Wishing everyone a very drunken merry new year, missing you all but trying to get over it by being nasty to children beggars and bastard rip off rickshaw drivers (had quite a bad day yesterday walking around for 4 hours in the heat trying to find a room).
We are in Pondicherry at the moment, which as an old French town has a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi, and at least makes the guys urinating at the side of the road seem more normal.
We have booked ourselves into a swanky hotel, mainly as in India, New Year is quite a big thing and all the hotels are booked out, but also to make us feel better. We have also just booked into the newest poshest hotel in Pondi for their New Year party (5 days' budget). Salsa dancing, unlimited drink and a UK DJ Vrata upstairs (!!) so hopefully that will be fun. Eleanor is going to wear her silk dress that she had made in Madurai, she also might have to buy some shoes to go with them, as the lesbian sandals (she said it not me) don't really go. I plan to wear my lovely black silk trousers (also made in Madurai) that in a certain light look like leather (shut up El they are nice).
We also planning to hire out some scooters to take us to the beach tomorrow and we both plan to have a Ayurvedic massage (I hope to have two people at once massaging me mmmm!! K)
Side note
I (K) have only just finished reading The Life of Pi, which is a fantastic book to read anyway but even better as it starts off in Pondicherry. I really recommend it.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
Trichy and Tanjore, quick temples, Tamil Nadu
We went from Madurai to a nearby town called Trichy which has got a pretty cool temple. It's a bit like a modern Hampi, with the temple towers rising amidst the hustle and bustle of Indian life, and pilgrims all entering to get blessed. Kieran was happy as he got a blessing from the temple elephant and it was interesting to see people using the temple rather than it just being an artefact.
The towers are intricately carved with reliefs of animals and Gods and painted in bright colours (although they seem predominantly blue) and are a beautiful oasis in the city. In Trichy they also give you your own chai to make cooler so we practiced being chai wallahs there...
The rest of Trichy was a bit too much for us though so we hot-footed it to Pondicherry the next day on a grand bus mission including 6 different buses! We went via a place called Tanjore where there is a World Heritage site temple. If we thought Trichy was nice we were blown away by Tranjore. Even more like Hampi in that it had a large wall encompassing a beautiful and old building, that although was touristy was also in use as a temple and (sorry Soph) we even got roped into donating pooja (offerings) and getting our first real Bindis (and some half-naked dude in a white sarong said we'd have a long life!).
It was well worth the hassle of the bus and we got the obligatory elephant blessing, much to Kieran's delight. Only an hour there though before getting back on that bus and driving to Pondy with Bollywood DVDs blaring in our ears, competing quite well with the honking horns.
The towers are intricately carved with reliefs of animals and Gods and painted in bright colours (although they seem predominantly blue) and are a beautiful oasis in the city. In Trichy they also give you your own chai to make cooler so we practiced being chai wallahs there...
The rest of Trichy was a bit too much for us though so we hot-footed it to Pondicherry the next day on a grand bus mission including 6 different buses! We went via a place called Tanjore where there is a World Heritage site temple. If we thought Trichy was nice we were blown away by Tranjore. Even more like Hampi in that it had a large wall encompassing a beautiful and old building, that although was touristy was also in use as a temple and (sorry Soph) we even got roped into donating pooja (offerings) and getting our first real Bindis (and some half-naked dude in a white sarong said we'd have a long life!).
It was well worth the hassle of the bus and we got the obligatory elephant blessing, much to Kieran's delight. Only an hour there though before getting back on that bus and driving to Pondy with Bollywood DVDs blaring in our ears, competing quite well with the honking horns.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Merry Christmas from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
As soon as we arrived in Madurai we liked it. Perhaps it was because it was 28 degrees, but also it has a lovely vibe. Perhaps it is also because we are blowing our budget and staying in a semi-swanky hotel. Hmmn.
It is a large city, but not too developed. Only a few high rise hotels (all with roof-top restaurants) and a massive temple that rises above the skyline and dominates the city. It is not very touristy, despite the 10,000 daily pilgrims, and the shops here sell everything from pipes, to water tanks, to door handles, to jasmine garlands, to combs, to tailor-made clothes...you name it.
