commencing where we left off
the holiday season has thrown me out of sync, yet again
picking up where i left off, which is sometime when i was in india (with the hopes of getting back to posting on mondays next week): i was having a pretty bad time. when i wrote my last post, i’d spent an entire day on a boat being squicked out by the idea of wet clothes and hair and crumbs on a plastic boat. but i just wanted to talk about india some more, and some notes on it, because i ended up having a turnaround.
firstly, people are extremely friendly, for better or for worse. the amount of times kids would run up and say ‘which country?’ and would be delighted that i could respond and have a basic conversation in hindi was very sweet. someone talked to us in the lift and then invited us to his home in gujarat the next day, which seems not uncommon - our taxi driver to dabolim airport invited us to stay at his house the next time we’re in goa. i honestly don’t know if these invitations are real. it feels like it would be a truly monumental imposition for me to call this guy i met once and say, ‘yeah, i’m coming, host me!’ - not just on him but on myself in a lot of ways. i am not used to that level of vulnerability.
we went to the elephanta caves when we got back from goa, which were honestly a big turnaround point for me. our guide had grown up on the island and it was not only a really impressive monument, it was also nice to be somewhere a bit quieter and chiller where cars weren’t. our second leg in mumbai was a lot easier than the first - we weren’t staying so close to the airport so we could actually get a better feel for the city, and we got to catch some family for mealtimes, which was very sweet and getting some recommendations from locals about what to do helped.
fanny pack - cotopaxi / tee - sisisi tattoo / pants - goan tourism board / boots - puma
also, i got some tourist ass harem pants in my last couple of days in goa, and that honestly helped me a lot. i don’t know how people don’t just wear them all the time in summer. they are so comfortable and modest, which is perfect for india, and honestly most people are outing themselves as tourists in goa anyway by wearing hawaiian shirt/shorts co-ords they bought there, sometimes matching with their friends.
this to say - i think i’d go back. i would probably plan my outfits better now i know more about the climate firsthand, go shopping more, try to see more unesco sites and natural spots, try harder to maintain my skincare routine (idk why this was so hard, i brought it all with me and it’s not like it’s complicated), and continue to stay in five star hotels.
and now we are home. we landed and immediately went grocery shopping. i am awake at 4am, because i lasted til 10:15pm yesterday by watching hot frosty (i would not recommend. i would, however, recommend klaus). i am not properly working again, touch wood, until the 28th. the pipes did not freeze, nothing flooded, and no one broke in while i was away. it was odd getting back to london - everything was so quiet, especially in comparison with india. more quiet than usual, since most people have cleared out to their family homes. we are due a quiet christmas to ourselves - on christmas eve i’ll be running some errands and going to see the muppets christmas carol at the prince charles cinema, and then on the day itself we’ll make some sandwiches, exchange presents, go for a big walk and hopefully see some of the fleet street penguins, and call our friends. the days after we’ll go see our families. it’s the first time we’re really doing this as a unit - normally will and i have split up to see our respective parents, but setting the boundary this year will hopefully mean we can have some peace and let some steam out of the pressure cooker that christmas can be.
who knows what comes next. let’s see!