The India-Brasil love saga

While I was in Brasil last year, I kept hearing about a new novella (soap opera) that was going to start - Caminho das Indias (The Passage to India). Even strangers would tell me about it and break into fun conversations about India and its culture. It was heartening and fun sharing my perspectives.



Just today, I got reminded of this, in an article on Rediff by B S Prakash - the Indian Ambassador to Brasil. Do check it out - all that he says is true. The novella has indeed become a huge phenomenon there, and all my friends back there keep talking to me about it.

Its definitely a wonderful portrayal of India (most of it at least, unlike Slumdog Millionaire which did quite the opposite) and Brasilians just love ropas indianas (Indian clothes!), music (my friends love Salaam Namaste), incense sticks (I bought and gifted some myself, in Rio de Janeiro) and the colorful culture.

Like B S Prakash mentions jokingly in this article, it would indeed be fun to have a soap opera about Brasil made in India! ;) Interestingly, there's also another novella running in Brasil currently, about China - called Negocios Com China (Business with China) - Cheers to BRIC nations! :)

Search for Caminho das Indias on YouTube for some videos!

The Pre-Planning

Finally starting to write about my (extended) South America trip. Lets begin from the pre-planning stage. Helps being a designer to create visual itineraries… this is what I cooked up.

Route, Dates and Initial Itinerary

The plan initially was to go through London, stop by and stay with a friend and move on to Brasil > Bolivia > Peru > Ecuador

Route Options & Costs

Made this using a website – I forget the name. Will update this post with it. Fabulous way to map your route, explore flight options and see costs upfront.

Visual Itinerary

This was my favorite piece of inspiration. Before this, the whole trip looked like a dream. Now it had a face. Spent half a day making this, but totally worth it! The dream was taking shape…

Next update: The real itinerary and first week in Brasil!

Updates coming...

I owe all my readers a mega load of posts about my travels. Been writing it down in a physical blog, so will surely upload it all soon (a blog redesign is also on the cards), with photos! Salud, desde Quito!

The Art of Forgetting Things

Woke up pretty late this afternoon – perhaps from the accumulated fatigue and not sleeping properly on the couch last night – Almost 11 a.m. Missed the breakfast again, and I had a bucket load of clothes to wash. Used the fabric detergent Paul gifted me and put the clothes to dry in the hostel verandah.

Karima came along all excited to start the day and asked me to hurry up. We were going to MASP (Museu de Arte, São Paulo) and later to the Ibirapuera Park. After Tori changed some cash (we walked through the Carimaru market first) and Karima helped me activate my SIM card, we took the metro to Trianon MASP. Plans to meet up with Bebeto didn’t materialize.

MASP was a very pleasant surprise for me – firstly, entry was waived off on Tuesdays, so we got in for free – but what I pre-conceived as a boring museum, in fact turned out to be an incredible experience with some of the most exquisite, detailed and breathtaking art I’ve ever seen.

Half way through the museum visit, got a SMS from Bebeto around 1:30 pm “Man, your flight is at 6 pm, not 10! You need to be at the airport by 4!”

Whoa – what a lifesaver! Did my quick goodbyes to Karima, Tori and Paul and dashed off to the hostel. 2:15 pm. Gulped down a Guarana, packed my bags, bid adieu to Tarcisio, Ana, Juliana and my dear friend Husam – and rushed out at 3 pm. Reached Tatuape station at 3:40 pm. Doing fine – and finally reached the airport at 4:15 pm! Not bad :)

Checked in, cleared formalities and flirted with the TACA stewardess.

Had a cappuccino and a delicious sanduiche de frango (chicken sandwich) and was on my way to… Ecuador.

Writing this while having a nice meal of chicken rice with Inca Cola (from Peru) and Johnny Walker Scotch Whiskey. Viva Ecuador!

Forro Night

Woke up after catching three hours of sleep, at around 9ish this morning. It’s raining outside, so I did some quick web surfing, took a shower, did a Skype video call with my family back home while watching the Opening Ceremony to the Olympics. My friend Bebeto gifted me a cool ‘Petrobras’ jacket to keep warm and off we headed to Avenida Paulista for lunch.

Shopping Center 3 – the place was packed with lunch hour rush. Note to self: Next time, come a couple hours later to skip this rush.

