Bangalore

Last post from the lower half of the country! Off to the train station in 3 hours (scheduled to arrive in Kolkata at 5am Thursday). Had another good sleep last night in my dark, quiet room, but did have to kill 3 mini cockroaches before going to bed (it was almost cute how small they were, and so I felt really guilty about killing them - but would have had a hard time sleeping knowing they were crawling around the room). Oh, and I saw white people! Two yesterday and two today. But only one out on the streets. One man was in the lobby of my hotel yesterday, and a couple were in the restaurant downstairs this morning. First I've seen since I've been in this area. I expect there will be more in Kolkata.

Back to the final days with Jim and Blaire. We had good quick flight (1 hour) from Trivandrum to Bangalore, on a very clean and modern Indigo (great name huh?) plane. Not so great was seeing my smaller bag arrive on the belt with the top zipper partway opened, and realizing that my MP3 was gone. Had the attendant lady call around to see if it had been found, but it hadn't. Don't know if the zipper just came undone and it fell out, or if someone deliberately took it. Luckily, I came equipped with 2 music players, and the 2nd, my iPod nano, is the one with all my yoga music on it. Nevertheless, it was a sad drive away from the airport as I thought about all the meaningful songs I had accumulated on my old MP3 (that had come with me to Thailand as well). I suppose this is another exercise in detachment. The pilot had said it was 33 when we landed around 7pm, but with the dryness of Bangalore (or because I was now used to so much hotter) it felt cool and pleasant. We checked into the Purple Lotus, a gorgeous boutique hotel in a nice (by Indian standards) part of town. The decor and our rooms were spectacular. Had a delicious dinner downstairs, then went back to our rooms for TV and bed (in the most comfortable bed, pillows, and blanket I've slept in in my life!).

Up at 7 on the 5th, great buffet breakfast (again), then walked to the nearby Cubbon Park. Sort of like Bangalore's Central Park, but less busy, less maintained, less impressive. Though there were some absolutely spectacular trees. A guy in Varkala had recommended a good Bollywood movie for us to watch here, so to escape the afternoon heat, we got a tuk-tuk to the mall to get some tickets. Well, according to our driver, 'mall' means large silk store where he gets commission for bringing tourists. This had happened to me once in South America, but it was surprisingly the first time in India. We didn't go in to look at silk, and instead walked down the street to Cafe Coffee Day (their equivalent of Starbucks) for 3 delicious Coffeetinis (fancy flavored cold coffees in martini glasses, which probably would have cost 10 bucks a pop back home - here, just a 100 rupees, 2 bucks... which is still pricey for here, considering you can easily get a full Indian meal for under 100 rupees). Walked around and found the mall we were looking for (pretty deserted place), bought our tickets for the show in an hour and a half, then headed back to Purple Lotus as Jim wanted to drop off his big camera bag. Got lost on the way back, had to get another tuk-tuk, and then, when it was time to leave the hotel again, we realized we didn't know the name of the mall we had to get back to. After using our tickets for clues and describing a few close landmarks to the receptionists, we were able to to tell the driver where to take us. The movie was indeed a very good thriller. No cheesiness, no group singing throughout, but also very little English. The plot was pretty intricate, so we really had work hard to fill in the blanks, but were able to follow the main storyline. Of course, we all stood for the national anthem before it started (Jim giggled, it was the first time he experienced this). Back to PL for laundry and internet. For dinner that night, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe which we had walked past earlier in the day. There happened to be a live Indian rock band playing that night, so it was really loud an pretty packed. It was actually the first time I had seen some bar nightlife in India. The place itself was beautiful, in an old building with super high ceilings and great decor. Don't think I'd ever been to a Hard Rock before. 

