Hyderabad – first nights 

Traveling to India to meet up with a friend, and my first days there going to an indian wedding, what a way to start my Asia adventure. An adventure that I have had on my bucket list since I first fell in love with traveling in 2013, with an interrail trip with my the danish scouts, and with this stamp my trip starts finally.

Vijayawada in Andhra pradesh – wedding 

The indian wedding, is a massive party with something like 5000 people over 2 days, loud music, fireworks and lots of food. I was the only white person there but everyone was so nice. So first day was the wedding party here we came to bless the couple putting rice on their head and then next day was the reception, the big party day. Where the bride and groom would go from their house to the party arriving with fireworks and then go on a horse throne getting pulled from the car all the way to the big stage, where people would again come up on stage and bless them, this time with flowers, and then 3 massive food courts around the premises with different food stands. I was just following my friend who sometimes would tell me someone wanted a picture with me because the guest would first come to him to ask. 

Hyderabad – Big city, going out. 

Going out in Hyderabad, pretty much like any other big city so not much to tell here. But I did get to taste india’s delicious food, I absolutely fell in love with pani puri a snack, a hollow deep-fried crispy shell (puri) filled with spiced potatoes, chickpeas and chutney then dipped in tangy, spicy, or sweet flavored water (pani). And one thing I look forward to is to test the indian food out in Denmark, because funny this is I didn’t actually use to eat Indian food in Denmark and I usually hate rice dishes, but after having tasted all the amazing food in India that has definitely changed.  

North Goa – Party town, crazy life 

And then we took a sleeper bus to north Goa, and this is a bumpy 9 hour ride with no toilet but in a bed but was honestly almost easier to fall asleep in 4 meter waves across the atlantic, maybe just me being more used to sailing though. But we made it and checked into our hostel, Dreams, in Arambol, North Goa, the home of psy trance parties so naturally our days was more from afternoon to morning. Our days would be waking up, go to the common area outside our dorm rooms and waking up with hangovers waiting for the first one to initiate the first beer of the day and then more and more people would join and more and more beers or old monk (the indian rum) would be consumed, with all respect of cause. (Drink responsibly guys). Then we would go to mango three bar, to meet more people and find some food, my favorite food snack what chicken 65, so good and for more food, paneer butter masala with cheese/garlic chapati, roti or naan bread, yum yum yum. And I ate a lot of raw onion and lime as this you got for every meal to manage the spiciness and also helps our westerns to not get a bad case of stomachaches.  

South Goa – Volunteer, Jungle living, Canacona, Kochi, Munnar, Indian train and Christmas

After a week of partying it was time to move on, time to go to South Goa. So I found a volunteer job on a Farm and stay in Sadolxem, Canacona, South Goa. A Yoga retreat in the middle of the jungle just 15 minutes drive from the town Canacona. Here I stayed for 3 weeks over Christmas, where I helped preparing the huts for people to stay and feel the same bliss of paradise we felt staying there and making art work, smashing down an old clay sofa to rebuild and make the place Nice again. I also got to help in the Indian kitchen as we had to make our food, so I would be blending everything that I was told to blend and then 2 hours later we would all meet up and eat together sitting on the bar table, very chill. In the day time we would cool down at the river, and at night we would well still be by the river but we would make a fire and sing and chill. And when we needed to get into society we took a bike taxi and would enjoy the beach there. 

While staying here I took a weekend trip with a 14 hours train ride from Canacona, South Goa to Kochi, Kerala in 3rd class. I have done long trips much like this but in Europe, which is much more spacey than Indian trains, where personnel space is not a thing, and you have feet everywhere, which for me is a struggle, cause I hate feels in my face and guys touching me randomly when they walk by because i’m white and being white in India is like being famous. But when you take this out of your mind, life in this train is a fun experience and for me a must when in India, so much is happening, some sleep, some eat, some laugh and play songs, because not many uses headphones no no that is insta reels on loud, so I finally got upgraded to second class, not knowing I could do that in the train by talking with the conductor and got my own bed to get at least 6 hours of sleep before landing in Kochi, with the frase “chicken biryani, veg biryani” in an Indian accent, oh what fun.    

