We really enjoyed our luxury executive chair train seats (the bathroom had toilet paper, soap and a hand dryer!!). We were deep in the brain fog stage of the sickness from Mumbai so with the additional chaotic energy from our earlier train mishaps we were in a crazy mood. The train ride was a 6.5 hour journey and we didn’t write any blog posts, read any of our books, or do anything productive. 

By this point we were no longer bedridden with constant trips to the toilet, however we were still in a bad way. Neither of us had an appetite and we still needed urgent trips to the bathroom semi regularly. On our first night in Aurangabad we forced ourselves to eat some steamed rice with a bowl of yoghurt for dinner in the hopes that it would help our poor stomachs.

Aurangabad was a bit of a detour for us as we had to go inland to get there, and to get to our next destination we would have to backtrack on a bus. So what were we doing in this hot and arid city in the middle of India?? While we were in Sri Lanka I had loved visiting some of the ancient Buddhist cave temples such as the Dambulla caves. I had heard about some of the earliest and most incredible Buddhist cave temples in the world known as the Ajanta and Ellora caves located in the hills surrounding Aurangabad. So we had two days allocated to exploring these special places in 40°C temps while still suffering from the shits. It was going to be a real test of our resilience, and hopefully still an enjoyable experience.

We visited the Ajanta caves on the first day. It was an early start at 5am as the taxi from Aurangabad takes about 3 hours each way. We met another couple from our hostel who split the cost with us which helped. The Ajanta caves are a valley of 30 rock-cut caves dating back to around 200 BC. They were once home to thousands of Buddhist monks, who used the caves as a monsoon retreat. Some of the caves still include remnants of mural wall paintings depicting the life of the Buddha. Some of the caves are huge and intricately carved on the inside. It is so hard to imagine the time and effort required to chisel these caves out of the rock by hand. The time of year we visited was not the best as it was extremely hot and dry so the valley was very dead looking. After the monsoon the whole valley comes alive with a lush jungle and waterfalls cascading over the caves.

We spent the following day at the Ellora cave complex which is about an hour's drive from Aurangabad. To be honest, I knew less about these caves and didn’t really know what to expect when we arrived other than the famous Kailasa temple which is on the 20 rupee note. Safe to say this temple alone completely blew our minds. It is the largest monolithic rock structure in the world. As well as this, the entire temple was carved from the top down and is over 30m high, 90m long and 50m wide. An estimated 200,000 tons of rock were removed by chiseling downwards. It has multiple levels with bridges, towers, balconies and life sized elephant statues. Inside the central part of the temple some of the paintings from Hindu mythology are still visible, and carvings of gods are visible everywhere. The temple was constructed around 750 CE and likely took around 100 years and many generations of carvers and laborers.

Over an hour had passed by while we were exploring this incredible temple when we remembered we still had 30+ caves to explore. So first we started with the 12 Buddhist caves, which were similar to the Ajanta caves, however more recently built. The next 17 caves were Hindu caves, some of which were enormous multi-storied complexes filled with intricate stone sculptures of Hindu gods. Last but not least, there was a section of Jain caves which were some of the first Jain temples we have seen. Something I really loved about the Ellora caves is how three separate religions coexisted in the same area. It is common to see temples desecrated when a different religious group arrives in the area, but at the Ellora caves this was not the case.

Now don’t forget we were both fighting a nasty stomach bug this whole time, so there were many quick visits to some very gross public toilets (Alice had frogs in one of her toilet bowls). This combined with 40°C temperatures, made it very tough but also very rewarding. I was so glad we stuck to our original plan of going out of our way to see these amazing caves as they really are one of a kind.

If Bangalore was like visiting San Francisco, then Mumbai was New York City. It’s gritty and romantic and confronting and exciting all at once - the sort of city that sweeps you off your feet and spits you out alive, hopefully. We arrived in Mumbai by train in the very early morning and the train ride in as dawn was breaking was eye opening to see the least. It felt like one continuous station through the city, with glimpses into contrasting ways of life. Whole families tucked up on the platform waiting for a train, porters hauling wheelbarrow-like loads of luggage, produce or goods and the early risers catching local commuter trains. There were also glimpses of slums between and around the stations, and apartments and offices up above. So many contrasts. 