We both had some clothes made as Christmas pressies to ourselves and are planning to spend the afternoon in a sumptuous hotel using their swimming pool and having their Xmas lunch buffet. Of course, in India, you never REALLY know if things are going to be sumptuous or not until you actually get there (the Indians are very creative in their artistic licence when describing their hotels) so let's cross our fingers.
We're missing family and friends on this day as we know you are all getting together and we feel a bit lonely but we've got each other and at least here you can buy beer, so although we got woken up at 5am (AGAIN) by the bloody singing religious dudes here, we can get pissed in true British Christmas stylie!
Take 1
Take 2
We went to a roof top bar and drank beer on Xmas afternoon. We asked a guy if he could show us how this toy spinning thing worked and suddenly the entire kitchen staff came up and all had a go! This guy was the best though, he put it straight into his hands.
It is a large city, but not too developed. Only a few high rise hotels (all with roof-top restaurants) and a massive temple that rises above the skyline and dominates the city. It is not very touristy, despite the 10,000 daily pilgrims, and the shops here sell everything from pipes, to water tanks, to door handles, to jasmine garlands, to combs, to tailor-made clothes...you name it.
We both had some clothes made as Christmas pressies to ourselves and are planning to spend the afternoon in a sumptuous hotel using their swimming pool and having their Xmas lunch buffet. Of course, in India, you never REALLY know if things are going to be sumptuous or not until you actually get there (the Indians are very creative in their artistic licence when describing their hotels) so let's cross our fingers.
We're missing family and friends on this day as we know you are all getting together and we feel a bit lonely but we've got each other and at least here you can buy beer, so although we got woken up at 5am (AGAIN) by the bloody singing religious dudes here, we can get pissed in true British Christmas stylie!
Take 1
Take 2
We went to a roof top bar and drank beer on Xmas afternoon. We asked a guy if he could show us how this toy spinning thing worked and suddenly the entire kitchen staff came up and all had a go! This guy was the best though, he put it straight into his hands.
Brrrrr...Kodaikanal Hill Station, India
After an almost epic jeep-bus-bus 7-hour journey we finally made it to Kodaikanal, a hill station at 2100m originally set up by the Americans. The bus trip up was amazing [read terrifying] with stunning views down onto the plains. The temperature slowly dropped as we ascended and when we arrived it was down at around 18 degrees. Not so bad you might think but when you only have one fleece jumper and the hotels have no heating the chills set in fairly quickly!
Bus ride up to the hill station.
You can completely understand why the Americans set up this hill station (and the Brits set up others in the region) as it is like a pocket of Europe in India. Kodai is set on a mountain top with a sweet little lake, upon which we went out on a rowboat in our 15 layers of clothes, and has a completely different atmosphere to India. It was cleaner, quieter, with European-style plants, and could have easily been in the Alps were it not for the stalls selling jumpers and chai wallahs on every corner.
We had a nice afternoon rowing around the lake at 2100m in a old row boat, it seems to be a very popular event with the local visitors.
We had to move hotel as it was booked up after Xmas, and found ourselves in a hotel that had only just been completed, we were guest 8 and 9 !!. We still are not sure of the name of the hotel as the sign had yet to go up.
We hoped to stay for Christmas but on the second day, as we watched TV in our hotel room, dressed in 5 layers, under 2 sleeping bags, a blanket and a sheet with fleece hats on (and still cold) we thought: "let's get the frack out of here"! We hoped it would be a taste of home but without central heating or even hot water showers, it's just not quite the same.
So we got a bus the next day and experienced our first real Indian adventure as we turned a corner and this awful grinding sound was heard and smoke started pouring from the wheel. The bus broke down halfway down the mountain and we hung around for an hour or so wondering if we'd be camping for Xmas when luckily another bus came past. As Soph and Phil so rightly advised us, a bus in India is NEVER full, and we were getting on it regardless of what the other passengers thought. So we pushed and shoved and stood our ground and found plenty of space! Aha, we were on our way again to spend Christmas in a completely random town...
