Chris and Charly's Indian Odyssey - chrischarly
Our special tour of India

Our odyssey begins with 26 hrs travel
Heathrow, United Kingdom
Indian efficiency started at Heathrow as Jet Airways called Flight Closing and we arrive to a queue of 200 passengers. In the rush we forgot to get suncream, oh bugger - bring on the burn !
Our Boeing 777 to Mumbai
written by  chrischarly on November 7, 2010 from Heathrow, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Indian Odyssey

Nice flight, shame about the next 11 hours in Mumbai airport
Mumbai, India
The hours are slowly going by but at least I managed to get free Wifi.
Charly resting in Mumbai airport
Mumbai Domestic Terminal at 5am
written by  chrischarly on November 8, 2010 from Mumbai, India
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Indian Odyssey

A day of exploring
Kovalam, India
Our delhi friends
The beach front
Check out the hair!
Again we over-slept as it had taken hours to finally drift off, but we still had an amazing day exploring Kerola by rock climbing to discover some hidden secluded beaches.
More amzing views
Chris
the beach
At around 3pm we took a walk up to a lighthouse and climbed to the top to see some breath-taking views.
Lighthouse
The millions of stairs we climbed
The term and conditions
2 temples
Lovin' the lighthouse
Amazing viwe of Kovalum
By the evening we were exhausted and enjoyed a quiet dinner along the coast starving due to having too much fun to eat!!
written by  chrischarly on November 10, 2010 from Kovalam, India
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Indian Odyssey

Jet-lag...
Kovalam, India
Fishermen
After falling asleep at around 11pm last night; 15 hours later we woke up feeling rubbish as the jet lag has definitely sank in.
Pretty butterfly
Gorgeous secluded beach
By the time we left our hotel it was gone 3pm and the day was almost over . However we still made the most of it enjoying fantastic Indian weather but before we knew it it was 2am and well past bed time.
written by  chrischarly on November 9, 2010 from Kovalam, India

Finally in Thiruvananthapuram!!
Thiruvananthapuram, India
The restaurant we went to didn't have a licence to serve alcohol- thus Chris had his beer in a mug so it looked like coffee!!
Finally we have arrived in India after 27 hours non-stop-travelling.
Locals
Our second flight to Trivadrum we can barely remember as we slept solidly the whole way; fast asleep before we even set off!
Early evening walk
A big bird
To try and stay awake for as long as possible we decided to go exploring after checking out our new hotel and found a lovely little veggie restaurant after having a couple of drinks
our hotel room in kovalum
view from our hotel
our bacony in kovalum
before sleep…
written by  chrischarly on November 8, 2010 from Thiruvananthapuram, India

Chillies...
Kovalam, India
me eating the true indian way
Today we ate in the true Indian way enjoying a typical local dish ‘thali’ however; I later didn’t find it funny when I chewed on 2 green chillies!! Chris however thought it was hilarious…
a lovely sunset
beautiful sunset
kovalam beach
but a walk along the beach soon made up for things later.
written by  chrischarly on November 11, 2010 from Kovalam, India

Tour around Kovalum
Neyyur, India
another picture of the lions
lion
male lion
2 lions
a lioness
This morning we went on a guided tour around Kovalum. However the guide barely spoke any English so the tour didn’t exactly happen, he also got lost many times and tried taking us to the most expensive places so we think he was on commission.
crammed like sardines on a bus
the lake we went on
the dam
beautiful scenery
So we ended up finding our own tour for the fraction of the Price and just using him as a driver and left him sulking in the car.
amazing views again
standing at the back of the boat
more beautiful views
on the boat
chris seriously unimpressed with having to wear a life jacket!
the crocodiles right by our feet !!!!!
However, we did have a good day going on a small boat tour, to a lion park, a crocodile rehabilitation centre where we went inside the actual enclosure with them, a deer Sanctuary which unfortunately didn’t seem to have any deer in and experiencing our first yet very claustrophobic Indian bus journey.
written by  chrischarly on November 12, 2010 from Neyyur, India

Moving on...
Varkkallai, India
the train we went on
chris busy working
Deciding that we’ve probably seen and made the most of what is on offer in Kovalum we packed our bags and made our way to Varkala on the train. It was certainly an experience this time travelling 2nd class, but to be honest we enjoyed it, for just 42p per ticket it was a bargain.
crammed on 2nd class
sitting on our balcony
When we arrived, after some serious haggling by Chris we managed to get a 2-bedroomed air conditioned cottage for just £5.63 a night! That’s a 10th of the Price of what another couple has just paid, admittedly in a slightly nicer room. As usual we’ve landed on our feet!!
written by  chrischarly on November 13, 2010 from Varkkallai, India

£4.79 per night!
Varkkallai, India
the view from where we're staying
the north cliff
Today we had a lovely walk exploring Varkala. We are right on top of a Cliff over-looking the beach and it is simply beautiful!
Chris drenched by the rain
drenched by the rain storm
Chris actually managed to haggle further with the manager of the resort we’re staying in as we love it here so much. So we’ve extended our stay to 5 nights and are now paying £4.79 a night, although it does make me cringe when Chris starts bartering.
written by  chrischarly on November 14, 2010 from Varkkallai, India

A tour around Varkala
Varkkallai, India
chris in our rick-shaw
In the search to find somewhere to post a package we managed to go exploring Varkala twice in one day, travelling using the local transport an auto-rickshaw.
our rickshaw driver
over-taking a rick-shaw
Although no one in India has any knowledge of the highway code it was great fun!
written by  chrischarly on November 15, 2010 from Varkkallai, India

Just chillin'
Lovely beach
Chris pointing at our accomodation
Today we spent the majority of the day just relaxing before going for a loving walk around the gorgeous beaches Varkala has to offer.
The sea
A Mosque
Fantastic sunshine until yet another electrical storm hit. It's funny, I never thought anywhere could or would rain more than in the U.K, but in the south of India I have been proven wrong!

Planning
Our bargain room
Today is our last day in Varkala and thus we spent the majority of our day planning what to do next!
Our balcony at Clafouti
But apart from that we didn’t do anything very exciting; merely a ton of hand-washing and general re-organisation of our luggage…

Varkala- Rickshaw- train- Kollam- taxi- ferry- walking- and finally in Allepy!
Kollam, India
We woke up this morning at stupid O’clock where a rickshaw (tuk-tuk) was already waiting to take us to the train station.
The train journey again was ok and seriously cheap once again standing at the back of 2nd class.
We then haggled a taxi and arrived at the boat jetty to take the Ferry almost 3 hours early, the first ones to arrive!
Then after quite a beautiful, yet long 8 hour Ferry journey along the back-waters (wishing it was a house-boat) we arrived in Allepy!
The houseboat I wanted to go on...too much money
Compromise- A ferry along the backwaters
Chinese fishing nets
Hundreds of ducks
Another big bird
A big bird
Chris waiting to buy some munch
2 men rowing
3 men fishing
A lady washing her clothes
A man washing his bits
Chris' dream woman
A man fishing
Us on the ferry
A nie photo!
A man inhis fishing hut
Pretty exhausted we searched for some accommodation and managed to find a little home-stay for £3.50! However, we noticed that there wasn’t exactly anything here to see or do we didn’t unpack. Next stop: Fort Kochi!
written by  chrischarly on November 18, 2010 from Kollam, India

First proper bus journey!
Ernakulam, India
Us on a seriously crowded bus
After an amazing night’s sleep we headed to the bus station and luckily we straight away found seats.
However, it does seem that no one wants to sit next to 2 white travellers so most of the way it was just us on a bench that with a squeeze could fit 3 people. However, when someone did sit next to me, I did feel like a sardine with a largish Indian man to my left- and Chris to my right!
A lovely sunset on the water
But to be honest the journey really wasn’t too bad about 1 ½ hours long and very breezy as there are no windows which meant not too many fragrant smells! We then took a small Ferry ride from Ernakulam to Fort Kochi and walked around for over an hour to find somewhere to stay as everywhere was full as it’s now high-season. Another long day!
written by  chrischarly on November 19, 2010 from Ernakulam, India

Tummy Bug... :(
Ernakulam, India
This morning I woke up feeling pretty rough; I think I have caught a tummy bug with pretty severe stomach cramps along with a painful headache that won’t shift… So as I wasn’t feeling very well we didn’t do a great deal until the evening where we did a bit of exploring the town.
Sunset
Fishermen
Sunset at Fort Kochin
Unfortunately as its Saturday, many of the touristy ‘things-to-do’ were closed so we just peered over railings. So we took a long walk along the front.
Me surrounded by an Indian family
Beach covered in rubbish
It is such shame as Fort Cochin is/well could be a beautiful place yet what seems to be typical of India is that they stick an oil factory right at the centre of the view point.
Oil storage
Ship yard
So whilst we are talking about this sitting on a bench admiring the rubbish thrown everywhere,
Yummy Ice-cream
Hello Friend
A rat loving the India trash
a huge rat pops up to say ‘Hello’!
written by  chrischarly on November 20, 2010 from Ernakulam, India

We're now in Munnar
Munnar, India
Ernakulam bus station
After a seriously rubbish sleep I woke up feeling a lot worse than yesterday. The original plan was to wake up early and catch the bus into town before getting a second bus to Munnar that took 5 hours. However, I just couldn’t face the journey so instead we caught it a few hours later once Chris had finished playing nurse and I felt a little better.
The bus driver's seat, looks comfy!
Us getting the best seats first on the bus!
The bus journey was in fact very beautiful looking at waterfalls and travelling high up in the mountains looking down at the clouds beneath us.
The bus drivers view is restricted by clouds
Our home in Munnar
Although we couldn’t exactly call it a peaceful journey as the driver really liked the sound of his horn!
written by  chrischarly on November 21, 2010 from Munnar, India

