Ian and I left our last beach location today. Let's see, we have been to Diu, Goa, and Varkala in India. Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Phagnan, and Railay in Thailand, then Mui Ne Beach in Vietnam. You may be thinking that we have spent an inordinate time at beach places, but can you really ever have too much? Especially since it's 19 degrees in Boston, where we are headed on December 19th.
Mui Ne was a spectacular beach. I'm glad we didn't take the advice of a Australian-Norwegian couple we met on a bus. They live in the Mekong Delta and said that Mui Ne stunk. Stubbornly, we headed there anyway. Like Railay in Thailand, it has large sporting activities - kite-boarding and wind-surfing, neither of which Ian or I tried.
Our foray into the giant surf was to rent a divorce-boat (two person kayak). We have done this a few times before without incident. Unbeknowest to us, this particular kayak had a leak that let in water when it was turned over. We would be kayaking on an extremely wavy and windy beach, swimming in which made me nervous. We were paddling happily near the breaking surf when we had our first dump. Ian righted the kayak and we hopped in, prepared for such an event. In the next 5 minutes, we fell over 2 more times until we realized the kayak was sinking. We decided that Ian would kayak back to shore. He suggested that I swim back to shore, about 200 meters in very heavy surf. Instead, I held on to the back until 10 meters from the shore and swam hard the rest of the way. No papers served.
The rest of the three days we spent on the beach, at the pool, and checking out the local attractions. Due to the geography of the area, the beach gets very high winds daily and is relatively dry. We visited a stretch of picturesque sand dunes. Similar to India, it is difficult to visit any attractions without various people following you around try to peddle something. It looked like every tourist was on some desert expedition. Two kids followed us for about 20 minutes asking us if we wanted to rent a sled to slide down the dunes. Not quite sledding on snow, but it was fun nonetheless.
I highly recommend Mui Ne beach to anyone visiting Vietnam. The long, clean, and white stretch of sand is not overdeveloped. There are excellent Vietnamese and international restaurants. We went to an Italian one that we recognized by Slow Food International. There are many activities around the area if you get bored of baking in the sun. The Vietnamese people are surprisingly and extremely friendly. Most of all, unlike Thailand, there was no trance music or hookers.
- Nisha
Showing posts with label Beaches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beaches. Show all posts
Friday, December 7, 2007
Monday, December 3, 2007
Thailand Beach Wrapup
This is more for random people searching on Google that anything else, but I wanted to write up the five beaches that we stayed at on Thailand. The thing is that they all have their strong points, so picking one to go to is really a case of just finding the right one for you. Please note that all these visits were in mid to late November.
KO SAMUI - HAT CHAWENG
This was the most crowded and developed beach we visited. There is a main road that forms the "strip" of town, and most resorts are in the 300m or so from this road to the beach. The strip was a pretty lively place, however a good deal of the partying was hooker related. The strip also had a lot of very sleek bars, nice and expensive restaurants, as well as Starbucks, McDonald's and plenty of 7-Elevens.
We stayed at a hotel that was on the strip called The Wave Samui, which I was not a fan of. Besides my issues with the hotel, I did not realize what a pain it would be to not be in a place with beach access. There is only one place where you can take an actual public road to the beach, so most of the time we had to sneak through a resort to get out to the sand. There were a couple of relatively cheap places with beach access, I would check out those if you want to go here. If you want to pay 500 Baht for a bungalow on the beach, go somewhere else.
As for the beach itself, it was very nice. A little crowded, but not overwhelmingly so. The water is clear and the swimming nice. It can be a little hard to find a place because all the resorts put chairs out for their guests, but space can be found. There is also a strip of bars near the Ark Bar that have raised futons on the beach, and are pretty fun at night as well. You can hang here is you want to buy drinks. There were several kayak and sailboat rental outfits on the beach, and we had a lot of fun with a little Hobie Cat. There are a few hawkers, mostly of junk souvenirs, but they are manageable.