Bus ride up to the hill station.
You can completely understand why the Americans set up this hill station (and the Brits set up others in the region) as it is like a pocket of Europe in India. Kodai is set on a mountain top with a sweet little lake, upon which we went out on a rowboat in our 15 layers of clothes, and has a completely different atmosphere to India. It was cleaner, quieter, with European-style plants, and could have easily been in the Alps were it not for the stalls selling jumpers and chai wallahs on every corner.
We had a nice afternoon rowing around the lake at 2100m in a old row boat, it seems to be a very popular event with the local visitors.
We had to move hotel as it was booked up after Xmas, and found ourselves in a hotel that had only just been completed, we were guest 8 and 9 !!. We still are not sure of the name of the hotel as the sign had yet to go up.
We hoped to stay for Christmas but on the second day, as we watched TV in our hotel room, dressed in 5 layers, under 2 sleeping bags, a blanket and a sheet with fleece hats on (and still cold) we thought: "let's get the frack out of here"! We hoped it would be a taste of home but without central heating or even hot water showers, it's just not quite the same.
So we got a bus the next day and experienced our first real Indian adventure as we turned a corner and this awful grinding sound was heard and smoke started pouring from the wheel. The bus broke down halfway down the mountain and we hung around for an hour or so wondering if we'd be camping for Xmas when luckily another bus came past. As Soph and Phil so rightly advised us, a bus in India is NEVER full, and we were getting on it regardless of what the other passengers thought. So we pushed and shoved and stood our ground and found plenty of space! Aha, we were on our way again to spend Christmas in a completely random town...
Munnar - Cup of tea
The bus ride from Cochin to Munnar was fantastic. The view changed every 10 min, from dry dusty and coconut trees, to a cooler breeze and more trees starting to appear. The first time that we saw the hills, we gave out a cheer, the people on the bus must of thought that we have never seen hills before... poor westerners.
The views around Munnar are simply breathtaking. The tea bushes are beautiful from a distance and look slightly disordered, as they were probably planted in a row but as they are bushes spread out in different widths. I though that it looked like the hedge rows had had enough only staying on the side lines and had decided to take over the whole field.
Munnar, however, is simply a massive dump; God the Indians know how to ruin a place. It really spoilt the atmosphere, you only had to walk for ten mins to find the beauty but as the hotels were in the town and all the home stays were booked up for Xmas we were kind of stuck in a hotel with a building site next door...nice.
We planned to do a sight-seeing tour and the tea museum but there was a strike that might have stopped the buses the next day and we wanted to get to Kodaikanal (a nicer hill station) for Xmas, so the next day we were off again.
The views around Munnar are simply breathtaking. The tea bushes are beautiful from a distance and look slightly disordered, as they were probably planted in a row but as they are bushes spread out in different widths. I though that it looked like the hedge rows had had enough only staying on the side lines and had decided to take over the whole field.
Munnar, however, is simply a massive dump; God the Indians know how to ruin a place. It really spoilt the atmosphere, you only had to walk for ten mins to find the beauty but as the hotels were in the town and all the home stays were booked up for Xmas we were kind of stuck in a hotel with a building site next door...nice.
We planned to do a sight-seeing tour and the tea museum but there was a strike that might have stopped the buses the next day and we wanted to get to Kodaikanal (a nicer hill station) for Xmas, so the next day we were off again.
Cochin - President of India
A waiter at the Indian Coffee House (he didn't really like his picture being taken).
We both liked Cochin, it made a nice change to be back in a bigger city after 10 days on the beach and a few days in the backwaters. Fort Cochin is on a large island within Cochin but weirdly enough there is no Fort there now, even so we quite liked the atmosphere of the place and spent a few hours wandering around. The mix of massive Catholic churches, with inspirational slogans on the outside walls and Chinese fishing nets is the kind of mad mix that you seem to get here in India.