Tour around Munnar
Munnar, India
Today we caught a rick-shaw to take us on a tour around Munnar.
Our rick-shaw
Wild honey on a tree
The sights were amazing surrounded by tea plantations and breath-taking views.
A 'normal' monkey- as quoted by our guide
Tea being picked
The mountains
More tea...
Chris holding a pretty Indian girl
Gorgeous views
There had been heavy rain last night and therefore many land-slides making it at times quite difficult to pass.
A huge landslide
Chris having a sneaky wee...
This also made the air quite humid which meant that the main sight we wanted to see, ‘Top Station’ was actually covered in clouds.
The view from 'Top Station'... disappointing
It was still worth it as on our way back we saw 3 wild elephants!
The hill where we spotted the elephants
Walking towards us!
The baby elephant feeding
3 Indian wild elephants!
We were absolutely amazed as it’s a very rare sight and they weren’t even in a National Park just eating grass in a Field next to us!
written by  chrischarly on November 22, 2010 from Munnar, India

Making a new friend
Coimbatore, India
the cutest little girl we played peeka-boo with on the bus
This morning we woke up nice and early and took a 5 hour bus journey to Coimbatore. The scenery was pretty amazing regardless of the driver loving the sound of his horn a little too much!
More schoolchildren
Schoolchildren waving at us
Once there we met a nice Swiss lady, Regina and instantly made friends with her with the bonus of her having the same itinerary as us.
Our new friend Ragina and her camera
A kingfisher
We then took 2 more buses before arriving in Mettupalayam where we arranged our BlueMountain railway tickets for tomorrow. Chris managed to get the last seat available and I was on standby for a seat. Fingers crossed I get one…
written by  chrischarly on November 23, 2010 from Coimbatore, India

Blue Mountain Railway
Coonoor, India
the front of the steam train
the steam train
the blue mountain railway
having a break off the train
This morning we woke up pretty excited about our train journey through the mountains.
our train
going through a tunnel
loads and loads of trees
a cute little village
the scenery from the train
We had heard great reviews about it and managed to fight our way for some good seats after my seat was secured thankfully last night.
our 2nd class carriage with a random man waving in the distance
me and reggie
However, there was heavy rain last night which meant that the clouds were very low thus meaning that there was barely anything to see!
a pretty waterfall
a stream high up in the clouds
the stream high in the mountains
monkeys attempting to break into the train
So after all the travelling to finally take this train journey as well with all the excitement it was pretty disappointing but we did laugh about it!
the view blocked by clouds
the bridge we crossed across
Once we got off the train in Ooty there wasn’t exactly a lot to see so again we took many buses yet again before we arrived in Sulthan Bathery in our first search for a tiger!!
written by  chrischarly on November 24, 2010 from Coonoor, India

Our first safari in India
Kalpatta, India
Pretty excited about our first safari in India, the 3 of us (our friend Regina is still travelling with us) arrived at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary at 7am for our 1 ½ safari drive.
a tree passageway
our safari jeep
Unfortunately we couldn’t spend longer in the park as it closes at 9am till the evening. Although we didn’t exactly see a lot; it was very over-rated.
Us pushing the bus as it was too close to our jeep
Chris and our safari driver
Our safari driver weariing Chris' lucky hat
We saw spotted deer, a wild boar from very far away that in fact resembled a stone, some monkeys also far away and some tiger footprints.
An elephant, unfortunately with chains around it's neck
A monkey far away
a deer a lot like bambi
I was though very impressed by the footprints and prayed we would see some tigers themselves but unfortunately our luck wasn’t with us today.
Tiger footprints!!
Then yet again we spent far too many hours on a bus to spend some time relaxing on the lovely, quiet Pallyam beach just outside Kannur for a few days.
written by  chrischarly on November 25, 2010 from Kalpatta, India

Chillaxing on a deserted beach
Cannanore, India
Me and Reggie
Today the 3 of us had a great time walking bare-foot along the deserted beach and swimming in the sea for the majority of the day before heading to the travel agents to sort out train tickets for the rest of our stay in India.
Me and Reggie in the sea
Our footprints on the beach
This proved to be a lot more difficult than first anticipated as we are here over Christmas and New Year so most trains are full. So after a few hours we left and re-thought our route which took hours.
written by  chrischarly on November 27, 2010 from Cannanore, India

Tour around Kannur
Cannanore, India
A lighthouse
A British Cannon
A lovely view
Another nice view
Chris imitating a statue
Us walking through the fort
A man showing off his catch to us!
A heron or a stork ??
Today we hired a rick-shaw to give us a tour around Kannur stopping at St. Angelo Fort which was constructed in 1505 by the Dutch where there are still canons left behind by the British and underground jails.
A lovely Mangrove walk, but too many Mozzies
A pretty bridge
A View from the top of the fort
The Fort
Graffiti on leaves
3 men fishing with rubber rings!
We then went to Parassinikadavu Temple which is famous for a religious dance performed every morning and evening. However, we didn’t understand it and due to being pushed and shoved constantly we soon went outside and watched the locals bathe themselves in the river at the bottom; I think it was considered Holy water??
written by  chrischarly on November 27, 2010 from Cannanore, India

90,000 lights
Mysore, India
the facinating palace
this photo makes it look like the palace is floating???
the band playing
thousands of lights
the palace
a side view
a close up to the 90,000 lights
the main gates to the palace
the palace entrance all lit up
The palace at night
This morning we woke up and caught a 7 hour bus to Mysore to see the Palace all lit up. Every Sunday evening they turn 90,000 on all over the palace grounds and it was pretty amazing!
written by  chrischarly on November 28, 2010 from Mysore, India

Rooms serviced by a 6-7 yr old boy!!
Hampi, India
Local school children
Me surrounded by a local school
sweet children
As soon as we arrived in Hampi; unwilling to search for accommodation we stayed at the first place we came across. It was pretty cheap and in a very relaxing place but also pretty dirty.
We later understood why as we saw a young boy around 6 or 7 years old servicing the rooms. No wonder the sink was filthy, there was no way her could even reach it!
Local boys
Local Boys
some of the many men desperate for our photo- we took one of them instead
Chris negotiating the 10 rupees payment for a photo
During the day we were hassled quite a lot for our photo to be taken by many Indians that Chris has now started charging 10 rupees per picture taken of us! Hilarious! Some Indians even put their hand in their pockets about to pay us before our conscience kicks in!
written by  chrischarly on November 30, 2010 from Hampi, India

11 hour car journey
Mysore, India
Mysore palace
a tiger monument
the palace
the palace gates in the day
This morning we went to see the palace during the day but it was nowhere near as amazing as seeing it all lit up at night.
Cows on the road
Cows munching on rubbish
Then as our friend Reggie really wanted to go and visit Hampi she hired a car to take us there and for a very small bargain Price we joined her!
giving a local school boy a lift
us driving through a shallow river
the car that took us from Mysore- Hampi
The journey was 11 hours long and we travelled all through the night but although tiring was a far better way to travel than on a night bus which would have taken a great deal longer.
written by  chrischarly on November 29, 2010 from Mysore, India

2 snakes!!
Hampi, India
Today, making the most of having a free car to use we went on a long tour around Hampi visiting countless amounts of temples,
climbing over rocks to see yet another temple
and to see another...
a photo taken of a film set before we got thrown out!
me stood in a doorway in an elephant's stable
me attempting to hide from Chris
one of many monumenets we've seen
and another...
a scary-looking monkey
a chariot
the sacred bull
another religious building
the elephant's stable
a temple
Queens bath
an ancient stone monument
a seriously erotic stone monument
where we saw 2 snakes! One dead. One alive!
(Email me if you would like to see the photos)
The latter apparently being quite special as it is said to have 2 heads; one at each end! The locals were amazed at the fact that we saw one, calling us very lucky, even though it was pretty close and very scary!
Then late afternoon we went to the Sloth Bear Sanctuary where we saw 6 wild Sloth Bears.
a bear licking honey from a rock
a sloth bear
2 sloth bears
Even though they were quite far away it was pretty amazing!
written by  chrischarly on December 1, 2010 from Hampi, India

Being blessed by an elephant and climbing 675 steps !!
Hampi, India
Today we went to see yet another temple, but this time the highlight being blessed by an elephant!
giving the rip-off elephant 10 rupees
the elephant giving his owner my money
being blessed by an elephant
It was quite funny as a local Indian could give the elephant 1 rupee in exchange for a blessing by the elephant, but a tourist has to give at least 10 rupees, aka a note instead of a coin in order to be blessed!
children begging me to take their photo
one of the many photos taking of the children- obsessed with having their photo taken
Thus the elephant could tell the difference between a local and a tourist! A true Indian making us pay at least 10x more for an attraction! But it was funny!
Afterwards we went to go and see a temple at the top of a hill where we climbed 675 steps to see some pretty amazing views of the whole of Hampi.
the temple at the top of the hill
Half way there- already exhausted!
the steps we climbed
the view from the 675 steps
another nice view
A monkey admiring the view with us
all hot and bothered looking like a beetroot after the climb
the not-so-amazing temple at the top
The temple was pretty disappointing and it was seriously hard work but we were in fact very proud of ourselves for making it the whole way!
written by  chrischarly on December 2, 2010 from Hampi, India

The other side of Hampi...
Sadly today was Regina's last day so after walking her to the car we decided to try out the other side of Hampi which had been highly recommended to us.
putting a very expensive&very heavy bike on a small boat- only way to cross!
trying to re-start the bike
Pushing the very heavy bike up the hill
To get accross we had to take a small boat and when it rains heavily means that you get completely cut off from the main land.
the walk down to the ferry
in the middle of no where
the ferry crossing
However as soon as we went across we were in no hurry to leave finding an awesome place for an awesome Price !!
written by  chrischarly on December 3, 2010 from Hampi, India

Relaxing in our new pad
Today we just spent the day chillin'... It was really nice actually just relaxing and just generally doing nothing!
our back garden
view from our room
It is like we are in the middle of the countryside in India where there's little if any rubbish scattered everywhere, pretty idyllic if not perfect !!

