Nilgiri's Nest Coimbatore

... in there. We went back to the Raja and asked for our money back, which they finally and reluctantly gave, and we moved into the Ruby Palace, had a nice meal at a vegetarian restaurant, and had a good night's sleep.

We are now spending the day in Coimbatore, relaxing while we wait for our overnight train to Trivandrum in the far south. My next blog will be from there in a day or two. Hope all well with you.

... class, my (Rajivīs) time was initially spent repainting metal cribs in the baby room, repainting the kitchen, and helping John figure out how to protect the roof of the dining room from falling coconuts. Once I had a look at the wheelchairs I started to work more closely with the physiotherapist, Mukil. It was very rewarding for me to help make the chairs more functional to enhance the mobility of the kids. While at FFC I was able ...

... sounds like purgatory and some how from what others have said I think it might be similar!!!!...and I paid for this!?? This treatment will take 5-7 days on and off and will mostly be unpleasant I believe...can't wait...this is the serious detox stage of the whole show...no more daily massages...no more yoga....just bed rest and well you don't need to know the details!!! Ewww!! Today the owners gave us all a gift...as if the sun shining wasn't enough...it has been cloudy and rainy ...

... is an absolute God-send. You are awakened in the morning by the chirping of birds. A walk in the area is an absolute rejuvenating experience watching the myriad flowers in bloom. For bird lovers this is paradise. The weather was cool although it gets a littly nippy towards evenings and then one gets indoors for a comfortable reading.

This holiday bought us closer, as always. The food was excellent served ...

... He takes us to our room, only one of six on the island. We have a large veranda and sitting room out front, a day bed inside, terrifically high ceilings, teak floors, white wall and black wooden furniture and a hige bathroom (with hot water - yippee!!) There is a back door to the room that leads to the serving area of the lodge and is attached to the kitchens and the back gardens. We drop our stuff and sit on the veranda, looking out over the lake wondering how exactly we ended up at ...

... plans to rent scooters fell through. we were after some nice gentle scooters but all they had on offer were much bigger and offered far greater opportunity for inflicting damage that i was comfortable with. it was a bit of a wasted day but a good reminder that going with the flow is the only way to preserve one's sanity in India. i realise that's such a corny cliche but it's still very true, something i definitely need to always keep in mind.

... deer, leopards and tigers amongst others in search of some un-caged wildlife. We stayed in a very nice wooden lodge on the banks of the main river through the park which is where we saw most of the wildlife. We took a government run tour through the park but this was not up too much. A loud diesel bus filled with tourists is hardly the most covert of sightseeing tours but there were no alternatives. We did come across 2 groups of wild elephants plodding along ...

... is in the same scenario I described above-- illegally, for illegal purposes. Until recently, a lack of transparency in the government prohibited the maps and plans for the BMIC even being shown to anyone, especially those who were being relocated, so many farmers acquiesced because the law required them to do so. Upon the release of these maps, many are realising that they have been duped and are fighting back. Dozens of coalitions exist and court cases are ...

... so I'm glad I went, even though I was the only person there who wanted the Pats to win (and not that much, as I slept through the game). Anyways that is about it for now ... I've been writing all of this down in my journal and I'm kind of confused as to what I've written here and what I've written in my journal, plus there is so much to experience that there is no way that I can convey it all anyways. I hope everyone is doing well; has anyone gotten any of my letters yet? Let me know. ~Namaste~

... the hairpin bends and arrived at the checkpoint to show the pass. As we pulled to a halt, smoke bellowed out from under the right tire, and the smell of burning rubber filled the car. The checkpoint guy came running up, and started shouting some stuff at Prabhu in Tamil. I never understood most of it, but managed to pick out the English sounding words, "secondgear" and "brakefailure", which I figured to mean that you should go down the hills in second gear, or ...