Hindustan Beach Resort Varkala

Brother versus Sister in standing upright and knee deep in the monsoon waves. Nil points to Brother after being sucked in chewed up and spat out like the old men chewing beetle nut. Nil points to Sister after unraveling like cotton spool. Sun burnt windswept and wave slapped brother and sister ...

... as the actual working town is a little distance away by auto rickshaw, leaving the tourist stretch by itself on the cliff with a pathway in front and no road so there is a quieter atmosphere without the usual horn honking and traffic snarl. We saw mostly Indian families holidaying on the beach along with a smattering of westerners (complete with dreadlocks). We have whiled away the past few days sleeping in, eating western food ...

... in party dresses were asking parents for balloons and toys from the stalls and people were getting around chewing sugar cane stalks as they joined in the festivities. Rooftops were overflowing with spectators. Everybody was dressed in their finest clothing and in a jovial mood. A parade streamed in through the entrance gate and we ran along next to the giant decorated elephants with tusks, drummers, costumed dancers and other folk dressed as wacky birds. There was ...

... and my bad knee could defiantly benefit from increased flexibility. The next day Sue had to return to snowy England. Booooo! It was good to have travel partner for 2 weeks! That night I went for a sunset walk along the cliffs and stumbled upon a huge Indian festival honoring Shiva. There was a massive pink structure that was covered in ...

... Dashran and meditation on the beach at sunset. It isn't regimental, nobody is encouraged to take part in anything they don't wish to. There are many rules however, but I suppose they are in place to respect everyone's well being. I don't mind because I know that if I wish to leave, the door is open. The Ashram works like a machine, and to work well people must play there part to keep that machine well oiled. We have all been ...

... Maennergruppen in Bewegung, dass sie ja nicht zu lange an der gleichen Stelle stehen koennen um zu gaffen!! Da unser Haus ein wenig weg vom 'Strip' inmitten des Palmenwaldes lag und auch hier der Strom abends kurzzeitig abgestellt wurde, mussten wir uns des oefteren im stockdunkeln durch den Wald kaempfen und dass wo die von Nax so geliebten Hunde hier allgegenwaertig waren. Schoen war auch ein Nachhauseweg tagsueber, als der Opa der uns das Zimmer ...

... so far. Kanyakumari in state Tamil Nadu, the most southern tip of India, where the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meets, is a important pilgrim place for the hindus. It's a nice, quite touristic but quiet town. At south tip there is a memorial of some Indian philosopher and a huge statue on two separate islands. The boat ride there took only five minutes, but because of the enormous waves we were quite wet when arrived there. Nothing like the waves on finnish seas :) We were ...

... their way to school (or, judging by the time of day, bunking off) shouting "hello, what is your name?" and waving from the waterside track and wildlife watching as you pass by. We read a little but mostly watched these goings on unfold. After a couple of hours we docked and Chef's Assistant served lunch - this was superb. Fish curry accompanied by four or five veg dishes and a cold bottle of beer. It was then time to disembark our home and climb into a kettu vallam for a few hours ...

... but quite spacious enough for two and newly fitted out. It was also clean. It was also clean. (No, I'm not repeating myself through senility; it's rather that I wish to impress on you the singular rarity of such an occurrence). We were welcomed on board and each given a coconut with a straw in it. After we'd both eaten our straws (this produced an odd look from the crew who seemed to think we were missing the point) we set sail ...

... it to the counter. Same for the soda, and for the chocolate. They just followed us around and retrieved things. They even had fruit loops which we of course bought and then asked a lady for a plastic pouch of milk and we were set! In the morning, we headed for our train to Thrissur, to scope out a hotel before the festival. We ended up getting in an A/C car, since the wrong cars were attached to the train and there was no seat number 65 (in ...