Welcome to our travel blog!

We will try to update this every couple of weeks for family and friends… if you’re interested! 😆

Well we have been here for almost two weeks now! We are currently sat in an Indian family’s home in Kerala, soaking in the sun on a little patio in the 32 degree heat. Ahhh… Bliss.

Delhi was the first place we arrived at, which feels like a lifetime ago now. We stepped off the 9 hour plane journey, eventually got our visas stamped (after queuing for 3 hours) and strolled through the airport past all the ATMs, Currency Exchange Bureaus and surprisingly a Costa; only to find ourselves in the 30 degree heat with two overly large rucksacks, sleep deprivation and no Indian Rupee. Yes, we had arrived in India with no local money. Two taxis, a slight panic and a Tuck Tuck ride later we had managed to find a local Currency Exchange Bureau willing to exchange the only £10 sterling we had which just about covered the fare and some snacks. So most of our first evening in Delhi was spent trying to find a working ATM – and this proved to be a lot harder than we had originally expected! The rest of our evening was spent in the local train station. We really can’t explain this experience in words, partly because by this point we were zombified from all the travelling and the whole thing now feels like a dream. Two clueless white girls rocking up at the madness that is Delhi station, unable to even say “hello” in the local language and who had only just worked out how to draw Rupee out of an ATM, now had to book train tickets to Agra. The first hour of this task was spent trying to find platform 1. No joke. We had been told this was where the office was for foreigners to book train tickets. We walked endlessly round the station, back and forth asking more and more people, eventually adopting an Indian accent ourselves when speaking to people, only to be told “That way” with a smile and a nod. Verging on having a nervous breakdown we finally found the office – on platform 1. As we desperately approached the man behind the counter he kindly informed us that the train we needed was fully booked. Argh. We ended up getting a taxi to Agra the following day which took us straight to the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was AMAZING and Bradley White if you’re reading this it was nothing like Angkor WTF!

After spending time in Agra and Delhi we headed out on a short internal flight to Goa, timed perfectly for NYE! Lots of partying on the beach, bonfires, tequila and fireworks! This was such a funny night, after constantly having to introduce ourselves to local men we soon made it more interesting… Jen suddenly became a famous actress from the UK which made all the men very excited but left her having to answer some difficult questions on the spot, like what kind of film is she currently in, to which she replied, “It’s a bit like 24 hours in A&E!”. Our names soon turned into Doris and Gertrude and the general aim of the game was to tell the best biggest lie. Which, after a lot of alcohol is the funniest game ever. Definitely a memorable new year!!!

As lovely as Goa is, it’s very touristy and as a backpacker on a tight budget, even £5 for a three course meal soon becomes expensive! So with our poor haggling skills we decided to move on.

Now, the original half-drawn-up plan from England had been to catch a 4-5 hour bus from Goa to Hampi, then on to Bangalore and through to Pondicherry. However, at the last minute we realised that by taking this route we would be missing out on one of the main areas of India – Kerala – much further south and miles away from where we were. We didn’t know if any buses went there, our budget wouldnt allow us to fly and our only experience of the train was Delhi train station – which as you are now aware was not a very positive one! But the Kerala Backwaters were calling and seemed more appealing than sightseeing in another city… So, Kerala it was.

This was to be our first major attempt at travelling from one main area to another – India style! We decided to get a bus to Mangalore and the train from Mangalore to Kerala. Fresh faced, fed, watered and well rested we turned up at the bus station in Goa… feeling prepared and optimistic for the journey ahead. We managed to book our bus for around £10 and then our train tickets from Mangalore to Kerala for £1.45 – BARGAIN!

The journey started at 8pm on the Tuesday when we jumped on the 10 hour night bus. All very exciting with a big bed, plug sockets and probably the softest mattress we had slept on yet. However, fast forward 10 hours and we were dragging our much hated backpacks through the dreaded train station in Mangalore at 6am and our excitement had been overtaken by fatigue, hunger and a strong craving for inaccessible coffee. Slumped in metal stools, exhausted and listening to the same train announcement playing on a loop we waited to board our train. With the odd Indian person walking past snapping pictures of us.

7:20am and we boarded the train. I don’t think anything could have prepared us for this experience and we soon realised why our ticket was only £1.45. A metal bench which was shared with many, a small shutter for a window, cockroaches weaving in and out of our feet and to top it off the loudest family with two screaming kids and one very loud rattle. Oh, and no air con, 36 degree heat and no water. The train chugging, the constant sound of a tray salesman walking up and down our carriage shouting “Coppi Coppi” (coffee – which unfortunately didn’t satisfy our earlier craving) and a three year old child smacking its rattle against our arms. We travelled like this for 15 hours none stop. At one point we did think we might die on that train.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse, an urge to check our train ticket one last time made us realise that we had missed our stop by miles and had been sat on the train for an hour longer than we needed to. A very friendly elderly local man helped us and told us to jump off the train at the next station, with our bags, in the middle of the tracks and to run across them and jump onto another train which was ready to depart on the other side – “Because we wouldn’t have enough time to get off on the platform and walk over the bridge!” As much as we appreciated his help, we decided to splash out on a taxi before we both had a mental breakdown.

Finally we arrived at a little guesthouse where we were greeted by an Indian lady and two ice cold bottles of coke. After travelling for 25 hours with 500 mls of water, our prayers had been answered. We fell into the chairs at her table and she repeatedly asked her son to quickly fetch two glasses – turning her back for a split second, she turned back around to see us downing the bottles. As we glanced up we noticed a total look of horror and disgust on her face as she held out the glasses and probably realised she had let two pigs into her home! This may have been a ‘had to be there’ moment, but still has us in stitches every time we think about it!

Since arriving in Kerala we can honestly say that even that journey was worth it! It’s a beautiful place and the people here are so friendly. We have been staying with a family and have spent our days relaxing on a quiet, secluded beach with white sands and clear waters… 😌 We are going on an overnight boat trip over the next couple of days to Kerala Backwaters and will spend the next week recharging our batteries before we attempt to get to the next place!!!

Jen and Rach xxx