Gokulam Park Kochi

... pile of little fish it looked like they had bought. I mooched over to try and take a picture (failed) and they (very shyly) told me that they came here every morning to feed the cats from their house in the main town where the café was. They pointed out the two they particularly come for every morning, I’m guessing the fishermen practically give the scrappy fish away. They seemed very besotted with the cats but when I asked ...

... and extravagant. Afterwards we piled into a tuk-tuk to go to a wonderful dinner in the courtyard of the Grand Residence Hotel complete with a seated band playing the drum and electric guitar which sounded just like a sitar! Thank you for all of the kind birthday wishes! This rates as one of my all time favorite birthdays! Take care, Florence and Family

... in India, she spoke of it favourably and I started doing some research and here I am. The plan now is to bus it up the west coast, with a few inland digretions, ending up at Hampi, before returning to Delhi (by then it will be like an old friend, an old noisy stinking **** of a friend). Beat that sunshine. Fort Kochin, or Cochin as its sometimes spelt, is big with the travellers and with the familys, probably because of its beautiful setting, interesting ...

... people in the comfortable common area including a girl from Hong Kong who was happy to meet us when we got there to show us round the city and Kitchu, a young indian guy who worked there. On our last full day Kitchu invited us to his family home for dinner, taking us to a secret non-tourist beach in the afternoon that had been created by the Tsunami a few years ago. The baby palm trees stretched out as far as we could see on the deserted beach. After flinging ...

Hi guys, We're now in Fort Cochin, an island off Ernakulam (collectively called Cochin). Where we're staying is very much like a European village as it has a Portuguese and Dutch past. We met some very interesting people on our journey here including Jason, a very friendly American who'd quit his job in summer 2005 and has been travelling the world since,he made us feel like travelling babies again. The overnight bus ...

... and for me India has tended to glaringly bring out my own rigidity and notice it more. Yeah, I get stressed here- I am living in a tiny, somewhat clean cement wall room with a cold shower and water all over the floor and howling animals keep me up all through the night but somehow I have grown to love it. I almost left it after one night because the swanky place I stayed with the bathtub was calling my name loudly...."Melissa come back to me. I am clean, I am ...

... then in Nepal until the beginning of March. India and especially this last week has been the most exhausting and frustrating thus far. I am about to hit the four month mark and definitely feel it. India is amazing, frustrating, thrilling, filthy, revolting, and a very hard country to travel in, but that being said, I still love it. I am waiting to find that special place on a secluded beach where I can get my ...

... league. I have been taking full advantage of the 60 cable TV channels available to me there as the monsoon is worsening - now 2-3 torrential downpours a day. The Arches also has its own logo golf umbrellas for the use of guests. Very handy. I don't think I've ever had that before. Early start for the flights to Dubai and Cairo tomorrow.

... community here too, of course some Hindus, and even a little Jewish community (only 14 members left). They all live very happily within 2 or 3 kilometres of each other, many Muslim children attending catholic school, and with no feeling of racial segregation at all, again, very refreshing! So, on our first day we bought some fresh fish and prawns from the harbour and had them cooked in a little stall, along with rice and salad. Delicious. We walked for hours in the burning sun ...

... Bride to each other. Not easy, but who wants easy. I want this: life, juicy and raw and fearlessly explored from all perspectives. I love the incredibly deep analytical ability and piercing understanding that my upbringing in the Western world has given me and now I treasure the immersion in Eastern thought that expands this depth to include realms not just seen or heard. A powerful combination. One that I hope to keep sharing with each of you as we continue to journey ...