Gokarna is a small village in north west Karnataka on the west coast of India at the Adriatic Sea. The region of Goa is 50kms to the north as its more well known cousin. Pilgrims flock to Gokarna for the many temples and easy going pace of life. In fact the place was packed with Indian Tourists who had travelled far and wide to spend some time here. May is off-season for western tourists although a few lingered.
India May 2011 - Bus ride from hell
We had been warned. Our Irish friend, Maive, explained to us the night before how she would never recommend an overnight sleeper bus for travel around India. She told us of the drivers being notorious for ingesting pharmaceutical speed and living off a diet of whiskey. Taking one look at our bus driver's eyes, you could see he wasn't a healthy human-being and probably fitted into the stereotype Maive described.
We stuck it out a) thinking that our last bus ride wasn't so bad and b) through lack of another option but stick to plan. As we took off in a cloud of smoke, a grumbling diff and very hoarse exhaust - we thought the idea of a sleeper really was really quite good.
We stuck it out a) thinking that our last bus ride wasn't so bad and b) through lack of another option but stick to plan. As we took off in a cloud of smoke, a grumbling diff and very hoarse exhaust - we thought the idea of a sleeper really was really quite good.
India May 2011 Hampi - Stepping back in time
In a blaze of glory, as the bus kicked up a large dust storm signally the arrival of new visitors, "fresh meat", we arrived. Hampi is both a spiritual hub and also a tourist haven. Tour guides and tuk tuk drivers converged on us like hawks smelling fresh tourist blood - something we had been warned of.
We escaped the onslaught with firm NO's to all and made our way to the Shaanti Guest House. Apparently the better place to stay in town, it's jail-cell rooms and basic ammenities were modest at best. Nonetheless a welcome place to turn the ceiling fan on full and close ones eyes after the journey and rest.
We escaped the onslaught with firm NO's to all and made our way to the Shaanti Guest House. Apparently the better place to stay in town, it's jail-cell rooms and basic ammenities were modest at best. Nonetheless a welcome place to turn the ceiling fan on full and close ones eyes after the journey and rest.
India May 2011 - Bangalore to Hampi
Waking up to our second day, we were somewhat refreshed after a real sleep on a flat bed under the cooling flow and hypnotic click-thump-click-thump of the ceiling fan.
After a slow breakfast and chat with the owner in the cool of the verandah of the hostel we made for the nearest autorick-shaw. Two lessons of india here: one, the tuk-tuk and two, bargaining.
After a slow breakfast and chat with the owner in the cool of the verandah of the hostel we made for the nearest autorick-shaw. Two lessons of india here: one, the tuk-tuk and two, bargaining.
India May 2011 - Photos
Go to https://picasaweb.google.com/ajoest/IndiaMay2011# for all the photos from the trip...
This is a combination of both Sarah's great shots and my photos.
This is a combination of both Sarah's great shots and my photos.
India May 2011 - First impressions, Bangalore
After an average flight with Emirates (Hamburg via Dubai to Bangalore) we arrived to a modern Bengarulu airport in a mild heat with adventure in our minds.
I'm travelling with a long time friend Sarah to South India with the catalyst of the trip being to celebrate Avinash's (a mate from business school) wedding. We both came with grand ideas of exploring "Incredible india".
I'm travelling with a long time friend Sarah to South India with the catalyst of the trip being to celebrate Avinash's (a mate from business school) wedding. We both came with grand ideas of exploring "Incredible india".
India May 2011 - Intro
With the news that a buddy from business school was getting married in May, I began to plan a trip to India. Specifically to southern India. It has always been a destination on my to-travel list and what better catalyst than this.
This blog series outlines our trip landing into Bangalore, busing to Hampi, then across to Gokarna, training down to Alleppey and then back to the wedding in Bangalore. All of this happened in two weeks. Sleep was optional...
