My first night of non-sobriety last night meant a morning of lethargy this morning where anything other than bed or the bathroom was an impossibility. The afternoon proved more constructive fortunately as we went for what turned out to be about a 20km bike ride. Hiring bikes for 7p/hour we decided to limit the chances of getting lost by staying on the same straight road. Following this route meant we got further and further away from the other tourists/travellers and that we became more and more of a novelty.
People of all ages and both sexes waved at us and said hello - some venturing further, asking where we came from. A couple even asked where we were heading. Replying that we didn't know brought laughs but not as many as if we had said 'Delhi' or 'Mumbai'.
When we reached our halfway point (the stage at which we turned round and headed back) we had a short break in a bus shelter. By the time we set off again, we had left behind a group of nine men who had again become very interested in us - one of them was a sweet-stall owner who gave mints to everyone - what is with Indians and mints?!?!
On the way back we stopped to watch what appeared to be a junior cricket festival. While we thoroughly enjoyed just sitting under a tree watching this (and the standard must have been on a par with English county cricket) we left not a moment too soon as we had become more the focus of attention of the crowd (can 30 people constitute a crowd?) than the cricket!
Dinner was back to normal tonight - i.e. it costed less than our tip for dinner last night!!
Day 25 - Kochi - Ernakulam
A day I've been dreading for the last few days - another day when actual travelling was involved. Our train to Goa (merely a 16 hour journey) was leaving the neighbouring town of Ernakulam at 11:00pm but we obviously had to check out of our hotel way before then. This meant we were faced with a day trudging round with our backpacks in stupidly high temperatures and wouldn't be able to have a shower - given that I've been averaging around 7 showers/day, this was a particular hardship.
Things turned out a lot better than expected - we deposited our bags in a locker in the station before finding an English showing of Austin Powers in a local cinema and a restaurant where we had lobster and chateaubriand between us for a fiver. Being the first beef of the trip, I initially felt guilty about eating a sacred animal. I consoled myself with the fact that the cow must have died from natural causes at the end of a long and rewarding life and therefore the beef would be very tough. When I tasted the first bit of 'melt-in-your-mouth' tenderness, I didn't know whether to feel relieved for my taste buds or guilty for my conscience!
The rickshaw drivers in Ernakulam had the audacity to go on strike this afternoon over the use of their meters. This had the undesired effect of making us walk for miles in ridiculous heat - I'm therefore siding with the government or council or whoever against the driver in this dispute!
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