(light music)
- Hey, guys, this is your girl Shameka
from LiveLoveLifeAndTravel.
And I have been living in India
for approximately two years.
Right now I'm living in Arambol Goa, which is North Goa.
So in this video,
I'm probably gonna just take you guys around Goa
and just try to really give you a really good idea
of what this place is like and how I live my life.
Good morning, people.
This is my backyard basically.
I got up a little earlier than usual because I wanted
to take you guys down to this beautiful banyan tree.
They're considered sacred trees here.
These can live hundreds if not thousands
and thousands of years.
The surroundings is very rural, like the countryside,
a lot of open land, a lot of farming.
But then you also have the little main streets
where there's cafes and shops.
And I'm minutes away from the beach.
Here in Goa, I walk pretty much everywhere.
That is the building over there that I live in.
But if I wanna go somewhere farther,
I'm riding the motorbikes.
Most travelers ride a motorbike
or a scooter or a motorcycle.
So I'm gonna come to this place which is a local bakery
where you can get really, really cheap baked goods
and freshly baked breads on a daily basis
for no price at all.
But today, I'm just gonna get an egg roll.
Thank you.
So this is 20 rupees.
20 rupees is less than a dollar.
It's still warm and it's so good.
You can see the egg.
It's egg and onion mostly, some sauce.
Now, we are at the bus station traffic circle
here in Arambol.
One of my favorite places to go here is the sugarcane shop,
which is right from the farm, freshly made
and squeezed sugarcane juice.
And it's 20 rupees, which cost absolutely nothing.
A lot of the expats that live on this street
and some of the locals come to this restaurant
because it's cheap, cheap, cheap.
And then the food is really, really good.
They have thalis and omelet rolls
and chai and fresh juices.
One of my favorite places to go to to get work done
'cause I'm a digital nomad is here at Dreamland Cafe.
And if you notice on the walls here, there's posters
of all the things that Arumbol Goa is known for.
So my tips for other black travelers who are planning
to travel to India is leave your assumptions at the door
and really try to project the energy
that you want to come back to you.
Some people don't have any idea about black culture
and so they might ask questions or say things
that you are like, oop, what?
But they're not coming from that place,
they're not coming from a place of malice.
I've created a life that is good for me.
It was just Shanti, relax, peace, slow down.
I hang out with my friends, but we hang out at beaches
and watch the sunset and walk long, long, long stretches
of sand and just talk about life.
You know, you do meditation here, yoga there,
party there, open mic there.
And then you still have your rural authentic
genuine people farming and just living their lives.
So I will be taking you guys to a little bit
of a fancy place called Garden of Dreams here in Arumbol.
It's kind of like a secret garden in a way,
but it's like a little cute little restaurant
with delicious food, delicious coffee
and they usually have music playing there.
(light music)
So now we're having a chocolate truffle balls
that was locally made, homemade in Goa, India
and absolutely delicious, mm,
with wine at the beach with friends.
A lot of people ask me how do I combat loneliness
when I travel.
And this is how you do it.
You create community where you are.
And I can't spend more than a few months now
in the big cities.
And when I get from the big city to a place like this,
I can feel the difference.
I can feel that I'm more grounded
and just more at peace and more stable.
This is my happy place, you know what I mean?
Has there been any specific challenges
because I'm a black woman in India?
I wouldn't say challenges.
I would say the same kind of thing you get
when you travel period.
But that's not just because I'm a black woman
because anybody who looks different,
they get looks, they get stares.
They're just staring because you're different.
I definitely feel accepted here
because I've accepted where I'm at.
I respect people's countries, I respect people's culture,
I respect people.
In the two years that I've been here,
I think I've seen three black Westerners.
Yeah, it hasn't been that many.
Sometimes I feel like I'm the only black girl around
but there is a girl from South Africa
that just moved next to me.
My experience so far in India
has been mind-blowing, life changing.
I'm learning so many things about myself, I've grown so much
and absolutely just love, love this country.
Anyway, it's getting late, I'm getting tired and I'm at one
of my favorite places to come to get a quick bite to eat.
We're at Dennis Falafel.
I come here almost every freaking day.
I got my chicken shawarma.
I'm gonna eat it at home,
but it's really, really good, trust me.
I hope you guys got information from this video
and I hope you guys enjoy it.
Please follow me on LiveLoveLifeAndTravel
and you guys have an amazing, amazing day.
Come, come to India, it's amazing, bye.
(light music)