Our hosts were the groom, Avinash and also Praful, another business school mate. Both were magnificent hosts organising and playing tour-guide where possible. I was lucky to have a great travel buddy - Sarah, a long time friend who wanted to join and helped make it a memorable adventure. Also to join was Frederic from business school. We met a ton a fantastic people along the way.
I hope this set of notes (it may take a week or two to complete!) give you a snap-shot of our adventure. Photos will be posted to picasa and linked along the way.
This blog series outlines our trip landing into Bangalore, busing to Hampi, then across to Gokarna, training down to Alleppey and then back to the wedding in Bangalore. All of this happened in two weeks. Sleep was optional...
Our hosts were the groom, Avinash and also Praful, another business school mate. Both were magnificent hosts organising and playing tour-guide where possible. I was lucky to have a great travel buddy - Sarah, a long time friend who wanted to join and helped make it a memorable adventure. Also to join was Frederic from business school. We met a ton a fantastic people along the way.
I hope this set of notes (it may take a week or two to complete!) give you a snap-shot of our adventure. Photos will be posted to picasa and linked along the way.
Singapore November 2010
Light snow was falling as I boarded a Qantas 747 bound for Singapore. Before take-off the plane needed to be de-iced and prepared for its 12 hour flight across to the small island just below Malaysia and across from Indonesia.
Graff and new friends in Berlin
See http://picasaweb.google.com/ajoest/BerlinInOctober#
It was a dark and cold weekend but kicked off with a night out with work colleagues in Mitte. Then Saturday and Sunday involved checking out Berlin Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg! Berlin is a smorgasboard for the eyes.
It was a dark and cold weekend but kicked off with a night out with work colleagues in Mitte. Then Saturday and Sunday involved checking out Berlin Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg! Berlin is a smorgasboard for the eyes.
Berlin Arrival
So i'm in Berlin. Thanks to Sarah, my old quasi-landlord in Mannheim, I am staying in a place at the top of Schoenhause Allee. Sarah was in Berlin while I was in her room in Mannheim. It's a wg- (wohngemeinschaft - or share apartment) with all the essentials. I'll stay here until the 9th and in the meantime will look for a place here. Once I have a place - i'd love you to visit...
After dropping off the car I rode my bike back up through Berlin-Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. Even on a Sunday evening there are plenty of vegetable shops open, restaurants, bars and considering the weather was quite agreeable today, there were lots of people out.
The energy in Berlin is everywhere. It's powerful...and I hope it rubs off on me as I immerse over the coming months!
After dropping off the car I rode my bike back up through Berlin-Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. Even on a Sunday evening there are plenty of vegetable shops open, restaurants, bars and considering the weather was quite agreeable today, there were lots of people out.
The energy in Berlin is everywhere. It's powerful...and I hope it rubs off on me as I immerse over the coming months!
Stuttgart
Moving out of B6 was a nightmare. Sarah was busy getting her things out while also making the flat livable for me. In the end, as there had no water and very little furniture it felt as though I was camping there. In many ways i'm happy to have very few possesions. When I moved my things, four trips down the stairs singlehandedly got all my things into the car. It took the girls two days and a large Mercedes Sprinter van to take their things!
In the end it was sad leaving the great times of B6 with Sarah, Andreia, Henna, Marie and Christoph as well as honorary guests - Praful, Avinash and many more from our class.
