I'm Ready for a Holiday Now!...

Finally I have another quick chance to check in...

We have been rushing around recently trying to sort out furnishing our new apartment in Goa. We have spent a few weeks in Kerala with C's parents and now we are in Cochin staying with a friend before we take the train back to Goa tomorrow night.

Apart from not having anytime to relax and be peaceful... I'm really happy and enjoying the stress. I do however really miss catching up on my google reader. When I get back to Goa I'm going to spend sometime in a wireless cafe and just read and read...

I've noticed I've got a few new followers and commenters and I haven't even had time to think about new blogs, so to everyone who is keeping up with me I will be back soon! And to all my fellow bloggers, I hope you are all happy and I look forward to catching up with you all x


Angel, however has been having the time of her life!

Bengali Morning Rituals, Calcutta...

Catching Up...

I'm loving it!

Very busy right now, but I'll be back as soon as I can get online again...

Thanks for all the comments x

Stone Prayer Cairn, Sikkim

Bel Gardi (Bullock Cart), Baga, Goa...

Saagwalli (Spinach Lady), Gokarna, Karnataka...

Newspapers and Pineapples, Gokarna, Karnataka...

Smiling Girls and Bicycle, Gokarna, Karnataka...

Green Eyed Cat in a Simple Kitchen, Gokarna, Karnataka...

Fishing Boat, Coco Beach, Goa...

Dancing Cow, Anjuna, Goa...

My Little Friend Poonam, Anjuna, Goa...

Yoga on the Beach, Anjuna, Goa...

Wakil's Bajaj Chetak, Varanasi...

Diyas and Rangoli...

Today the world I live in is celebrating the 'Festival of Lights'...

Diya's and Rangoli decorate the doorsteps of every Hindu, Sikh and Jain home on the eve of Diwali...

One of the most intriguing qualities that puts India in my dreams, is that no day goes by without flashes of patterns and colours that bring your senses and emotions to a split second standstill...

I guess it explains why I love photography so much too. To capture a moment of life that we rarely get a chance to savour in all the rushing around from here to there...

To sit and have the privilege of studying in detail the colour and depth of such minute detail in the never ending story of the busy world you are living in...

To take time to be grateful for what you have...

I find it beautiful that where money is scarce, the colours seems to become brighter, people surround themselves with beauty in a more passionate manner...

The senses are given more importance in life to enlighten and awaken the soul...

Colours are brighter, music and prayers are shared, food is sweeter and you are transported to memories past at every corner where a chai stall sends the smell of ginger and cardamom to your nose...

The fate of an Indian lies in Gods hands, the passion for their culture and religion is so alive in their hearts, it is hard for it to not rub of on you when you walk past..

Life is full of beauty when you take the time to look...

Happy Diwali to you all...

May the journey you are following be full of colour and light in every way...

***

Thanks Sharon... x

Panditji, Boy and Dog under Hindu God Posters, Calcutta...

Taxi Time Out, Calcutta...

Bombay Bizarre...

Just a quick and sneaky post.. I'm at a friends in Bombay and he's got broadband!

I'm missing reading all my daily blogs sooo much, I'm doing a quick scan through on the reader, but it's not the same. To be honest it's nice to be away from the net, but I feel like I've lost touch with friends...

So a few 'must comment' messages...

a piece of wood... what can I say? I'm truly sorry... I've been thinking of you.

Jade... I'm jumping with joy too, but I'm sad you're not coming to India. I wish I could join you x

Jack... Just wonderful!  Simplicity is coming soon... 

notes from the frugal trenches... what a great idea, inspirational, I wish you all the luck in the world!

I was working on a post offline outlining the story so far, but to be honest it's just a mix of chilling and meeting friends and family, in between the bureaucratic, corrupted, duplicate and triplicate paperwork of India, long train journeys and wonderful rickshaw rides!

I'm pleased to say that I've seen many examples of India's move towards a 'greener' lifestyle. Very surprising, considering I didn't even think that the issue would have much importance here...

