29. INDIA III - Maharashtra, Goa & Karnataka

The three states of this post

After a month in Nepal, it was time to come back to India. We took a flight from Kathmandu to Mumbai and to be honest we were a little sad to leave Nepal that fast and were not ready for the madness in India yet. From other Indian travelers, we heard that the South is more enjoyable than the North. Literacy is much higher, the level of cleanliness is by far better, the population density is lower than for example in Uttar Pradesh and of course, you have a beautiful coastline to laze around beautiful beaches.

The first state of this trip was Maharashtra, where we visited Mumbai, Thane, Dombivli and Kolhapur. The entire first 2 weeks of that trip we slept at different people's homes and that was by far the best way to learn about local life and the insights of Maharashtra. The Indian hospitality we received there was out of the world and rarely in my life have I met such good and warm-hearted people. In Thane, we stayed with Sameer and Prajakta, two foreign language teachers with who it was a pleasure to speak German after a long time. Then in Dombivli, we had one of the most memorable stays of the entire trip with Saket and his parents. As Keran said "a not typical Indian family" with the warmest hearts, tons of interesting stories and plenty of laughs to share. His presentation about the history of India in front of his personal library will remain unforgettable.

In the city of Kolhapur especially Alicja had a very important and emotional moment in her life. Her great-grandparents were brought to India as war refugees from Siberia during World War II and got shelter from the Maharaja there. We were able to locate the exact refugee camp, where her great-grandparents met, and still found many remains there. Angel and his father were the most amazing help and made that visit possible for us. Thank you so much for that, again!

The next state was Goa, a former Portuguese colony with beautiful beaches and the perfect place to get some rest after many eventful weeks. In Palolem, we stayed in the beautiful apartment of the Danish polyglot Olav and afterward rent a scooter to explore other towns and villages of Southern Goa for a week. Especially Agonda and the beaches north of it were amazing and another proof of India's insane diversity. We had some of the remote beaches completely for ourselves and had the best time swimming in the waves, having naps on the golden sand beaches and drinking coconuts.

Karnataka, the third state of this post ended up being my favorite state of entire India (maybe together with Maharashtra). Especially Hampi, the once-magnificent capital of the Vijayanagara Empire was a truly amazing UNESCO World Heritage site. One can spend days over days driving through the hundreds of beautiful temples and magical natural landscapes. If I could recommend only a few places to other travelers, Hampi would always be on that list. Camping just next to rice fields was beautiful during the sunrise as well.

A great city to visit in Karnataka is Mysore. It is said to be the cleanest and best-planned city in India and has a stunning palace to visit. I found the food there among the best in entire India and in general it was so enjoyable to try all the new dishes that South India had to offer for us. The cuisine of Northern and Southern India has nearly nothing in common and so we had easily a hundred new dishes to try.

Out of a retro perspective (right now I am in my last week in India), those 3 states were our best time in India and I would recommend them to everyone who is interested in visiting and exploring India.

India I: West Bengal, Delhi & Rajasthan
India II: Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh
India IV: Kerala & Tamil Nadu

4 Highlights:
- Driving around Hampi and its magical setting

- Indian hospitality with Maharashtra families

- Discovering Alicja's heritage in a refugee camp in Kolhapur

- Beaches of South Goa and Portuguese heritage