Stinking colds... in India ???
Today Chris woke up full of cold... how is that possible in a place as warm as India!
monkeys
One of the 4 frogs found in our room
Chris always being the one to share kindly passed it on to me as well by the end of the day, so as well as relaxing we spent the day feeling pretty shitty and sorry for ourselves :(

a little rock climbing... by Chris
This evening Chris did a little exploring high up on the rocks we could see out side our room to watch the sunset.
our accomodation in Hampi
The rocks look like they will fall off!
so peaceful up here
gorgeous view from this high!
sunset
the rocks Mum thinks look like ducks!
I didn't exactly like the thought of climbing rocks almost as high as myself so thought I would let him try it out before I decided to go up !!

A day of virtually pure nothingness!!..
What an awesome day...
a relatively clean river in Hampi
women washing their clothes and theirselves
a man having a wash in a fast-flowing river
Acheived hardly anything...
'Quality ice-cream
Perfect!!..

Staying on a family's couch- at Christmas !!
rocks that look like they will fall off!!!
again, lovely views...
monkeys playing
The boulder
Our friend Adrian climbing the boulders
getting there
almost there
made it!
Goan Corner
Today we spent most of the day attempting to find places to stay over the next month using a website that we’ve recently heard of called ‘Couch Surfers’ which is where we can stay at locals House’s for free! Yep that’s right for absolutely nothing!! Perfect for us poor backpackers!! So after a little searching we found a nice family to stay with over Christmas in Jaipur where prices for accommodation normally sky-rocket!

Finally our last night in Hampi
where we stayed in Hampi
the awesome bar/ restaurant
Finally deciding to leave the relaxing and beautiful Hampi we booked our tickets for a sleeper couch to Gokarna.
me working hard on this blog
where we are staying
the courtyard
The coach we had been told has real beds! However, always been a little dubious we will wait and see if that really happens!
Ginger asleep
the boulders
Sharmilla our landlady
So in the evening we stayed up pretty late celebrating our last night in Hampi with a couple of friends.

A Real sleeper coach !!
Hospet, India
The coach did have real beds!!
our room right at the back of the coach
Chris and I couldn’t believe our luck when we walked onto the bus and we had reserved for us a huge double bed!
all of the other compartments down the bus
However, it was right at the back; the only worse beds being those above us!
before the journey began- hence why we're smiling
Although the bed itself was quite comfortable, every Speed bump we felt quite severely- a couple of times even leaving our bed being launched into the air!
the view from our little room on the sleeper coach
Thus, the first half of the journey we failed to even have a wink of sleep…
written by  chrischarly on December 10, 2010 from Hospet, India

A Joke of a journey !!
Gokarn, India
After being told before getting onto the bus that we were due to arrive in Gokarna at around Sunrise, we were blissfully unaware when we were woken from sleep by the conductor repeatedly shouting ‘Gokarna, Gokarna’ at 2:30am! We were then ushered onto a smaller and seriously crammed in bus to take us the final ½ hour journey! We were NOT expecting that! Then, even worse, it dropped us off into the middle of nowhere 6km away from our destination! Then after failing to negotiate a fair Price for a rick-shaw to the beach we arrived outside a closed resort begging them to let us into their restaurant so we could sit down and try and get some more sleep. Luckily he kindly let us and a group of us sat for hours then watching a beautiful Sunrise on the beach.
quiet beach
where we were in the empty restaurant
just as the sun was rising
taking a walk
early morning
the sunrise
Completely unaware of what our night of travelling would be like we did very little for the rest of the day. We managed to find some rustic but nice accommodation on the beach for 150 rupees= £2 for a night and settled ourselves there reading books for the day whilst Chris did some fishing on the beach.
Chris fishing
His luck was actually with him after not long he caught a catfish!
Chris proud of his catch
Chris killin' the fish
a zoom in on the fish so it looks bigger
The locals were amazed by this and they soon huddled round to inspect his catch!
written by  chrischarly on December 11, 2010 from Gokarn, India

Getting eaten by stinging things...
Gokarn, India
our little bargain room
outside our huts
the toilets and bucket showers
Where we are staying right on the beach
After being pretty exhausted from the travelling the day before, we spent the majority of the day on the beach and swimming in the sea.
the beach
a sunset on Om beach
We all set ourselves the challenge to swim right out to a rock we could see from the sand. We did actually get pretty far out, almost making it but then we all started to feel stinging all over our body!
a cute little puppy
then the puppy finds some cow poo on the beach
then decides it's lunch!.. Yuck
digesting his food before it tries to lick my feet later!
We’re still unsure whether there were tiny jelly-fish in the water or plankton as we couldn’t see anything in the water but we soon swam back fast!
written by  chrischarly on December 12, 2010 from Gokarn, India

A mission of a walk !!
Gokarn, India
The view on our walk
The boat we caught back
This morning we took a walk to Paradise Beach about 1 ½ hours away. My God it was a right mission.
An Indian tribal man watching the world go by...
Dal and Becks posing
Becks pretending to be a pirate
It was a lot further than we thought it would be; having to clamber over rocks and doing some serious trekking.
Paradise beach
Dal fast asleep after our walk!
Me loving the sunshine
We were pretty proud of ourselves for actually making it there! Thus after breakfast I fell asleep!
Our place from the boat
The sun vanishing!
After spending a nice few hours chilling on the beach we opted to get a boat back admiring just how far we walked.
Chris seriously excited at thoght of night-net-fishing !
bringing in the net
Looking for the fish they'd caught
Chris happy with all the fish they'd caught
Then in the evening Chris went net fishing with the locals.
written by  chrischarly on December 13, 2010 from Gokarn, India

A nice stroll on the beach...
We had a great day today just lounging around reading books, going on a lovely long walk along the beach until sunset and going for occasional swims...
Chris having a swim...
..then having a wash!
our lovely beach we're staying on
Me taking a walk along the beach during sunset... lovely !!
climbing along the rocks about a km away
A cow on the beach
Chris sitting on the rocks unaware that he's lost his bait, weight and hook!
me cuddling one of the puppies who wasn't eating poo yesterday!
Our crazy bar-man with a seriously high-pitched laugh!
Chris looking rugged and unshaven...
Chris now shaven and having a massage
Chris also got his hair cut and had a cut-throat shave followed by an Inidan head massage!

Gokarna town
Puppies sleeping at Dolphin Bay Cafe Gokarna
Today we took a rickshaw into town for a change of scenery from the beach. However, we didn’t stay long as we soon missed it and it was blisteringly hot away from the sea breeze so soon came home!

Another fishy
Chris' big fish
Had a lovely day today swimming for most of it. Then in the evening had a few drinks in the evening with friends to celebrate Chris catching another fish!

Dolphins
Chris and Charly enjoying last meal in Gokarna
Today is sadly our last day in Gokarna but we’re excited about our next stop in Goa where we will be staying with our new friends Del and Becks… What made it a perfect last day is during a lovely sunset once again we saw dolphins swimming in the sea very close to shore, closer than where we swam to today!

Off to Goa; Del with food poisoning!!
Goa, India
This morning we woke up bright and early for our trip to Calagute, Goa to stay with our frind Del. Unfortunately after eating some dodgy Chicken the night beofre he woke up feeling pretty ill and after throwing up during breakfast, then at the train station we finally made it to Calagute.
One of many, many beach bars on Calangute beach
Calangute Beach
Then once we made it he was feeling a great deal better so we went for some lunch where he once again was sick at the back of the restaurant! Poor Del was so sick, and as he is a huge food lover often eating about 5 meals a day ddin't like it when we forced him not to eat agin for 24 hours! So we had a nice relaxing night in watching a cheesy film...
written by  chrischarly on December 18, 2010 from Goa, India

Sleeper train to Jaipur
Mumbai, India
After finally arriving in Mumbai we jumped straight onto a local bus to the train station. Mumbai was very busy and chaotic we were secretly glad to only be staying a few hours!
Our first sleeper train.......very long !
Still our first sleeper train....still very long !
The moon at sunset taken from the train
Then after a little wait we got onto a sleeper train to take us to Jaipur where we will be spending Christmas with an Indian family!
written by  chrischarly on December 21, 2010 from Mumbai, India

Enjoying the beach...
Panaji, India
Chris, Del and Becky
Chris chilling on Calangute beach
We had a lovely day today walking around Calangute with Del and Becks enjoying the fantastic sunshine whilst we hear that back home in the U.K it's -17 degrees!
written by  chrischarly on December 19, 2010 from Panaji, India