The President of India was visiting Cochin that day so the number of khaki shirts outnumbered the natives: there were at least twenty policemen on every 20m stretch of road. It was the first time that we saw Indians walking on the pavements, as far as we could work out the major thing the President did that day from the paper "The Hindu" is water some tree saplings to replace the trees that the town council had removed in order for his helicopter to land the last time he was in town: he was very angry that they did that quote unquote... very eco friendly is India!!!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Alleppy, Kerala backwaters, India
So after completing the ferry journey from the ashram we arrived in Alleppy (which is a gateway to the Keralan backwaters) for the second day of a temple festival. We dubbed it the "poundland festival" as one road was lit up with fairy lights and silver bunting and was FULL of stalls selling every crappy, tacky, plastic, random, cheap item you could EVER want. Seriously though, the Hayes family would go mental at all the tat and Kieran had to restrain me when I saw the paper star lanterns with a nativity scene!!!!
After a lovely sleep in a quiet, comfy bed (really 2 cms of foam is luxury for us now) we took a traditional Keralan houseboat for a 22 hour trip along some of the main lakes and rivers. The landscape is much more open and less jungly than expected, with waterways separating vast reclaimed paddyfields (the backwaters are below sea level). We blew 4 days' budget on our own private boat with driver, chef, and were waited on hand and foot for a day and a night - it was FAB!!!!
A perfect sunset concluded a great trip, and it was only slightly marred by being woken up at 5am (I mean, it was still dark!) by the nearby Hindu Temple chanting the 10,000 names of the eternal mother over a loud-speaker system.
Hopped on a bus when we got back, to Cochin where we hope to do a smaller canoe-based trip to the backwaters, then visit a tea plantation before heading to the mountains for Christmas.
After a lovely sleep in a quiet, comfy bed (really 2 cms of foam is luxury for us now) we took a traditional Keralan houseboat for a 22 hour trip along some of the main lakes and rivers. The landscape is much more open and less jungly than expected, with waterways separating vast reclaimed paddyfields (the backwaters are below sea level). We blew 4 days' budget on our own private boat with driver, chef, and were waited on hand and foot for a day and a night - it was FAB!!!!
A perfect sunset concluded a great trip, and it was only slightly marred by being woken up at 5am (I mean, it was still dark!) by the nearby Hindu Temple chanting the 10,000 names of the eternal mother over a loud-speaker system.
Hopped on a bus when we got back, to Cochin where we hope to do a smaller canoe-based trip to the backwaters, then visit a tea plantation before heading to the mountains for Christmas.
Amma - the hugging mother, Kerala Backwaters, India
My yoga teacher, Cathy, said I must try to visit Amma (Malayalan for "mother") if I go to India. Well, not only were we in the right area, but we happened to be getting a ferry right past it so how could we not stop off for a night and get our hug?
We travelled en masse from Varkala and spent a lazy 4 hours on the public ferry to the Amma ashram. Unlike the other ashram we visited, the Amma one was lively, huge (three 16-story tower blocks), and had a lovely positive atmosphere. Yes there was chanting but you didn't have to participate, and in fact you could take or leave any of it and no-one really cared (as long as you were happy and not doing anything illegal!).
You can read more about Amma at her website but she does an amazing amount of charity work for the poor and needy and is a positive inspiration to many people. Her thing is that she'll hug anyone, regardless of race, colour, religion, illness, caste, and spreads the word of love (rather than of God, which makes a nice change). We also got to sit behind her and watch other people getting their hugs which was actually more moving as so many people were obviously devoted to her and it was a very special moment for them.
We were a bit cynical so El went back the next day (after having been woken up at 5.30am by the bloody chanting) for another, solo, hug and she asked Amma who hugged her? She found it quite funny and gave me an extra hug and rattled off an answer along the lines of God is in everyone and so by hugging you I am hugged by God which was a fair enough answer really, but most importantly I felt I had made some kind of interaction with her which felt more meaningful than a faceless hug.
