Sea Land Hotel Kanyakumari

... in the least bit can harness and overcome them with ease”. Indeed. Be fearless. The ferry was 10 rupees and the thinking stone entry was 10 rupees too.
We then caught a rickshaw out to Suchindram, about 8km from here, he ride costing a measly 250 rupees there and back, with the driver waiting around for an hour. There was a Hindu temple out there, impressive in its entirety. It only opened to tourists at half past four, and until it was time to go in, we walked around ...

... I visited the Vivekananda Museum, where a photo essay on Vivekananda is exhibited. There are many rare photographs of Vivekananda and others. You will also find the photographs of various places he visited in those days. The write up is also excellent and it would take time to read through the entire material.

There is free bus service to Vivekanandpuram at regular intervals from here. It is the head quarter of ...

... the only white guy around.. (working on the tan though..). I earned my first red spot on the face. Forgot to say that we switched to another state: Tamil Nadu, and they speak Tamil around here.. Then I was ready for an 11h hour train experience to reach Pondichery and see my friend Kevin (tbird) and his wife Adriana who joined from Pune, near Bombay, where they're living.

... made for two people that about 6 feet tall (read very uncomfortable). We had also already done the beach scene and were skeptical about Varkala before we even went there because we had heard it was quite touristy. When we arrived we did our usual scouting out for a room. We have been able to find rooms throughout India at a much cheaper price than those listed in the book though it usually takes some time to ask around and find a suitable ...

... to take an early morning stroll by myself, rather than tossing and turning in bed. The sun was due up at any moment and so I headed for the harbor hoping to see the fisherman bringing in the first catch of the day. I arrived amidst a throng of locals, all crowded around the waters edge, shuffling to get a good look at something in the shallow water. On reaching the melee I spotted, attached to ropes and being pulled onto shore by at least a dozen men ...

... the Vivekananda memorial. Swami Vivekananda was a famous Indian philosopher who lived from 1863-1902. On the other island is the huge statue of a Tamil poet by the name of Thiruvalluvar. Because these two islands are at the southern most tip of the sub-continent, the water on the left side is from the Bay of Bengal and Indian ocean while the ...

... of a manically busy country, where noise, dust, and the fragrant smell of human and animal pooh constantly bombard your senses. After a hugely disappointing wander around the 'botanical gardens' (read couple of nice trees and a contraption in a big concrete hole that was supposed to be something along the lines of a fountain... with no water, and a brilliant rose garden... with not one single rose) we decided to head down to Thanjavur to see one of India's best temples. After checking ...

... temple... but when you actually go into the temple complex all men must take off their tops and expose their great bellies and man breasts to the Goddess. The lack of sex equality in India is definitely working against me here! It is quite inspirational what ugly things you can make out of just shells. Sooo very ugly! The people of Kanniyakumari have perfected this art and their temples du kitch naturelles d'enfer (souvenir shops) scar the streets like skid marks on white silk underwear.

... come home. There's a type of bird (swallows maybe?) that can never touch the earth. They must perch high up because if they landed on the ground they would never be able to take off again. I feel like that sometimes. Like I can never rest-though sometimes I am tired-but always, always this drive to keep on, to see what has never been seen before. Like Tennyson's Ulysses: Vest the dim sea: I am become a name; For always ...

... world go by. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great either. Constantly drizzling & cloudy so I never got to see the amazing sunrises or sunsets. Took the little ferry ride out to the island with the temple & then the one with the massive statue on, went to a hindu temple & another Gandhi museum. I really wanted to go to the Wandering Monks museum but ...