Namaste Friends!
I had the most amazing week traveling with my friend and fellow volunteer Dayana. Our travels began in Goa and I now understand why so many people travel to India to relax on the Goan beaches. The four days we spent in Goa could not have been more wonderful and relaxing. The hotel we stayed at was a small boutique hotel with great food and service and it was only a short walk to the beach, countless restaurants, and great shopping.
Our first day consisted of visiting the sights and beaches of North Goa. The first event of the day was a dolphin cruise on the Arabian Sea. Dayana and I had so much fun soaking up the sun and taking in the sights from the boat with the wind blowing on our faces (it was 95 degrees most days in Goa!). The best part of the ride was that we actually saw about 10 dolphins.
Day two was kind of a long one because we drove about 1.5 hours to south Goa and while the area is pretty, there is not that much to see there. After stopping at several temples and churches and sitting on a bus for 6 hours we were wishing we had stayed at the beach and skipped the tour. Luckily, the last event of the day made the heat and boredom of the day worthwhile. We ended our last full day in Goa on a Paradise boat cruise that had a dj and dancing. Dayana and I had a blast dancing the night way under a full Goan moon!
I am not going to lie, the best part of Goa was the food and on Friday night we actually had two dinners! After eating potatoes and chapatti's for 2 1/2 months I definitely know how to eat anything that resembles meat or vegetables. On Friday night when we returned from the cruise we got changed and went into town to grab a drink before dinner at our hotel. We ended up at the Jazz Corner watching some great traditional dancing (which Dayana took part in!) and we found cheeseburgers on the menu. We could not resist ordering them because it was the first time we saw beef in India and they were amazing! The problem arouse when we arrived back at our hotel and had the eat the massive dinner we ordered. By the time we went to bed we swore we would never eat again (which lasted until lunch the next day when I went back for another burger!)
We spent our last morning in Goa on Candolim beach. We woke up at 6:30am (late for us) and went to the beach to watch people running and doing yoga before swimming in the incredibly warm Arabian Sea. When it was finally time to leave Goa we were ready to cancel our flight to Mumbai, but since we already booked a hotel we decided to make the trip and check out the city.
GOA Photos
We arrived in Mumbai around 7PM on Saturday to see the city lit up from afar. The city is beautiful and looks like NYC at night and the old Gothic architecture is incredible. Our love of Mumbai did not last long when we arrived at our hotel. The hotel was nothing like the photos and it was not in a very good area so we stayed long enough to find a new hotel (one that was almost 3x as expensive because it was the weekend and everything was booked) and then got out of there. Our second hotel was much much better and it was worth the money to be safe and in a very clean room in a quiet area.
Although we were not in the best of moods because of the whole hotel situation, we woke up early and set out to explore Mumbai. We found a walking tour in my Lonely Planet book and started at the Gateway of India which is right across from the Taj Hotel and on the Arabian Sea. The area is beautiful and it was so relaxing walking around the city and exploring it at our own pace. We found this great cafe on our walk and stopped in for some coffee and pancakes and then went to the Prince Whales Museum (I forget the name in Hindi). We spent about 3 hours exploring the museum, loving all the beautiful artifacts and history. The pieces were mainly from India, Tibet, and Nepal and seeing the overlap in the cultures was fascinating.
After we left the musuem we continued to explore the area and began looking for a place to have lunch. We were having difficulty trying to locate a restaurant in the area so we were standing on the corner with our lonely planet book, definitely looking like tourists, when a women from NYC stopped us and asked if we needed help. She proceeded to direct towards an amazing Thali restaurant and bought us lunch. We could not have been more grateful for her kindness because we were beginning to wish we had just stayed in Goa and she saved the day by showing us around.
MUMBAI Photos
I had the most amazing week traveling with my friend and fellow volunteer Dayana. Our travels began in Goa and I now understand why so many people travel to India to relax on the Goan beaches. The four days we spent in Goa could not have been more wonderful and relaxing. The hotel we stayed at was a small boutique hotel with great food and service and it was only a short walk to the beach, countless restaurants, and great shopping.
Our first day consisted of visiting the sights and beaches of North Goa. The first event of the day was a dolphin cruise on the Arabian Sea. Dayana and I had so much fun soaking up the sun and taking in the sights from the boat with the wind blowing on our faces (it was 95 degrees most days in Goa!). The best part of the ride was that we actually saw about 10 dolphins.
Day two was kind of a long one because we drove about 1.5 hours to south Goa and while the area is pretty, there is not that much to see there. After stopping at several temples and churches and sitting on a bus for 6 hours we were wishing we had stayed at the beach and skipped the tour. Luckily, the last event of the day made the heat and boredom of the day worthwhile. We ended our last full day in Goa on a Paradise boat cruise that had a dj and dancing. Dayana and I had a blast dancing the night way under a full Goan moon!