In Kochi I met up with a local from Couchsurfer and we went to Munnar the land tea and saw some waterfalls, but no elephants and because of the election, lots of people on the street with music and statements to share but no alcohol anywhere because in Asia you can’t drink and vote, apparently they want you to make sure you make a sober decision. And for my Kochi trip I took a tuktuk around town, where I saw an old school washing place still in use, a place where the washing machine is a person standing in a booth with a bath and slamming the clothes and bedding onto a block, drying the clothes outside and then ironing with heavy irons. Very interesting to see and honestly I think the guy washing had fun doing it, gave me a little extra show for the camera. And then I went around a saw all the different churches and temples, because in india and especially Goa and Kerala, there is a lot of different believes as the dutch, Portuguese and british and other where there because it was a good trading route, which is also why going to south India or more specific Goa or Kerala is a good way to transition into the Asian lifestyle from Europe or USA as there is more restaurants and such for where you get cutlery and you can get western food, which is what they in india call Fine dining. But if you ask me this is not what I want, I want authentic, local and new.     

For Christmas we went and got Lebanese food after seeing the sunset from the hillside with a lot of other people, each having brought different instruments with them to play, one brought drums, one a trumpet. So an amazing chill vibe for the sun to come down to a perfect Christmas night. And then my days in India was about to end and I started saying goodbye to all things India and all the amazing people I was staying with here for it is time for new adventures, meeting up with friends from Copenhagen in Sri Lanka to celebrate New year.  

Tromsø, Paris of the North. Got its name back in the late 1800s, because the women would adabt the latest fashion trends from Paris, and it also reflects on the city’s sophisticated atmosphere, rich cultural life and cosmopolitan vibe, Today the nickname evokes its charm, but also its significance as an important cultural and trade hub in Northern Norway. And lots of beaytiful nature.

The citycentre contains the highest number of wooden houses in Northern Norway, the oldest dating from 1789. also historically if a house is red (ochre-based), being cheapest is for poor farmers and fishermen, Yellow houses (more ochre) for middle class and white (zink-based) being the most expensive for the wealthy. Today vibrant colours are used more for traditions and aesthetics. And now these colours are a cherised aspect of Norwegian architectual heritage.

The port to the arctic ocean, a mosaic port symbolizing the gateway to the arctic oceans. Unveiled in 2024 and is a great place for photo opportunity with views of the arctic cathedral. It has a meaningful local connections.

Sommarøy, A small Island in the Tromsø county, where they dont use the 24 hour clock, as we know it because in winter time they hardly have any sun and in summer time sun is barely away as Sommarøy is north from the arctic cicle line. Meaning in summer time the sun is continously above the horizon for 24 hours (also called “Midnight sun”) and in winther time it will be below the horizon, this also means that in winter time you have great chances of catching the northern lights and what an experience that is, so I packed my tent and hammock, though very happy I had my tent, as the island is light on trees and come winter time high on wind and the tent brings me closer to nature, to experience the wonders of the northern lights while on a budget.

Camping, So in Norway you can camp where ever, as long as you are 150M away from private grounds, and dont litter. So this means if you dont mind sleeping in nature or have a campervan it is a good way to keep your budget low. If how ever you have plenty of money I loves luxury such as showers, and toilets I dont know some people like that, there is a 4 star hotel that is pretty nice, but dont ask me about that, Im a nature lover and a low budget traveler i would much rather spent less on sleeping and more on experiences and such.

Hiking, to the top of Hillesøy (A mild 183m and 1,6km to the top). It was a great little hike and very interesting with the ice, and lets just say im happy there was a robe to clam to. Took me around 1h and 30m with stops to enjoy the view. A hike where I used my arms just as much especially down, as we rappelled down some of the big slippery rocks. Getting to the local restaurant after, I was feeling fine a little sore but not too bad.