While Bebeto shopped for some caipirinha mixer kits, I was busy chatting up the cute chick at the t-shirt store with my broken Portuguese and some hand gestures thrown in. My first inspiration to learn the language well enough to converse with such ivory statues in the future.

Back at the Praca da Arvore Hostel, Ana informed me about Samba/Salsa nite so I stayed in. A tall, dusky, demure woman – Mara Santos taught us our first samba, salsa moves. At the end of it, she threw in a surprise – why not head out for the night and go to a real forro club!

Meanwhile, got an SMS from Bebeto about another party happening at Blue Pub with the CS gang. So I headed there first, met up a bunch of Paulistanos as well as gringos over some great Skol beers.

After about an hour, I joined the hostel gang again and we headed to the forro club – Canto de Ema. What a spectacular experience!

Forro is different from other forms of salsa/samba, in that it uses the ‘symphonie’ instrument and has easier steps. The passion in the dance form is simply beautiful. Met two beautiful girls, one Brasilian and the other Portuguese – both of them spoke perfect English.

While taking a beer break outside, this guy walked in to our group and introduced himself as Roberto – making friends is so easy here! We managed to converse in broken Portuguese and English respectively, but it was good fun. Some more girls joined in. Later I watched Roberto and his girlfriend dancing, and I could bet my bottom dollar, they were the best damn couple, swinging and swirling to the forro music with the most amazing grace I had seen. Ana taught me some dance moves and surprisingly I managed to pick it up pretty well.

The final stop of the night was of course, food! Stopped by an Arabic joint called Habib’s – the best darn cheese and chicken esfihas (think mini, soft pizzas)! Retired at around 5:30 in the morn. What a day!

Day One in Brasil

Reached Brasil (São Paulo) last evening around 6 pm, roamed the airport for info - yellow fever vaccine info and mobile prepaid card. Didn't manage much (not knowing Portuguese sucks!)

I had options of taking a cab to my hostel (R$ 110) or a bus and metro (this was tougher and i would get to learn more, so i took this option) ;) spent just R$30 with this option. And got to see the way locals travel. Nice.

Reached the hotel around 10 pm, checked in, freshened up and made some friends. This hostel was the best decision - beats staying in a hotel any time! Full of young ppl from around the world in dorms (mine is a 10 bed dorm with just 2 more guys) - the other one is full!

So anyways... one of the guys said they were going to the karaoke place nearby (around midnight)...so I went there and joined the ´gang´. Grreat fun! People singing, dancing, drinking (beer is just R$ 2.50 or Rs.70!!!!) and celebrating the birthday of a random girl (everyone here is super friendly).

Today (August 6) is technically Day 1 for me - woke up at 10 (i was one of the earliest ppl to wake up!), showered, ate breakfast (R$3 bcoz i missed the free breakfast... hehe), and I went out in the market to check out things. Bought a phone card for R$5.50 but again, not knowing Portuguese got in the way of trying to get other things done. So I need to brush up on this some more. Much more. With time it´ll get easier.

Now I'm making plans for exploring São Paulo - right now, I'm online to check out flights to Ecuador.

Over and out for now....

Celebrating my 28th Birthday – Viva Brasil!

Sitting at the lounge at the Mumbai International Airport sipping on some white wine, I toast to myself on my 28th birthday – I was actually doing this – going to Brasil and Ecuador – South America ahoy!

As the land of sun, sand, exotica and wilderness beckons me, I am reminded of Paulo Coelho’s character in The Alchemist. This was meant to be.

Next Update: From Brasil!

Goa for the soul traveller

At the beginning of this year I took off to Goa for a whole week, alone - to relax, unwind, think and read at leisure. The 2004 Goa trip to Baga, Palolem and Anjuna with my maddest friends was definitely the most fun. But this one was for me, just to introspect if you may.

So without any specific agenda, I reached Goa by flight from Bangalore.

Baga Beach


A full scrumptious breakfast atop a beach shack, Baga Beach.

I knew I didn’t want to hang around at Baga this time but thought I’d spend the day lazing on the beach anyways and then figuring out where to go next.
Perfect for: Friends. Baga is the BEST beach for a fun time. Clubbing, eating out, shopping or just chilling out on the numerous beach shacks.