With a full car I went down to Leonberg (near Stuttgart) on Thursday evening. Thursday evening was spent over a few beers with Marc and his friend Armin in downtown Leonberg - a happening place would be an gross misrepresentation! In the morning I also went to Weil der Stadt to visit a sick but happy Laura. I spent the rest of Friday with Marc's dad cruising around on the bikes while Marc was at work. Marc's mother is a mean cook and really won't let you leave the table until you're completely and utterly full. This was a welcome task considering the past few days of "camping" in B6. Nothing like a home cooked meal and lots of Schwaebisch being spoken! We went out on Friday night in Stuttgart which was pretty good - Waranga, Barcode and Mutter's Milch. If you're into house music then Theodor Heuss Strasse is for you. Saturday was touring around and seeing the sights. Klein aber fein = Stuttgart. The Schloss Platz, Koenig Strasse, Markthalle, etc are all nice. I like some of the new architecture in particular the new Museum at the Schloss Platz. After a lye down and another great dinner on Saturday evening we hit the Wasn for the Cannstatter Folksfest. Sadly I didn't have Lederhosen. It's the second biggest Volksfest (people's festival) in Germany after the Oktoberfest in Munich. While it might not be as good as the Oktoberfest, there is no shortage of beer, dancing on benches and dirndl powered cleavages. In fact, it is something that makes Australian drinking behaviour look like kids drinking milk in the school yard. The guys / girls running around with 10 steins with a litre in each (plus the weight of the glass) is impressive. I'm astounded that no one breaks the benches that everyone stands on. Each bench has 5-6 people jumping for hours on it. The heat in the tent (it was below 10 degress outside) was high due to sweating people so much so that the inside of the tent had enough condensation for it to drip water (of course) all evening.
After a lap of the show grounds and a few beers we took off early to beat the crowds to head into town. Marc met some of his friends while I met with Laura and her friends in a Mexican restaurant. There was plenty happening and luckily we could still get into bars. A bouncer in all his wisdom tried to test how drunk we were by asking me if we could speak in English...we got in. Classic Rock was a good bar with plenty of dancing and after-Wasn activity going on!
The only mistake was missing the night-bus which set us back an hour. That being said, an extra hour in the cold to wind-down was probably a good move. Although a Doener was threatened, waiting for the bus didn't seem too long a wait. Marc's mother dotingly picked us up in Leonberg and brought us to our beds to round off a great weekend.
After some strong coffees and a couple of brezels I hit the road again, heading north to Berlin. I had arranged a Mitfahrer (via a online platform for car-sharing) and picked him up from McDonalds. As it was Sunday and trucks aren't allowed on the Autobahns, the traffic flowed nicely and meant I covered the 640kms in five hours or so. I unloaded Clements (a nice guy about to start his studies) in Potsdam before unloading my things in north Berlin and before taking the car back.
What started last week as a stressful week of moving and not really knowing my plans and future finished up being a fun, relaxing and reinvigorating week. Thanks to Marc and his family for superb Schwaebisch hospitality!
In the end it was sad leaving the great times of B6 with Sarah, Andreia, Henna, Marie and Christoph as well as honorary guests - Praful, Avinash and many more from our class.
With a full car I went down to Leonberg (near Stuttgart) on Thursday evening. Thursday evening was spent over a few beers with Marc and his friend Armin in downtown Leonberg - a happening place would be an gross misrepresentation! In the morning I also went to Weil der Stadt to visit a sick but happy Laura. I spent the rest of Friday with Marc's dad cruising around on the bikes while Marc was at work. Marc's mother is a mean cook and really won't let you leave the table until you're completely and utterly full. This was a welcome task considering the past few days of "camping" in B6. Nothing like a home cooked meal and lots of Schwaebisch being spoken! We went out on Friday night in Stuttgart which was pretty good - Waranga, Barcode and Mutter's Milch. If you're into house music then Theodor Heuss Strasse is for you. Saturday was touring around and seeing the sights. Klein aber fein = Stuttgart. The Schloss Platz, Koenig Strasse, Markthalle, etc are all nice. I like some of the new architecture in particular the new Museum at the Schloss Platz. After a lye down and another great dinner on Saturday evening we hit the Wasn for the Cannstatter Folksfest. Sadly I didn't have Lederhosen. It's the second biggest Volksfest (people's festival) in Germany after the Oktoberfest in Munich. While it might not be as good as the Oktoberfest, there is no shortage of beer, dancing on benches and dirndl powered cleavages. In fact, it is something that makes Australian drinking behaviour look like kids drinking milk in the school yard. The guys / girls running around with 10 steins with a litre in each (plus the weight of the glass) is impressive. I'm astounded that no one breaks the benches that everyone stands on. Each bench has 5-6 people jumping for hours on it. The heat in the tent (it was below 10 degress outside) was high due to sweating people so much so that the inside of the tent had enough condensation for it to drip water (of course) all evening.
