Diving in Similan Islands, West Coast of Thai

Going on a liveaboard trip of 4 days and 4 nights was one of the best decisions I took so far in my trip. The itinerary was mainly Similan Islands, Koh Bon and Richileu Rock; the first three days we did 4 dives a day and on the last one 2 dives. The instructors and crew onboard were awesome, the food was equally amazing and the boat itself very comfortable.

The first dives we did in Similan Islands and I had never seen such a perfect visibility as that. The nature there and the coral reefs are still well preserved and the variety of sea life, especially “small things”, is huge. After that we moved north towards Koh Bon and did a night dive, which was also amazing – well, these are my favourite! 

Koh Bon was one of the sites where we would be able to spot the manta rays and whale shark, but they didn’t show up that day. L That’s ok; it didn’t make the dives any worse to be honest.

After that we kept moving north and our next dives were in Richelieu Rock, site discovered and named by Jack Cousteau when a fisherman took him there. The dives we did there were the best I believe; once again not due to any huge creature spotted, but for the diversity of sea life, all so colorful and working in perfect harmony.

Well, better than my words I will leave some pics, which will speak by themselves. The photos taken underwater were made by another diver and one of the instructors onboard.

Bye bye India…

Well, my visit to Varanasi and Kolkata had to be a bit short as I already had a flight booked to Thailand and Rishikesh had kidnapped my heart for more than 20 days J

Even though I only stayed in Kolkata for two and a half days, it was really good and enough to give me a little taste of it. It’s one of the places in India which I would love to come back and spend some more time if possible. I cannot forget to mention that this experience wouldn't be the same without my amazing couch surfer and his lovely family, so here is my THANK YOU to Supratim. He didn't only hosted me but have been helping with info of what to do, how do get to places, his wife cooked some amazing Indian meal for us and he spent pretty much one full day driving me and some other couch surfers around; we went to visit a surrounding area where locals grow sugar cane rice and some other products; after that we all went to see a temple; and finally in the afternoon we went to the university road which is worth a visit.  Thanks again friend!

 Victoria's Memorial

Dinner offered by Supratim and his family 

Sacred Varanasi

Yesterday, Dec 11^th, during the evening, I went to the Manikarnika Ghat (burning Ghat) to spend some time and write; ended up meeting an Indian guy who’s been offering me stuff all the time. After not being successful on developing any business with me, he started telling me a bit about the ceremonies, the cremations, what and how things happen there according to their religion and tradition. After this he told me to go with another guy, who would lead me through the fires and explain even better how it works. All without any cost, just a donation at the end to help people who live in few buildings around that area, old and sick people without family awaiting for death. Well, everything went well, apart from the money things which, at the end, came with some pressure as I expected since the beginning.

Well, he started telling me about the discrimination existent even when death comes. Different castes are burned in different areas of the ghat, very close to the river the low caste people’s bodies are burned; then a bit further up middle class; and all the way up the high class, the Brahmans. During very high tides, as it was used to happen in the past, when the water would cover all the steps, then all the bodies would be burned on the same area where currently only high caste people make their cremations.

 Daily they burn from 300 to 400 bodies and each of them needs from 200 to 300kg of wood, which will determinate the cost of the ceremony together with the type of wood chosen. High castes might want to use the very special sandal wood, which costs up to 3000Rs (almost 50 Euros) per kg! Nevertheless it’s usually mixed with some other qualities to reduce the cost of the ceremony. And even though there are many different kinds of threes used for that finality, they all must to be oily, which avoids the bad smell in the air caused by burned meet, hair… and indeed it doesn’t smell that bad.

Walking through the many cremation fires the temperature goes really high and the smoke irritates the eyes very much. The bodies are exposed and it’s possible to see its skin wrinkling due to the fire; it takes around 3hs until it’s completely burned. The heap and the cheats bones are quite strong and not fully consumed by the fire, so when fire goes off they search for these two leftovers and throw into the river; then it’s mother ganga’s responsibility!

On the main building of that ghat there’s what’s called “permanent fire”, which’s been burning nonstop for the last 5000 years!!! Yes, that’s what they say and believe! Apparently that fire was started by Shiva to cremate his first wife’s body, Shakti. Nowadays that flame never goes off and it’s daily used to start every single cremation.