Go here is you want to:
- Party, mostly with Euros and Brits
- Listen to trance music
- Get a hooker
- Have a lot of activities, food and drinks available on the beach
- Eat at high class restaurants
- Spend a lot of money
Don't go here if you want to:
- Have a peaceful vacation
- Go to chill bars
- Really get away from it all
KO SAMUI - HAT LAMAI
I will not do a full review of this, because we used Nisha's leftover Marriott points to stay at a high end beach resort at the very end of the beach. From what I did see, it looked busy, but far less so then Chaweng. The beach was nice here, but very shallow. You could walk for probably a kilometer out into the ocean before having to swim. It was great for Frisbee in the water, and there was some snorkeling by the rocks at the headland.
If you want to know about the Marriott Renaissance, read up on it here.
KO PHA-NGAN - HAT KHOM
This was our place to do the real beach hut thing, and I don't think we could have found a better place. Hat Khom is a small beach, only about .5KM long, in a cove on the north side of the island. It is accessible from the main village on the north side by a dirt road that can be negotiated via pickup truck or motorbike. The road can also be walked in around 25 minutes. The beach has occasional boulders that add to the scenery, as well as a reef that can be snorkeled. Swimming is also good as there is a deep sand bottom area between the beach and the reef.
The only business here is the four beach hut resorts that line the beach, as well as their bar/restaurants. We stayed at the Ocean View, which seemed to have the best rooms and had the best food at the restaurant, but they all seemed OK. The huts all seemed to be in the 300-800 Baht range. There is no Internet and the only nightlife is the resort bars. One of the resorts rents Kayaks for very cheap and the Ocean View had free snorkeling equipment.
Go here if you want to:
- Stay right on the beach
- Only hear the sound of the waves at night
- Hang out with a backpacker crowd
- Be on a secluded, quiet and beautiful beach
- Not spend a lot of money
- Shower with only cold water and only have electricity from 6PM to 6AM
KO TAO - HAT SAIREE
We stayed here mainly because Nisha was getting here dive certification. This beach is very long, but also very thin. The resorts in the area push right up to the beach, so there is only a little room in front for swimming and putting a blanket down. The swimming is pretty good, but there are quite a few boats tied to the beach and ropes to watch out for. There is a place in town that rents Kayaks and sailing equipment, but not on this beach. One really nice thing here is that the main road is not anywhere near the beach. Along the beach is a brick walkway which is only used by pedestrians and the occasional motorbike.
This is kind of a middle ground between an overdeveloped beach and a quiet beach. The beach is fully developed, but there is still some open space and small hut resorts. There are a couple of 7-Elevens and plenty of Internet cafes and resort restaurants. There is also a area near the far end of the beach with some bars and restaurants that are independent of a resort.
One thing is that how quiet the beach is will have a lot to do with where you stay. We stayed at the AC resort, and the bar there pumps music until late at night, so our room was pretty loud. At other locations that are not near a big time bar, things would probably be pretty quiet. As far as the nightlife, it was still low season, so things were not really hopping yet, but it seemed like in season there would be a lot of partying going on. However, not many hookers and you could get away from it if you wanted to.
Go here if you want to:
- Get SCUBA certified easy and cheap
- Party, but not be in a total madhouse
- Spend a moderate amount of money
- Have plenty of modern amenities, but not feel like you are in a city
Don't go here if you want:
- A really nice beach
- To really get away from it all
KRABI PROVENCE - RAILAY
Railay is a peninsula attached to the mainland, but inaccessible by road due to the massive cliffs. The only way to get there is long tail boat. The peninsula is about 500m across, and has beaches at each side. The west beach is pretty nice, with giant cliffs at each side. It is wide with hard and flat sand. The swimming is calm and good, but the water is very warm and there are quite a few long tail boats. The east beach is muddy and used mainly for long tail boat arrivals. There is also another beach you can walk to in 10 minutes that I did not make it out to, but Nisha rated as one of the better beaches she has ever been on. There are some hawkers who work the beach, but they mainly sell beer, so I find them quite useful.