(Eventually this turned into an idea of exploring the entire North Goa coastline spread across 1 week + 4 days in 2 months!)

I took a bus from Calangute to Mapusa and switched to another from Mapusa to Arambol. I find it rather weird that Indian local tourists spend more on traveling within our own country (hired cars/bikes) as compared to foreigners – this is evident from the fact that a lot of folks on the bus were foreigners!

The journey from Calangute to Mapusa is nothing much to write home about – it’s mostly inland journey but the local experience is still a lot of fun. After passing through Siolim the ride does get more picturesque though! Just before reaching Arambol you see the beautiful Mandrem beach with it’s own village hut resort. Note to myself: Come back here for a relaxed holiday, perhaps with a lady friend sometime.

Arambol Beach



Aaaaahrambol. Aaraam-bol. Arambowled. Aah-rum-bowl! I’m sure the place was actually spelt as one of these. Because it was indeed a worthwhile journey. Just about enough 'crowd'– not as much as Baga (which is getting worse than Juhu Chowpatty) nor as less as marooned as the Southern beaches. Yet, truly a melting pot of cultures, great beach shacks, a looooong coastline, hilltop paragliding, a rocky hillside you can cross to go over to a secret little lake with a view of dolphins on early mornings – yes children – such a place does exist right here in India! And I’m not even done talking about it.

It was close to sundown by now so I went straight to the beach – What a pleasant surprise awaited me. A gorgeous sunset, no loud blaring music (but some great Prem Joshua instead), a lot of people doing yoga or tai-chi or aerobics and walking further down towards Mandrem – a flamboyant group of musicians who played some aweeeesome music.


Beach Musicians from Kaushal Karkhanis on Vimeo

Perfect for: Solo travelers, hilltop paragliders, light trekkers. The beach mood is 'laid back' and as slow as it gets. No party/clubbing scene

Mandrem Beach

Doted by palm trees, you can’t help but stop by this place if you’re driving along. It’s a gorgeous sight and there’s a wonderful retreat here called ‘Riva Resort’. This is not an activity beach – just a place you can sit back and relax, maybe read a book or get a suntan or go swimming.
Perfect for: Idyllic vacations. Peace lovers. No adventure/clubbing here

Walking back from Mandrem to Arambol I sat down to soak in the sunset and noticed a young couple practicing yoga and having a lot of fun with it – they were literally all over each other in what can be best described as a mix of kiddish playfulness and subtle foreplay! The girl was as ravishingly gorgeous and athletic as the guy was handsome.

The duo was so magnetic and energetic that I couldn’t resist asking them if I could take pictures – they obliged, with a word of caution “Make sure you don’t get her face” the guy told me. “I’m her yoga teacher and her dad pays me for this!” All of us had a hearty laugh. I went back to my sunset and the lovebirds went back to their 'yoga'.



Such an incredible pair, I thought to myself.

The next day morning I changed my breakfast venue from 21 Coconuts Inn to what seemed like a cultural hangout and a favorite of most tourists – German Bakery. Good decision! The place had some delicious food, great coffee, brownies and above all – it was the de-facto meeting point and culture corner for the community. Highly recommended. Just a couple of shops towards the beach there was another restaurant which plays movies while you sip on some beer or enjoy a laid back dinner. Another fun place to hang out.

Old Goa / Velha Goa

I had 3 more days and too much relaxation is not my cup of tea - so I decided to leave Arambol and go inland to discover Old Goa by bus. So I returned to Hallmark Guesthouse in Baga and took a bus from Calangute to Velha Goa. Once again the journey was beautiful - the route flirting with the shoreline on-and-off with visions of houseboats, steamers and little boats making it look almost surreal.



The bus dropped me off near the Se Cathedral / Basilica of Bom Jesus. This is a magnificent structure which houses the relics of St. Francis Xavier's body till date. Just opposite is the Museum which was temporarily closed as they were spraying some anti-fungal and preservative gases all over the place. So after spending most of my time at the Cathedral, I took off for Baga beach by sundown and just strolled around the colourful marketplace. Speaking of markets - the Wednesday market at Anjuna was next day away and I wanted to experience it - made a mental note of that.
Perfect for: History lovers/art lovers

The Long Walk - Baga to Fort Aguada

Before I went of to sleep the previous night I had a crazy idea - I had seen Baga, Vagator, Anjuna, Palolem and now Arambol and Mandrem beaches. Why not traverse the entire length of the coast of Goa?! So the journey began...