Our 2nd sleeper Bus
Pernem, India
Chris trying to set timer on camera, not very well !
After enjoying our last day with Del and Becks we took a sleeper bus from Goa to Mumbai taking around 14 hours!
On the sleeper bus from Goa to Mumbai, very cosy !
It was a long journey and instead of being really bumpy like the previous bus, we payed extra to guarantee a bus with air suspension but instead of us bouncing up and down the whole way we felt as if we were on a boat swaying from side to side.
Charly relaxing on the sleeper bus
Note to anyone travelling in India: - always take the train if possible, it is so much smoother a ride and in fact cheaper!
written by  chrischarly on December 20, 2010 from Pernem, India

Our first Couch Surfing Experience!
Surat, India
The bustling streets of Jaipur
Chaotic traffic
Our first proper long stay in a city- Jaipur
After a really smooth train journey where we both slept solidly for more than 10 hours we arrived safely in Jaipur! It was a very comfortable train journey that was very quiet and it hardly felt as if we were moving!
A straight to the point sign!
Amber palace over-looking Jaipur city
Jaipur is a huge bustling city full of character and life yet so far doesn't seem as chaotic and polluted as Mumbai which is a relief!
Oytside our home in Jaipur
Cows in the middle of the highway
Massive monkeys taking over an Indian home
We managed to find Sanjay's and Annu's place quite easily about 9km away on the outskirts of the city and we were delighted with the warm and hospitable reception we recieved straight away.
Making us feel like home by having a tree although we're living with a Hindu family
Our Indian Christmas tree
Annu, Sanjay and Me after we finished decorating the tree
Think it will be a great Chrismas here.
written by  chrischarly on December 22, 2010 from Surat, India

The Pink City
Jaipur, India
Entrance to Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal from street
Inside Hawa Mahal
View from top of Hawa Mahal
Chris posing for the Indians to take photos of him!
Me and a little Indian girl
Top of Hawa Mahal
A pedal rick-shaw! What a work-out!
Today we took a walk around Jaipur nick-named 'The Pink City as the majority of the building are painted pink.
Touching the top of the palace
Hawa Mahal
Entering the Hawa Mahal
Jantar-Mantar, very old astrology/astronomy centre
Rubbish just dumped in a beautiful place
Entrance to the City Palace was 300rps each!
So instead we took these 2 photos off of post-cards to pretend we saw it!
We went exploring a little to see some of the sights on offer.
written by  chrischarly on December 23, 2010 from Jaipur, India

Christmas Eve
Jaipur, India
Chris and Charly at Amber Palace
Amber Palace
I think he is leaning away ?!
Chris sitting right at front of bus on way to Amber Palace
Elephant taxi at Amber Palace
Charly getting up close and personal with elephant taxi at Amber Palace
Today we went for another walk around Jaipur going to The Amber Fort and The Water Palace.
A clear day where we can see for miles
View from Amber Palace
View within Amber Palace
View of Nargarh Fort from Amber Palace
We had again a fantastic day but doing a great deal of walking so we were exhausted!
Water Palace Jaipur
The Gorgeous Water Palace in Jaipur
Fish in the Water Palace lake
Then later as it's Christmas Eve we played Father Christmas and sneaked out once everyone had gone to bed at midnight to put some Christmas presents under the tree.
written by  chrischarly on December 24, 2010 from Jaipur, India

Christmas Day!!
Jaipur, India
Our Christmas tree stacked with presents!!!
It was so lovely being woken up bright and early by the little girl all excited to discover that Father Christmas has been and delivered presents in India!
Anu, Lakshita and Sanyay on Christmas morning
Anu and Lakshita opening pressies
Chris' Christmas pressie
Although we are staying with a Hindu family; they did everything in their power to ensure that we felt at home by making an extra special effort to make Christmas perfect which was lovely.
A parade for a famous Hindi priest
Is that guy carrying horse hair?
For Christmas lunch we had the traditional meal of pasta with chips made by Chris and for dinner we had tradtional Indian food made by Anu... Delicious!
Sanjay flying a kite
Sanjay fixing a new kite
Charly in her new Punjabi Suit
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
written by  chrischarly on December 25, 2010 from Jaipur, India

Sickness and diarrohea... :(
The local rubbish collection in Jaipur
I don't know what I've eaten or caught but I spent pretty much the whole day in bed getting up only to run to the loo :'( Not exactly the perfect Boxing Day...
We are catching our train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal tomorrow, however, there are many protesters about resulting in most of the trains being cancelled and roads closed. So maybe we may just be in Jaipur a few more nights as the last protest lastest 20 days!

Stupid, stupid protesters!
Delhi, India
Wonky house in the fog
Wow... What a difficult and stressful day! After waking up at 4:30am to find our taxi-driver already waiting for us to go to the train station we were in a mad rush to get ready as quick as possible...
Poo cakes and poo makers
We then arrived at the station in plenty of time for our train. We were pretty excited to see the Taj Mahal so really looking forward to getting there; to discover that our friggin' train has been cancelled!
Man taking a break to look at train
Gutted... We were so upset! They also said that no trains would be going to Agra all day so we are stuck in Jaipur! This also meant that we wouldn't make our evening train to Varanassi!
Evil squirrel
So our first plan was to head back to Sanjay's and get some sleep and relax a little, so we got back into the rip-off taxi and went straight back to where we started...
Parrot feeding chicks
Once we woke up the second time we had a look on the internet to see if we could get refunded on our tickets, however, as we booked all of them through travel agents we had to go back to the same travel agents to cancel.
Camel rides
Although this was a pain, it was ok for our first ticket, Jaipur-Agra as we booked it in town, so we got most of the money back. Yet the second ticket, Agra- Varanassi was a little more difficult as we booked it in Kerala, right down the south of India and it wasn't cheap either!
Male parrot protecting the tree
We finally worked out how to get a refund, by getting them to pay the money into Sanjay's account and then he would transfer it into ours, yet we only got a fraction of the money back! So unfair!
Farmers carrying reeds
So pretty upset and unsure whether we would get to see the Taj Mahal, Varanassi or even the National Park which we'd already paid for, we worked out that we could catch a bus to Delhi and then a train from Delhi to Agra and then a train from Agra to Varanassi.
View from train
Such a mission but there's just so much we want to see and you can't go to India and miss these 3 things, especially as they were the ones we were most looking forward to!...
written by  chrischarly on December 27, 2010 from Delhi, India

We finally made it to the Taj!
Agra, India
After finally working our way out of Jaipur we headed to the bus station to travel to Delhi via bus, then Delhi to Agra on the train.
The bus journey was really horrible though and as well as being really late, it was a long lasting 7 hours on a small reclining seat with no leg room.
The windows weren’t insulated and mine was even broken meaning that it kept sliding open! It was freezing! We got barely any sleep and were exhausted once we arrived in manic Delhi, which was in fact cleaner than we expected.
We luckily arrived in plenty of time so went to a little café to wait for our train pretty excited about seeing the Taj finally!
However, our luck still wasn’t to be with us as it then was delayed by 3 hours! Then when the train eventually arrived named the ‘Taj express’ was a joke. It was in fact the slowest train ever taking 2 ½ hours longer than scheduled!
So by the time we eventually arrived in Agra, left our luggage at the train station then walked to lock away our hand luggage as we couldn’t take anything in with us it was almost 4pm and a long queue for tickets and entry greeted us.
So unfortunately our long day meandering around the Taj wasn’t to be, although we did manage a rushed visit and it was very very beautiful; well worth a visit…
The queue to enter the Taj
Taj entrance gate
1st sight of Taj
Taj
Taj close-up by Chris
Hasn't she grown
Chris posing at Taj
Charly posing at Taj
Inventive photography by Chris
Charly posing at the Taj
Us at the Taj
Charly on Princess Diana bench
Millions of Inidans queing for inside
Sunset at Taj Mahal
Then we met up with some friends in the evening for dinner before catching our evening train at 11:30pm!
written by  chrischarly on December 28, 2010 from Agra, India

Finally in Varanasi
Lucknow, India
On the train at last
Charly freezing on train from Agra to Varanasi
The train journey was nowhere near as comfortable as the previous one as we were in ‘Sleeper Class’ which is lower than third class!
Station retirement rooms
More poo cakes
Agra train station, jobs going for rubbish collectors !
Charly' interview smile
It was freezing cold and no one would give us any blankets to use so we used our thin travel towels and shivered to sleep.
Nice clean village by train track
But then after a restless sleep we finally made it to Varanasi. It wasn’t at all what we had expected. We knew that it was a big city so prepared ourselves as best as we could, but to be honest it was a right hole.
More pollution on the Ganges
Boating on the Ganges
Bathing in the Ganges, nice !
After taking a rick-shaw and a very long walk we gladly found our hotel, had something to eat and fall fast asleep even though it was only 3pm in the afternoon.
Chilling in our lovely room with mice, rats, lizards and mozzies
Our lovely room ?!
When we had woken up we discovered that a monkey had been into our room through our windows and stolen all our cigarettes as well as a candle! Then not much later we saw a tiny mouse run across our room, shortly followed by a huge rat! Our room to be honest fits right into Varanasi; just take a look at the photos! There are also tons of mosquitoes which have even bitten me a few times on my face and loads of lizards which we don’t mind as much and even a cow in the front room!
The cow that followed us into our hotel, honest !
But regardless of all that we have an amazing view and stayed in watching films in the evening on our laptop.
written by  chrischarly on December 29, 2010 from Lucknow, India

