Kovalam Beach Retreat

... a small shack serving food and some women selling fruit; a far cry from hectic Varkala. I bid farewell to the girls on the 27th and made my way to Trivandrum station where I had a bunk booked in a 3AC carriage on an overnight train bound for Chennai, in order to meet up with the biker boys. I was sad to leave Rachael, but seeing her had been just like old times which cemented my belief that our next rendezvous will be as if we saw each other yesterday.

... beautiful yantras, a kind of mandala drawn onto the floor using coloured powders and surrounded by fragrant incense, flowers and oil lamps burning so that they created a peaceful glow. For the shakti ceremony we were seated in front of banana leaves on top of which was some brass oil lamps burning, a pile of red powder (symbolizing the feminine) and some flowers. We worked our way up to a kind of trance like state while chanting a devotional mantra over and over as ...

... Veg*s' strip were * little bit ground hog d*y. We m*inly *te *t * simple org*nic pl*ce c*lled 'Cliff' for bre*kf*sts *nd * v*riety of loc*tions *t night. V*rk*l* feels like * pl*net of it's own *nd is very much cut off from the whole Indi* feel. A good pl*ce to visit with * good bunch of new friends. S*ndr* h*s decided to join us for the Vipp*s*n* 10 d*y silence retre*t medit*tion in Cheng*nur so we're *ll ment*lly prep*ring for the course th*t st*rts very soon. We've ...

One of differences in India to SE Asia has been the amount of conversation with local people. In SE Asia the majority of locals who spoke to us, would inevitably lead to them wanting to sell us something. It was rare to just talk with someone who only wants to discover why we visited their country, and what we thought. But, in India, the Indians are very curious about us, our experience has been ...

... de termos um dia longo de viagem para as Maldivas e particularmente irritante, mas decidimos continuar como planeado e ver como as coisas evoluem (escrevemos este post desde o aeroporto de Colombo, a caminho de Male, ainda estamos um bocado combalidos, mas a Eva ja se sente melhor). Tambem poem os nossos planos de fazermos alguns mergulhos, pois obviamente temos que estar a 100% para o fazer. Deixamos a India para tras com o sentimento de que, com os seus altos e baixos, foi uma ...

... of most people. The procession, luckily, did not turn in the gates but continued up the road behind the lorries which had moved slowly off while we watched. The main participants were children all carrying large highly decorated ornaments of a votive nature - the flower sellers had clearly had an extremely good day. The odd thing was the children all looked in todays parlance - thoroughly spaced out. Behind them came another clue; two chariots, one carried, the other on a ...

... follows. There may be a way to show the places I've visited on my trip map, if I can work out how to add multiple pins for a single blog entry, for the time being words will have to do! (Simon M - you'll no doubt be amused to see that this site uses Google Maps, given our earlier exchange!) Tues 17th -> Wed 18th April. Flew from Heathrow to Delhi. Then had to get myself by train from Delhi to Agra, without a prior reservation. Maybe it's just me, and the fact ...

... I know it will be shocking to be back living as we do in the West, but not without one thing: India has transformed me, fascinated me, and taught me to see the most simple of things in a new light. Though this is one of the world's most impoverished places, I will leave so much richer, in tears of joy for having made the decision to come here, and in sadness, realizing that this voyage has reached its end. I will see you all back home - April 27th!!!

... What could go wrong? The simple answer is EVERYTHING. Did the car break down? Yes. Did the driver fall asleep at the wheel? Yes. Did we get lost? Yes, temporarily. Did we end up getting there at roughly the same time as the train? YES! But hey, you live and you learn and then you realize that when it comes to India there is no one right answer - particularly when it comes to transportation. Varkala was amazing - and definitely one of the most ...

Well, the drive to Varkala was beautiful. After a very crushed 3 hours on the main bus we got on the local bus by mistake. A 40 minute journey became 2 hours, taking us through all the little villages, down too-narrow-for-a-bus mud lanes and through the thick of the lush Keralan landscape. It was really lovely. And the weather was scorching. We were excited to arrive at our idylic little beach spot... so untouched by human hand - NOT! We were not so pleasantly surprised to be greeted by ...