Travel

Crawling 'round the world

surfing in rossnowlagh

Rossnowlagh beach, car, and B&B in background

Rossnowlagh. Wala and I have been there. We surfed, ate vast seafood platters, drank refined wine, walked the beaches. We spent two wonderful days there, but we still don't know how to pronounce the town's name!

What a wonderful spot it is. Just north of Bundoran, it is one of the best spots in the Irish surfing mecca that is Donegal county.

xmas hols and new year's

Mountain high Xmas tree

Picture a hot summer afternoon, a dry lazy wind blowing, the sun shining down on you, with no shade or shelter to be found anywhere. The incessant heat and torcing sun are conspiring together to work up the mightiest thirst you'll ever experience, driving your craving for a drop of water through the roof. Now imagine the "Aaah" sound of satisfaction that would come out of your mouth after drinking not a drip, but a whole pitcher of water. Can you hear that sound?

mobile phones on a plane

According to this BBC article, the use of mobiles on planes flying in European airspace has been given approval by UK regulator.

I am dreading the next time I fly, I will be surrounded by annoying and loud individuals shouting inconsequential trivialities down their mobile phones.

There is no escape!!! You can't walk out the plane. You can't just get up and leave. It will be torture to be forced to listen to their conversations.

Friday 12 October 2007

in

I woke up before the alarm went off to dash to the bathroom. Had it not been for the necessary trip to toilet, I probably would have woken up shortly after anyways as the same idiot that played Daddy Cool loud last night for a good few minutes was stupid enough to do the same thing (only to a different tune) for a couple of minutes in the morning.

We finished packing our bags, checked out, left our bags with the reception and walked to our Indian cooking instructor, Sashi. We entered the family house (a tiny home of two rooms) where

Thursday 11 October 2007

in

To congratulate ourselves for our oustanding travelling throughout the Indian subcontinent, we spoiled ourselves with a "breakfast of champions", as the Lonely Planet guide book reports, at the Sunrise Restaurant in Udaipur.

Wednesday 10 October 2007

in

A well deserved sleep in meant that we didn't stick our heads out of our room until well after midday. The day was beautiful and the sun was schorching a sapphire blue sky. We thought that we could have dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was right outside our room.

At lake level, our table was gently graced by a refreshing breeze coming from the lake. This breeze and the shade provided all the refreshing needed to withstand the heat and the spice of the Paneer Saakwala I had with some nice oven fresh Chatpati.

Tuesday 9 October 2007

in

The day started in Kolhpapur and ended in Udaipur.

The morning began with a generous breakfast, followed by a touching checkout from the Hotel Pearl, whose friendly and helpful hosts were insutrumental in ensuring we got to see what we came for and genuinely made us feel welcomed and at home.

During the checkout formalities, we had a chance to discuss Kolhapur changes over the years and got further insight into this thriwing city, the local industries and its inhabitants.

Monday 8 October 2007

in

Wala strongly felt that her shawl was on properly and took her time to ensure that she got it right. However, as had happened on numerous occasions before, standing in front of the mirror and shifting it from side to side didn't really produce any changes in its appearance, which in my humble opinion was stunning anyway.

This morning I felt that we shouldn't be wasting time on this ritual, since we were running late for breakfast and for our appointment with our rickshaw driver, who would take us on a tour of Valivade and Kolhapur.

Sunday 7 October 2007

in

up 6:15

taxi to airport in (semi-deserted) mumbai streets

fav brekkie bread butter jam

flight to kolhapur, air deccan is punctual and efficient, although seats on board its planes are a bit crammed

lovely airport in kolhapur, everything is so green around here

sign for Mr. Matto Vescovi waiting for us outside airport for Hotel Shalini Palace. We non-chalantly ignored it and proceeded to a trendy ape piaggio rickshaw.

Saturday 6 October 2007

in

Our day began with breakfast on the first floor of our marbly hotel. After a spicy masala omelette, I felt ready to conquer the monkey filled Elephanta Island. A short stroll to the Gateway of India after, we learnt that, due to the morning fog, the island is best seen in the late afternoon, when the day clears out and one can take in the beautiful views of the island and of Mumbai.

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