We're not touched by the whole thing but it was certainly an inspiration to watch a living spiritual leader actually getting real things done for people. Good on you Amma!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Life is a beach
We made the decision a few days ago not to stay here on the beach until Xmas and to do a bit more exploring of Kerala. Our rough plan now is to travel north by train tomorrow to the start of the "backwaters": a 900 km network of waterways, where people live on narrow strips of reclaimed land only a few metres wide. It's one of the things that Kieran really wanted to do in India, which included taking a House Boat into the backwaters for a night or two. Not sure if we are going to do that now, as the costs are high in this busy season, but we had a top tip from a friend who suggested taking the local ferry with an overnight stop over in a famous ashram, where the "hugging mother Amma" hangs out, check her out here, getting the hug and a meal before completing the next leg of the ferry ride the following day. Therefore seeing the backwater for a tenth of the price and getting a hug from a big breasted wise women into the bargain. From there we plan to go to the main town Kochin even though someone told us it was 'smelly' and from there head into the hills at Ooty for Xmas in front of a log fire (colder up there and therefore a bit more homely) where there are treks and horse riding.
We have been working on our tans , yoga and the beach way of life (late to rise, beach, late to bed). We did managed to get our arses into gear yesterday and take part in a cooking class. We both really got a kick out of it and threatened the cook that we would soon be opening up a Kerala curry house in England as we seemed to be "born to cook curries". I did have some small doubts that the praise was part of the cooking fee. We cooked 6 Curries and two breads. The most fun was the bread called Parata bread which involved slapping the dough into the table until it was stretched and then curling it like a Mr Whippy ice cream.
It took us from 9am - 1pm to make all the meals which were then served up to the public in a Thali (rice and 5-6 curries). While we joined them of course we soaked up all the praise from the customers as they ate our creations, some even asked if we were cooking tomorrow :-)
We wrote the ingredients all down for each meal, so hopefully when we get back we will be able to serve up some proper wicked south Indian dishes.
We are going to have some tandoori barracuda tonight as it maybe the last fish we have for a while and maybe a cocktail in happy hour, Passage to India anyone! ! I am starting to miss a pint of ale and a glass of wine, I might look out for a wine shop in the city ;-). We are going to miss Varkala but we feel it is time to move on. BTW mum this little holiday is part coming out of your Xmas money (the rest at Xmas) so thank you from both of us we have really enjoyed it and needed the rest xxx
We have been working on our tans , yoga and the beach way of life (late to rise, beach, late to bed). We did managed to get our arses into gear yesterday and take part in a cooking class. We both really got a kick out of it and threatened the cook that we would soon be opening up a Kerala curry house in England as we seemed to be "born to cook curries". I did have some small doubts that the praise was part of the cooking fee. We cooked 6 Curries and two breads. The most fun was the bread called Parata bread which involved slapping the dough into the table until it was stretched and then curling it like a Mr Whippy ice cream.
It took us from 9am - 1pm to make all the meals which were then served up to the public in a Thali (rice and 5-6 curries). While we joined them of course we soaked up all the praise from the customers as they ate our creations, some even asked if we were cooking tomorrow :-)
We wrote the ingredients all down for each meal, so hopefully when we get back we will be able to serve up some proper wicked south Indian dishes.
We are going to have some tandoori barracuda tonight as it maybe the last fish we have for a while and maybe a cocktail in happy hour, Passage to India anyone! ! I am starting to miss a pint of ale and a glass of wine, I might look out for a wine shop in the city ;-). We are going to miss Varkala but we feel it is time to move on. BTW mum this little holiday is part coming out of your Xmas money (the rest at Xmas) so thank you from both of us we have really enjoyed it and needed the rest xxx
Monday, December 11, 2006
Varkala, Kerala, India...yoga, beer & poker: a much better combination
We've been chilling in Varkala now for about 5 days and although El's cold and cough is still lingering, we're feeling much more relaxed. We've started going to a yoga class once a day (MORE than enough!) and have met up with a few ashram-escapees and have set up a poker group. Our yoga teacher is a bit nutty (all the best ones are) and we do a breathing exercise called "dog breath" where you are on all fours panting like a dog. Last night we played poker for pebbles; tonight we play for rupees!
