Gotta go to Goa (Udaipur, India)

I'm off tonight for like a 30 hour or more train ride to the land of Goa. I plan to make it there in one piece. I have to take 2 trains, one that stops in Ahmdebad where I have a layover of like 5 hours. In that small period of time I plan to see this Ghandi Ashram. Then I'm waitlisted on another train ride to go down to Goa, along with every other foreigner and Indian on holiday. Even though I'm on a waiting list, I can still hop on the train and go along for the ride. Why? because this is India, where there's always room for more to fit in, even when you think there's no more room, 20 more people will cram in. Also, a little 'baksheesh' (a bribe to the ticket man) won't hurt.

How Romantic!

I'm leaving an awesome city called Udaipur! Its where Octopussy was filmed. Its absolutley gorgeous here, there's a few different lakes and in the main one is the Lake Palace. I haven't gone in it because its way too expensive but from the outside at night, its just beautiful.

The other night I saw this cool cultural show, with dancing, puppets, and a balancing act. It reminded me of the days when I used to do Philippino dances at my church.

Last night me and this guy Nils from San Fransisco (I keep meeting Americans??) went to the Monsoon Palace high up on this hill/mountain and watched the sunset over the city. This is what the city is actually famous for, being romantic and having nice sunrise/sets. Afterwards we went for a really nice dinner on the lake front and splurged for some Tandoori Chicken. Man, do I miss meat!!! It was nice to have some good ol' chicken! I would have really enjoyed it more if I was having the candlelit dinner with Jeremy and not with Nils, but what can you do?

Before I forget, a few things about Jaisalmer...

The city itself was beautiful. Everything was in Sandstone. There was a cool fort, but it was really touristy inside with vendors everywhere. There were also some cool Havelis (old mansions). One of the highlights was watching this street performer sing on the street with this violin type instrument.

Also, on my safari, we stopped a few times and saw a cool Jain temple (I once did a school report on Jainism, but have no recollection of it) and also went through this old ruined village. Very interesting, I wanted to play Hide n Seek, but no time to do it unfortunatley.

The best stop was in this little village where all these kids came running up to us wanting money or chocolate or pens. In the end we just entertained and play with them. Basically we played dress up, they would try on our sunglasses and hats and jackets and we'd take photos of them. They loved it, I loved it!

Anyway, gotta go, Nils is waiting for me and we're going to check out this artificial town called Shipilgrim. Basically another cultural center.

Talk to you once I get to the beaches in Goa!