Interesting India 🇮🇳🪷

We flew into India late at night and then took a 90 minute rainy taxi ride to the historic town of Ft. Kochi, India. It was a free flight layovers on Air Asia. We were pleasantly surprised to wake up to the colorful Hindu Holiday celebration of 'Onam'. Beautiful saris, cultural Temple dances and food carts made a festive day.  Local crowds took beach walks, but no one went swimming. It is monsoon time and the ocean is dangerous. There were hardly any tourists. The local restaurant owners asked us to write Google reviews to attract new customers. I felt sorry for them. Hopefully, more people will return to this historic city soon. 

This official floral design was displayed at all the city building entrances for the holiday. We watched the hotel employee create this  design from a bagful of flower petals with an Internet pattern grid. She told us this was her first time. Good job! 👍

The next day we flew on two crowded flights to the magical city of Goa. We arrived late at night and bought a cheap bottle of Indian wine from a local shop. Then we walked into our hotel and the employee pointed to the sign on his door. "No alcohol or drugs allowed." Whoops! There is only one other guest here in the low tourist season. We finally met the Dutch guest at the Yoga class. The owner has two large Rottweiler dogs that guard the lobby at night. I'm scared of them. There are many sacred cows wandering the streets and sleeping in the middle of the road. They cause traffic jams!

Every morning, we walk  along the sandy beach.⛱️ There are red warning flags not to swim because of the undertow. That doesn't stop swimmers from tackling the big waves.  🌊 We had a local lunch today at a beach cafe. Doesn't it look like the guest walked right out of the restaurant mural?

On the walk back to our hotel, a 61 year old New Zealand hippie stopped us to talk. He came to Goa 20 years ago and said he is the only follower left from his ashram in Bali.  The hippie told us to enjoy each day because the end is near. Yikes!😳 His wife moved back home to New Zealand and asked him to call their 20 year old son more. The skinny hippie said he is too busy meditating to call him. Hmmm... This conversation left me feeling unsettled. He looked malnourished with crazy eyes. I googled his guru's name and found out he moved to Oregon and Netflix made a documentary called "Wild, Wild Country." The cult story involves drugs, murder and poison. Yikes!😳 

However, many groups can have a positive effect! The Indian Girl Guides were at the Goa beach today picking up trash. It helps to focus on daily positive acts in life!👏 

Our hotel treated us to a home cooked Indian lunch in our lobby. The spicy smell filled our room. We tried flatbread with Dal and assorted vegetable dishes. It was delicious! Tonight our hotel is offering a Yoga class.🧘‍♀️ The Dutch guest is coming too. Tot Ziens!🧘Yoga & Dal🥣

This morning we were the only customers at a local outdoor cafe. They were installing a tandoor chicken oven which took four men to lift. It has a deep hole under it where they put the coal. Can't wait to try it for dinner!

On my last day, I took a taxi half an hour north into the hills to visit an old friend. Michelle and I worked together in the Curriculum Office at International School of Bangkok.    

Michelle just moved from New Delhi and was hanging beautiful paintings on the wall. Goa is a province that reaches from the beach to the green hills 100 miles away. We caught up with each other over an Indian lunch with her husband and son. Michelle wrote a book about the history of Goa that is being published soon. It was a fun, magical day!🌴

Good bye Goa! Today we are off to the airport flying to Bombay and then onto Dubai. It will be a shock to return to a big, busy modern city after the tranquility of magical Goa. 🐄🇮🇳🌊