‘Contrast’ was the word to describe our experience in Mumbai:

We had both read the iconic Shantaram a few months before our trip, as well as a few other books set in this amazing city, such as Family Matters and A Fine Balance which had left us with a taste of what we were in for. It is important to note that these were all set at least 30 years prior, something we possibly should have paid more thought to. Mumbai was the city I was most excited to visit on this entire trip. I had dreams in my head of the best street food, glimpses of the underworld, Bollywood glamour, tea at the Taj and flying through the city on trains and rickshaws. You know the saying “We plan, god laughs’”? Well in our case I think it was “We plan, India laughs”. We had scheduled five days to immerse ourselves in this city, and by day three we were stuck in bed with what we now think was a pretty serious case of Giardia. But, the two days we did have were pretty epic, and we have some amazing memories from the ‘city of dreams’. 

Mumbai is known for its street food, when you look for a list of things to try in the city it is LONG! We sampled a few of these in the first few days, including Pav Baji, Chaats, Mumbai Street Sandwiches, Falooda, Bun Maksa and more. Pav Baji was a real highlight, it was a warm, rich, thick curry served with buns that are kind of similar to dinner rolls. This was all cooked and served with copious amounts of ghee, and you dip the Pav (buns) in the curry, scooping it all up in delicious mouthfuls. The street sandwiches were also great, using all sorts of delicious chutneys and sauces into a toasted sandwich made in an old fashioned sandwich press. I have always loved Pani Puri, but having it street side here in India is such a treat. Because of the water element you eat it right there on the spot, with the chef feeding you one after another until you tell them to stop! A lot of this food we sampled for the first time at Chowpatty Beach at the end of marine drive. The area was full with street food vendors and big mats to sit on. As you walk in you get absolutely hassled by servers from each stall trying to win your business! We always try to go to the busy spots that have high turnover with locals, and it served us very well in this instance. 

Of course we had to check out a few of the key spots from the famous Shantaram, so Marine Drive and Leopolds were on our list for our first day in the city. Our sunset walk along Marine Drive was a very special moment for me, a total pinch yourself moment. Watching the sunset over the iconic Mumbai skyline along with thousands of Mumbaikers is something I won’t forget. The famous Leopolds Cafe was also a must visit, although nowadays it’s much more of a tourist spot than the beating heart of Kolaba it once was. We still enjoyed being in such an iconic spot, but only enjoyed a Diet Coke due to the wild prices aimed at the visiting crowds. 

We had met the wonderful Komal when we were in Goa, and she very kindly invited us to her apartment for lunch in Mumbai. Something that is common here (but not at all in New Zealand), is having a cook! Komal’s cook comes everyday for lunch, but she makes her own dinner and breakfast. We enjoyed Aloo Paratha at her place avoiding the heat of the day, before going out for the evening. It was so nice to just be hanging out at someone’s house, sitting on a couch and chatting felt like a real luxury after traveling for two months. We ended up staying out until 2 AM, visiting Juhu Beach, a cafe/bookstore, a local Pav Baji spot, a craft beer brewery and then finally, a super fun club! The beaches here in Mumbai are worlds away from New Zealand. You can’t really swim because of the pollution, but they are a place to socialize and enjoy food from local vendors and picnics. There are so many vendors selling everything from balloons to picnic mats to photos with dressed up characters! The craft brewery was a real highlight, the cricket was on so it was busy - standing room only - and I tried a delicious Mango Mead! From the brewery we headed to a spot called Social, and the dance floor was great! Indians love to dance, and everyone was getting down to early noughties rap. By the time we left the last train for the night had already gone, so it was a cab ride home for us.

The next morning was when we started to go downhill. And before you ask - no, we weren’t (too) hungover! This was different. Josh went out for breakfast but I was already bed ridden, and it only went downhill from there. We spent two days almost entirely between our beds and the bathroom, with a quick trip down to reception to pick up some delivered groceries of dry crackers, sprite, potato chips and coconut water. By the end of the second day we were feeling slightly better so we decided to take a short walk to some of the sites nearby to our hotel. We went to the Gateway of India and the Taj Palace Hotel, both which featured heavily in our beloved Shantaram. I had also recently watched Hotel Mumbai, and it was crazy imagining the terror attack that took place here back in 2004. The Taj Hotel was amazing, they had live music in every corner and the most beautiful reception area, pool and restaurants. We were starting to feel like trying some food, so we went to an upscale pasta restaurant nearby, and had some bread, pasta and salad. In retrospect it was far too much for our tummies too soon, but we really wanted to try some of Mumbai’s famous food scene!!

