Most people hate them but our staff are indifferent to them. Why? Because they have learnt what all inhabitants of hot, humid places have learnt: you can’t kill them all! And trying to do so is the quickest path to insanity!!

One of the biggest concerns western travellers to India have is malaria. Like any medical issue you can easily spend a week googling and researching and still be none the wiser. Most people in Goa will tell you that there is no malaria, and it is true to say we’ve never heard of anybody having it in Goa, but then we aren’t doctors.

Our advice: consider the probability of catching malaria and weigh that up against the side-effects and cost of taking tablets. There are all sorts of things you can catch when on holiday and perhaps malaria should be a bit further down the worry list.

Being someone who used to always worry about getting bitten (and frequently did), I have now got over my fear and a few simple things have made my life a lot easier, so I can now get on with enjoying India (and writing this blog):

1) A few reassuring facts:
You will almost certainly be visiting North Goa outside of the monsoon season which is when they really get frisky.
Mozzies appear mostly at dawn (when you’re probably sleeping), and dusk. At other times they seem to leave Ashwem Beach, perhaps heading to the market in Anjuna where the tourists are fresher.
This off-season we’ve planted lemongrass, a well-known mozzie deterrent, around all our domes and cottages.
We sometimes burn cowpats as well, this is a great local technique that really works and is not at all unpleasant.
All our beds have mozzie nets, the best protection of all.

2) At Ashvem Beach we benefit from a sea breeze, so if you’re around in the late afternoon try not to have a shower and freshen up your skin for them, instead try having a cocktail and sitting on the dune watching the sunset.

3) If you are in your room just put on the fan, our fans are huge and they work wonders.

4) Cover up –the idea of wearing trousers in 30 degree heat may at first seem horrible, but the right material (linen, cotton) will be comfortable and you’ll get used to it quicker than you think.

5) Use repellent. We really recommend the local brand Odomos. Firstly, it works and secondly we sell it (50 rupees).

6) Finally try not to scratch a bite, it only makes it worse! A few minutes self-control when bitten can stop the bite being persistently itchy.

 

Our daily, drop-in yoga classes at Yab Yum have been running for a few weeks now and in that time it’s been a real pleasure to meet and teach such a wide range of people from across the globe. Studying yoga with my own teacher here in India I often forget about the outside, and it’s been interesting suddenly hearing different voices and points of view again. The only sadness is in seeing the students leave, but more are always arriving.

With the teaching itself, I was a little nervous about introducing an ashtanga-based class to people who’ve never done any kind of yoga before, since it has a reputation for being a hard practice, but my fears were unfounded. I’ve found that with safe teaching and plenty of modifications for the tighter bodies out there it’s been fun for everyone, as well as a good physical and spiritual workout: so let’s call it “holiday ashtanga.” And of course the Ashwem Beach shala itself is beautiful. Light and airy, with the sound of the waves crashing in and mosquito netting acting like a little cocoon, it’s a joy to be here.

This week huge thanks to guest writer Abbas from www.indiasomeday.com who offers us some invaluable info for our guests travelling on to Hampi…

About Hampi
Hampi is a mesmerizing, pretty town of boulders and ruins. I remember a close traveller friend telling me ‘enjoy your first of many trips to Hampi’ as I boarded my Bombay-to-Hospet bus. Set in a boulder strewn landscape that continues forever, bisected by a meandering river and dotted by banana plantations, Hampi can be explorative, adventurous or plain relaxing, depending on how you want it to be. Unlike a lot of old Indian towns Hampi, fortunately, was abandoned centuries ago never to be inhabited again, saving it from being defaced by an ugly ‘messopolis’ Indian town being build around it. Hampi truly feels like an open-air museum left for you to discover on foot, bicycle or motorbike.

Do:
Hampi has many gorgeous temple structures to explore. A guide is recommended to get a deeper understanding of the history of the town. Even if you are not a history buff, you can just walk around admiring these structures. Remember, Hampi is well spread out and apart from the cluster of places to stay and restaurants on either side of the river it offers a keen sense of space wherever you wander. Hampi is certainly best explored on cycle and motorbike. We did a combination of foot, bicycle and motorbike (motorbike hire works just like Goa).

Experiences we recommend:
—Take the effort to wake up before sunrise, trek up to Mantunga hill and watch the sunrise over the magical kingdom of Hampi. The boulders are all red and they just light up in the sunlight (the most breathtaking experience during my stay).
—Catch the sunset as you sit by the river.
—Cycle around. A motorbike really allows you the flexibility to explore and ride beyond Hampi into the countryside
—Enjoy your meals with the view of the river and the omnipresent, majestic boulders which are beautiful, some three stories tall and precariously balanced.

Getting to Hampi from Goa:
Remember the access town for Hampi is Hospet (14 kms away). Trains and most buses will drop you at Hospet.

Bus (most common option):
One can take either a day or an overnight bus to Hampi from Goa, or even Gokarna. As far as I know there is no ‘one’ leading, reputable bus agency plying this route. ‘Paulo travel’ buses are usually fairly comfortable.

I would prepare myself for a fairly uncomfortable ride, but certainly worth the effort. Bus tickets are easy to obtain from any travel agent in Goa.

Train (if tickets can be managed, a more comfortable option):
Train no. 18048 (Vsg – Howrah express) runs between Goa and Hospet. Vasco or Madgaon are the stations for Goa.
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday (approx 7:00 am dep, arr 15:00)
www.cleartrip.com/trains is an extremely user-friendly website to book trains

Renting a car (convenient, but expensive option):
A car can be rented directly or indirectly through a travel agency in Goa. Remember this can be an expensive option if you plan to stay for multiple days as a car hire company would charge you a fixed daily amount irrespective of how many kms you use the car.