Exploring the Ganges
Varanasi, India
Today we had a great day exploring Varanasi walking Miles and Miles along the Ganges River taking a look at all the Ghats.
More ghats
Hand painting by girl selling
View along ghats
Hindu God painting on the Ghats
Buffalo on the river Ganges
Poo cakes collected from ghats
We saw many burning bodies that we couldn’t take any photos of; out of respect for the families which we understood.
Some of the many cows
Old temple on the piss in Ganges
Lookingh along the ghats
Near Main ghat
Water fountain or bust water main ?
Sunset from the roof of our hotel
The locals here must have fantastic immune systems as many were bathing in the river here and considering the pollution, dead body parts and rotting animals in the river, you wouldn’t see us copying them!
written by  chrischarly on December 30, 2010 from Varanasi, India

Another long train journey!
Katni, India
Charly with a big smile
This morning we left Varanasi and the strong smells behind us and headed to Katni where we stayed over night before going to Bandhavgarh National Park tomorrow.
Charly chilling on the train
Unsurpringly the train was late arriving by 4 hours which meant we arrived at 11:15pm!
The train, 2A, easy to get lost
Not exactly ideal in a huge town!
Chris and his dot
We found the hotel that was supposedly booked for us fairly easily only to discover that The National Park hadn't made a booking for us!
Some bloke stuck red dots on our head
So we wandered aimlessly around the town until we finaly found somewhere that wasn't fully booked to sleep... Long day...
written by  chrischarly on January 1, 2011 from Katni, India

New Years Eve in Varanasi...
Varanasi, India
Armed guards after bombing in December
Nice hairstyle
This evening we went for a walk once again along the Ganges River but this time at night to watch a celebration happening on the Main Ghat.
This little guy shocked by Puja
Puja on main ghat
Puja on Varanasi main ghat
Although we are still unsure what it was for, it was pretty nice.
Then, in the evening we celebrated the New Year with the Indian family we were staying with. Our first tee-total New Year!!!
Varanasi hotel family and Yoda
New Years Eve celebration, with NO BEER !
A strange evening; yet certainly memorable!
written by  chrischarly on December 31, 2010 from Varanasi, India

We've made it to The National Park!
Umaria, India
Chris with his new Inida friends
After waking up bright and early we caught a train from Katni to Umaria and shared a jeep with 2 friendly Canadians we met to Bandhavgarh National Park.
After a mamouth climb, Charly on train top bunk !
We are staying in a lovely hotel and now ready for our first safari tomorrow afternoon; fingers crossed we see a tiger!
written by  chrischarly on January 2, 2011 from Umaria, India

:(
Umaria, India
No such luck in the search for a tiger today... better luck tommorrow we hope!...
Ready to go see the tigers
Lucky hat, or not so it seems
Tala Zone 1 entrance at Bandhavgarh NP
More amazing views at Bandhavgarh NP
In the back of our Gypsy Jeep
Amazing views in Bandhavgarh NP
Chris and Charly on the hunt for Tigers
Saw plenty of deer,
Sambar deer
More tiger food
Male spotted deer taking a break
Spotted deer eating
Spotted deer looking out for tigers
Spotted deer
monkeys,
Monkey arse
Cheeky monkey
tiger footprints
Pugmarks, they do exist !
and an owl though.
1 of 2 owls hidding in a tree
Yet not as exciting...
written by  chrischarly on January 3, 2011 from Umaria, India

Safari Round 2 - Chris and Charly 0 vs Tigers 2
Umaria, India
Now usually the blog is Charly's domain, but whilst she is busy reading I thought I'd have a go..............
Jackal
It all started with a knock on our door at 05.30am. After a terrible nights sleep - due to insanely cold weather they are having here - we dragged ourselves out of bed, both feeling rotten, and prepared for our first morning safari. To protect ourselves from the bitter cold amplified by the open top jeep our attire went as follows:-
- trousers - CJ x 2, CP x 3
- t-shirts - CJ x 2, CP x 2
- shirt - CJ x 1 (lucky safari shirt), CP x 1
- fleece - both x 1
- cardigan CP x 1
- the big double blanket from our bed
- and of course Chris' lucky'ish Tilley Hat
After all of this prep we still froze to death; there was ice on the ground and we were driving through the park with the full force of the icy wind in our faces.
Elephant rides in Bandhavgarh NP
We had a new guide who was determined to find tigers, and so once we heard of a sighting he directed our driver (now called Colin McRae) to head there top speed. Now let me explain that there are 6 of us in an open top small jeep, driving on pretty rough tracks, all of us holding on for fear of leaving the vehicle at the next bump. It warmed us up slightly at least.
To summarise, we froze, got scared to death and didn't see any tigers. Oh well, 3 more to go, fingers crossed!
The pics in this entry are from our limited sightings, plus it was too cold to operate the camera. We did see a Jackal, and some of the elephants they use to hunt for tigers within the forest, plus the usual Sambar and Spotted deer, and some Warthogs (too quick to take pics of).
Scary spider in our bathroom
Last but not least was the spider Charly found in the bathroom that she promptly decided was going to eat her and went off to get help from the staff (whilst I laid in bed). When they finally came they brought a heater (her hysterical English not getting through), so I stepped out of bed and used my size 10 to dispatch the poor fellow.
written by  chrischarly on January 4, 2011 from Umaria, India

Safari Round 4 - Chris and Charly 1 vs Tigers 3
We finally saw one!
Our first tiger!!!
Granted it ws Miles away but at least we know they're real now!!!

Safari Round 3 - Chris and Charly 0 vs Tigers 3
Still not seen any tigers...
As snug as a bug in a rug
Our safari Jeep
A Lesser Educated Stork- apparently
Little elephant
Mother and 2 babies
An Elephant family
Elephant
A kingfisher
A happy Indian family
Pug Prints, yet still no tiger
Cheeky Bastards
Do they really exist ???

Safari Round 5 - Chris and Charly 2 vs Tigers 3 and then our last safari Safari Round 6 - Chris and Charly 3 vs Tigers 3
Today was the best day so far with regards to the success of our safari... We saw loads of amazing animals,
Loads and loads of bats
A bat
3 monkeys by the side of the road
Caves
Monkey
A 1000 year old temple at the park
In the jungle
A pretty bird
A wild boar
A pretty butterfly
Another Lesser-educated stork
not to mention a 14 year old tiger named B2, the oldest and biggest tiger in the park just a few feet away from us!
The first spotting! A close up tiger walking straight at us from out the jungle!!
Walking straight in front of us
The most amazing animal
B2
The gorgeous tiger
At 14 years old- an elderly male he still looks beautiful
Just after B2 walked straight passed us!
B2 walking infornt of us just after sunrise
B2 walking around
Almost thought he was going to slip
B2 climbing down rocks for a rest
Well this was our last safari and to be honest it was equally as amazing as this morning's.
Almost sunset
The beautiful landscape at Bandhavgarh National Park
A spotted dear and a stork
A male sambar deer
This time almost straight away our guide, Mukesh spotted a female tigress coming out of the jungle heading straight towards us!
Gorgeous animal
Tigress having a rest
JUst got up after a rest
The beautiful tigress we saw
She was so beautiful it was amazing!
walking straight toward us!!!
coming out into the field
Beautiful tiger
The tiger looking around
Walking down a dried up river
We then spent the remaining 3 hours tracking her every move and following her path through the forest in the search of B2, the male tiger we saw this morning for a mate.
Coming right up close to our jeep
Tigress
Walking towards us
Walking away
We knew this as she walked straight towards where we saw him resting this morning and marking the territory by urinating and stratching at trees apparently so he knows she is there as well!
The scratch marks made by a tiger to mark it's territory
The tigress looking at us whilst I am coughing
Clever animals...

A whole day and night on a train... How delightful!!
Balharshah, India
A pretty butterfly
Arriving at the airport at midnight in Katni we were in plenty of time for our train due to depart at 1:10am. As usual when it comes to luck with public transport, both myself and Chris have very little. We were frozen solid with a metal bench to sit on watching the locals 'go the toilet' anywhere they could find a space... Nice... The train arrived just before 3am in completely the wrong platform, but still we made it, thankfully! So for the next 20 hours we just slept and chilled till the train arrived, of course very late than sceduled in Secunderbad.
written by  chrischarly on January 7, 2011 from Balharshah, India

Bye Bye Bandhavgarh
Gondia, India
After an amazing time at Bandhavgarh we took a car to the station at 10pm having missed all the trains to Katni arriving at midnight in plenty of time for our 1:10am train. As usual when it comes to public transport in India it wasn’t on time but 2 hours late leaving us freezing on the platform. When the train did arrive we had to find our beds in complete darkness as everyone was fast asleep. I think we officially had the worst beds in 2nd class on the aisle where everyone bumped into us opening the curtains throughout the night and my bed was even broken. It’s fair to say we both had rubbish sleeps and we were a little grumpy.
Chris and I
Me, Bhavesh and Chris
When we finally arrived in Secunderbad Bhavesh was there waiting for us at the station ready to take us for something to eat at midnight and back to his home for our second couch surfing experience! He was so friendly and stayed up watching films till almost Sunrise.
written by  chrischarly on January 7, 2011 from Gondia, India

Fantastic 2nd couch sufing experience!!
Secunderabad, India
Our bedroom/ living room
When we’d woken up Bhavesh had already gone out and brought breakfast for us! It was delicious! Then we went off to meet his lovely family before he took us around to see the sights of Secunderbad and Hyderbad.
Chris
It’s so much nicer spending time with the locals in India than staying in a dodgy hostel or hotel.
written by  chrischarly on January 8, 2011 from Secunderabad, India