Well, it’s a quite intense experience seating there and watch the scene for a while. Dozens of animals and their poop all over, hundreds of people, tea stalls, tourist boats on the water around that area, some other boats parked loaded with wood to supply the wood business and so on. Around the area animals and people bath in the sacred water of the ganga and also wash their cloths. The sky shares space with the constant smoke release and the kites of the children playing by the river. This whole context holds place for hundreds of ceremonies every day, it’s where the Hindu families come for the last goodbye to their beloved who passed away. It’s beautiful though to see that there are not many sad faces around there as it would happen in our western cultures. Probably because, according to their religion and beliefs, being cremated by the Ganga is the way to reach the nirvana. Who knows!

Sunrise boat trip along the Ganga

Burning Ghat

Coconut land, Kerala!

From Hampi the next destination was “somewhere” in Kerala. Already on the train we made the way south by train via Guntakal and after checking some stuff on the travel guide decided to get off in Kochi. Thus it would be possible to have a look on the coast, have some coconut water and after take a boat to cruise around the backwaters.

The train was slowly getting emptier and emptier when we finally realized that we missed the stop and Kochi had already been left behind, more than 200km at that stage. It was a moment to review the plan and decide that Varkala would be an appropriate plan B. Thus, after 25hs on that train we got off there and explored a bit the area.

It was a massive shock arriving in Kerala after all I had seen about India. The state is clearly more developed than the other areas and the tourism completely different. Most of it is organized on packages and costs much more than everywhere else. Basically I felt like I had lost the freedom of going around on my own and discover places.

Varkala specifically, is a very tourist town and 4 out of 5 signs on the streets will mention Ayurveda medicine/ massage. Even if you wanna do some massage it’s pretty hard to decide where, because it became a huge business and I had the feeling that all of them were simply money oriented. To be honest the massage I tried wasn't nice at all.

Well, to keep going, after few days Kollam was the next stop in order to get the ferry towards Alleppey which takes in total 8hs. We decided to stop on the way to check Ama’s Ashram, the famous Hug Guru. Once again, I was glad for the experience but a bit disappointed with the place; the energy there didn't make me feel comfortable, the way that her disciples treat her as a living God was too much for me.

Day after, on board again! Now to complete the journey to Alleppey  which is known as the Indian Venice. I don’t really agree with it and to avoid being negative, prefer to say that everyone should go and check it out with your own eyes. It’s worth to say that the journey on the ferry is very beautiful, the backwaters are something unique and the landscape is gorgeous!

From the Indian Venice the next stop was Kumilly, where there are many tea and spice plantations and also a well known wildlife sanctuary. To sum up, once again the tourism is very well organized and became a rip off in my opinion. A lot of fancy resorts and brand new private buses going around with hundreds of tourist; I felt l was anywhere else but not India. After that we had the sensation that we had enough of Kerala and it was time to move on, search for some nature and chilled place.

 Backwaters of Kerala from the boat.

Kumilly - View from the mountains.

Heading South

After a while without any news here, wanna catch up and write a bit about my way from Gokarna to Hampi, Kerala and so on. Here we go!

After an awesome stay in Gokarna and a night without much sleep on one of those sleeper buses – I’ve never been lucky on those sleepers – my amazing friend Dinah and I arrived to Hampi early in the morning. Leaving the bus we met Balasz, who was also in the same bus as we were and became a friend. Good times! J

I had heard great comments about Hampi even before coming to India, and after being here the same from many other travelers. Once someone told me that when one arrives in Hampi, will be sure that God exists. In my case, particularly, I already believed in God before going there, nevertheless the place is unique; indeed the creator was really generous when planned that place.

The energy of the town itself creates a perfect environment where one can spend days and days even without doing any tourism, just watching the mountains, the river… But of course that it’s worth to go check some of the many tourist attractions, such as the ruins, the lake and the area around it, the hanuman temple for an amazing sunset, say hi to the elephant Lakshmi at the temple – and maybe even see her taking a bath in the river if you are lucky, I wasn’t.

Ah, it’s nice to mention that renting a bike was one of the best things we did, because it gives you freedom to make your own schedule and makes it possible to visit most of the places you want.

Well, fully recommend the place; it’s definitely a must in India!

 Balasz and Dinah - Sunset around Hanuman Temple

 View of old market and temple

 Ruins. Many mountains surround the town and the rocks seem to have been put one by one there, unbelievable! 

 The lake is an amazing spot for a bath!