Getting to/from Hampi from Bombay (Mumbai) or Bangalore:
Bombay (Mumbai)
VRL logistics – http://www.vrlgroup.in/ Runs a very good quality bus between Hospet and Bombay and vice-versa. (tickets can be purchased on the website)

Bangalore
There are convenient overnight trains between Bangalore and Hampi (and vice-versa). Recommend using www.cleartrip.com

Coming soon… a little write-up on Bijapur (4 hours from Hampi), an example of a former pretty town now defaced thanks to an Indian ‘messopolis’ build around it (yet the monuments certainly warrant a visit).

About Us
I’m Abbas (abbas@indiasomeday.com), we run a travel service that assists independent travellers plan and book their trip around India. (India Someday www.indiasomeday.com)
We are more suited if you are planning to visit multiple places or regions post or pre your stay at Yab Yum and need advice and assistance while planning and making travel/hotel arrangements for the same.

 

One thing some visitors to India are uncomfortable with is the wildlife: frogs, turtles, birds and squirrels all appear regularly around our grounds.

But should we get rid of them? After all, they were here first and many guests think they add to Yab Yum’s charm. Not only that but the kids love ‘em; and you can’t argue with the kidz.

There are those travellers that are keen to embrace their environment and the whole ‘eco-resort, boutique hotel, simplicity and serenity’ ethos; and there are those that wish for nothing more than to enjoy the sun and the sea, preferably with an air-conditioned room, a discotheque, satellite TV and bleach for emergencies.

Obviously, Yab caters more to the former type of guest. Not that there is anything wrong with some sanitised escapism but there are plenty of concrete blocks in central and southern Goa that provide that experience.

So if you’re staying with us and a bird drops a freshly caught fish outside your door, or a frog chills out in your toilet, don’t panic! Just ask a friendly member of staff to help out.

After all, the beach, the palm grove and the jungle are these creatures’ natural habitat, and while we try not to encourage them to move in, we don’t feel we have a right to evict them!

 

Our regular guests – of which we’re proud to say we have an ever expanding number – know that every season they will visit to find we have tinkered with our Ashwem Beach site. Whether it’s building a new massage room (more on that next month) or changing our planting regime, we like to keep an element of freshness in what we do; it keeps us interested and engaged in our core business.

In 2010 our domes took on a new look, compared favourably to both Dougal from the Magic Roundabout and half a coconut standing in the sand! This year, since closing on May 1st, we’ve had our excellent roofing team, led by Rafik, revamping the Ashwem Beach domes’ roofs and adding a few modifications.

Each dome has been re-showerproofed, re-palmed and re-grassed, but not only that, all the domes now have a new crown, slightly raised above the main structure to allow for extra ventilation.

As well as Rafik & Co. we’ve also had our fabricator, Ashok, re-working the window frames (check out the photo for Health & Safety- Pernem style!). If there was one design flaw in our domes it was surely the heavy, awkward nature of the windows, which had to be heaved open. One guest, strangely, even commented on tripadvisor that the domes were window-less!

So, borrowing from the design of Keralan houseboats, we have now fitted all our domes with new, easy-to-open mango wood windows. The domes remain nice and dark and cool, just like they should be, and the new roofs mean we can open a bit earlier this season and test the last of the October rain.

We had some really bad news from Goa this past week: 2 of Jivana’s oldest residents were taken ill and quite quickly passed away. First, Shakti was taken ill on Monday and she was closely followed by Parvati on Tuesday.

Used to roaming freely around the plantation’s gardens, Shakti, Parvati and Lakshmi have made up part of Jivana’s security contingent for many years and know the property as well as anyone.

In the last 8 years all 3 have been great guard dogs, doing a thorough job of warding off squirrels, snakes and monkeys, but they have always been great company for us all and very placid when interacting with our paying guests.

The whole affair was particularly difficult for our permanent security guys who have cared for the dogs for many years, know them better than anyone and value their company on patrol in the early hours. Lakshmi, thankfully, is still in good health, but we shall see in the coming weeks how she responds to losing her best friends who will, of course, be sorely missed.

We’re now firmly into the monsoon season in Goa and our Mandrem-based, off-season staff are hard at work down at Ashvem Beach, clearing the endless leaf litter falling from the trees and giving us a fighting chance of our 8000 square metres looking presentable come October.

June unfailingly means rain, rain and more rain. Anybody who lives, or has been to, India during monsoon will testify to its power: buildings are lashed till their walls give up the paint, the roads lie back and submit to being potholed and the optimistic pavements succumb to being crumbled, at least thankful for their 6 months in the sun.

At this time, there’s only one, sure-fire way to protect our linen, hammocks and mattresses from the rain and damp: wrap everything in plastic and seal it. Simple but effective. Even our domes and cottages are wrapped and sealed. When all is done, the process of closing down Ashvem Beach takes just as long as getting ready to open!

People still travel to Goa at this time, some looking for lodgings to escape the rain, others, very optimistically, looking for an open beach resort.

With that in mind, here’s a reminder of our opening times 2011-2012:

ASHWEM BEACH – Oct. 21st to May 1st
JIVANA PLANTATION (tiled-roof cottages, safe from the rain!) – Oct. 21st to July 14th
THE ARTISTS’ HOUSE (one of the best houses to rent in North Goa) – Oct 21st to July 14th