After a lap of the show grounds and a few beers we took off early to beat the crowds to head into town. Marc met some of his friends while I met with Laura and her friends in a Mexican restaurant. There was plenty happening and luckily we could still get into bars. A bouncer in all his wisdom tried to test how drunk we were by asking me if we could speak in English...we got in. Classic Rock was a good bar with plenty of dancing and after-Wasn activity going on!
The only mistake was missing the night-bus which set us back an hour. That being said, an extra hour in the cold to wind-down was probably a good move. Although a Doener was threatened, waiting for the bus didn't seem too long a wait. Marc's mother dotingly picked us up in Leonberg and brought us to our beds to round off a great weekend.
After some strong coffees and a couple of brezels I hit the road again, heading north to Berlin. I had arranged a Mitfahrer (via a online platform for car-sharing) and picked him up from McDonalds. As it was Sunday and trucks aren't allowed on the Autobahns, the traffic flowed nicely and meant I covered the 640kms in five hours or so. I unloaded Clements (a nice guy about to start his studies) in Potsdam before unloading my things in north Berlin and before taking the car back.
What started last week as a stressful week of moving and not really knowing my plans and future finished up being a fun, relaxing and reinvigorating week. Thanks to Marc and his family for superb Schwaebisch hospitality!
Helmet rules in Australia
In response to this article posted by a friend Dixie:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/16/2983587.htm
I'm partly in favour of this Dix. True: fewer helmets will mean more people on bikes, true: road safety campaigns do help and true: more helmets means less head injuries per accident. His point, the number of accidents aren't reduced with helmets. They are not a preventative measure, rather band-aid for later. The missing link here is the "driver" and associated infrastructure. Are drivers in Australia aware enough of cyclists? I would argue not. I've been hit several times and had close calls hundreds of times. Though, without a helmet I may not have been here to write this note.
In EU drivers are far more aware of others on the road. Getting a license here is far stricter, the road rules are stricter and for that matter roads are safer; in my opinion. Similarly, the acknowledgement of cyclists in EU has led to a real investment in bike paths which lead to better safety when cars and bikes require co-existence. In the EU many people do wear a helmet even though it's not compulsory.
Let's add the ability for bikes to be taken on public transport and we are starting to build a network for bike users who can travel long distances with public transport and make the smaller connections with their bikes. I think there is nothing cooler than rolling to work on your Holland style town bike or Fixie for the more adventurous.
All our cities in Australia could facilitate this form of transport. Our weather is perfect for it. Roll the leg over, and ride to work I say!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/16/2983587.htm
I'm partly in favour of this Dix. True: fewer helmets will mean more people on bikes, true: road safety campaigns do help and true: more helmets means less head injuries per accident. His point, the number of accidents aren't reduced with helmets. They are not a preventative measure, rather band-aid for later. The missing link here is the "driver" and associated infrastructure. Are drivers in Australia aware enough of cyclists? I would argue not. I've been hit several times and had close calls hundreds of times. Though, without a helmet I may not have been here to write this note.
In EU drivers are far more aware of others on the road. Getting a license here is far stricter, the road rules are stricter and for that matter roads are safer; in my opinion. Similarly, the acknowledgement of cyclists in EU has led to a real investment in bike paths which lead to better safety when cars and bikes require co-existence. In the EU many people do wear a helmet even though it's not compulsory.
Let's add the ability for bikes to be taken on public transport and we are starting to build a network for bike users who can travel long distances with public transport and make the smaller connections with their bikes. I think there is nothing cooler than rolling to work on your Holland style town bike or Fixie for the more adventurous.
All our cities in Australia could facilitate this form of transport. Our weather is perfect for it. Roll the leg over, and ride to work I say!
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