* Petrol billboards with 'It won't last forever' type slogans and 'think before you fill'

* Messages on water bottles stating the companies green mission

* News channel 'pledge to go green' for viewers by text and email

* City Metro line construction, advertising 'green environmentally friendly construction and a 'greener way to travel with less pollution'

Even with all the stress and hassle and long journeys, we are just happy to be here. We haven't even had an argument since our little disagreement over 'what is cheap whisky?' in the duty free!

I'm just enjoying the chaos and calm, the colours and smells and the disorganized way that everything seems to run so smoothly.

I'm putting my future in the hands of one of the many Gods and taking deep breaths of fire crackers, incense and the occasional whiff of rotting vegetables being snacked on by a holy cow!

For now all we can do is sit back, relax and celebrate Diwali in all it's glory!

Sadhu Baba, Varanasi...

Sharing Chai with Friends, Varanasi...

Nimbu Mirchi (Lemon Chili) to Ward Off the Evil Eye...

Black Goat and Little Girl, Varanasi...

Varanasi Children, Uttar Pradesh...

Silouette of Coconut Trees, Anjuna, Goa...

My Wedding Day Mystery Girl, Aswem, Goa...

Fishing Boats, Vagator, Goa...

Cliff Top Tescos, Anjuna, Goa...

Ice Cream at Sunset, Cochin, Kerala...

Taj Flowers, Agra...

India With Passion...

(Image my own, taken from 'India with Passion: Modern Regional Home Cooking' by Manju Malhi)

I won't be around for a while.

So I'm going to leave you with a photo for each day that goes by...

I won't leave you any captions, quotes or poetry,

Just a simple moment of my life, that has made me who I am today...

All of the photos will be my own,

All of them would have been taken in India,

All of them will be close to my heart,

All of them will show to you the beauty of 'Where We Belong...'

One question I get asked a lot, is:

"Why India?"

Well, This is my answer...

***

I will be back as soon as I can battle through the technological wonderland of Indian Cyberspace...

To ensure you don't miss out on any adventures, 

subscribe to my posts in a reader by clicking on this button in the sidebar...

or follow me by clicking 'Follow this blog' on the sidebar at the top of the page...

Please, please continue to leave comments for me too, it really makes my day and I'll be more than excited to read them in a hot and sweaty internet cafe with a squeaky fan and no air conditioning...

...'til next time,

I leave you with my love and thanks, for being there when I needed you...

emma x

Carbon Offsetting When Jetsetting...

How green is your footprint?

Now I thought I'd have a look at Carbon Offsetting. Not that we can afford it. I could easily find a better home for my cash right now, but I just wanted to see how much carbon our flight would use. 

In a perfect world I would spend my money on all things eco and green, whilst saving the world from climate change, SUV's and plastic bags. Unfortunately I have some packing to do and after counting up the coppers, we don't even have enough to pay for the flights. So instead of feeling guilty about flying to the place I will call home (again) soon, I am going to educate myself further in the things that I can do now that are not quite so dramatical as flying over the oceans in my underpants waving my credit card.

Our trip details are:

London, United Kingdom ↔ Bombay, India
Round trip (8,956 miles)
Economy Class 

3 passengers
Calculated CO2 emissions:



Ben & Jerry's can offset our carbon to help developers of renewable energy continue to promote and develop technology to displace polluting fossil fuels... 

CO2 Emissions: 10.949 short tonnes (9.82 tonnes) for $150. 

Terrapass funds three different project types: clean energy produced by wind power; farm power which makes good use of animal wastes; and landfill gas capture, which reduces the impact of our own wastes.

CO2 Emissions: 7,206 lbs (3.2 tonnes) for a mere $47.50 

(now I know this looks like I've only got the result for 1 passenger, but i've rechecked and 1 passenger is 2,402 lbs CO2)

Now if you have to go somewhere then sometimes it's better to fly than to catch a train...

Zerofootprint attempt to keep their sources of credits as diversified as possible, and have an ongoing program of developing innovative and high quality offset projects.

CO2 Emissions: 12.77 tonnes for $208

So you are looking at roughly £15 per tonne... not a bad price for helping the world I guess.

(I used this site to do the conversions of short tons to long tonnes to pounds)

****