All the area that can be developed has been, all the flat area between the beaches as well as the area up the hill that we stayed in was used for resorts. Up the hill in back was the only place for budget accommodation (besides the far beach around the corner that is, but I am talking about the main part of town), but where we stayed at the Highland Resort was very quiet and only about a 10 minute walk to the good beach. However, since there are no motor vehicles, the place has a pretty low key feel, even more so then Ko Tao. There are a fair number of bars and restaurants, but no bars really pump music, it is more of a Bob Marley kind of place.
The rock climbing is also a real attraction here, I went twice and loved it. Things are a little expensive however, you definitely pay island prices, not mainland.
All in all, this was my favorite beach.
Go here if you want to:
- See great scenery
- Go to first class beaches
- Rock climb
- Enjoy chill, but busy, nightlife
- Spend a moderate to high amount of money
Don't go here if yo want to:
- Get a hooker
- Listen to trance music
- Eat top flight international food
- Really get away from it all
KO SAMUI - HAT CHAWENG
This was the most crowded and developed beach we visited. There is a main road that forms the "strip" of town, and most resorts are in the 300m or so from this road to the beach. The strip was a pretty lively place, however a good deal of the partying was hooker related. The strip also had a lot of very sleek bars, nice and expensive restaurants, as well as Starbucks, McDonald's and plenty of 7-Elevens.
We stayed at a hotel that was on the strip called The Wave Samui, which I was not a fan of. Besides my issues with the hotel, I did not realize what a pain it would be to not be in a place with beach access. There is only one place where you can take an actual public road to the beach, so most of the time we had to sneak through a resort to get out to the sand. There were a couple of relatively cheap places with beach access, I would check out those if you want to go here. If you want to pay 500 Baht for a bungalow on the beach, go somewhere else.
As for the beach itself, it was very nice. A little crowded, but not overwhelmingly so. The water is clear and the swimming nice. It can be a little hard to find a place because all the resorts put chairs out for their guests, but space can be found. There is also a strip of bars near the Ark Bar that have raised futons on the beach, and are pretty fun at night as well. You can hang here is you want to buy drinks. There were several kayak and sailboat rental outfits on the beach, and we had a lot of fun with a little Hobie Cat. There are a few hawkers, mostly of junk souvenirs, but they are manageable.
Go here is you want to:
- Party, mostly with Euros and Brits
- Listen to trance music
- Get a hooker
- Have a lot of activities, food and drinks available on the beach
- Eat at high class restaurants
- Spend a lot of money
Don't go here if you want to:
- Have a peaceful vacation
- Go to chill bars
- Really get away from it all
KO SAMUI - HAT LAMAI
I will not do a full review of this, because we used Nisha's leftover Marriott points to stay at a high end beach resort at the very end of the beach. From what I did see, it looked busy, but far less so then Chaweng. The beach was nice here, but very shallow. You could walk for probably a kilometer out into the ocean before having to swim. It was great for Frisbee in the water, and there was some snorkeling by the rocks at the headland.
If you want to know about the Marriott Renaissance, read up on it here.
KO PHA-NGAN - HAT KHOM
This was our place to do the real beach hut thing, and I don't think we could have found a better place. Hat Khom is a small beach, only about .5KM long, in a cove on the north side of the island. It is accessible from the main village on the north side by a dirt road that can be negotiated via pickup truck or motorbike. The road can also be walked in around 25 minutes. The beach has occasional boulders that add to the scenery, as well as a reef that can be snorkeled. Swimming is also good as there is a deep sand bottom area between the beach and the reef.
The only business here is the four beach hut resorts that line the beach, as well as their bar/restaurants. We stayed at the Ocean View, which seemed to have the best rooms and had the best food at the restaurant, but they all seemed OK. The huts all seemed to be in the 300-800 Baht range. There is no Internet and the only nightlife is the resort bars. One of the resorts rents Kayaks for very cheap and the Ocean View had free snorkeling equipment.