Calangute Beach

Once the most popular beaches of Goa, this long beach has now become nothing short of a mela with uncles and aunties going for a swim wearing, well - everything!
Perfect for: Family holidays - fewer babes in bikinis or less!

Candolim Beach

Mostly a foreigners' haunt, I mentally bookmarked a quaint little place towards Sinquerim which was pretty much secluded and nice to walk around.
Perfect for: Couples. Not for a solo traveller.

Sinquerim Beach

I don't know what made me make a decision to walk from the inside road from Candolim to Sinquerim (perhaps the overbearing heat and fatigue) but it was a great decision - got to see Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Villa en route! It's so magnificent from the outside, I'm sure there are a million wow factors inside.
Perfect for: Couples. Not for a solo traveller.

By now my toes had boils but I was determined to reach my destination...

Fort Aguada

On both sides of this 17th century fort are 2 luxury properties - the Taj Village and Taj Fort Aguada. The view was beautiful - a 'U' shaped waterfront with the grand 'River Princess' boat bobbling in the ocean (this boat has been stranded here since 4-5 years apparently). Since it was Wednesday market at Anjuna beach today, the locals asked me if I was interested in a boat trip across to the market. I was tempted, but decided not to spend too much and do a boat trip some other time, maybe with friends.
Perfect for: Toursts for sight-seeing, business/luxury stay.

Vagator Beach



So I took a bus back from Aguada to Siolim and hired a car to reach Vagator beach first (the Anjuna market would still be open for a couple of hours more). I love Flickr coz it helps you find out more about places so easily through real people's photos. I'm referring to a photo taken by Anindo Ghosh which I had seen earlier - a rock carved out to look like the face of Lord Shiva! When I knew it was at Vagator beach I had to go there and see, click it myself.
Perfect for: Rave parties, sight-seeing. Not a favourite for local Indian tourists for stay.

Anjuna Beach



My last halt of a looong, tiring yet incredibly fun day - the Anjuna market was a delight for the senses. Reached there on a hired bike just an hour into closing time. This 'flea market' was started years back when backpackers and 'hippies' would frequent Goa, fall in love with the place and spend all their money. To stay longer, they would sell off their belongings in this flea market. Today it is more of a commercial hub for all types of sellers - local, Indian locals, foreigners making a living to stay in Goa and local street food sellers. Try the mini-pizzas which an old lady sells here. Awesome! And herbal tea which a foreign couple serves in a cafe which seemed more like a melting pot of cultures. Overall I just loved the market experience here. The sunset by the rocky beach was the perfect way to end my splendid day and week-long solo tour of Goaaaah!
Perfect for:Shoppers. No wait, anyone who loves a cross-cultural experience :)

Goa - Perfect for anyone. Can't wait for the season to start again in October!
(I went back the next month with a friend for 3 days - completing the North Goa walks upto Morjim beach. More in my next post!)

My Goa Photos | View as Slideshow | Download HolidayIQ Goa Beach Guide

Postcard from Bhutan

Just back from an awesome trip to the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan - "the last place on the roof of the world" as it is rightly called. Cocooned in the mighty Himalayas, the rich country offered us the best of nature, climate, peace and tranquility - a real feeling of firdaus on zameen. Day T-2 - Getting There (March 01) Entering Bhutan is almost a privilege for any Indian - just carry a passport / voter ID card simply for proof of Indian citizenship and you're welcome to explore the virgin beauty for upto 14 days with a special permit issued almost immediately.

By road, you enter via the Indian town of Jaigaon into the Bhutanese town of Phuentsholing. By air, you could fly Kolkata-Paro or Delhi-Paro thru Druk Air - the only carrier which can fly you to Bhutan. Damages: ~4-5K INR.

