Uday Samudra Kovalam

Finally in Varkala..a stunning beach town on the Arabian Sea. We were so exhausted after a whirlwind tour through the state of Tamil Nadu via buses and trains that we couldn't wait to take a break and just hang on the beach. Oh....but first let me tell you about our first Indian train-ride experience: we took the overnight passenger train in a 1st class cabin with no AC. We had heard that 1st class w/o AC is worse than 3rd class ...

... miracle when I made it to my gate just in time. I took a deep breath once I actually boarded the flight. I spent hours researching the best flight from Goa to Trivandrumb/c everything I found had at least one layover, and it's only a relatively short distance between the 2 cities. I was really annoyed that the best flight i could get for the money had 3 stops, took 5 hours and was on an airline I never heard of (Kingfisher- also the big beer ...

... their lives. It's the most auspicious place in India to die, and even if you don't actually peg it here, your family can arrange for your body to be brought to the river, cremated on the banks then scattered in the water. We went down to the river at dawn, and watched as people chanted, washed and swam, while others bottled and drank the water. All this, with the occasional dead dog bobbing past. The Ganges is so heavily polluted that in places the water is ...

Got to Kovalum beach and just soaked everything in. First time we have been on a beach this trip and it was great. Very beautiful place and we spent the day walking around both beaches and eating some good food. Taking the time to relax and unwind without the sounds of cars honking, etc. Anita got a drive by ass slapping by 2 guys on a motorbike....not something she wants repeated! We decided to treat ...

... highschool or are still in their first two years of university. All of them, except our group, were pretty rowdy, immature, inconsiderate of the culture... I was not impressed at all. During dinner, some girl couldn't stop talking about how low-cut her shirt was and it was just obvious she was trying to get the small handful of male volunters's attention. Some British guy was yelling after having too many beers. Then on the other side of me, there were two girls also in ...

... and a not just a wee bit worried about what I had signed up for. Okay, I am thin...some might even describe me as skinny and if I am skinny, than John could be described as gaunt, maybe even malnourished...pure skin and bones--and he was taller than I am. A middle-aged (I think) white, sun-worn American with thin long hair and a beard, his voice was like a ghost or as Kate described it "as if when he spoke, his life was being sucked out of him...like a zombie ...

... there were masses of people here on the beach (down what seems to be the 'Indian end' of the beach here in Varkala, all the westerners are down the other end). We counted 2007 in at one of the cliff-top bars with plenty of reckless fireworks, cheering and hand-shaking with locals. Luckily noone seemed to loose an eye or fall off the cliff (the path is really narrow and doesn't always have a fence or barrier ...

... Perhaps there was a new animal to be found, distinguishable but its bright red nose Jifficus burnicus or maybe a new plant with such unseen beauty Jimmicus loadofbolloxicus..anyway.. We continued until we found a road which we then followed. Lots and lots of school kids greeting us with school pen school pen (when you tell them sorry no school pen they ask for money to buy one.. Further down the road we rounded a corner and was met by the a quite unbelievable sight..a huge ...

... I wasn't going to stop now... The locals were singing away and if it hadn't been for the singing I could have possibly felt sorry for my very very blistered hands, but no 'haul away.. haul away' (thats what I think they were saying anyway) about an hour and a half later and approximately 40 men later (plus a few blisters) the net was on the beach and crowded around our proud catch. Whilst ...

... Especially as they werent particularly gentle with their slapping and pinching! Next day we took a ferry over to Fort Cochin - Cochin is made up of a few different islands so you have to get ferries between each one. It was nice and peaceful anyway - Kerala is famous for its maze of backwaters - narrow waterways that weave among all the little islands and villages. In the evening we saw a 'kathakali' performance. Kathakali is an ancient Keralan form of drama in which the ...