Tabernacle Resort Thekkady

... the day I signed on the ship. The romance, the affair, the human side of me should be hidden under a heavy blanket and away from sun rays. La passion, the fountain of joy and trouble all together. What a dilemma! Stop thinking romantically can be such a easy tool to alienate one from another. What a handy tool to be left out the drama, the commotion, the madding crowd. Locked up. Emptied ...

... eyes. They were the lovely ones. Didn't spend much time here because we didn't really need to so went back to the ship about 1pm and guess where to. The Oasis bar of course. Watched the said out from Cochin and it was very pretty at night time. Indians on the wharf waving to us. The tourist season has just started there and we were the first ship of the season.<br>Thats it for now. You can send emails any time you like.<br>Love from Stephanie and Graeme.

... screaming, soaking, dancing and laughing in the rain. <br>I felt four years old again and it felt f****king fantastic.<br><br><br>Birthday Text to Sharon:- <br>&#8220;Time diff. Here so already celebrated your b.day with a few Toddy's (local coconut liquor) a bottle of white mischief (apt Vodka brand)and dancing on a car roof in the monsoon- well i had to try and forget the funeral I witnessed today............&#8221;<br><br>

... happy! A vigourous game or two of cards followed (yes, MF, I actually voluntarily played cards!!!!!!) after the brief power cut (it went out at 8pm each night and came back on at 8.30) before we retired for an early night - apart from being disturbed by what we concluded were monkeys, banging and pulling on the doors. The boys were not worried at all; the girls were convinced we were about to be murdered in our beds. As I sit here now, you can tell who was correct :-)

... The goats were not at all hard to find. They're quite used to people and I think they find walking on the asphalt path easier than trekking cross country, as they were plentiful along the path. We ran into plenty of groups who all wanted to shake our hands and have their picture taken with us. This accelerated as we go to the bus stop where everyone was waiting. Leaving Munnar we ran into a road block -- the ...

... while it was cool being in India, it did remove a bit of the luster from the occasion, much like being a vegetarian at Thanksgiving J. But we still had a cake and some fun, so it was grand. I also grabbed a new book at local store: The Algebra of Infinite Justice by Arundhati Roy. If you have any interest in how India (and Afghanistan and Pakistan) really functions, especially in relation to the US, this is required reading.

... you will traverse a two-way roadway almost from curb to curb, pulling out to pass, swerving to avoid potholes, maneuvering around parked trucks. Let's be clear. I've never driven in India. An iron law for foreigners wishing to keep sane and alive is that you must have a driver. It is his job to know which pedestrians will move and which will cross the road in front of a bus, how to make the cows move, and just when to ...

... ago. He is pretty big here and has a big Math (order of renunciate's) There were thousands of sanyassis there and it was inspiring. Amma was invited to give a speech (of course it wasn't ranslated and kind of boring, but the devotional erergy and food were sweet). It was a rather bumpy and uncomfortable bus ride there though, standing room only for many). I was exsausted upon returen to the ashram and rested. I slept a long time again and was upset I missed the 4:30am ...

... and a bit sour. They showed us vanilla pods and I particularly liked a flower called "Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday", this is because one day the petals are purple, the next purple and white and the last day completely white. We smelt the cinnamon leaf it was delicious, I couldn't stop smelling it. We went to a tea factory, it was amazing. We saw it from new fresh leaf until it was sorted into different types of tea. We walked through the plantation, which was beautiful and amazing.

... digital camera and showed the picture to the people, their faces lit up and almost looked as if they were in disbelief. They smiled and laughed, pointing to their pictures on the screen. They were then eager to have me take photographs of themselves and their children. It really put into perspective for me how much we really take for granted. These people may have never seen a picture of themselves before, or a camera. They possibly do not even have a mirror to see themselves at all ...