The next day was our departure to Aurangabad, and we found a beautiful cafe for some breakfast. Josh was feeling a bit better so he braved a sandwich, while I stuck to plain toast and curd. This cafe was gorgeous - it looked straight out of Melbourne and the pastries were to die for. Downstairs was the kitchen/chocolate factory/concept store and I was obsessed. I can’t wait to come back one day in full health!!

Now if you read our Bangalore/Hampi blogs, you will have assumed that we had got our act together with trains, leaving us with more time to find the right platform and carriage, especially in cities. Right? Wrong. Once again we left it too late and we were literally sprinting through the Churchgate Station with our backpacks on, still feeling quite sick and on three days of not much food. Maybe it was the lack of energy or the different platform number to what we were expecting, but this time we actually missed our train. We saw it speeding away just as we reached the platform. We probably missed it by 30 seconds. With a stroke of luck there was another train to Aurangabad leaving in an hour, and we managed to get some (expensive) seats. We were in the ‘Executive Chair’ class, which had the comfiest seats, complimentary water, toilets with toilet paper and hand dryers, and attendants who came and served food and snacks!! It was a far cry from the other trains we had taken, and it was just what we needed. 

Overall our time in Mumbai was nothing like what we hoped, but we still had some amazing experiences despite the days we spent in bed. One thing is for sure, we will be back. I wrote Mackenzie a postcard while I was still feeling well, and I said “I can just imagine living here” which sums it up perfectly.

I had heard the stories of Goa being an infamous spot for the hippie counterculture movement in the 60s and 70s. Since then it has continued to be a haven for people seeking peace, love, and freedom, and has been a key spot on the “Hippie Trail”. I was excited to experience this, but also nervous that it would be ruined now by overtourism. We had been pleasantly surprised by how relaxed South Goa was, possibly due to it being the end of peak tourism season.

We met a cool Indian guy called Akshay from Kerala while staying at a hostel called The Hosteller in Wayanad. He was a free spirit whose family have actually immigrated to New Zealand and he is planning to join them eventually but for now is travelling all over India. He was actually staying in North Goa at the same time we would be there and we booked the same accommodation he was staying at. The Hosteller is a common hostel chain in India where many Indian tourists stay. We have stayed at the Wayanad, Bangalore, and now the Goa locations, and have had great experiences at these hostels meeting lots of really friendly Indians. Our friend Akshay has stayed in many of these Hostellers and knows the staff well, so he was able to organise one of the best rooms for us with a balcony overlooking the swimming pool with a stunning view of the beach. 

Our accommodation was at a secluded spot called Mandrem beach about 10 minutes away from the nearby town Arambol which is a super busy and touristic place. It was a really nice beach compared to the surrounding beaches which were much more developed and busy. Swimming in the ocean in Goa at this time of the year is like taking a warm bath. It was the first time in my life where I wished the ocean was colder!! Indians tend to be a lot less comfortable in the ocean, many of them not actually knowing how to swim. We had a real fun time teaching our friend Akshay how to dive under and body surf the waves.

We also made some new Indian friends here, a young guy called Sid from New Delhi and a lovely girl called Komal from Mumbai. Komal has recently completed her yoga teacher training (YTT) in Mysore and is a very skilled Ashtanga yogi. She is planning to start teaching yoga as a side business, and wanted to take some photos on the beach to use for her business. We did an evening photoshoot at sunset with her performing asanas on the beach. Sid, Akshay, and I were all designated photographers while Alice directed the photoshoot. It was pretty comical, but the photos actually turned out great, and Komal thanked us with beers afterwards. Komal had to leave Goa before us as she had to go back to work in Mumbai, but she promised to give us a tour of the city when we arrived that weekend. Staying in hostels such as The Hosteller has proved to be such an epic way to make friends, and it’s nice that the hostels here don’t only attract foreign tourists, but plenty of Indian tourists too

While Goa is the place to go for partying due to the cheap alcohol (there is no tax on alcohol in the state of Goa), the only party we went to was actually a zero alcohol event. We heard about this place called Arambolians which is a community driven venue which hosts new age events like sound healing, jam sessions, singing circles and ecstatic dances. We decided to try an ecstatic dance and although we felt like we might be joining a cult we tried to go into it with open minds. Alice, Akshay and I tripled on our rented scooter and drove about 15 minutes inland to the venue down some pretty dodgy looking dark roads. We were a bit concerned when we arrived, and didn’t really know what to expect. We paid our entry fee and walked into a strange otherworldly place. There were fire pits, hammocks, cushion seats and lots of people with dreadlocks. We had managed to find the remnants of the hippie movement that started here in the 60s. The actual ecstatic dance was a lot of fun. It took place on a large outdoor dance floor surrounded by trees and bushes. The DJ was a young lady playing techno and trance music, and the vibe was super relaxed with children running around as it was a zero alcohol venue. All three of us had a boogie for an hour and a half followed by a meditation at the end. After the dance there was a jam session around the firepit which we watched for a bit before heading home. It was a really fun night and a good reminder that you can have a lot of fun without needing alcohol.