 Sunset from Hanuman Temple. Be prepared for a good walk up the stairs and hide the bananas if the intention is not feeding the monkeys! ;) 

Magic Gokarna

From Calangute - Goa, I took few local buses and one train to arrive in Gokarna. Leaving the rail station already met Lorenzo, Italian guy who had been in town once before and, therefore knew a little bit about the area. Thus we headed straight to the guesthouse he had stayed before, in Kudle beach.

It was a magical arrival; just my first moments in “Ganga guesthouse” and I had met such an amazing people; first Angela, then Astrid, Dinah, Maya and their whole awesome crew. Good vibe that made me feel so happy and surprised! Not enough?! Alright, there more to come! The guesthouse itself was located on the beginning of the beach, just on the rocks. What means that I would go to bed hearing the sound of the sea!

Dinner time! We all ended up eating in the restaurant attached to the guesthouse and I had an amazing cashew curry. That was also a good opportunity for me to know a bit more about my new friends, their stories and next destinations in India. And as usual, there was India connecting people! I mentioned my intention of going to Hampi on the next days and the need of a partner (s) for this mission. Immediately the smiling Dinah joined it and made me so happy!

The day after I got to know a bit more about the town and its attraction, such as the huge holy bull, holy spring water, the 150 rupees hammocks and the Prema Restaurant – they prepare amazing food, shakes, juices, everything there is perfect! Specially the Papaya Pulp with ginger, lemon and mint.

Third day in Gokarna and we decided to make a fish barbecue in the beach. We bought 5 small fresh tunas in the morning and prepared them - on a Indian style, with masala, species lime, salt – at night on the beach. Great moment with good food and beautiful company!

Ah, almost forgot to mention that I was finally introduced to the Bhagsu cake, which here is called Kudle Cake. It’s exactly the thing with different name according to witnesses. I do have to agree that the cake is amazing. Crunch base, condensed milk in the middle and chocolate on the top, then taken into the freezer for a while and ready to be eaten!

Well, only good things to remember about this magic beach. It was definitely one of the places where I could get stuck for weeks or months maybe. Once again it wasn’t easy to leave, but I felt that Hampi was already waiting for me…

Go GOA!

Finally reached the west coast of India and could and give myself the chance of tasting the sea food I love so much, spend days and days on the beach, and have some coconut water, basically perfect life!

Such a small state compared to other areas of India, Goa is full of energy and people, local tourists mixed with a lot of foreigners makes of this place a comfortable house for everyone. Along its coast of a bit more than 100km there are a large variety of beaches and one of them will enchant you!

Ah, before continue with my Goan journey wanna make a pause and mention that during the last three weeks had the perfect company of the German couple, Raffa and Mona. We’ve been sharing a lot of time together, stories, food, rooms… Amazing time, great people!

Now, will go back to Goa! Our first step into Goa was in Calangute, very busy beach, with a lot of shops, restaurants, bikes to rent, fruit and fish market and so on! Here we had a massive support of Ali, who opened the doors of his house for us to surf his couch. Great person who loves life and know how to enjoy the best of it! My sincere thanks brother Ali!

Calangute was our base during our stay in Goa and from here we rented motorbikes to go around the coast and have a little taste of different places. First we headed north and spent two nights in Arambol, calm, beautiful and musical beach. I, particularly, would like to spend at least few weeks there. We had beers on the beach, massive and colorful breakfasts with fresh local fruits, warmed up the nights with fire, had a lot of time to enjoy some good books, Raffa writing his lyrics.

After that we went south and visited few places, and out of all of them I liked most Agonda, which was very special to me. As the season is just starting, there are not many tourists, nice and cheap bungalows facing the beach, good local good and, as usual, a lot of ice cream! Once again wished I could stay there for maybe a month or more! Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have this feeling for many places while traveling around India, thus, not even a whole year would be enough here!

I wish I could bring with me all the nice and special people I meet on the way, but it’s not possible; so finally had to say bye to Raffa and Mona, what made me feel a bit sad to be honest. Nevertheless we all are in a big and beautiful mission, discovering new places and cultures. So while I’ll keep heading south towards Kerala, this amazing couple will soon fly to Iran and some other countries before going back home. Would love to talk about their amazing trip, all the stories I heard about countries and experiences they had, but would need to write a book then! Hehe Have a great journey my friends!

Peace!