Aurora Borealis, Photo dump of a few of the many pictures I took of the lights. It was truely a magical moment to witness, I felt so energized and elated, it was so amazing and way better than I ever imagine and to experience it on my first night getting here, I had litterally just put up my tent just a few hours before. The feeling of the right time and right place, luck and being blessed comes to mind. Tuesday I caught one more big beautyful show, in a starry night with no clouds so also very cold night i guess that is the price we pay to get the beautiful sky.

Boat Cruise, So I actually just found this boat to sleep on where price wasnt to much and breakfast was included turned out a boat cruise was also included + coffee and tea, so lucky accident. And a very nice trip arround tromsø area seen from the water side, with people who want you to have a great time in Tromsø and will help you to not spent too much on overprised tours and such, so this is a 10/10 recommend from me, Norwegian Fjord Explorar Line. And if you are only interested in the boat tour you dont have to stay overnight, they have 3 tours per day (the night one can be cancelled if weather is bad as this is a Nothern Lights tour). And for the people that like a little green project, they harvest seaweed that destroy Co2 and make healthy energy drinks from the remainings with natural vitamins protecting you immune defence, and the remainings of the remainings will be destilled into bio fuel to run the boat. And the energy drink taste good. Lastly the boat is the main scene for an international explorer TV series running in 20 countries, OPPDRAG NORD NORGE.

The budget: So I flew to Tromsø with SAS, with Points so I only paid the obligatory taxes, fees and other charges what ever that is in a corporate world, 266DKK, then 1h 45m busride from Tromsø. Just 30DKK one way. For my homebound ticket, I bought a planeticket for 770DKK, which is just wild that its that cheap to fly, I started looking at train tickets, but going that great a distance became easily 1000DKK and that was only to stockholm, then from stockholm an additional 500DKK, so planeticket it is, sorry earth im on a budget.

Public transportation, However driving around with buses in tromsø area is cheap and can easily be bought on the norwegian Svipper app, which can be used for all of Norway’s public buses, no need to signup just use it anomously. Also a quick note I went to tromsø citycentre to meet up with some acquintances, but the bus to Sommaroy comes by the airport so you dont have to come into Tromsø city centre. And all tickets in Tromsø area cost 30DKK and is valid for around 1h 30minutes.

Pocket money, Norway is not cheap. Just to give you the gist of what it could cost, I paid for a moose burger and a can of beer, 204,42DKK at the local restaurant. However the supermarket is just up the road from the restaurant, where you can get everything, for a fraction of the price, I brought for at least 2 maybe 3 days worth of food (I dont eat that much generally) for 186,21DKK. So it is much better to go to a supermarket and buy the meat there and then cook it yourself at home, the whale meat, moose meat or reindeer meet is especially something to try here and can become a delicious meal. Fried on a pan and cooked potatos on the side with some sauce and then you have youself a nice norwegian meal without breaking the bank.

saturday means night out, Lets check out the Tromsø Night life, a lot of live music going on. its like anyother city night life, they have nightclubs, pubs and bars and it is expensive so the young people start at home drinking before going out around 23-24.

Hostel, I have one night in a boat, Norwegian Fjord Explorer Line, with breakfast and a sailing trip around Tromsø, 481,46DKK and a night at Tromsø activities hostel, which is 316,82DKK for a night. Which is cheap for a hostel/hotel room here, but not uncommon. normal prices are between 300-600DKK per night.

So in conclusion, Norway is very expensive and therefore very difficult to keep the budget low, not a lot of couchsurfers here either so make sure to have you stay planned as these will be the most expensive ones if you are looking to be in town and not out camping in the woods. But it is so worth it to catch the northern Lights, but dont need more that a week here to see it all.