Heritage Inn Coimbatore

... About two and a half hours in, while passing through a narrow cutting, we ground to a halt, and all the people in the carriage became very excited, shouting "hathi, hathi", which, as anyone who has seen The Jungle Book will know, means "elephant". Sure enough, we looked out of the window and there was a huge elephant just standing on the line looking at the train. The train staff and the guards went up to him ...

... babies, toddlers,little girls, little boys,big girls, big boys, special care, so lots to choose from. I (Bobbie), ended up working with Sophie´s class - a group of kids and adults with various disabilities. Sophie, the teacher, was wonderful in guiding me and I spent time with the kids on their English, Math, reading and crafts. They were such a joy to be with. They looked forward to my showing up every morning and I had to make ...

... world would take note there would be a lot less people having to inject themselves all the time. Meditation was good although I am not able to concentrate on the one thing for the whole time...I drift.... I think I would be better with guided meditation as I can't be trusted to keep my own mind focused in the right direction...but hey I might get better at it!! :o) Day 3 I have to say it is the morning of day 3 and I feel fantastic...today's line up that differs from previous days ...

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In a place aptly titled the Bison Valley, we stayed in the Planters Bungalow. The bungalow overlooked the valley and we had great moments 'bison spotting'. The bison is a shy creature and keeps away from humans and here they were all over the valley. Since we were staying there on weekdays, we had the place all to ourselves.

Coonoor is a place untouched by time. Tucked away in the Nilgiris, the ...

... tells us to go to the back room of the restaurant, where they turn on the lights and ceiling fans for us. So we sit, the waiter brings us a menu and we order chicken masala, tomato soup, porotta (which is like buttery pita) and water and eat our meal in complete isolation. We settle up and get back in the car. We asked the driver why had to sit in the back, and he told us that the front was for locals, the back for foreigners. We were pretty horrified at this and couldn't quite figure it ...

... being what's your good name? where are you coming from? are you married? My standard answers being Jim, Orstraylia and no, although i occasionally invent an imaginary girlfriend if they look too concerned at my marital failure. 90% of the this attention is welcome, not only is it nice to feel like an E-grade celeb but it means that it's always incredibly easy to strike up conversations with the locals. People are genuinely happy to chat ...

... of the gods for the people. Pretty interesting - to me I was reminded of Aztec culture the way the temples were constructed. Now for the best part - OLIPHANTS!!! Yes, in true tourist trap tradition you can ride an elephant once you finish at the Palace. Normally I'd say this is cheesy and cruel to the animal, but in India the elephant is sacred, so I figured I could indulge myself. I paid my 50 rupees and climbed on the beast. I want to just say that while I was on this animal ...

... of eminent domain specifically states that this is not allowed. Mr. Naghabushan is considered to be a large farmer, with 16 acres total. He has entered into a coalition with nearly 1000 other small farmers (less than 3 acres, generally) to have the confiscation reversed and his land returned to him. Eight months ago the state government changed from being dominated by the Congress Party to being shared with another political party; the new government is deemed the ...

... This organisation has also been teaching the women of the slum how to read and write, and also small trades such as the rolling of beedies (a type of cigarette) and the making of incense sticks. Not only are the women now able to provide themselves with a small source of income, but they are feeling empowered as well. A cooperative has also been set up to provide loans and savings for these people as no bank will allow them to open up an account (they don't have enough money to make ...

... restaurant and had a cup of Indian coffee, which is like western coffee, except tastes like it is made with condensed milk. We arrived in Madurai late morning, and immediately set off to find the temple, as it closed at 1pm every day. As we were walking to it, a guy with a dollar sign stuck to the top of his head came up to us and offered to be our guide. We knew right away that he was just after some money, but we really could use a guide, so we accepted him ...