Go here if you want to:
- Stay right on the beach
- Only hear the sound of the waves at night
- Hang out with a backpacker crowd
- Be on a secluded, quiet and beautiful beach
- Not spend a lot of money
- Shower with only cold water and only have electricity from 6PM to 6AM
KO TAO - HAT SAIREE
We stayed here mainly because Nisha was getting here dive certification. This beach is very long, but also very thin. The resorts in the area push right up to the beach, so there is only a little room in front for swimming and putting a blanket down. The swimming is pretty good, but there are quite a few boats tied to the beach and ropes to watch out for. There is a place in town that rents Kayaks and sailing equipment, but not on this beach. One really nice thing here is that the main road is not anywhere near the beach. Along the beach is a brick walkway which is only used by pedestrians and the occasional motorbike.
This is kind of a middle ground between an overdeveloped beach and a quiet beach. The beach is fully developed, but there is still some open space and small hut resorts. There are a couple of 7-Elevens and plenty of Internet cafes and resort restaurants. There is also a area near the far end of the beach with some bars and restaurants that are independent of a resort.
One thing is that how quiet the beach is will have a lot to do with where you stay. We stayed at the AC resort, and the bar there pumps music until late at night, so our room was pretty loud. At other locations that are not near a big time bar, things would probably be pretty quiet. As far as the nightlife, it was still low season, so things were not really hopping yet, but it seemed like in season there would be a lot of partying going on. However, not many hookers and you could get away from it if you wanted to.
Go here if you want to:
- Get SCUBA certified easy and cheap
- Party, but not be in a total madhouse
- Spend a moderate amount of money
- Have plenty of modern amenities, but not feel like you are in a city
Don't go here if you want:
- A really nice beach
- To really get away from it all
KRABI PROVENCE - RAILAY
Railay is a peninsula attached to the mainland, but inaccessible by road due to the massive cliffs. The only way to get there is long tail boat. The peninsula is about 500m across, and has beaches at each side. The west beach is pretty nice, with giant cliffs at each side. It is wide with hard and flat sand. The swimming is calm and good, but the water is very warm and there are quite a few long tail boats. The east beach is muddy and used mainly for long tail boat arrivals. There is also another beach you can walk to in 10 minutes that I did not make it out to, but Nisha rated as one of the better beaches she has ever been on. There are some hawkers who work the beach, but they mainly sell beer, so I find them quite useful.
All the area that can be developed has been, all the flat area between the beaches as well as the area up the hill that we stayed in was used for resorts. Up the hill in back was the only place for budget accommodation (besides the far beach around the corner that is, but I am talking about the main part of town), but where we stayed at the Highland Resort was very quiet and only about a 10 minute walk to the good beach. However, since there are no motor vehicles, the place has a pretty low key feel, even more so then Ko Tao. There are a fair number of bars and restaurants, but no bars really pump music, it is more of a Bob Marley kind of place.
The rock climbing is also a real attraction here, I went twice and loved it. Things are a little expensive however, you definitely pay island prices, not mainland.
All in all, this was my favorite beach.
Go here if you want to:
- See great scenery
- Go to first class beaches
- Rock climb
- Enjoy chill, but busy, nightlife
- Spend a moderate to high amount of money
Don't go here if yo want to:
- Get a hooker
- Listen to trance music
- Eat top flight international food
- Really get away from it all
Monday, October 8, 2007
Quick Update
- We did the Kerala houseboat thing (which I am writing up separately) and are now in the beach resort of Varkala, also in Kerala. This place is really nice, good beach and nice walkway along the top of the bluffs. All the restaurants and stuff are along the walkway, which is nice because you don't have to deal with walking on Indian roads. We can also see the ocean from our hotel room. The name of the hotel is Krishnatheeram for these searching on the internet. The hotel is pretty good, and the location is the best in town.
