For Mom, Love Steve

Goa is India’s smallest but most economically favored state. The main draw to the little 100 squared km patch is the beaches which are not only known for their beauty, but also because of the following they draw.

Goa’s beaches are different in that they form almost perfect little stylized zones. Some of the variables used to separate the different communities are the type of lifestyle in which you want to spend your time there. For instance, there are beaches for the heavy party raving crowd with others geared toward the peace and solitude. There are beaches for the middle-upper class package tourist that wants a cookie cutter experience and minimal India versus some beaches where the only accommodations are a bamboo hut sitting on the beach and five dollars a day is easily achieveable. In some places you can dine on five star, and others you have to go to Mama’s hut for any food. Quality of beaches and the condition of the water is also a factor. Alternative lifestyle of the hippie days of old are also a possibility or places where hash is not the main breakfast accoutrement.

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I’m in Mumbai by the way, good guess Dan.

My reasons for cutting off my Middle East quest were pretty much two fold. One, I was kind of getting in a rut with the Middle East (as well as fat). It is interesting, but in reality there is not a huge variation in the culture between the countries. Second, and probably the most influential was the fact that it was getting damn cold, and I didn’t want to buy a jacket.

So, on the ground in Mumbai, my first impressions as India is supposed to be kind of a system shocker. You get a lot of fairly shocking descriptions of India. even to the point that I was a bit nervous about my abililty to get along. People in general fall in love with India, or just hate it. One week on the ground and here are my first impressions.

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Leaving the Middle East to my next destination wasn’t as easy as a bus ride so it came as a big surprise when everything came off without a hitch. I guess it does liken it a bit to what ... [Continue reading this entry]

This plaguerized photo is for Mohammed, his family runs the Safwan Hotel where I stayed three different times. Everyday he asked if I was going to see the Saladin Castle and ... [Continue reading this entry]