While I really enjoyed Mandrem Beach and spending time with our friends here, I wasn’t that impressed by north Goa. Most of the beaches were gross and extremely overdeveloped, and the towns were full of shops selling super touristy junk made in China. It’s a sad feeling when you visit a beautiful place as a tourist and it has been ruined by tourism. Of course, we are also tourists and are visiting tourist places, so we also contribute to the over tourism. While we try our best, it is inevitable that the money we spend in these places will also contribute to further over development. I can imagine that Mandrem beach will eventually end up just as overdeveloped as the surrounding beaches in a few years time.

Now, to rewind to the beachside in Goa. 

To say I was excited to get to the beach was an understatement. I wrote a list of things I wanted to do during our time in Goa, and my main priorities were:

We stayed in two spots in Goa, each for three nights. The first of these was a quieter beach in the south called Patnem. If you go on Reddit you will find countless posts about how Goa has been ruined by over tourism and the consequent development and gentrification. The South is known for being the quieter end of the state and for being popular with families, long stayers and those seeking a more relaxing (less party) experience. April is also the very end of the season, and we had been warned that it would be much quieter than usual, with some cafes, yoga schools and beach shacks shut down for the deason already. Quiet beaches and fewer people? Sign me up. Our experience in the south was lovely.

After arriving off the overnight bus I skipped the usual nap routine to go to a yoga class I had found online. This was one of the best decisions I have made on this trip and it was the start of something very special. Brahma Yoga School is a family affair. Classes are led predominantly by Mohit, but his dad Prem is also involved in teaching the longer courses, and his mum helps with hosting students and guests. We attended the final four classes in Goa for the season, as from mid-April onwards, the family leaves for a small village called Baghsu, near Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. I left the first class buzzing, and excited to join the classes for the next few days. We went every morning, and gradually got more and more convinced to sign up for the May yoga teacher training (YTT) in Dharamshala. By the final morning we paid our deposit and locked in our spots, already feeling like our practice was worlds improved from when we first arrived.

Starting every morning with Yoga put us in pretty good stead to have some amazing days in south Goa, and amongst hours spent lazing on our local beach, we found some pretty special more secluded spots as well. 

I had found a beach on google maps that seemed to have a rough path down to it, and even a small shack like bar at the bottom. On our first afternoon we thought we would take our trusty rental scooty and give it a try. It was about an hour drive from our accommodation, with the final twenty minutes on increasingly steep dirt roads. We arrived at what we assumed was the car park and walked down for about 20 minutes to find a total oasis. Palm tree lined, golden sand and only two small restaurants serving cold drinks. We parked up on some loungers and spent the afternoon alternating between these and the ocean. The sunset was picturesque, finishing off an amazing first day. We rode home at dusk and were just so happy to be there. 

In classic Alice and Josh fashion, we managed to find some great food while we were in Goa. A cute cafe run by a New Zealander was a highlight, and we spent a few hours lounging here enjoying coffee and some New Zealand music that reminded us of home. We also went out one night with one of the girls from the yoga studio, and had the most delicious BBQ chicken wings! Not exactly traditional, but we devoured three plates nonetheless. We did a lot of our usual heading away from the main tourist area to eat, and had a great Goan thali with lots of interesting bits and pieces. 

We had one not so pleasant experience… a termite infestation in our room!!! I was up until all hours of the morning googling what those dust-like piles were that were appearing all over our bed and stuff… and soon learned they were literally termite s**t! Yuck! Thankfully the management moved us to a new room and gave us a discount, but it wasn’t very fun at the time. 

As I was writing this a bit delayed, I went back through my camera roll to remind me what we did in Goa. My camera roll was surprisingly empty, which I think speaks to how nice it was to have this time just to slow down and relax. Our yoga practice was the cornerstone of our time here, and it set us up for some beautiful, slow, intentional days. 