- Unfortunately we are only here for one night (last night) because tonight we are taking an overnight train to Chennai (aka Madras). Once there we are signed up to volunteer for a week with AID INDIA. This only got set up a few days ago, so we are not totally sure of the nature of the work. It may be in Chennai proper or somewhere close by. If we are not on the Internet for a week then it is probably safe to assume that we got shipped off to some small village somewhere.
- The next big plan is to fly to Kolkata on the 16th and meet up with Dave and Susan.
- I just signed up for the Boston Marathon next year. I have been running enough over here that I am not totally out of shape. However, I do anticipate some hard work when I get back in order to break 3 hours this year. I am already looking forward to it (the hard work and the marathon itself). Hopefully the weather will be better this year, so far I am 2 for 2 when it comes to running marathons in less then ideal weather conditions. A nice 50 degree day with a good tailwind would help a lot.
- PBielagus is confirmed for the last 11 days of our trip, Vietnam and Hong Kong. We will try our best to keep him alive and out of trouble.
- Sox sweeping into the ALCS and the Pats a dominating 5-0. I picked a hell of a year to miss the fall sports nirvana in Boston. I loved hearing about the Yanks collapse in Cleveland because of a swarm of bugs. Maybe they did make a deal with the devil to get all those titles in the late 90s. Very biblical form of bad luck to get them down 2-0. I had also missed all the Joba Chamberlain buzz since he was called up after I left, but it does not seem like a very auspicious way for him to start his playoff career.
- Unfortunately we are only here for one night (last night) because tonight we are taking an overnight train to Chennai (aka Madras). Once there we are signed up to volunteer for a week with AID INDIA. This only got set up a few days ago, so we are not totally sure of the nature of the work. It may be in Chennai proper or somewhere close by. If we are not on the Internet for a week then it is probably safe to assume that we got shipped off to some small village somewhere.
- The next big plan is to fly to Kolkata on the 16th and meet up with Dave and Susan.
- I just signed up for the Boston Marathon next year. I have been running enough over here that I am not totally out of shape. However, I do anticipate some hard work when I get back in order to break 3 hours this year. I am already looking forward to it (the hard work and the marathon itself). Hopefully the weather will be better this year, so far I am 2 for 2 when it comes to running marathons in less then ideal weather conditions. A nice 50 degree day with a good tailwind would help a lot.
- PBielagus is confirmed for the last 11 days of our trip, Vietnam and Hong Kong. We will try our best to keep him alive and out of trouble.
- Sox sweeping into the ALCS and the Pats a dominating 5-0. I picked a hell of a year to miss the fall sports nirvana in Boston. I loved hearing about the Yanks collapse in Cleveland because of a swarm of bugs. Maybe they did make a deal with the devil to get all those titles in the late 90s. Very biblical form of bad luck to get them down 2-0. I had also missed all the Joba Chamberlain buzz since he was called up after I left, but it does not seem like a very auspicious way for him to start his playoff career.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Lonely Planet, you have failed me...
I have been a faithful reader and user of Lonely Planet travel guides since my tour of Europe 10 years ago. These concise and thorough books are the bible of the thinking person traveling abroad (you can use Rough Guide, but everyone knows those are for frat guys). These ubiquitous guides, often referred to as "the book" or LP, are often on tables in cafes, in hands of those walking around cities, and most cherished among the few possessions of the backpacker traveler. They are loved for their no-nonsense, straight talking summation of the world's best places. Want to go spelunking in Budapest? Lonely Planet will point you there. Want pizza in Jaipur? Lonely Planet will tell you where to go. Need to get from Calcutta to the Sundarbuns park? LP will guide you on every train, boat, rickshaw, and donkey cart you need to get there.
After having LP guide me for 4 months around Europe, 2 weeks in Japan, and a total 8 weeks in India (split over 2 trips), I am a totally devoted fan and know how to read between lines to find the really good places it has to offer. I thought I did...
