muslim
office building (the dome on top made me feel so)

Central Park at Connaught Place

March 10, 2012

After the Nehru Place shopping, we decided it's time for lunch. And, since it's quite a popular landmark, we decided to go to Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk) which is quite a few stops through the Metro. 

Central Secretariat station (or was it Connaught already?!)

We had to change lines through the Central Secretariat, which is like the intersection of three (or is it all five) Metro lines. It's quite a busy station.

Upon exiting the Rajiv Chowk station and heading above ground, you'd really
realize how busy the place is. The yellow and green vehicles are called auto
 (auto rickshaw aka tuktuk). At the background is the Central Park which is kind
of a big roundabout. You won't miss it in any of the Delhi maps. For sure!

Nehru Place: computer and electronics hub

March 10, 2012

Our actual destination for the metro ride was Nehru Place, which is supposedly the IT-hub aka place where you get all your computer-related stuff. We all bought surge protectors for our laptops, gadgets and other electronic devices as precaution against the surges during the power cuts. I got a wireless mouse as well coz I left mine in the Philippines. Total damage, Rs. 800. Ouch!

View from the Nehru Place train station (ISKCON Temple)

Lotus temple, also called Baha'i temple, caters to all faiths

Panoramic view outside Nehru Place Metro Station

First Metro Ride

March 10, 2012

Since we are wandering souls (well, something like that), we decided to spend the day in the city center and busy spots through the Metro (aka MRT/LRT in the Philippines). I think there are five lines of trains (color-coded)  going around Delhi. Most of the stations are underground, like Singapore minus the orderliness, and also has some art in it (again, not as artsy as SG). I wouldn't even give you a 1-10 scoring as compared to the ones we have in the Philippines coz you'd probably just feel frustrated about it.

This station was about 1.5km away from us. There's another,
the one we should have taken, which is like 500m away. Exercise!

My hand looks so long! This is an electronic
token that you tap (upon entry) and put in a slot
(upon exit). Reloadable cards are also available.