So far we have been perfectly on time with our scheduled trains and buses, usually having time to kill once we arrive at the station. The overnight train from Bangalore was our first hiccup. We had heard all about the nightmarish traffic in Bangalore, but hadn’t really experienced it ourselves. Of course on the way to catch our train it hit us. I was bribing my taxi driver with a double fare if he could go as fast as possible and he was more than willing to help, running the occasional red light and swerving between the traffic. As I had gone back to our accommodation to grab our bags, Alice caught a scooter taxi and she was able to squeeze through the traffic much easier than I was in a tuk tuk. Safe to say this taxi ride was the most stressful experience we’ve had so far on the road, and we caught some terrifying buses in Sri Lanka 😅 

By some miracle we both arrived in one piece at the train station with minutes to spare, and after paying our driver a double fare we literally ran all the way up the stairs and over platforms 1-8. We were both completely out of breath and dripping with sweat. As we boarded the train it started moving, and we collapsed on to a seat to catch our breath in disbelief that we had even made it. Unfortunately we had boarded in completely the wrong cabin, and had to walk between about 10 cabins before we reached our allocated seats.

From now on, we will be giving ourselves a bit more of a buffer to get to train stations as this whole experience truly sucked.

We added Hampi to our itinerary last minute as we had heard it was amazing from a few people, but we hadn’t really researched the place in detail. We knew it was an amazing place famous for ancient monuments carved from stone, particularly a stone chariot seen on the Indian fifty rupee note. We also knew it would be HOT. The temperature while we were here ranged from lows of 25°c to highs of 39°c. To be honest we struggled with the heat here, and it made me a little concerned about Ragistan where the temperature will be more than 40°c. We spent the afternoons hiding from the sun as the heat of the day writing blog posts and reading our books. The heat made us very sleepy so afternoon naps were also a common occurence. It was nicest in the mornings and evenings when the temperature was more bearable, and the sunsets here were magical.

The landscape here is surreal and unlike anywhere I’ve been before. It felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie, searching for treasure in forgotten ruins from an ancient civilisation. Hampi town where we were staying was nestled between a large sacred river, an ancient hindu temple, and stone cut ruins. The surrounding landscape was with hills covered by huge boulders from which many temples and carvings had been cut. Literally every direction you look you will see ruins and carvings of Hindu god's. During it’s golden era around 1500 AD Hampi is now estimated to be the worlds second largest city at the time after Bejing, and the richest in India. We walked down long lanes of stone buildings which were once bustling marketplaces where pearls, gold, diamond, silver, and other precious metals were sold by the kilogram. 

We enjoyed imagining what life would have been like here at the time, imagining the life of a princess of the ruling Vijayanagara Empire, when the ruins of today were not ruins but grand temples and royal palaces. Alice even asked ChatGPT to generate a short story for her about the life of a consort to the princess at the elephant stables, and it was surprisingly accurate with it’s descriptions. What we would give to be able to go back in time for a day and walk through the bustling markets where rich traders from Africa, Arabia, the Red sea, China and Bengal sold their precious goods.

On our last night here we had a night bus to catch. Before this we decided to walk up the nearby Mathanga Hill for sunset. This was an easy 30 minute walk and clamber up giant boulders with steps carved into them. Hampi is supposedly the birthplace of the Hindu god Hanuman, the lord of monkeys. It is easy to see why, as Hampi is home to many thousands of monkeys. For those who know I have an irrational fear of many-legged creatures, and this walk was teeming with giant millipedes. Usually I don’t mind them as much as centipedes but they were big and there were loads of them crawling around on the rocks. Along with the gross millipedes, there were monkeys, lizards, and birds all around us. It felt like everywhere we looked there was a living creature. At the summit was Veerbhadra temple, a tiny temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. From the roof of this temple we watched as the sun slipped down over the horizon of rocky hills and ancient ruins, casting a beautiful red glow over the landscape.

I’m very glad we decided to add Hampi to our itinerary, it’s a place unlike any other. I would recommend it to anyone interested in history and unique scenery. I could ramble on about the history of this place but I would talk forever so I will wrap it up here. From the arid and rocky desert landscapes of Hampi we are heading back to the beaches for maybe the last time in a long while. We had heard mixed reviews of Goa, particularly advising us to avoid central Goa. So our plan is to head to the more relaxed southern part of Goa for a few days and then spend a few days in the northern part of Goa partying with our Indian friend Akshay who we met in Wayanad. We were both very ready to relax on the beach, read our books, and do lots of yoga!!