Varkala is quite touristy - little more than a beach, a cliff and a row of restaurants, hotels and shops - but it has a lovely chilled vibe. The beach is perfect - yellow sand, clear blue water, and strange orange cliffs overlooking. The sea is quite rough but great for swimming and body boarding if you're mindful of the currents (and mum don't worry there are life guards!).
We're staying in a cute little bamboo hut (well, it's wood with bamboo fascias!) with our own veranda and very friendly staff and we think we're going to stay put now until Christmas. Every day the accommodation prices rise so it isn't in our interest to move on. In any case we're just getting into the swing of getting up at 8.30am, yoga class, late breakfast, chill out for a couple of hours in the shade, swim and chill on the beach for a couple of hours, watch terrific sunsets at around 6pm, find somewhere nice to eat and hang out with our new friends (Teedah & Adj, Louisa & James, James and Claudio the horny Italian - he is GAGGING for some female company!!!) and playing poker and shithead and generally doing BUGGER ALL.
Today was the first Monday in a LONG TIME that we looked forward to getting out of bed!
The only thing we haven't done yet is find Nancy's (El's cousin's) random pub mate, Damon's, friend who apparently lives here...the search continues though. We broke our veggie-only rule last night and had butter fish and calamari. So far no problems and the fish was delish! Now, off to have another papaya lassi I think.
[p.s. we've now uploaded all our photos to flickr so we're up-to-date there if anyone is interested.]
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
OmmmmmMMMMMmmmm, Neyyar Dam, Kerala, India
OmmMMMMMMmm
OommmMMMMMmmmmm
sindi mandori a, sindi-dala, mandala, etc, etc.
Well we made it to the Ashram just in time for dinner. It was our first time eating with our fingers and we made a mental note to wash the Deet off our hands before supper next time. The Ashram was...very authentic. We knew there was going to be chanting and meditation in the morning and evening. The meditation was good, the chanting was...authentic. Got a very numb/sore bum sitting on hard floors for hours at a time, and the chanting, although has different words, has the same tune and you start to dream the bloody tune! It all had very religious connotations and lots of prostrating to Gods and idols.
And the chanting didn't stop there: there was chanting at the start and end of every yoga session, meal, tea time, lecture. It was very overwhelming and a lot more hardcore than expected. Click here for some chanting...
We respect the yogis and their way of doing things but Kieran after the first day decided to bunk everything except dinner and yoga and read Lord of the Rings instead. I tried to follow the rules and get up at 5.30am for meditation but after 2-3 days kind of got to the end of my cosmic tether and was sleep-deprived, food-deprived, grumpy, bitten by mosquitos, bed bugs and nits, and going down with a nasty cough.
I did have some sage advice from a guru called Veera and we decided to make our escape. We obtained our parole cards, I mean, exit passes (you're not allowed to set foot outside the compound to stay pure) and dashed to the nearest big town to eat garlic, chilli and have a very LARGE BEER.
I guess we're just not that cosmic after all but at least we've given it a go, and met a few lovely people who had a bit more staying power than us!
We stayed in a lovely hotel back in Triv with TV (we watched Spiderman to make ourselves impure again) and consulted an Ayurvedic doctor about our cough/cold (tastes rank so must be good for us). Next day got on train headed for beach.....
Kieran attempting escape from the ashram after just one day!
OommmMMMMMmmmmm
sindi mandori a, sindi-dala, mandala, etc, etc.
Well we made it to the Ashram just in time for dinner. It was our first time eating with our fingers and we made a mental note to wash the Deet off our hands before supper next time. The Ashram was...very authentic. We knew there was going to be chanting and meditation in the morning and evening. The meditation was good, the chanting was...authentic. Got a very numb/sore bum sitting on hard floors for hours at a time, and the chanting, although has different words, has the same tune and you start to dream the bloody tune! It all had very religious connotations and lots of prostrating to Gods and idols.
And the chanting didn't stop there: there was chanting at the start and end of every yoga session, meal, tea time, lecture. It was very overwhelming and a lot more hardcore than expected. Click here for some chanting...