Bye Bye Bhavesh...
Vijayawada, India
Today we had to take another train to Chennai in the evening and although it only had one stop before us to go, only 20 minutes away, it still managed to be 2 ½ hours late to arrive, maybe it is just the norm but still very irritating!
Lights to tell you when the toilets are being used!! How clever!!
A little bit of luxury on our last journey
Our first-class cabin!
This time however we decided to treat ourselves to a first class ticket for our last train journey and although expensive it was nice to have a little bit of luxury. We managed to get the only compartment on the whole train which was for 2 people and it was fantastic with larger beds and loads of space!
written by  chrischarly on January 10, 2011 from Vijayawada, India

Rip-off-Rickshaws...
Chennai, India
Once we got off the train we took a rip-off-rickshaw to the main bus stand in Chennai. It was huge and in fact in largest bus station in the whole of Asia which isn’t surprising when you see the size of it! Yet somehow the first bus driver we asked was going to Pondicherry so it wasn’t as hard as we thought it would be. The journey was long but comfortable as we managed to get the front seats.
Chris having a lie-down
Our neighbours
Charly climbing up the ladder
The view from our little hut
When we arrived in Pondicherry we took another rip-off-rickshaw, and then another until many hours later we found suitable accommodation going outside of town. It was such a mission as all the places were either too expensive or right dives. Finally we found somewhere nice yet rustic on the beach.
written by  chrischarly on January 11, 2011 from Chennai, India

Walking around the French town of Pondicherry
Pondicherry, India
The Gandhi statue
Along the beach-front
Happy to be in Pondicherry!!!
Today we did a lot of exploring of the beautiful Pondicherry; our last stop before Sri Lanka!!
written by  chrischarly on January 12, 2011 from Pondicherry, India

Last day in India; quite possibly forever!
Chennai, India
Today we chilled in Pondicherry for a few hours before getting a bus back to Chennai airport ready to fly to Sri Lanka!! How exciting!! Although we've had many great experiences here in India; I can't see us hurrying back there. It's pretty hard work to be honest and not as fanastic as we expected it to be...
1st on the plane !
On our flight Chennai to Colombo
Anyway next stop: Sri Lanka!!
written by  chrischarly on January 13, 2011 from Chennai, India

Finally in Paradise!!
Colombo, Sri Lanka
It is amazing how clean it is here!.. No filthy streets littered with litter!! No stinky smells!! Paradise!! After waiting for over 6 hours for Chris' parents to arrive it was great to see them again and driving to the luxurious Bentota and stay in Karen and Rohan's gorgeous Guest House...
Our lovely bedroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!
Our lovely bathroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!
1st night in Sri Lanka
Mmmmmm, Lion beer... first one for 2.5 weeks!!
Charly and her 1st drink for 2.5 months!!
Time for some pampering!! Yay!!
written by  chrischarly on January 14, 2011 from Colombo, Sri Lanka

Lovely Lovely Lovely Lovely Lovely Lovely Chill day...
Bentota, Sri Lanka
Today was a great day spending time doing very little and loving it...
Charly and Mum chilling
Our balcony
although not much sunshin here today... at least we are not in the U.K though!!! Hehe...
written by  chrischarly on January 15, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

A Huge Toad
Bentota, Sri Lanka
Yet again another chill day...
check out the massive toad though!!!
The toad
The huge toad
A wine bottle put behind the toad to show just how big it was
written by  chrischarly on January 16, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

A Huge Snake...
Bentota, Sri Lanka
The pool ready for our swimming challenge
Right behind the pool today was a huge snake hiding in the toilet/massage room!!! The photo is in the photo album though and not on this entry as Chris' mum is so petrified of snakes she can't look at the photo! Bless her she won't even go and have a massage now in case she comes face-to-face with them!
written by  chrischarly on January 17, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

Celebrating 100 (joint) years !
Today was both Karen and Mark's 50th birthday so to celebrate we spent pretty much the day drinking champagne, setting off fireworks and eating some of Chris' delicious food!!!
Me enjoying a champagne breakfast!
Birthday morning
Our table
Chris in his element cooking
Champagne!
Some fireworks set off from the balcony
Chris bringing out Mark and Karen's 50th birthday cake
Mark and Karen blowing out their candles
Mark dancing with Bobby
What a treat!!!

Leaving the Guest House Haven!!..
This evening was the first time I had actually left the guest House ever since arriving for some yummy dinner!
Us at Esscofier
Karen and Rohan
It was pretty scary, but I suppose I had to do it some time!

The alarm on my phone bought me to life at 0538, I had planned it to be 0530 but keyed it in wrong and figured I could do with the further 8 minutes.
I quickly dressed and donned my lucky hat to ensure the fish would be biting. The fishing team consisted of me, dad and Mark (our northern pal) - I was very excited and so were the rest of the team..........
Don't look too interested boys !
The first thing we caught was a fantastic view of the sun rising over the coastline, then it went all quiet and the four trawling rods didn't even twitch.
Sunrise from the boat
Finally, one of the rods started to run and Mark took it, unfortunately not with fish still attached.
At about 0830 we decided to crack open a beer, we were at sea after all. However, Dad was slightly green and did not partake in any beverage consumption. I couldn't even tempt him with a hardboiled egg form our picnic, although I enjoyed trying!
Steve and Mark before Steve goes green!
A few hours in, and our only highlight was seeing a pair of randy sea horses having it off, the captain sent the "full stop" order, and we prepared ourselves for some hard-core reef fishing. With our sophisticated hand lines wrapped around old plastic bottles, we searched the deep for a monster catch. We hooked a few goldfish and one interesting looking creature - that I was advised was not good eating.
Steve's head replaced by a fish
After an hour or so of this riveting entertainment, and the gentle roll of the boat sending dad a further shade of green, we headed back.
Waiting for the fishies
Demoralised by our poor catch we still put the trawling rods out in hope of the monster. Then, when we had finally given up all hope a reel started screaming and I jumped to action, striking hard to make sure and taking up position in the fighting chair!
Chris reeling in his big catch!
The fight was not a long one, but was a tough one, as it appeared the fish was foul hooked and was trying its best to get free, so much so that close to the boat a rather larger Barracuda thought it could take my prize off me - a few seconds more the captain would have gaffed them both but the Barracuda departed leaving only teeth marks in my catch.
Gaffed by skip
Chris' massive catch !
Big fish!
Now I know it doesn't look much but it was a nice catch and went down very well with the folks after I filleted and beer battered it later that day. Keep watching, as I'm keen to get out on the sea again, as is Mark, dad however will be leaving the team and we are actively looking for a replacement.
Until next time, CJ.

Note to everyone... get you hair cut by someone who understands English!!!
The land turtle
A land turtle
Today I left the guest House once again but this time to get my hair cut!!! It's so short now!!! Although I repeatedly said 'keep it long' I don't think he understood me and kept saying 'I will make it nice' and granted, yet it does look nice but I like my hair long! Now I struggle to put it all up :(

....
Nothing much happens here in Paradise...
Off for a swim...
Me after a swim
Sorry to rub it in to all the people working 9-5 :)

After leaving the villa the last night to recover we once agin stayed in...
Lunch...
Yummy arrack cocktails!!
kinda running out of things to stay as we do NOTHING!

Yummy meal
Me and Steve
Chris and his mama...
Today we had a yummy meal at Marley's once again venturing out of the villa, yet the staff were so sickly sweet it made you want to vomit!

Sri Lanka...
Monkeys!!!
Cute monkey
Monkey in the trees in our garden
Monkey!

My Hair..
After too many people have asked... begrudgingly here is a photo our me with short hair :(
Me with short wet hair...
It had to ba photo taken when my hair is wet as it frizzes up to a fluff ball when dry here and lots unfortunately even shorter and VILE!!! :) Only kidding, I'm getting used to it now :)
Anyway, took a little stroll all the way down to the beach today!
Lovely beach yet dead deserted
Bentota beach
Footprints in the sand

Releasing the turtles
This evening at 9pm I went down to the beach to release some turtles into the sea.
A HUGE turtle
A huge turtle at the hatchery
When they are picked up still as eggs off the beach by locals, they are brought to the turtle hatchery where they are cared for until they hatch.
A very friendly turtle
A poor turtle unable to be set free as he has a broken back! :(
A swimming little turtle
Hundreds of day-old turtles
Then, when the are merely a day or two old they are released back into the sea where they will have a greater chance of survival than they would have had if the eggs remained on the beach.
About to set my turtle free...
The turtles walking to the sea after we let them go
The reason they are released at night is so the birds etc wouldn't see them as clearly, but still they have only 1 in a 100 chance of survival!

Sri Lanka
Locals playing volleyball
Elephant on a main road!
The road down to our guest house
A pretty pond!
Hot and flustered
A lovely day...

Rain...
Chris tucking into his breakfast
Chris looking silly eating a mango
Posing with a banana...
Chris still eating his breakfast
A not-so-lovely day today... too much rain all day...
rain rain go away
raining in paradise
Admiring the pool from a distance as it's raining :(
Stupid rain storms spoiling our sun-bathing
amazing thunderstorms though!

Chillaxing
A chill day...
Reading books in the pool
Enjoying a beverage in the pool
Chris' mum and Maisie on their balcony
Our pool
as with any other day!
Shark teeth
Dinner...
Tying up the crabs
Massive crabs
A crab fighting back!
Alive crabs back home
Fish market
Lovely weather so barely left the pool except to get some crabs for dinner!

Pool...
Elephant
Modelling the sarongs for us
Reading books in the pool
Enjoying a beverage in the pool
Denushka up a tree picking coconuts!
Nope, you'll never catch me doing that!!
Another relaxing day at Shangri Lanka!