Goa, on the west coast of India, is a former Portuguese colony for a total of 450 years. Most people spoke Portuguese up until a few years ago. This area of the coast about the size of Rhode Island, was liberated from Portugal in the 1960's by the Indian Army and annexed into India. Not everyone here saw it as a liberation. Nevertheless, it is a peaceful, tropical, cosmopolitan place full of Portuguese colonial charm in the buildings, food, drink, and interesting mix of people.
The Indian army wasn't the only group to invade this beautiful area of coast in the 60's, the hippies did as well. They helped to develop many of the beaches into the international party scenes they are known for today. 747s full of Europeans, Brits, and Israelis land everyday at the Goan airport at high season all looking for a good beach party. Around Christmas and New Years, they descend on the place like locusts during a hatch, sleeping on the beach and aside the road. The most famed beach that we could discern from LP and other travelers is Anjuna beach. Many people for the last month have all said "oh, have you been to Goa?? It's so wonderful, you must go to Anjuna, there is no place like it!!" We met a nice German man on the train who claimed that Anjuna was the best beach in India. Diu could not compare, according to him (please see the Flickr site for Diu pictures and decide for yourself once all the pics are up). LP described it as a "place to see and be seen" and spoke of many beach-side accommodations, restaurants, and general beach related merriment.
So after 3 wonderful days of spending time with my cousins and aunt a few kilometers away from Anjuna, we were very excited to come and see it today. The rickshaw brought us to "Anjuna beach". There was no beach there, only red rocky cliffs. Leaving Ian with the bags, I walked about 1/2 mile down the shore road to find "the best beach in India." I did not find this, but I found a brown-black beach studded with rock outcroppings (ie not a swimming beach), sewer run-off, and trash. The shore was only dry about 10 feet deep before tired looking restaurants shot up from the beach, mostly boarded up with blue tarp and dried palm leaves for the season. There were some other confused tourists looking for this "amazing" beach. The whole place felt like Bourbon street at 10am on a Tuesday in the summer.
Never have I felt so misled by my beloved LP. Maybe the scene is fun at the beach bars in high season, but the beach was worse than the one in Revere. Having seen too much of Bourbon street at 10am in college, we moved on to the very lovely Baga beach, described by LP as "overdeveloped." If in LP language, "overdeveloped" really means "a long, wide, clean, sandy beach where a guy sets up beach chairs to serve me beer", I am IN.
- Nisha
After having LP guide me for 4 months around Europe, 2 weeks in Japan, and a total 8 weeks in India (split over 2 trips), I am a totally devoted fan and know how to read between lines to find the really good places it has to offer. I thought I did...
Goa, on the west coast of India, is a former Portuguese colony for a total of 450 years. Most people spoke Portuguese up until a few years ago. This area of the coast about the size of Rhode Island, was liberated from Portugal in the 1960's by the Indian Army and annexed into India. Not everyone here saw it as a liberation. Nevertheless, it is a peaceful, tropical, cosmopolitan place full of Portuguese colonial charm in the buildings, food, drink, and interesting mix of people.
The Indian army wasn't the only group to invade this beautiful area of coast in the 60's, the hippies did as well. They helped to develop many of the beaches into the international party scenes they are known for today. 747s full of Europeans, Brits, and Israelis land everyday at the Goan airport at high season all looking for a good beach party. Around Christmas and New Years, they descend on the place like locusts during a hatch, sleeping on the beach and aside the road. The most famed beach that we could discern from LP and other travelers is Anjuna beach. Many people for the last month have all said "oh, have you been to Goa?? It's so wonderful, you must go to Anjuna, there is no place like it!!" We met a nice German man on the train who claimed that Anjuna was the best beach in India. Diu could not compare, according to him (please see the Flickr site for Diu pictures and decide for yourself once all the pics are up). LP described it as a "place to see and be seen" and spoke of many beach-side accommodations, restaurants, and general beach related merriment.
