A bit of rest and relaxation

• Dynamite_dinah's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Cochin

Trip Start Dec 05, 2004 Previous
Entry Trip End Jan 17, 2005 Next
Entry

  Cochin, India
Saturday, January 8, 2005

A last breakfast in Kashi's and Debbie set off for the airport to go back to the UK. This was the first time really I'd been alone on my six week trip - although of course you are never alone in India (even in your hotel room). I'd arranged via Jude to leave my stuff at Walton's and to visit an Ayurvedic centre for a few days. I took a 5 minute ferry crossing over to Vypeen Island and then had a huge argument (and Indians don't argue or raise their voices, so it was to no avail!) with a group of auto-rickshaw drivers who quoted me some ridiculous fare to take me to the guesthouse and not one of them would back down. So I set off defiantly down the road hoping to flag down a lone rickshaw driver and agree a reasonable price. It was boiling hot still (although slightly cooler than the previous 3 days) and carrying my little bag, I soon realised that I could be in for a long walk (6 kms!), plus with so few tourists in this neck of the woods, I was being seriously stared at by the women congregating outside the churches, men sauntering down the road in their short lungis and children playing on the side of the road. So I asked a shopkeeper how much further it was to Albin's Glory - he didn't have a clue what I was talking about and so he flagged down a motorcyclist who told me to get on the back of his bike (somewhat daringly I decided not to try side-saddle like all the other women and sat astride the bike - what a western hussy!). Having never been on a motorbike before, I sat terrified and exhilirated clutching onto my overnight bag as this guy weaved in and out of traffic completely ignoring the roundabout and taking a right down a bumpy side track.

In Sunday Church best!

We stopped outside Ayur Dara, the home of Dr Subhash, the Ayurvedic doctor who had linked up with the owner of Albin's Glory to offer predominently German visitors (he's got a contact in Germany) 3-6 week treatment packages. A very gentle softly spoken man and his equally zen wife were unoptimistic about my short stay and two treatments only to treat my chronic insomnia - promising that I'd come back for a much longer stay, they said they'd see me tomorrow for my first treatment. This time the Doctor had a free autorickshaw to take me the remaining distance to the guest house, where I joined the other inmates - 3 long-term German visitors and a Canadian couple and their daughter-in-law (Paul, Pattie and Anna) who had also been staying in Walton's. The guest house was right on the river bank which had echoes of the backwaters of the previous days - so very relaxing if not a little mosquito infested. The next few days brought hammock swinging, reading and some slightly unappetizing Indian-style Ayurvedic meals (made up of something sweet, something savoury and something bitter as is required by the Ayurvedic regime).
Ayurveda (science of life/health) is an ancient Hindu system of medicine - based on naturalistic treatment depending on the diagnosis of the body's dosha's to achieve a balance. Herbs, minerals, water and certain foods are all combined to treat the ailments or prevent sickness and align the chakras and dosha's, accompanied by Ayurvedic massage using aromatic and medicinal oils to tone up the nervous system.

View from Ayurvedic retreat

Kerala is a reknowned centre for this form of medicine. The next day at Ayur Dara, Mrs Subhash gave me the most wonderful massage (totally different from the one I'd had in Periyar) seamlessly followed by Shirodhara (dhara for short), which is a good treatment for insomnia and an overactive mind - it involves a stream of hot oil being poured continuously for 30 minutes or so in a swaying motion on the forehead. Getting the oil out of my hair after that was pretty near impossible even after a long hot shower. Then a little rest on the verandah overlooking the river. I felt very relaxed. The experience was only topped by an even better and slightly different massage and dhara the next morning.

Returning after this treatment on the Monday to Fort Cochin was nice in one way, as the retreat had been a bit too dull for me. After a stint on the internet and yet another visit to Kashi's, I took the luxury of a £25 taxi 4 hours down the coast to Varkala. In Indian terms this is a massive amount of money and I could have eaten for nearly a week for that amount! However, with a slightly heavier bag and coming to the end of the trip, I just couldn't be bothered to trek around catching buses and trains! Farouk, my Muslim driver was very chatty, expousing on all types of subjects, very different to our other driver Hari. We drove through Kollam, where the fishermen had died, which was quite saddening. It was busy on the roads and Farouk was not as good a driver as Hari had been, so there were quite a few knuckle biting moments on the very congested roads. As the sun was setting, we arrived in the tourist resort/temple town of Varkala, just north of Trivandrum. It took a while to find my pre-booked homestay Paradise Beach Resort - well not exactly a resort, more like 12 fairly basic rooms (cold shower!) owned by Teresa, a white lady from Swaziland. I could hear the sea but couldn't really see it, so after a quick dinner I retired to my bedroom with the hard beds and buzz of the overhead fan, to be disturbed by the sound of the temple at 5am (I'd missed that for a few weeks, since I'd been down south).

Slideshow Print this entry Share

Previous Entry Next Entry