The tropical paradise portion of our trip is coming to a close, as we wait in Goa’s maddeningly chaotic airport (chaos caused mostly by obnoxious European tourists who are either too rude, or too high, to wait their turns in line) to catch our flight to the megalopolis of Mumbai. We’ve had a wonderful three days in Goa, a much slower-paced, easy-going enclave which seems to have taken after its former colonial power (the Portuguese, up until 1961).

Yesterday we left the not-so-real-world of our resort (which was absolutely lovely, and for whom we have Lataa and Shyam to thank a million times), and took an auto-rickshaw to the state capital, Panaji. We indulged in some very spicy Goan cuisine (chicken xacutti… Mmmm!) and snapped a few photos of the main church. The Portuguese seem to have been much more successful at spreading Christianity than the Brits, with more crosses erected across the countryside than anywhere I’ve ever been and a couple “Jesus” bumperstickers (just like Michigan!).

From Panaji we hitched a ride up to the famous party beaches of Goa (Anjuna & Vagator), but as it turns out the party seems to have ended after a decade of government crackdowns and post-Mumbai security precautions. We rented a scooter and managed to remember to stay on the left-hand side of these slightly more manageable roads, though I would not say I conquered my fear of two-wheeled motorized modes of transport. From behind the handlebars we saw many, many European tourists doing the same thing (though the high ratio of dreadlocks would seem to suggest they might have been more disappointed to discover that Goa had passed it’s prime as a hippie haven), as well as beautiful scenery (plush tropical forests, sandy beaches, and a sunset over the sea). Shortly after dismounting, a meandering cow charged at me with its horns, but no one seemed to notice this mildly embarassing episode and I have no injuries to report.

Looking forward to meeting Ramya’s family in Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai in the coming days. As always, we’ll get some new photos up as soon as we find our way to a computer!

By the end of today we will have covered nearly 500 km (300 miles) travelling by road between Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi. But these roads are a far cry from the New Jersey Turnpike, and each mile offers a new source of amusement, visual/auditory/olfactory stimulation, and absolute gut-wrenching terror.

Amusement comes in the form of animals wandering through the streets and highways — cows, dogs and even monkeys — totally unphased by the honking vehicles navigating around them. The animals truly own the roads here. 9 or 10 people on an auto-rickshaw is not an uncommon sight, nor is a tractor towing a bicycle or a donkey hauling a cart with half a dozen grown men on it — generally right down the middle of the highway.

The senses are overwhelmed by the every imaginable color — in dress, on billboards (99% of which are painted, not printed), and in painted designs on the sides of almost every truck. The never-ending symphony of horns (drivers honk pretty much everytime they pass another car or truck) ranges from lorry baritone to Toyota soprano, and even includes musical clown horns to calm the nerves. And distinct smells waft into the car along every stretch of road — incense, smoke from controlled brushfires in the countryside, noxious fumes in the cities, and raw sewage pretty much anywhere.

Lastly fright, with one seeming “near miss” after another, as bicyclists, tractors, pedestrians, trucks and cars all share the same road, each moving at their own pace. The operating norm seems to be that one has the right-of-way so long as oncoming traffic can stop/slow down in time to avoid collision. This made things particularly interesting this morning when the road from Jaipur to Agra was shrouded in the thickest fog I’ve ever seen, and our driver would skillfully hit the brakes just in time to avoid a vehicle suddenly emerging from the white. Given these challenging traffic norms, I have been incredibly impressed with the skill of our drivers, whose seeming near misses would be crushing metal if instead it was me behind the wheel.

Today we visited the magnificent palace and former Mughal capital at Fatehpur Sikri, and the even more incredible Taj Mahal in Agra, before parting with my family to commence the next leg of our trip. Both of these sites deserve a lot more ink than I’m giving them here (and a lot more time than we were able to spend visiting them), but just trust that they were both incredibly fascinating and spectacular, and that my poor photography skills do not do them justice. Nevertheless, we’ll try to get the photos up ASAP.

We’re almost to Delhi, where we will catch an overnight train to Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and a large Tibetan exile community. Stay tuned for our next update from the Himalayas!

A few photos from my phone: