A Trip to India

My last few weeks in Dubai, we planned a quick trip to India.

It was my last adventure being with Emirates.

We flew from Dubai to Mumbai.

Maja, Natalya and Pearl

We drove from Mumbai to Pune. A 3 hour drive from Mumbai airport.

I was Jetlagged because I came from Los Angeles the day before. So the drive at night was mellow and I slept all the way.

We stayed in Pune for 1 night

Good morning Pune!

Pune is the seventh largest metropolis in India and the second largest in the state of Maharashtra. It is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the right bank of the Mutha river.

We woke up early to explored Pune.

Pune is a beautiful quaint little town.

Cows just walk freely. You see them everywhere.

Most Hindus respect the cow for her gentle nature which represents the main teaching of Hinduism, non-injury (ahimsa). The cow also represents ghee and strength . Hindus worship the cow.

You will see vendors with weird looking fruits outside a MANDIR (Hindu place of worship)

Inside the Madir I found these gods.

Hinduism comprises three major traditions, Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism, whose followers considered Shiva, Vishnu and Shakti (also called as Devi) to be the supreme deity respectively. Most of the other deities were either related to them or different forms (incarnations) of these deities. Hinduism has been called the "oldest religion" in the world, and many practitioners refer to Hinduism as "the eternal law". (Sanātana Dharma)

Outside the Madir there are different vendors who make these offerings for their gods.

A lady in a traditional Sari.

We were able to go to a local Ashram in Pune.

You have to book ahead of time to explore inside.

We explored more of Pune.

Maja fooling around with our shisha at a local cafe.

We went to a local ashram garden, where you can meditate

We met a new friend along the way.

So after spending the day in Pune, we got our bus ticket to head to GOA.

From Pune to Goa is a 13 hour bus ride.

It is the 1st time I have been in a sleeper bus.

This is how cramped up we are at the sleeper bus.

Since we bought last minute tickets, we got the very last sleeper. Which made me dizzy. So I slept all the way.

Finally we reach GOA!!!

Fun Fact: The State of Goa, with more than one million inhabitants, is located approximately in the middle of the Indian West Coast.

In 1510, Portuguese colonists landed on its beaches and the European occupation lasted until 1961. This western presence for 450 years has strongly shaped the cultural life of Goa, for instance through the traditional catholic events celebrated at the end of the year.

As a consequence, it is a region on its own in India : the Goans themselves feel a little bit like strangers in India.

This situation made the settlement of the first Hippies over there in the mid-60's all the easier. They were looked upon as the new colonists, towards whom the Goans proved as tolerant as they had been with the Portuguese.

We met a lovely German group.

They were backpacking and have been in town for 3 months

I see a lot of people smoking their local goan tabacco pipe. (Sample photo)

We went to see the popular Shiva Rock Carving At Little Vagator Beach In Goa, India.

We stayed across this cool restaurant, where Maja sang and everyone became our friends.

A lot of Europeans came to visit in the 70's and never left.

My all time favorite here is the Arpora Goa Saturday Market

They also have live music. Where people eat and drink around a big tree.

After a night at the market we wanted to explore more the island. So we went to the famous Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika which is located in old Goa which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.

They were selling these candles when you enter the church property.

Inside, the basilica’s layout is simple but grand, contained beneath a simple wooden ceiling. The huge and ornate gilded reredos, stretching from floor to ceiling behind the altar, takes pride of place, its baroque ornament contrasting strongly with the classical, plain layout of the cathedral itself. To the right of the altar is the slightly grisly highlight for the vast majority of visitors: the body of St Francis Xavier himself. The body was moved into the church in 1622, and installed in its current mausoleum in 1698 courtesy of the last of the Medicis, Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in exchange for the pillow on which St Francis’ head had been resting.

It was def. an adventure. I have a few video's to also share, will post soon when I have more time :) If you like to go to a hippie beach then I would recommend going to Goa. A different side of India.

#goa #india #hippie #partyseason