Coffee Inn Kerala

The bus gets crowded and hours later I step off in S. Bathery, the closest town to Waynard Nature Reservation. I get tell that this area hardly gets any foreigners and everyone looks at me like I am out of place. I get a rickshaw and go to the Regency hotel. Talking to reception, they inform me that they have doubled the room rate, and that the only room available is the deluxe room, out of my price range. I get the ...

... in a taxi only and I get whisked off to the Beach Hotel due to the lack of selection. The hotel turns out to be quite beautiful, and I get a room on the second floor with a separate room facing the Arabian sea filled with windows. Hardly believing my luck, I quickly put my things away and run down to the beach to watch the sunset. The beach is full of Indians, and there is a loudspeaker booming with some man speaking who knows what. As I watch the sunset, I reflect ...

... got our own room on the 14 floor for 3 bucks. Since the Ashram is located on a small island we had quite the view from our window. There was a schedule for meditation, yoga, chanting of Sanskrit names and voluntary work. Since we were only staying for one night we did not sign up for anything. It was very interesting to watch everyone here ...

... flagpole. Then they started chanting and singing and somebody picked some pink flowers and threw them over the flag and all over the guys. The ceremony was performed quite seriously. We're not sure if it was for the national holiday or it was an act to protect them from accidents on the roads, the cliffs are very steep in these parts. As we headed out of Munnar the bus had to stop as we came upon a whole row of runners wearing numbers emblazoned across their ...

Hello from unseasonably warm and dry Kannur. I've nearly finished the course on Ayurvedic Massage and Panchkarma Therapy. I've been having a great time - more on that in the next entry to come in a few days - this one is already too long! So, first a few words on my journey from Cochin. I left the Taj Malabar after a little luxury, not exactly with a spring in my step, more like a hobble. I had taken a tumble as I had ...

... back to Vinod's house where he asked if we'd like a rickshaw to take us home. We accepted gratefully, three and a half kilometers through the forest is ok in daylight. When it came he asked if we were returning home but we decided a stiffener was required after all of this new information and the rickshaw took us all the way to the KTDC. If any proof were required that these new friends were anything but genuine we were not allowed, for the second time that day, to pay for the rickshaw.

... this part of southern India are very nice, Kerala is adorned with palm trees, indeed, Kerala means Coconut Land or Land of Coconut. It really is very pretty and helped perfectly along from the comfort of the train... fantastic. One of the many sites (apart from the coconuts) are the people themselves. The morning train reveals ritualistic Indians, they are all brushing their teeth! in fields, in the back yard, in the middle of the road, on a boat ...

... the idea of buying something to smoke... but decide not to - only to regret it the next day on our Kerala river boat cruise. (I buy more call-time for the SIM card and find the system rather confusing: you have to consider period of validity (0 days to forever) AND the amount of calling time. ) We eat at a small Tibetian restaurant, the food is good, as is the company, I think I see ...