I am not going to lie, the best part of Goa was the food and on Friday night we actually had two dinners! After eating potatoes and chapatti's for 2 1/2 months I definitely know how to eat anything that resembles meat or vegetables. On Friday night when we returned from the cruise we got changed and went into town to grab a drink before dinner at our hotel. We ended up at the Jazz Corner watching some great traditional dancing (which Dayana took part in!) and we found cheeseburgers on the menu. We could not resist ordering them because it was the first time we saw beef in India and they were amazing! The problem arouse when we arrived back at our hotel and had the eat the massive dinner we ordered. By the time we went to bed we swore we would never eat again (which lasted until lunch the next day when I went back for another burger!)
We spent our last morning in Goa on Candolim beach. We woke up at 6:30am (late for us) and went to the beach to watch people running and doing yoga before swimming in the incredibly warm Arabian Sea. When it was finally time to leave Goa we were ready to cancel our flight to Mumbai, but since we already booked a hotel we decided to make the trip and check out the city.
GOA Photos
We arrived in Mumbai around 7PM on Saturday to see the city lit up from afar. The city is beautiful and looks like NYC at night and the old Gothic architecture is incredible. Our love of Mumbai did not last long when we arrived at our hotel. The hotel was nothing like the photos and it was not in a very good area so we stayed long enough to find a new hotel (one that was almost 3x as expensive because it was the weekend and everything was booked) and then got out of there. Our second hotel was much much better and it was worth the money to be safe and in a very clean room in a quiet area.
Although we were not in the best of moods because of the whole hotel situation, we woke up early and set out to explore Mumbai. We found a walking tour in my Lonely Planet book and started at the Gateway of India which is right across from the Taj Hotel and on the Arabian Sea. The area is beautiful and it was so relaxing walking around the city and exploring it at our own pace. We found this great cafe on our walk and stopped in for some coffee and pancakes and then went to the Prince Whales Museum (I forget the name in Hindi). We spent about 3 hours exploring the museum, loving all the beautiful artifacts and history. The pieces were mainly from India, Tibet, and Nepal and seeing the overlap in the cultures was fascinating.
After we left the musuem we continued to explore the area and began looking for a place to have lunch. We were having difficulty trying to locate a restaurant in the area so we were standing on the corner with our lonely planet book, definitely looking like tourists, when a women from NYC stopped us and asked if we needed help. She proceeded to direct towards an amazing Thali restaurant and bought us lunch. We could not have been more grateful for her kindness because we were beginning to wish we had just stayed in Goa and she saved the day by showing us around.
MUMBAI Photos
We were only in Mumbai for one full day and we left the next morning for Patna, the one place I was determined to go while in India. We arrived on Monday afternoon to our hotel and had both lunch and dinner in our room because the hotel management asked us to (all very weird and we felt uncomfortable). The next day we set out to find St. Xavier's School because I went to Patna to find the place where my Great Uncle, Father Dan Rice was buried. Father Dan was Jesuit Priest and lived in India for about 40 years and died in 1991. I grew up always hearing how amazing he was and all the great work he did in India and that is why I decided to come volunteer here. I was not sure what was going to happen when I arrived at the school and told the priests I was Father Dan's great niece but I was determined to find out where he was buried. When we arrived at the school and found our way to the office it took me awhile to explain why I was there, but once the fathers realized who I was, they welcomed us with open arms.
I don't know what I expected, but I definitely did not imagine that everyone would know who he was and would be so wonderful to us. The priests made us check out of our hotel and let us stay at the school and then drove us around for the day so I could see Father Dan's grave and all the Jesuit properties in Patna. I spent the first portion of the day crying because the stories they told me were so amazing and moving.
After a wonderful day, the priests had a little dinner party for Dayana and I and made signs to welcome us. They made me promise that I would come back in April so they can take me to the villages where he lived and I am in the process of making those travel arrangements right now. I cannot wait to go back
so I can learn more about him and I can take the information and photos back to my grandmother.
PATNA Photos
Love you all!
Allie
This was SUCH an amazing and heartwarming post, Alliecat! I'm so happy that you were able to have such a special time learning about Father Dan. It's like one of your huge Indian purposes was completed, and that's way stellar. I love and miss you!
ReplyDeleteI met Father Dan about 1971 in Patna and visited the village in Sokho also. He was a truly wonderful person. I have some pictures. email is frz bob at g mail .com if you can put that together. Bob
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