Vasantha Mahal Hotel Mangalore

Udupi is home of the masala dosa and not a lot else, so this blog entry is going to be fairly food-oriented. Udupi is famous across the country for its food and restaurants all over serve traditional 'Udupi breakfasts' or 'Udupi meals', so by the time we got here our mouths were watering just thinking of all the culinary delights we'd be sampling. We arrived in Udupi at 4.30am and were so grateful that our hotel was visible from the bus stand. We weren't so grateful to discover that our ...

... to watch, and today we have just a had mooch around. There is not much to do or see here, but it has a certain charm to it, especially the old part near the temple, so I'm glad we used it as a break on our way to Kerala. We did call in on the astrologer that is based in our hotel, but after Sumi had her charts read, I decided not to bother. Apparantly, she need him to take a puja at the temple for her, and in order for her problems ...

... I t*lked to the Infy guy who posted * tr*velogue *bout r*il trek in our intr*net. Fin*lly, I *ssured myself th*t I c*n do it. L*st time when Vinu *nd Sree went, they tried to cover it in * d*y *nd it turned out to be very hectic for them. So, this time, we decided to h*ve it in two d*ys. Our pl*n: Re*ch S*kleshpur by 3 or 4 on S******y morning t*king * c*b from Mlore. T*ke rest for 2 hours. Go to Do****l *nd st*rt the trek by 7 or 7:30. Then re*ch Yed*kumeri by ...

... in it! So there we were, in the middle of a circle of many Indians, drinking our coconut juice in silence. It was even weirder for me because usually we use straws to drink the juice and this time it was more of a cup. I was spilling all over! When we were done the old man cut them in half so we could eat the actual coconut, and an old lady went into the house to give us (dirty looking) wooden spatulas. Personally, I don't even like coconuts, the only ...

... of temples, and some of India's few modern shopping stores and malls. Women would stop and tell us about particular temples or deities, give us advice on which way to walk (always circumambulate a hindu temple in a clockwise direction), or send their children over just to say hello. Rickshaw drivers almost always, without discussion, used their meters. Touts were non existant. University ...

... first night here in Palolem, however, I did not listen to my own advice. The bars here stay open much later than they do in Arumbol, until dawn, or beyond. I got to playing pool, and having a good conversation with a couple of people, and noticed the horizon getting light. Time to go, past time, for sure. . Walking back to my hut, the fishermen were pulling in some nets, and so I went to watch. The next thing I knew I was helping to pull them in, they string the net out ...

... maybe a little conversation and retiring to bed under the mosquito net with the ceiling fan humming-- yes, even this idyllic seeming lifestyle can fade into routine, it's very edge dulled by the sheer repetition of it all each day. There is only so much "full power" one can take. . There is an intrinsic lonliness among long-term travelers, they seek each other out for conversation, and sometimes, if there is a spark, a bit of physical comfort, but ...

... up at 6:45 am to stash as much water as we can in buckets before it gets cut off at 7:45 am!!!! Good times!!!! wednesday, i meet with a local volunteer here and i will be working out my schedule for my upcoming few weeks here....i have met a very nice local doctor who is arranging for me to go into the villages and see patients and do health education and also an interpretor to communicate with the patients....i am very ...

... migrane. In a darkened room , curled into feotal stance, waiting for it to pass... after a few hours it subsided a little, went out onto the balconey for some take-away tucker Clare rustled up, a young boy starts to test out his Diwali (Hindu festival of light, sort of like x-mas and new years, but with more explosives) crackers in the underground carpark opposite ...

Well hello again. Sorry it's been a while by our usual standards, but I have a very good reason. Guess which one of us got the screaming Delhi belly? Quel surprise! To add insult to injury, this has not resulted in any conspicuous weight loss. How's that work?? So going back, our last day in Udaipur was taken up with me having a sitar lesson. It only cost a pound but he did force his own cd on me at the end for a further two quid. He just had me doing scales really, and ...