Anugraha Hotel Mangalore

... operated a 24hr checkout policy, in other words, we had to check out by 4.30am the next day. So we paid for another night..what's 4 quid when you need to sleep eh? After a long sleep, we ate our first lunch in Udupi. Udupi has a number of 'meal' joints which serve a limited range of 'meals'...which are, errr, meals - everything you need all on one plate. So our first lunch was iddli with sambar and sambol. Iddli are steamed rice cakes, sambar is a tangy stew, and the sambol was made ...

... be turned around, he needs to offer 4800 R's to the Gods. Now, call me a synic, but really? I've been starting to buy this spiritual stuff that almost everyone seems to into in this country, but paying the Gods nearly 60 quid? I don't think so. Astrology and religion here are fairly deeply entwined, but he guy got a little bad tempered when told thatt he reason we were not going to do this was because we didn't believe. The astrology ...

... If we st*rt e*rly, we will h*ve enough time to enjoy the scenic be*uty *nd to t*ke rest *lso. In the night, we c*n c*mp *t the st*tion itself. The next d*y, we h*ve to trek 5 KM through the forest. We h*ve to cross Kempuhole river *lso on the w*y. Then re*ch highw*y, w*lk till * ro*d where our driver c*n come *nd pick us. If we execute the pl*n properly, this is going to be * very thrilling trek. Lots of discussions with Vinu *nd we listed down the things to c ...

... I agreed to doing this was because I was so hungry and there was no other food, and now I felt like I was expected to eat the whole thing, while they watched me since I had their spatula. It was just so awkward! I ate some, shared the rest, and we promised to come back when they asked us to. We never did though... At night Friday and Saturday we went to a small college town called Manipal about 30 to 45 min away from our resort. The food was fine ...

... were quick to welcome us to their university, and point us in the direction of the chapel we were trying to find. People really are quick to smile here. From atop one of the hills, we looked back on the city and admired the landscape of trees and palms, and flower lined boulevards. From above, it looks like the buildings are all nestled into a lush forest. What a beautiful city, in so many ways.

... a boat, then bring the ends in by tying sticks to the net, and slowly pull up the net from both sides, which takes ages, and is fairly hard work. I got in with a couple of lads who showed me what to do, and though it had been a long night and I was a little off my head, I got right into it, pulling hard and slowly with the others, and getting to the top of the beach, the stick is untied, and re-tied in the water on the leading part of the netline. These nets seem miles long ...

... and bonds are made however strongly, and quickly broken as scheduling and itineraries come to the fore. People come and go, some stay in contact by e-mail from time to time, and though it comforting to commune with kindred souls, there is not much continuity at the end of the day as people move on to other sights, other places. . . A bit of a metaphor for life itself, I suppose, people travel in and out of our lives, sometimes we catch back up with ...

... also my old hindi instructor (who is also my father's old sanskrit teacher) is running an orphanage for abandoned kids and a shelter for battered women who have run away from home....on saturday i am going to go the school and do check ups on all 60 kids, making sure they are all well and buying medicines for them if needed... other than that i have been just visiting family and friends and having a great time...i actually ...

... optimum acoustics...didn't help Mark's cause... Woke up with an urge to leave the cheap dosas and thalis of mangalore for greener pastures... a couple of nightmarish buses and a fair bit of confusion later, we had arrived in the Kerelan village of Pallakunnu (we only worked out where we actually were after a few days)...staying at the simple but effective Eeyam lodge....

... finger's gone rather rough. Fun though, first chance to engage my brain so far really.Oh yeah, he said I was the next George Harrison and if you don't believe me I'll give you his telephone number. Dont ring it though, he won't be in... We commenced a frankly horrific journey down to Goa beginning aboard the Spine Shatterer express which took about 6 hours in the middle of the night. I should have known something was up when I kept going to faint, but thinking it was ...