The First of Many Stops
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to explore the world, thats why I’m travelling to Australia (and who knows where else along the way).
I have been desperate to explore the world outside of Europe since pre-covid, when all of our lives changed dramatically.
For me, life changed dramatically, from Living in France, to moving back to England as we entered lockdown and not knowing what would come next.
It’s taken a few years to get around to this, the time in-between has been full of good times and good people, and a few difficulties to navigate along the way, but it wouldn’t be real without them and I can honestly say that the wait has been worthwhile.
Blogging is a first for me, so I’m starting small here. I’ll be documenting my travels along the way keeping the writing short and the photos sweet. Photography is my thing, capturing moments and creating stories through images, so you can expect these blogs to be more pictures than words.
Why Goa? Due to the distance from Europe to Australia a stopover is needed. Rather than sit in an airport for who knows how many hours, for the same price, we could stop and visit our good friend Rico. He is in the process of building a new restaurant with his friend Roger in a town called Benaulim, South Goa.
If you’ve made it this far, and interested in following my journey I welcome you on board –
‘Please fasten your seat belts, stow away your tray table and ensure your bags are underneath the seat in front of you. You are no longer able to use the toilet… ‘ – EasyJet.
Well that last part is not true, but it’s a little inside joke of ours.
India – Assault on the Senses
From the moment you arrive, India wages war on your senses.
The sights, the sounds and the scents all simultaneously assault you. Every aspect of life in India is chaotic but amazing.
Like everyone we met in India, we were warmly welcomed by our mutual friend Roger, who let us stay in his apartment, overlooking the restaurant that him and our friend Rico are building.
I captured these men using their ancient but trusted techniques. They are building the foundations of what will be, soon enough, a unique new ‘smoked meat’ restaurant in Benaulim, Goa.
We spent two weeks here exploring the local area. Watching the local fishermen, eating the most delicious food, and enjoying a few cocktails on the beach while watching the sunset. We also invented our new game ‘Sea Frisbee'(Normal frisbee, neck deep in salt water).
We hired mopeds to get around, explored South Goa and the local area, with the breeze flowing through our hair instead of sweat dripping down our foreheads. There is no way for me to describe the feeling of sitting on a moped, looking at what seems to be the impossible (Animals in the road, limited road surfaces and zero road laws) but as I pulled back the throttle and accelerated into the chaos, it suddenly didn’t feel so chaotic when in the flow of it all.
The rules of the roads in India are made themselves in each moment, but it becomes incredibly familiar and extremely fun, very quickly!
We explored the two biggest cities in Goa, Margao and Panjim. They were much more chaotic compared to friendly Benaulim and the south beaches we explored by bike. Thankfully, we were recommended to hire a local tuk tuk driver to take us into the cities. I learnt that from listening to the locals, locals always know best.
Gal had a very authentic shoe repair experience and numerous people were enthusiastic to have their photo taken.
We took a day excursion inland to Dudshagar, where there is a famous nature reserve with a 600m waterfall.
Its called a nature reserve, however it felt like the monetisation of a 12km track deep into the jungle, to a waterfall that was overcrowed, with people feeding bananas to monkeys which is advised against, and swimming at the base of the waterfall.
It was amazing to see, and great to practice with my camera capturing some wildlife. We were lucky to – again, be advised to go early morning. By the time of our departure, the waterfall, and the trails got busier and many trucks headed in the direction of the waterfall as we departed. So if you were wondering; make friends with the locals, buy the bracelet, or hat, listen to their advice and take what from it what you wish.
I absolutely loved Goa, a beautiful little corner of India that I would definitely recommend to visit, especially if you were looking to visit India for the first time.