Yummy pork roast
Yummy Sri Lankan curry for breakfast... tasty gorgeousness
Monkey
The back of Rohan's head
Our spit-roast pork
Pig roast dinner
written by  chrischarly on February 1, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

Last day in Sri Lanka... :( :( :( :(
Today is our last night in Sri Lanka and we are both gutted to be trading our lovely comfy bed to a thin mattress designed for the cheap-skate backpackers we will transform into by tomorrow...
Me, Chris and Steve squeezed into a tuk-tuk! Very cosy!
Mo, Chris and I
Chris and our super-friendly waiter
More importantly though it will be really upsetting to say goodbye to Chris' parents, Chris and Steve. 3 weeks has gone far too quickly...
written by  chrischarly on February 2, 2011 from Bentota, Sri Lanka

Our Boeing 777 to Mumbai

Charly resting in Mumbai airport

Mumbai Domestic Terminal at 5am

Fishermen

The restaurant we went to didn't have a licence to serve alcohol- thus Chris had his beer in a mug so it looked like coffee!!

Me in the restaurant

Locals

Early evening walk

The beach front

Pretty butterfly

Gorgeous secluded beach

me on the lovely beach

2 temples

Check out the hair!

More amzing views

Me

Chris

Lovin' the lighthouse

Amazing viwe of Kovalum

Our delhi friends

the beach

A big bird

The millions of stairs we climbed

Lighthouse

A bin ??

The term and conditions

The lighthouse we climbed

The head light-house keeper

enjoying a lovely walk

me eating the true indian way

beautiful sunset

another picture of the lions

the train we went on

kovalam beach

crammed on 2nd class

the beach at night

a lovely sunset

a lizard

standing at the back of the boat

more beautiful views

lion

male lion

2 lions

on the boat

a lioness

crammed like sardines on a bus

chris seriously unimpressed with having to wear a life jacket!

the lake we went on

the dam

amazing views again

the crocodiles right by our feet !!!!!

beautiful scenery

inside the crocodile enclosure !!!!!!

our hotel room in kovalum

view from our hotel

steve irwin

an internet cafe

a restaurant in Varkala

our bacony in kovalum

chris busy working

the north cliff

sitting on our balcony

Chris drenched by the rain

the view from where we're staying

chris in our rick-shaw

drenched by the rain storm

our fish dinner

our rickshaw driver

a rick-shaw ride

over-taking a rick-shaw

Another big bird

Chris waiting to buy some munch

Boys swimming

2 men rowing

3 men fishing

Sunset at Fort Cochin

Me surrounded by an Indian family

Oil storage

Beach covered in rubbish

Ship yard

Chinese fishing nets

Fishing

Santa Cruz Cathedral

Us on a seriously crowded bus

A lovely sunset on the water

A lady washing her clothes

A man inhis fishing hut

A nie photo!

Hundreds of ducks

A man fishing

Us on the ferry

A man washing his bits

a fishing boat

Chris about to order some munch

A guy fishing

Chris' dream woman

Haha, me and Chris stole the best seats!!

All the white people rushing to get the best seats

The houseboat I wanted to go on...too much money

A house-boat

Compromise- A ferry along the backwaters

Our bargain room

Our balcony at Clafouti

Lovely beach

The sea

A Mosque

Chris pointing at our accomodation

a transport boat?

Yummy Ice-cream

A rat loving the India trash

Hello Friend

Sunset

Chinese fishing net

Sunset at Fort Kochin

Us getting the best seats first on the bus!

The bus driver's seat, looks comfy!

Ernakulam bus station

The bus drivers view is restricted by clouds

Cows bocking the main road

Tea being picked

More tea...

Me with Tea

Chris holding a pretty Indian girl

More tea plantations

Wild honey on a tree

The mountains

More gorgeous views

Me by the lake

Chris photo shop work

Gorgeous views

Our rick-shaw

Tea plantations

A 'normal' monkey- as quoted by our guide

The view from 'Top Station'... disappointing

A huge landslide

A powerful dam

Chris having a sneaky wee...

The hill where we spotted the elephants

2 elephants, baby is sleeping

Walking towards us!

The baby elephant feeding

3 Indian wild elephants!

Our home in Munnar

the front of the steam train

the bridge we crossed across

the steam train

the blue mountain railway

the view blocked by clouds

monkeys attempting to break into the train

having a break off the train

the stream high in the mountains

a stream high up in the clouds

me and reggie

a pretty waterfall

our train

our 2nd class carriage with a random man waving in the distance

going through a tunnel

loads and loads of trees

a cute little village

the scenery from the train

the cutest little girl we played peeka-boo with on the bus

a tree passageway

a deer a lot like bambi

our safari jeep

Tiger footprints!!

A monkey far away

An elephant, unfortunately with chains around it's neck

Our safari driver weariing Chris' lucky hat

Us pushing the bus as it was too close to our jeep

Chris and our safari driver

More schoolchildren

Schoolchildren waving at us

A kingfisher

Me and Reggie

Me and Reggie in the sea

Our footprints on the beach

Another nice view

Graffiti on leaves

A lovely view

3 men fishing with rubber rings!

A lighthouse

Local school children

Me surrounded by a local school

A British Cannon

A View from the top of the fort

The Fort

Us walking through the fort

2 men fishing

Local boys

Local Boys

A man showing off his catch to us!

A heron or a stork ??

Cows on the road

A lovely Mangrove walk, but too many Mozzies

Our new friend Ragina and her camera

A pretty bridge

Chris imitating a statue

Cows munching on rubbish

A huge craft shop

the band playing

the facinating palace

this photo makes it look like the palace is floating???

thousands of lights

the palace

a side view

a close up to the 90,000 lights

the main gates to the palace

the palace entrance all lit up

The palace at night

a hindu statue

me and a rick-shaw driver

a temple

the sacred bull

sweet children

Mysore palace

a tiger monument

the palace gates in the day

Chris negotiating the 10 rupees payment for a photo

the car that took us from Mysore- Hampi

in the middle of no where

the walk down to the ferry

the view from our place

monkeys

the kitten sniffing our shoes

2 boys and a tiny kitten

and another...

Queens bath

the dead snake

and to see another...

climbing over rocks to see yet another temple

an ancient stone monument

'Quality ice-cream

a squirrel having a munch

another religious building

the elephant's stable

me stood in a doorway in an elephant's stable

me attempting to hide from Chris

getting closer...

the snake blocking our path

a chariot

the snake climbing towards us!!!!!

one of many monumenets we've seen

a scary-looking monkey

the temple at the top of the hill

a photo taken of a film set before we got thrown out!

some of the many men desperate for our photo- we took one of them instead

us driving through a shallow river

a relatively clean river in Hampi

women washing their clothes and theirselves

a man having a wash in a fast-flowing river

giving a local school boy a lift

a bear licking honey from a rock

2 sloth bears

a monkey scavenging inside a bin

the elephant giving his owner my money

giving the rip-off elephant 10 rupees

being blessed by an elephant

one of the many photos taking of the children- obsessed with having their photo taken

children begging me to take their photo

a seriously erotic stone monument

the steps we climbed

another nice view

the not-so-amazing temple at the top

all hot and bothered looking like a beetroot after the climb

A monkey admiring the view with us

Half way there- already exhausted!

the view from the 675 steps

the ferry crossing

putting a very expensive&very heavy bike on a small boat- only way to cross!

Pushing the very heavy bike up the hill

trying to re-start the bike

a sloth bear

our back garden

view from our room

The rocks look like they will fall off!

so peaceful up here

our accomodation in Hampi

the rocks Mum thinks look like ducks!

gorgeous view from this high!

sunset

One of the 4 frogs found in our room

rocks that look like they will fall off!!!

up on the boulders

again, lovely views...

Hampi

monkeys playing

The boulder

lovely views

Goan Corner

Our friend Adrian climbing the boulders

almost there

getting there

made it!

where we stayed in Hampi

the courtyard

Sharmilla our landlady

the awesome bar/ restaurant

where we are staying

boulders

the boulders

Ginger asleep

me working hard on this blog

our room right at the back of the coach

all of the other compartments down the bus

before the journey began- hence why we're smiling

the view from our little room on the sleeper coach

quiet beach

where we were in the empty restaurant

just as the sun was rising

taking a walk

a very calm morning on Om beach

early morning

the sunrise

digesting his food before it tries to lick my feet later!

a cute little puppy

then the puppy finds some cow poo on the beach

then decides it's lunch!.. Yuck

Chris proud of his catch

Chris killin' the fish

a zoom in on the fish so it looks bigger

Chris fishing

outside our huts

our little bargain room

the toilets and bucket showers

Me and our 2 new friends Becks and Dal

Where we are staying right on the beach

the lovely Om beach

a sunset on Om beach

The view on our walk

An Indian tribal man watching the world go by...

The boat we caught back

Dal and Becks posing

Becks pretending to be a pirate

Paradise beach

Me loving the sunshine

Dal fast asleep after our walk!

only 1/4 of where we climbed

the palm tree where it's perfect to spot dolphins!

Our place from the boat

sunset on Om beach

lovely sunset

The sun vanishing!

Chris seriously excited at thoght of night-net-fishing !

bringing in the net

Looking for the fish they'd caught

Chris happy with all the fish they'd caught

me cuddling one of the puppies who wasn't eating poo yesterday!

Our crazy bar-man with a seriously high-pitched laugh!

Chris looking rugged and unshaven...

Chris now shaven and having a massage

..then having a wash!

Chris having a swim...

