Travel reports India 2009-2010, Nov 2010 update on page 3

dannyboy · Post by **dannyboy** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:29 pm

punjab is a cool place.. we stayed in place called flur.. not far from ludihana.. enjoyed delhi.. so many hiden little gems..
Theres this colum of iron that sticks out of ground that can not be dated and has writing on it that no body has seen before.. a very nice place cannot remeber the name at the mo.

Rav320uk · Post by **Rav320uk** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:32 pm

And no RUST either, No one knows why, Went there on a Tour, tipped it down with rain the whole day too.

dannyboy · Post by **dannyboy** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:44 pm

Ahh yes i didnt even think about that .. how true... what a place though

dannyboy · Post by **dannyboy** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 1:45 am

Its called the Qutb complex.. a must if you vist delhi.. you should also try the jantra mantra observertory.

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:22 pm

So here's an update on the latest trip! Since there were only 2 weeks between work and more work we didn't do much travelling. Stayed in Goa all the time and mostly relaxed. Some small trips on the motorbike and lots of time spent on the beach and dining. Oh the food is great there!

Arrived on Christmas eve. Great fun to see all these Santa's hats on the beach

and how about the women wearing these hats and Santa minidresses? Temperatures were great, abt 35 degrees daytime and 25 degrees on a chilly night.

Had to go to the local market for shopping and sight-seeing...

New years' eve on the beach, never done that before but I will do it again!

Even the Dutch traditional new years' dive didn't feel as cold as the past few years

Off to the Saturday Night Market

And a nice road trip to the beautiful bay of Palolem and the unspoilt beach of Agonda

Went to a traditional kids' b-day party of friends

We flew with Kingfisher, which definitely is one the the best airlines today with great food and even gifts (got myself a tie and a watch). On board I had a little chat with a young bloke who found he was a really good driver. Well don't these youngsters all find that?

Nice chap, relaxed and down to earth guy and appeared to be a huge BMW fanatic and agreed upon the E30 M3 as being one of the best driving cars ever. Thumbs up and meeting him was definitely the icing on the holiday cake!

dannyboy · Post by **dannyboy** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:41 pm

jereon i get virgin media fitted soon (mid feb).. i shall upload the pictiures of kullu and the solong valley when i can... p.s love the picture of the spices... tumeric ect ect... nice and fresh.

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:51 pm

Thanks! It wasn't a trip of special discoveries due to limited time this time but well worth it anyway.

Looking forward to these photos! We were thinking of visiting Jammu and Kashmir this summer but I'll have to see how terrorist attacks develop over the next few months first! If we go we might even go in that direction as well.

Rav320uk · Post by **Rav320uk** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 12:12 am

My wife's asking what you like about Goa, and India in general???

Some really nice pics there Jeroen, spices, good colour and contrast.
What camera did you use??

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:09 am

Thanks mate! A little more info then:

India in general: I've done my share of travelling but I've never found a country where people are so open, helpful, cheerful. It is safe to go nearly anywhere. Why do I write nearly: it might be different in the big cities but I try to avoid those since I'm not a city person anyway. On top of that, India is a beautiful coutry with a rich history. And don't forget nature and wildlife. Can be considered almost identical to Africa, but you don't have to travel with a armed guide to prevent you from being robbed or killed by locals!

Sofar I've only travelled the southern half but I'm planning to move up north next visit. People tend to overlook the fact that India is the size of Europe and has more diversity than Europe. And people think of corpses in the Ganga river only, but it is such a beautiful country. Just be prepared for a culture shock and a more primitive way of living. On the other hand: we Europeans have all we can wish for and still it's not enough. Over there people have a lot less, accept that as their fate and make the best of it and enjoy every day. There's a lot to be learned for us Europeans!

Goa is the more easy going state in India and the least 'real' India and the most westernized. The best place for a first trip here with -especially in our winter months- brilliant sunny weather!

As for the photography, camera is a Nikon D300 DSLR but I'm sure you can get the same results with a cheaper DSLR, it all depends on the glass you're using. For travelling I use the Nikon 18-200VR. One lens that covers all and as you wrote, with great quality, color sharpness and contrast, not that far apart from the professional lenses I'm used to.

Rav320uk · Post by **Rav320uk** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:18 am

Let me know when you are thinking of going to north india, Punjab area's or Gujarat State.
If your venturing into the state of Gujarat, you'll need to apply for a "Drinking " permit as there's a no alcohol policy in the state.
When you have the pemit, it allows you to buy alcohol in the Hotels.
Punjab is different, alocohol is allowed, but wach what you drink.
Spirits are known to be counerfiet,and larger ABV is labelled on the bottles as "Between 5% to 9%", they don't even know how strong it is.

Jeroen · Post by **Jeroen** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:53 am

Haha between 5 and 9% well that prolly has to do with their quality standards, it may vary within these limits or even beyond haha. Nothing wrong with that, not all quality standards are like we're used to but the prices are also immensely different, what else can you expect.

Thanks mate!

dannyboy · Post by **dannyboy** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:02 am

royal stag whiskey!!! thats what we stuck too... lots of it.

Rav320uk · Post by **Rav320uk** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:22 am

dannyboy wrote:royal stag whiskey!!! thats what we stuck too... lots of it.

Abd your hear to tell us about it

dannyboy · Post by **dannyboy** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:31 am

its the "desi" thats a killer... proper moonshine.. burn holes in your kindeys...

Rav320uk · Post by **Rav320uk** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:35 am

dannyboy wrote:its the "desi" thats a killer... proper moonshine.. burn holes in your kindeys...

If I ever meet you, i've got some lovely "Desi" here, and yes it is a killer, burns all the way down the throat