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I arrived this morning safe and sound back on the ground in Egypt. Amazed at how good the weather felt (as shocking as that may sound) compared to the amazing humidity that exists currently on the West coast of India. As of the last post I was just about to head to Goa. The flight from Bombay to Goa was a little over an hours plane ride due South. Goa is a city where the Bombay and for that matter the rest of India’s elite go to for a quick break for R and R. And is currently beginning to be heavily developed by hotels. Of course we were greeted by a car to pick us up from our flight and Wisk us off to the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa. On the way to the hotel we are winded through mountainous roads, reminded me of a jungle and the simpler way of life. After giving Ammo such a hard time about not seeing any cows on the streets on Bombay, sure enough they started appearing in Goa.
The hotel itself is beautiful, reminds me of something you would find in Bali. Lots of ponds and water lilies throughout the property with lush gardens. The suite was amazing looking out into the beach and massive in size. We started out by getting a taste of the local “Goaan Cuisine” as Goa was originally controlled by Portugal there is a large Portuguese influence. I had a the Peri Peri Chicken which was actually a whole chicken massive in size and extremely spicy.
The beach itself is amazing, it is actually the second longest beach in the world, the first also being in India. They have plush lawn chairs and impeccable service on the beach bringing fresh towels and drinks. The next day we had a car pick us up in the morning to go and explore a little bit of what Goa has to offer. We ended up meeting up with Ammo’s real-estate man their and he showed us the site of the new hotel. It is an amazing site with beautiful views of the ocean and will me a world class destination once the hotel is complete. On the way back from exploring it started raining and this is no mist that’s for sure. It truly showed us the power that the monsoon rains can have and imagining that they can last for over a month could make for some pretty soggy land.
Although once we returned to the other side of Goa where the hotel was it was no longer raining. As I decided to go to the beach and enjoy. After about an hour or so, I looked around and noticed that I was the only person on the beach besides the hotel security guard. It was for sure a cool feeling being the only person enjoying the world’s second longest beaches that I could see. We took the flight back to Bombay and Ammo had the driver take us to explore the new Four Seasons hotel. It is a little behind schedule but will open very shortly. We went straight to the roof top which will not be open to the public, on the 34th floor and it with out a doubt had the best views of the city, especially considering that it is right in the heart of the city so both from the North and South. It was right at the perfect time to watch the sunset on the Arabian Sea.
On my last night in India we went and had another great Indian meal. I honestly did get a little well little isn’t the word to describe it, but anyways heart burn. I am a true lover of Indian cuisine. Although like is always the cases with other cuisine. It’s a little different in the home land, and that being said in India the food is hot. The curry is hot and it brings lots of flavors. After now faithfully eating Indian food for over a year now, I found out that Curry isn’t a type of spice, as I assumed, although knowing that it comes in different colors and flavors. Its actually a mixture of spices together which is what makes curry therefore making every dish a little different.
I had an amazing time in the end exploring India and all that it has to offer. But as Semester at Sea taught me I think it is important to educate and cover topics or issues honestly. Looking at India and Bombay in particular there is great poverty. Now this is seen in a lot of different ways. Like other great cities people are attracted to Bombay as a city of opportunity. Therefore people not affording to be able to have a place to stay in the city simply sleep in the streets every where. For example I was shocked on my last night there out extremely late. We saw all of the taxi cabs with the drivers actually all sleeping on the hoods of the trunks. Don’t ask me why, Ammo thought that it would be cooler then sleeping in the car which is probably true.
Which leads me to the next point, India is striving at great lengths to get the infrastructure up to the level that is needed. Infrastructure in all senses of the word. But you combine this with the great resource of the people and the amazingly strong economic growth. Hopefully all of the Indian citizens will soon enjoy the benefits of the growth that the country is experiencing.
I give many thanks for Ammo and his hospitality and playing tour guide for my week in India. It was fantastic and I encourage all of you that get the opportunity to go and explore incredible India as the government tourism promotional board has dubbed it. And it is simple that.
Chad
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