I flew down Mumbai-Kolkata-Bagdogra, took a cab to Siliguri and then a 5 hour bus to Jaigaon - all in a day's time! Reaching the border of India-Bhutan by road and standing in front of the Royal Gate was an incredible experience in itself. Stayed in a guesthouse overlooking it. They had an awesome restaurant called 'Vatika' - highly recommended. Room was OK.

Day 0 - Joining the trek group (March 02) Since I had reached a day earlier, the rest of the group (+7) joined in the next day from New Jalpaiguri. This day was mostly just about knowing each other and doing a quick reiki trip across the border to Bhutan.

Day 1 - Immigration, Journey to Thimphu (March 03) The process is fairly simple, and our guide Sonam Wangchuk from our local operator 'Lhomen Tours and Travels' took care of it. It's best to do your bookings with a tour operator before reaching Bhutan so that paperwork is faster and hassle-free. Once done, we headed off to the capital city of Thimphu in a Toyota minubus. The journey was awesome - clean chilly air, breathtaking views of mountains and valleys and random passerbys waving out to us 'foreigners'. Reached Hotel Wangchuk in the evening and settled down.

Day 2 - Thimphu - Gangtey (March 04) Lunch @ 13,000 ft. - drive - stopover at Dochula Pass - Overnight at local farmhouse.

Day 3 - Gangtey - Gogona (March 05) The trail winds up on a slow climb through fields and then ascends the Tselela pass (3400m), which is our lunch stop. Then descends gradually for some time through forests of juniper, bamboo, magnolia and rhododendrons. After the last short climb, reach Gogona village. The people of Gogona were originally nomads and they speak a language called Bjopkha (language of namds). Overnight camp.

Day 4 - Gogona - Khotokha (March 06) Climb up a gentle slope to Shobjula pass (3400m), then down to a wide valley of Khotokha, a summer place of people of Sha (under Wangduephodrang district). Overnight camp.

Day 5 - Khotokha - Chuzomsa - Wangduephodrang - Paro (March 07) Short ascend leads to Mulaila pass (9200ft) then the path descends through an ever changing vegetation till the bridge in Wangdi(Chuzomsa). The trek is approximately 4-5 hours. From Chuzomsa the vehicle brought us to Paro approximately 5 hours. Overnight in hotel.

Day 6 - Paro Sightseeing, Museum, Drukyeldzong - (March 08) Whole day sightseeing in and around Paro with a visit of Drukyeldzong, Museum, Paro Dzong. Overnight hotel.

-------------------------------------- This blog post is a work in progress. Meanwhile, read my travel buddy Shruti's Bhutan notes and do check out my photo-essay on Flickr - arranged by Arts, Animals, Nature and People. Special thanks and mention to my old friend Prateek Deo who has accepted me as his trekking protege and shown me a Life Away From Life!

It's Not About The Bike

3 guys just reached their destination, Haridwar - traveling from Mumbai on a bicycle for a cool 2000 kms! While I can't recollect a single thing I achieved in the last 21 days (the time they took to cover the distance) I'm superhappy for their achievement and promised to join them on their next trip. Yeah, me and my promises :)

Here's wishing hearty congratulations and a fabulous new year to you guys - Prateek, Vinod and Glean. Rock on!

Who are these people and why did they do all this? Check out Life Away From Life or the Google group.

I wanna Fly away!

Via Rediff, Indian Airlines is offering amazing package deals called Flyaway!

The deal is, you pay a lumpsum 'x' amount, which includes return airfare to your national or international destination, stay in select hotels for that period, breakfast and/or lunch, shuttle service and more in some cases. This is quite a boon, (1) for the special rates and (2) for people with no time to plan their stay or reserve a hotel!

So, where do you want to go today?

Panoramic Palolem!

Panorama photo of Palolem Beach, Goa.

Taken without using a tripod, so a bit messy at the center.

Goa Chronicles

En route from Mumbai to Goa, we stopped by at a quaint restaurant 'Kshanbhar Vishranti' - great homely food, packed some for the road.

DAY 1 - Friday, 12th Nov

Reached Goa sometime around 10 am and met our hosts, Shanu & Christopher (of Hallmark Guesthouse where we'd be put up).

Quickly dumped our luggages and headed for Baga beach - a 2 minute walk!

Did an awesome breakfast on the beach by one of the shacks, Antonio's.

After a stroll by the beach and some shoe shopping, I headed back to Baga with Clyde.

