Goa - It rained, it poured = 2 books in 4 days

Durand and I headed to Goa for a long weekend, as we had Tuesday off for Janamashthmi — the birth of Krishna.

We had trouble finding a place to stay as the hotels were having monsoon packages. It was a bit overwhelming to find a place. I found Bhakti Kutir with "back to nature cabins", complete with composting toilets. Durand wasn't so excited about the "hippie" accomodation and was checking out the Leela. The travel agent that Durand uses found an Ayurvedic retreat called, Devayaa. It was beautiful, simple. Massages were decent. Food was yummy (despite getting sick).

The ferry

Devayaa Ayuredic Retreat - Divar Island

Saturday: Rain
Breakfast
Massage
Read
Walk around the island
Dinner
Backgammon and cards

Flowers and a house on Divar Island

View from Room #2 - the first looked at the receiving station for the electricity

Sunday: More rain
Breakfast
Massage
Read
Parade - the Carnaval of this island
Dinner
Cards

Monday: Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain
Yoga
Sleep
Sick in bed reading and sleeping
Attempted a walk - emailed
Tour of Panaji/Panjim, Old Goa, Beach (We got surrounded by 30 men all wanting to take pics with us. I've taken pics, but never seen a scene like this.)
Read and sleep

Church in Old Goa

Church on Divar Island

Tuesday: less rain
Sleep
Toast for breakfast
Sleep
Tour of Spice plantation - Most expensive spices: saffron, vanilla, cardamon
Picked up luggage and headed to airport

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Li meet brunch, brunch meet Li

Durand and I introduced Li to our weekly ritual. While we mix up the venue, brunch is a Sunday past time, involving plates of food and wine or martinis (Piazzo). This week we went to a new one, West View, at the Sheraton. It was up on the roof and what a view. Slightly scary, because you could really see the smog, but nice to be able to look out over a large green area and other parts of Delhi. The help yourself part was small: cheese, cold cuts, olives, salads. Then came the ordering of 4 courses. I had beet gazpacho, some marinated vege thing, chili prawns, and then shared tiramisu and chocolate mousse with Li for dessert. Oh and lots of champagne, plus a glass of white wine for kicks. The red was bad. After we headed to the 'Foot Care' massage center for Shiatsu. The massages are decent. Deep, but almost pecking in nature because not enough time is spent. If they slowed down, I'd be very happy. We checked went looking for 'Gandhi' the movie, but they didn't h...

gifts, donations - donations, gifts

I got a great surprise from my friend Marianne in Oct that I've just now cashed in on, a gift certificate to Kiva.org - $25 to lend to one many projects throughout the world. I donated to Malvika Shodieva. The snippet from Kiva's website is below in English and Russian for those that prefer it. "Malika Shodieva is 34. She has a secondary school education and is married with four children. For four years, Malika has been selling Tajik national textiles, which are used to make women's clothes. She has a trading point at one of the markets in Tursun-zoda. With her loan, she plans to buy a new assortment of fabric. This will give local women the chance to obtain the cloth needed to sew their national costumes. There is a demand for this among the local population. Malika plans to repay her loan over a 12-month period. Translated from Russian by Susie Armitage, Kiva volunteer. Шодиева Малика, возраст – 34 года, образование среднее, замужем, имеет 4-х детей. Малика уже в теч...

Mumbai: Sasson docks and colonial architecture

One of my favorite parts of Mumbai are the Gothic Victorian style buildings that abound the southern part. The Lonely Planet has a walking tour, which we followed part of and it can be combined with a trip to Sasson docks, a bustling fishing port, and Marine drive. To finish off, climb up the intercontinental hotel for a view of Marine drive at night when the Queen's necklace is all lit up. Southern part of Marine drive There was so much happening at the Sassoon docks: boats being loaded with ice or unloaded of fish, fish being sorted, haircuts, games, children coming from school, and ice being crushed. It was cool to be in the midst of the hustle and bustle. Ice being crushed Loading ice onto the fishing boats Taking a pause from loading ice onto the boat Getting a haircut on the docks Fixing the fishing nets Squid being tossed off the boat Lady strikes a pose Lunch time on the fishing boat Love the brightly colored trucks ...

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