Chris sitting on the rocks unaware that he's lost his bait, weight and hook!

our lovely beach we're staying on

climbing along the rocks about a km away

Me taking a walk along the beach during sunset... lovely !!

A cow on the beach

Chris' big fish

Chris and Charly enjoying last meal in Gokarna

Puppies sleeping at Dolphin Bay Cafe Gokarna

One of many, many beach bars on Calangute beach

Calangute Beach

Chris, Del and Becky

Chris chilling on Calangute beach

Chris trying to set timer on camera, not very well !

Charly relaxing on the sleeper bus

On the sleeper bus from Goa to Mumbai, very cosy !

Still our first sleeper train....still very long !

Our first sleeper train.......very long !

Chris at Bandra Train Station in Mumbai

The moon at sunset taken from the train

Oytside our home in Jaipur

Cows in the middle of the highway

Massive monkeys taking over an Indian home

A pedal rick-shaw! What a work-out!

So instead we took these 2 photos off of post-cards to pretend we saw it!

Entrance to the City Palace was 300rps each!

Hawa Mahal from street

Entrance to Hawa Mahal

Inside Hawa Mahal

Chaotic traffic

Standing in a pretty window

Chris posing for the Indians to take photos of him!

Top of Hawa Mahal

Our first proper long stay in a city- Jaipur

Touching the top of the palace

View from top of Hawa Mahal

Me and a little Indian girl

Hawa Mahal

The bustling streets of Jaipur

Amber palace over-looking Jaipur city

Entering the Hawa Mahal

A straight to the point sign!

Rubbish just dumped in a beautiful place

Jantar-Mantar, very old astrology/astronomy centre

Making us feel like home by having a tree although we're living with a Hindu family

Annu, Sanjay and Me after we finished decorating the tree

Our Indian Christmas tree

I think he is leaning away ?!

Chris sitting right at front of bus on way to Amber Palace

Amber Palace

Charly and Amber Palace

Chris and Charly at Amber Palace

Elephant taxi at Amber Palace

Charly getting up close and personal with elephant taxi at Amber Palace

A clear day where we can see for miles

View from Amber Palace

View within Amber Palace

View of Nargarh Fort from Amber Palace

The Gorgeous Water Palace in Jaipur

Fish in the Water Palace lake

Water Palace Jaipur

Our Christmas tree stacked with presents!!!

Anu, Lakshita and Sanyay on Christmas morning

Anu and Lakshita opening pressies

Chris' Christmas pressie

The local rubbish collection in Jaipur

A parade for a famous Hindi priest

Is that guy carrying horse hair?

Sanjay flying a kite

Sanjay fixing a new kite

Charly in her new Punjabi Suit

Charly in her new Punjabi Suit next to our Christmas tree

Chris and Charly and a Christmas Tree

On the train at last

Village under road

More poo cakes

Wonky house in the fog

View from train

The queue to enter the Taj

Taj entrance gate

Man taking a break to look at train

Taj

1st sight of Taj

Hasn't she grown

Charly posing at Taj

Chris posing at Taj

Inventive photography by Chris

Taj close-up by Chris

Charly posing at the Taj

Us at the Taj

Millions of Inidans queing for inside

Evil squirrel

Taj queue to get inside

Male parrot protecting the tree

Parrot feeding chicks

Charly on Princess Diana bench

Sunset at Taj Mahal

Camel rides

Station retirement rooms

Charly' interview smile

Agra train station, jobs going for rubbish collectors !

Charly freezing on train from Agra to Varanasi

The cow that followed us into our hotel, honest !

More pollution on the Ganges

Boating on the Ganges

Bathing in the Ganges, nice !

Chilling in our lovely room with mice, rats, lizards and mozzies

Our lovely room ?!

More ghats

Some of the many cows

Old temple on the piss in Ganges

Near Main ghat

Water fountain or bust water main ?

Hand painting by girl selling

View along ghats

Buffalo on the river Ganges

Poo cakes collected from ghats

Lookingh along the ghats

Hindu God painting on the Ghats

Sunset from the roof of our hotel

Armed guards after bombing in December

Puja on main ghat

Nice hairstyle

This little guy shocked by Puja

New Years Eve celebration, with NO BEER !

Puja on Varanasi main ghat

Varanasi hotel family and Yoda

Charly with a big smile

Charly chilling on the train

The train, 2A, easy to get lost

Chris and his dot

Some bloke stuck red dots on our head

Chris with his new Inida friends

After a mamouth climb, Charly on train top bunk !

Ready to go see the tigers

Lucky hat, or not so it seems

Tala Zone 1 entrance at Bandhavgarh NP

Pugmarks, they do exist !

Sambar deer

More tiger food

Male spotted deer taking a break

Spotted deer eating

More amazing views at Bandhavgarh NP

In the back of our Gypsy Jeep

Spotted deer looking out for tigers

Amazing views in Bandhavgarh NP

Monkey arse

Cheeky monkey

Spotted deer

Chris and Charly on the hunt for Tigers

1 of 2 owls hidding in a tree

Scary spider in our bathroom

Elephant rides in Bandhavgarh NP

Jackal

Our safari Jeep

As snug as a bug in a rug

Pug Prints, yet still no tiger

Cheeky Bastards

Little elephant

Mother and 2 babies

An Elephant family

Elephant

Our first tiger!!!

A Lesser Educated Stork- apparently

A happy Indian family

The first spotting! A close up tiger walking straight at us from out the jungle!!

Walking straight in front of us

The most amazing animal

The gorgeous tiger

At 14 years old- an elderly male he still looks beautiful

Just after B2 walked straight passed us!

B2 walking infornt of us just after sunrise

B2 walking around

Almost thought he was going to slip

B2 climbing down rocks for a rest

Loads and loads of bats

A bat

3 monkeys by the side of the road

Caves

Monkey

A 1000 year old temple at the park

In the jungle

A pretty bird

A wild boar

A pretty butterfly

Another Lesser-educated stork

walking straight toward us!!!

coming out into the field

Beautiful tiger

Gorgeous animal

Tigress having a rest

JUst got up after a rest

Walking down a dried up river

The tiger looking around

The scratch marks made by a tiger to mark it's territory

Coming right up close to our jeep

Tigress

Almost sunset

Walking towards us

Walking away

The tigress looking at us whilst I am coughing

The beautiful landscape at Bandhavgarh National Park

A male sambar deer

A spotted dear and a stork

The beautiful tigress we saw

Our bedroom/ living room

Chris and I

Me, Bhavesh and Chris

Lights to tell you when the toilets are being used!! How clever!!

A little bit of luxury on our last journey

Our first-class cabin!

Chris having a lie-down

Our neighbours

Charly climbing up the ladder

The view from our little hut

The Gandhi statue

Along the beach-front

Happy to be in Pondicherry!!!

1st on the plane !

On our flight Chennai to Colombo

Our lovely bedroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!

Our lovely bathroom, for 1 night, till we get moved !!

Charly and Mum chilling

The pool ready for our swimming challenge

Our balcony

Charly and her 1st drink for 2.5 months!!

Mmmmmm, Lion beer... first one for 2.5 weeks!!

1st night in Sri Lanka

The toad

A wine bottle put behind the toad to show just how big it was

The snake hiding in the massage room!

Steve's head replaced by a fish

Don't look too interested boys !

Sunrise from the boat

Prepped and raring to go

Fighting the monster

Gaffed by skip

Chris' massive catch !

Steve and Mark before Steve goes green!

The huge toad

Sunrise

Big fish!

Waiting for the fishies

Chris reeling in his big catch!

Birthday morning

Me enjoying a champagne breakfast!

Our table

Chris in his element cooking

Champagne!

Some fireworks set off from the balcony

Mark and Karen blowing out their candles

Chris bringing out Mark and Karen's 50th birthday cake

The land turtle

A palm tree at moonlight

Mark dancing with Bobby

Us at Esscofier

A land turtle

Karen and Rohan

Off for a swim...

Lunch...

Me after a swim

Hot and flustered

The road down to our guest house

Cute monkey

Monkey in the trees in our garden

Yummy arrack cocktails!!

Bloody early starts...

A necklace made out of a flower!

Locals playing volleyball

Elephant on a main road!

Monkey!

A pretty pond!

Me and Steve

Chris and his mama...

Chris looking silly eating a mango

Chris still eating his breakfast

rain rain go away

Me with short wet hair...

raining in paradise

Posing with a banana...

Admiring the pool from a distance as it's raining :(

Chris tucking into his breakfast

Lovely beach yet dead deserted

My gorgeous boyfriend

Bentota beach

Footprints in the sand

Nope, you'll never catch me doing that!!

Denushka up a tree picking coconuts!

Reading books in the pool

Modelling the sarongs for us

A HUGE turtle

A very friendly turtle

Enjoying a beverage in the pool

Chris' mum and Maisie on their balcony

A poor turtle unable to be set free as he has a broken back! :(

About to set my turtle free...

A huge turtle at the hatchery

A swimming little turtle

The turtles walking to the sea after we let them go

Stupid rain storms spoiling our sun-bathing

Hundreds of day-old turtles

Our spit-roast pork

The back of Rohan's head

Pig roast dinner

Our pool

Yummy Sri Lankan curry for breakfast... tasty gorgeousness

Dinner...

Tying up the crabs

Massive crabs

A crab fighting back!

Alive crabs back home

Fish market

Shark teeth

Mo, Chris and I

Chris and our super-friendly waiter

Me, Chris and Steve squeezed into a tuk-tuk! Very cosy!