We respect the yogis and their way of doing things but Kieran after the first day decided to bunk everything except dinner and yoga and read Lord of the Rings instead. I tried to follow the rules and get up at 5.30am for meditation but after 2-3 days kind of got to the end of my cosmic tether and was sleep-deprived, food-deprived, grumpy, bitten by mosquitos, bed bugs and nits, and going down with a nasty cough.
I did have some sage advice from a guru called Veera and we decided to make our escape. We obtained our parole cards, I mean, exit passes (you're not allowed to set foot outside the compound to stay pure) and dashed to the nearest big town to eat garlic, chilli and have a very LARGE BEER.
I guess we're just not that cosmic after all but at least we've given it a go, and met a few lovely people who had a bit more staying power than us!
We stayed in a lovely hotel back in Triv with TV (we watched Spiderman to make ourselves impure again) and consulted an Ayurvedic doctor about our cough/cold (tastes rank so must be good for us). Next day got on train headed for beach.....
Kieran attempting escape from the ashram after just one day!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Trivandrum - Kerala
Flew into Triv on the 30th from Bangalore, lovely flight with Jet air. We could see the Western Ghats from the plane, that stretch all the way from Mysore to Triv, can't wait to get up to some hill stations. We got a free (strange curry thing) meal on the flight and Eleanor made us nick the on board plastic hand fans (never seen someone so happy with a freebie). Ordered a taxi from the prepaid taxis stand, which is a god send as you do not feel up to the hassle of working out the taxis cost after a flight. So once that was done we got directed into our first Ambassador taxi: it was brilliant - a big white car that feels like a Rolls Royce. The driver was quite old and bald and drove the car like he was a Raj, tooting at anything that moved, and when it didn't him and his mate up front stuck their hands out the window and made rude signs at the drivers! Fantastic - I liked Kerala instantly.
After getting into town we decided to catch the state bus up to the Neyyar Dam where the yoga ashram was. We were told it was at stand 11 every half hour, easy we thought... of course stand 11 was 20 feet across and 30 buses seemed to come every 5 minutes with no sign of which place they were going to. Luckily a paper boy with the widest smile you have ever seen, took pity on us (for some baksheesh of course) and told us "no no not this one" every time a bus came up, we had our suspicions that he was in cahoots with the tuk tuk drivers as he kept talking to them, but in the end he saw us right and onto the right bus we got. Well when I say got on I mean squeezed on, we were standing all the way stuck in like sardines with no view, as we were above the windows... welcome to India's public buses. I could not believe that at every stop another couple of people would get on and the bus conductor kept on shouting for every one to make room.
Anyway we made it to the ashram and got into our room when from the main buildings came this sound "OMMMMMMMMM" ... "OMMMMMMMM" and chanting continued for an hour. "OMG," I thought, "what have I got myself into?". We went to the yoga shop and I bought some trousers and a OMMM t-shirt, if you can't beat them!! I will let El finish off the story of the Ashram as it was her thing.
After getting into town we decided to catch the state bus up to the Neyyar Dam where the yoga ashram was. We were told it was at stand 11 every half hour, easy we thought... of course stand 11 was 20 feet across and 30 buses seemed to come every 5 minutes with no sign of which place they were going to. Luckily a paper boy with the widest smile you have ever seen, took pity on us (for some baksheesh of course) and told us "no no not this one" every time a bus came up, we had our suspicions that he was in cahoots with the tuk tuk drivers as he kept talking to them, but in the end he saw us right and onto the right bus we got. Well when I say got on I mean squeezed on, we were standing all the way stuck in like sardines with no view, as we were above the windows... welcome to India's public buses. I could not believe that at every stop another couple of people would get on and the bus conductor kept on shouting for every one to make room.
Anyway we made it to the ashram and got into our room when from the main buildings came this sound "OMMMMMMMMM" ... "OMMMMMMMM" and chanting continued for an hour. "OMG," I thought, "what have I got myself into?". We went to the yoga shop and I bought some trousers and a OMMM t-shirt, if you can't beat them!! I will let El finish off the story of the Ashram as it was her thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
