India on Pot:) (by Josh)

You will understand my title choice in a moment. Our last night in Udaipur was a nice wind down to traditional India. We took an Indian cooking class that Niki had been investigating for a couple days from a sweet-as-chai women named Shuma (who runs the classes out of her hotel, Hotel Krishna that looked rather charming). She taught us the beginnings of how to use Indian spice properly because as we have learned in our month here spices are the pillar of Indian food and the reason why it do darn exceptional. Niki was the ideal student(total keener from the get go taking notes etc.) :) I on the other hand was more hands on with the ingredients and mixing etc; and pretty hands on with the food, basically jumped at any opportunity to test something!
But we were a good team and Niki has been making us spectacular Chai tea every night since then!
I think we had mentioned our hotel in Udaipur was a bit of a stinker for lack of better word. Not horrible but just a little quirky and times annoying. We had to change rooms a few times for various reasons that I think Niki detailed in her last blog and the staff were just a little odd and often drunk. Our last night we are in bed, it's midnight and there is a heavy pounding on our door.We waited but it kept going. We hadn't befriended anyone in the hotel so we were not quite sure who would be knocking so loud at this time of night. I told Niki to wait in the bathroom and I put my ear to the door to get a better idea. I then asked who it was as they responded "I'm sorry sir we have your drink"
I recognized the voice and it was the night guy. I opened the door and he was totally drunk (off beer that the hotel sells illegally because it's illegal in Rajasthan technically)
He told me he was very sorry but they forgot to serve my diet coke to
me at supper(4 hours ago!). This was true but it was room service and we couldn't be bothered to follow up on it as we were busy packing.
Just another example of what staying at Anjani Hotel was like!! :)

We left Udaipur early the next morning(5:00 am early!) and flew to another land........Goa!!!!
Now, for those that haven't followed our blog,everything we have known so far in India has not just been different but has been to a jacked up extreme.
And then we meet India oh-so-sedated or what could be called "India on pot."

This is Goa.Still possesses the differences that make India interesting but at a pace where you can stand and reflect at the moment on what you see and enjoy its charm.
Goa is sublime. It is a tropical and lush land of tiny villages mixed with gorgeous beaches. Cows chill out on the beach beside bikini clad tourists and the sound of beating drums
fills the air as does the aroma of masala. No one is in a rush and the beer comes as cheap as the chai. Old hippies mix with young hipsters and everybody is smiling. We have fallen in
love with Goa:)

We rented a condo for 5 days in Arpor which is a village about 10 minutes from the beach( by scooter). It was a nice piece of home in a beautiful condo complex called Riviera Foothills. The condo's surrounded a lush garden with pool and gym. Luxury we haven't known on this trip thus far. We made our own coffee in the morning and cooked our own meals and after two and half months living in hotels and guesthouse's it felt amazing! The only downside is we needed to scooter to the beach it wasn't out our front door(but it is now!)

However, I recommend anyone visiting Goa to rent a scooter! We had a blast booting through tiny villages and checking out all the beaches! We cruised through jungle roads and across bridges with breathtaking views. It was just incredible. Now, the traffic is much more mellow than North India but as I mentioned it is still India and dodging cows, goats and dogs along with cars is still the norm but at a manageable pace(though I think Niki was a little freaked out at times!)
You know your getting used to India when a car is driving on the wrong side of the road coming at you and you don't flinch. As long as you are a confident driver it is an experience you can't miss!
Aside from just being a beach bum we had a good night out dancing, we haven't partied much in India as we have been in such traditional areas of the country so it felt good to let loose a little and dance the night away on the beach. (I recommend Cafe Lillyput, it's on the beach, had great service, a good dance floor,and a fun vibe!)

We also took in an infamous flea market here in Anjuna which is the village next to Arpora that has a massive flea market every Wednesday and is quite famous for it. It was actually a highlight, we have been to so many markets but the energy and downright affordability of this one just kept you there, we stayed 3 hours!
Niki has become quite the bargainer as well. She's pretty hard ass when it comes to it and was a real bull! (you can check out our video diary if your curious!)
Now the one consequence of staying in a market for 3 hours is you leave with way too much. So we had to ship stuff back home today which as a whole took 2 hours, the little post office was totally unorganized and full of foreigners who didn't know what they they were doing as well but in the end it was shipped off and time will tell if
It makes it back! I've heard from my Uncle who has some experience in
india that Indian post is pretty reliable so I'm feeling reasonably confident:)
We are now in south Goa which is an even more mellow version on North Goa. At this moment I am sitting in the front porch of our beach hut looking on to the beautiful Arabian Sea
and I feel as if I could live here forever.
We spent our afternoon walking down the beach and swimming and for the most part have the beach to ourselves.
Goa is a place that sticks with you and begs you back. On this trip we have check marked a few places that we have decided we need to spend more
time in. Goa made that list. We have enjoyed the last 5 days and will enjoy the next 6, but we will be back, this is not a place you don't come back to. Simply put it's just way to beautiful and way too cool:)
Peace:)