Sea Breeze Beach Resort Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)

... of which our parties already constituted 7. Truth explained that in all matters of pooled transportation costs, once foreigners had paid the full fare for a journey, locals were notified so that they could freeload off the already-paid-for vacant seats.

Still, we were on the way to see some damn lions on a safari preserve. Schweet.

It took some 20 mins to double back the road we walked from, across the dam, up the hill, past the Ashram, and ...

... delicious, cardamon and other spices I'm not sure of.

Our driver arrived at 9:30. Kip decided to go after all. Our destination was Padmanabhaparam Palace about 2 hours south and just over the state line into Tamil Nadu. The Palace was worth the tip but the drive there and back was an unforgettable experience. The car ride gave new meaning to the term "white knuckle". The traffic on the two-lane highway with no ...

... from Hungary who used a sitar, a native american style drum, his voice and a water healing bowl to perform for us during meditation. The man has the gift of an ethereal, otherworldly voice of an angel which he uses for healing. Superb and especially pleasurable on a full moon. The dam was good for a swim and float around in the arvo even though there was supposed to be crocodiles in there. It was a good place for chatting while fish nibbled on your skin. There's a ...

... it! We did a four hour tour of the temples in blistering heat and saw a million lizards, parrots and monkeys - some of the monkeys were huge so we were warned to stay away! The carvings were epic and the temples looked like something out of lara croft/ indiana jones- i think everyone says that but it's so true! i took loads of pics so will upload them when i get a pc that works properly! Unfortunately i ate a dodgy pizza while in Hampi(damn the craving for ...

... that wouldn't be difficult. But after five days of sun salutations and copious amounts of sweating, we can definitely touch our toes a little more freely. It makes us feel like we're doing something productive with our day, despite having to walk around like penguins after the first couple of classes. We signed up for a cookery class with another couple we had bumped into along the way. When we walked into the kitchen for our class we weren't too inspired by the vision ...

... Thank God Helen was there and being miss positive (she's been through way worse), b/c I think I may have had a meltdown. I don't think I have the strength to go through something like that again, however, if it's the worst thing I experience here, I'll take it! We finally arrived in Varkala around 7pm, checked into separate rooms and chilled out for the night. Whew! My impression of Varkala isn't nearly as nice as my time spent in Goa. It's ironic how I was dead set on ...

... you can reach Kanyakumari by train as well - but then stopping off on the way may not be practical. If you don't like travelling budget class, you can hire a cab or drive down. But, we did it by the state transport bus. The feel of travelling can never be bettered; and, there are plenty of buses plying round the clock. The traffic is still thin and the road out of Thiruvananthapuram city has just been repaired ...

We arrived last night in Trivandrum (aka Thiruvananthapuram), a small city of about 800,000. We discovered a new snack last night called peanut masala: roasted peanuts, diced onion, cilantro, tomato, lime, and some unbelievable spices. Delicious. Today we went to the zoological gardens, which were very impressive. In other ...

... tehdastyolaiset (ja heidan lapsensa) ovatkin siis havaintojen mukaan loytaneet leipansa turismista. Agra onkin aivan ykkosmestoja postikortti- ja avaimenperashoppailusta innostuneille. Tajin lahistolle ei myoskaan paasteta moottoriajoneuvoja, mika tekee siita paratiisin aanitorvivakisinmaatuille korville. Niin ja olihan se itse rakennuskin melko hieno.Agrassa pakkasimme itsemme yojunaan, joka veisi meidat kohti itaa ja Varanasia. Yot ovat Pohjois-Intiassa tahan aikaan muuten ...

... up in a government hospital, a kind but helpless young doctor on duty, who would wander around the filthy large room of an emergency, and do nothing to ease the groans or suffering all around him, other than recommend saline drips. I got the same until I finally proactively asked for some tests and a prescription. 'No, I did not want to be admitted, thank you very much'... Dengue fever and malaria were high suspicions for awhile, and as the symptoms continued to keep me mostly in bed and ...