Tried some body boarding and realized I almost had to learn swimming over again!

Back to the beach chairs and sipped on some beer at leisure.

All of us then had an early dinner at Britto's which is at the fag end of Baga beach. Clyde showed us the right way of having 'feni' - the local liquor - by burning it on a spoon! Then came a scrumptious seafood platter and lotsa desserts which didn't take much time to get exhausted.

Walked back to our guesthouse and I decided to retire to bed early after all the traveling and the long day. The others wanted to party and headed off to Tito's - the most 'happening' club around. Next day they all told me how bad an experience it was. I smiled coyly. Muahahahaha.

DAY 2 - Saturday, 13th Nov

Since I was fresh from a good night's sleep, managed to wake up the earliest and explored the beach road, most of which was just opening. Dropped in at a German-owned Mubli cybercafe and made friends with the manager there.

The gang was ready in an hour and we headed off for breakfast at Infantaria towards Calangute.

While I was gone there was apparently a big ruckus about our driver from Kent Cars who had gotten drunk and tried getting fresh with our chicks so we fired the guy and were promised by the company of a replacement vehicle and a waiver on payments.

By noon we were on our way to South Goa - Palolem beach. I was initially apprehensive about shuttling beaches and just wanted to chill out at just one. But after arriving at Palolem I took a deep gulp and thanked my friends - this was heaven! Rightly regarded as the most beautiful and virgin beaches of Goa, Palolem was a feast for the senses. White sands, clear(er) waters, a sparsely inhabited island in sight and a fresh water lagoon on the North end. Wow!

We settled down at Fernandes' shack further down North of the beach and had a quick snack before heading off for some fun in the waters.

Nick's devious mind had come up with an idea - to shoot a crazy video of all of us - he even had a hilarious script all worked out, made crazier by the madder minds of Sudi, Swati and Rama. I was the protagonist of the whole thing. Duh. I couldn't even protest! After a lot of masti and madness, we packed up and left back for Baga.

Picked up some desserts n snacks from Tito's - scrumptious bibinca, apple pies and more.

Since the gang had not experienced real Goan clubbing yet we decided to head off to Club Cabana - the haven for party goers in Goa (truly so!) - You can spot Club Cabana from pretty much any location around Baga beach - just look for 3 crazy searchlights which they cast into the sky. Hell you WANNA be there! The place is located on top of a hill - actually a mansion/bungalow converted into a club by the owners - a German couple apparently.

The deal was pretty decent - 600 bucks per person (Wednesday nites are free for the ladies) and an open bar - meaning you can drink all the Bacardi-n-Coke or Peach Schnapps as you can digest. The place was truly awesome - poolside, 2-3 areas with dance floors, 2 open bars and 2 paid bars, massage corners and verandas. My amigos put a bet on me that I couldn't down 10 glasses of B&C. Naturally I won in the end. Most others threw up on their pretty dresses.

DAY 3 - Sunday, 14th Nov

• Waking up early
• Breakfast at Antonio, chatting up Stella, Mubli cybercafe
• Superbreakfast at Britto's
• To Anjuna. The 'Cuckoo Jaws Thoopal?' character is born.
• Anjuna shopping, sharp, henna tattoes, cycafe and French
• Back to Palolem, checked into Fernandes' shack
• Thai dinner and UNO at Banyan Tree, sleeping under a canopy of stars
• Nick's muse, chats her up
• Plans for next day - Nick to shoot another 'planned movie'. I anticipate a no-shoot. Planned vidblogs don't happen.
• Off to bed in shack. Dogs chasing dogs and cackling women won't let sleep in!

DAY 4 - Monday, 15th Nov

• Woke up easy at 9
• Ladies already hit the waters; Nick, Sudi and me follow
• Quick brunch at adjoining shack. Just had some honey toast without honey.
• More beach fun, ladies do more shopping at a beautiful resort with outdoor library (insert name, contact)
• Shack checkout
• Lunch at Dropadi, shopping around markets
• Return to Fernandes, more food n beer
• Kaju shopping in Panaji at Royal Kajuwala
• To Mumbai
• Misty roads, off-track accident. Minorly hurt, all's well. Pathetic journey
• Home sweet home