So after 3 wonderful days of spending time with my cousins and aunt a few kilometers away from Anjuna, we were very excited to come and see it today. The rickshaw brought us to "Anjuna beach". There was no beach there, only red rocky cliffs. Leaving Ian with the bags, I walked about 1/2 mile down the shore road to find "the best beach in India." I did not find this, but I found a brown-black beach studded with rock outcroppings (ie not a swimming beach), sewer run-off, and trash. The shore was only dry about 10 feet deep before tired looking restaurants shot up from the beach, mostly boarded up with blue tarp and dried palm leaves for the season. There were some other confused tourists looking for this "amazing" beach. The whole place felt like Bourbon street at 10am on a Tuesday in the summer.
Never have I felt so misled by my beloved LP. Maybe the scene is fun at the beach bars in high season, but the beach was worse than the one in Revere. Having seen too much of Bourbon street at 10am in college, we moved on to the very lovely Baga beach, described by LP as "overdeveloped." If in LP language, "overdeveloped" really means "a long, wide, clean, sandy beach where a guy sets up beach chairs to serve me beer", I am IN.
- Nisha
Monday, September 17, 2007
Postcard from Diu
I am so glad that we came to Diu.
Knowing India and knowing how to read the Lonely Planet, I knew exactly what to expect and am totally happy with what we found.
Diu does not have the best beaches in the world, but they are pretty nice.
Diu does not have the cutest town, but it is charming in its own way.
Diu does not have the best food, but things are pretty good and cheap.
Take all these things that are not great, but pretty nice, and combine it with few people, not a lot of tourist activity, very little horn honking traffic and what may be the world's cheapest beer and you have the best place in India to recharge you batteries and your soul before heading back into the teeming masses.
Basically Diu is a 11km long island about 3km wide and about .5km off the coast. At one end is the main town where we are staying, that has a few hotels and some basic shops and restaurants. Along the south coast are a string of beaches, none of them spectacular, but most pretty deserted. The one exception to this is a beach called Negoa near the other end of the island that has a couple of hotels and bars, as well as a decent crowd of Indian beach goers. Incidentally, Indian woman go in the water fully clothed, so no girls in bikinis in these parts.
Because Diu was a Portugese colony until the '60s Diu is something called a Union Territory, which means that it is not part of any state of India. The state next door is dry, but here beer is not subject to state taxes. So the going rate for a 650ml Kingfisher is 45 rupees (about 1 dollar) in a restaurant, and I assume even lower in a store.
So, 2 more blissful days of riding our rental scooter (13 dollars for 4 days) to the beach and drinking cheap beer await. I am certainly in no rush to leave.
Knowing India and knowing how to read the Lonely Planet, I knew exactly what to expect and am totally happy with what we found.
Diu does not have the best beaches in the world, but they are pretty nice.
Diu does not have the cutest town, but it is charming in its own way.
Diu does not have the best food, but things are pretty good and cheap.
Take all these things that are not great, but pretty nice, and combine it with few people, not a lot of tourist activity, very little horn honking traffic and what may be the world's cheapest beer and you have the best place in India to recharge you batteries and your soul before heading back into the teeming masses.
Basically Diu is a 11km long island about 3km wide and about .5km off the coast. At one end is the main town where we are staying, that has a few hotels and some basic shops and restaurants. Along the south coast are a string of beaches, none of them spectacular, but most pretty deserted. The one exception to this is a beach called Negoa near the other end of the island that has a couple of hotels and bars, as well as a decent crowd of Indian beach goers. Incidentally, Indian woman go in the water fully clothed, so no girls in bikinis in these parts.
Because Diu was a Portugese colony until the '60s Diu is something called a Union Territory, which means that it is not part of any state of India. The state next door is dry, but here beer is not subject to state taxes. So the going rate for a 650ml Kingfisher is 45 rupees (about 1 dollar) in a restaurant, and I assume even lower in a store.
So, 2 more blissful days of riding our rental scooter (13 dollars for 4 days) to the beach and drinking cheap beer await. I am certainly in no rush to leave.
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