Wild Corridor Hotel Thekkady

... morning I wake up only to find no taxi. After waiting, he arrives in the wrong vehicle, but I no longer care so we go. The park itself is pretty lousy, even though the Lonely Planet states it is the most beautiful area of Kerala (which I disagree). Regardless I see wild elephants, peacocks...and monkeys. I decide to leave S. Bathery for its only savior is the decent bakery next to the hotel.

I'm outta here...

... India. By now I have become accustom to this country, though some things I find silly and strange. Like filling up cars full of people, anywhere from 10-15 people shoved in a car Some unfortunate souls do not even get a seat on top of someone, so they simply hang outside the cars, gripping for sheer life around the hairpin curves, coughing up exhaust. Some other things I have also learned is that every vehicle has been blessed with a God name written in cheerful ...

... since I am only 4 months expert in driving and cannot take risk, so I thought Sreeni can take this as he is veteran in driving. As narrated he made it coolly and reached home by 7.45pm. Everyone was tired because of sleepless travel. We had our food which was absolutely delicious. The hospitality was really good in Glendale (Waterfall guesthouse), The guy named Veera taken care completely and made our trip enjoyable untill checkout. Time struck 9.30pm and we turned to our bed with ...

... had a full body hot oil massage, and watched some traditional fighting. Tomorrow we are headed out for a 12 hour jeep safari in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. I'm pumped except its been rainy and there was some comment from the guide about leech proof socks... yikes! I'm looking forward to Meena's wedding in a few days but ...

... views (well, I mean I've definitely seen some amazing sights, but this was just completely exotic to me). Hills covered in palm trees were visible as far as the eye could see, and I felt as though I would see King Kong off in the distance. Sadly, or fortunately (depends on how you look at it), I never did. But what I did see was equally ...

... rush to the side, but we couldn't see anything and wondered if we had lost something in translation. SK later suggested that the Indian tourists might have been teasing each other to pass the time. In the end, we had to content ourselves with a few deer, wild boar, a whole bunch of birds and Cameron's turtle. Still, it was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours and the lack of big beasts didn't stop Rob from taking dozens of photos. All over India, most tourist attractions ...

... 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 ...

... this old factory engaged in the step by step process of tea production, fascinating. Our last morning was an early start leaving at 6.30am for a gruelling day of travel by planes and automobiles! We had a five hour taxi drive to Cochin Airport in a lovely "springy" white Ambassador Taxi. The ride thorough the Spice Gardens, Rubber Plantations and Pineapple Groves was more than enough to keep us occupied on the journey. Bye bye Kerala, what a great time we have had, and now ...

... 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 ...

... Alain Delon lookalikes dined with bejewelled classy ladies in Gucci, Pucci and Fiorucci. Halfway through my third plate (mountain) of curry it started. A slight spasm in my usually iron-plated belly. I tweak the nose of Vindaloos. I tickle the tummy of Phalls. But something strange was going on down below in my engine room. In the taxi on the way home the rumblings were becoming louder combined with a feeling of light-headedness. I was in for a rough ride. For the next three days I ...