Up at 8 on the 6th, buffet breakfast, and from the moment I woke up, I was already choked up about losing my great company that night. This was our last day together, before Jim flew home to Salt Lake City, Utah, and Blaire to Eckville, Alberta. I checked the web for confirmation of the Art of Living course I'd be starting that evening, and all seemed in order. When I looked at the map a little closer, I realized the ashram was an hour out of the city. This made me a little nervous about finding transportation and accommodation nearby. And also sad about having to leave my travel mates a little earlier. To get more info (I was pretty disorganized about the whole thing), I figured I'd better call. When I did, the woman told me the course had started last night and that it wasn't possible to join part way. Guess the info from the website was wrong, and while I was disappointed about not being able to take the course, I was actually a little relieved about having less planning and traveling to do that day, and thrilled to have an extra few hours with J&B. So we all packed our bags, brought them down at check-out time, leaving them in the conference room as we headed off for a final afternoon in the city. Had lunch at another Cafe Coffee Day, where Jim had the great idea of hopping on the modern above ground metro (which we could see from where we were sitting) for our last glimpses of Bangalore. Went through airport-style security to get in, bought our tokens, and walked up to the platform. The security guards up there were on whistle power trips, blowing frantically every time anyone got remotely near the yellow lines. Had a great ride on the smooth train, people inside excitedly asking us to pose for "snaps" with them. Went to one end, got off, crossed over, and the went back. On the way home, we stopped for a drink at Hard Rock, where Jim bought Blaire and I rockin' Bengaluru Hard Rock t-shirts. Went back to Purple Lotus, used the web, played a last few rounds of cards, then went down for dinner, where we shared our first bottle of red wine (Blaire was happy!) as well as tons of wonderful memories from the trip. Then came the sad good-byes, but Blaire promised to come visit Montreal next summer (2013), and Jim and I have been managing to see each other every couple years or so. So not good-bye for too long.

The rest you know from my previous blogs. I was worried about being stuck in Bangalore for three days with nothing to do since my course fell through (train ticket was pre-booked, assuming I'd be doing the course), but catching up on blog and photo posts has taken up most of those 3 days. Along with a little exploring of my surroundings and watching some TV and movies in the evenings. Back to less screen and more books on the train journey ahead.

I'll end today with the two quotes that are on the back cover of The Guru of Joy - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & The Art of Living, the book I had bought (but again, have yet to read) in Rishikesh, to prepare myself for the course I was supposed to take. I'm still a little unsure how I feel about the term 'God', and it's used here, but I just love the message, regardless of what our personal word for God is.

"Meditation is seeing God in yourself. Love is seeing God in the person next to you. Knowledge is seeing God everywhere."

"Enlightenment is the journey from the head back to the heart, from words back to silence, to innocence in spite of our intelligence."

Wow. Goosebumps. Really hope I get a chance to take that course with him someday!      

Varkala

Just moved from a basement internet place without a fan, to one with a fan. World of a difference. Bangalore is relatively "cool", but I was dripping sweat as I typed. Can't even imagine what Kolkata will be like.

Had a great sleep last night in my new room, which is quite a bit better than the first. Fan is quiet even when on high, no roosters waking me up at 6am, and no Indian men loudly coughing up mucus across the hallway. Finally feeling physically and emotionally better today :)

So, Varakala. After another crazy, bumpy 5 hour drive, passing more amazing homes, tea plantations and mosques, we arrived at our beautiful beachside bungalows. Great AC in these fancy huts. (Thekkady had very pleasant weather, as it was elevated and inland, but Varkala was HOT!) Had dinner then walked along the beachside cliff (Varkala is known for its beautiful cliffs), then Jim and I Skyped with Papa (Blaire was exhausted and headed to bed) by the water. The crashing waves were so loud that we could barely hear him, but it was the only place we could get reception on Jim's iPad. Nice quick chat (couldn't take the heat any longer), then off to bed in our icy cold rooms :)

By 9:30am on April 2nd, I had done an hour of yoga with Blaire, had breakfast, gone for a morning swim in the ocean, hand-washed some laundry, and read. Productive morning! Jim moved from the bungalows to a heritage guesthouse just next door - gorgeous room! We got a tuk-tuk to town, walked to the highest cliff point, watched paragliders fly through the sky, then walked down a long "staircase" to the large main beach. Waves were intense but so much fun! Guidebooks actually warned against swimming there. Even with the water, needed a break from the heat, so went back to our rooms to cool off, then had a great dinner by the beach, watching yet another incredible sunset over the ocean, followed by a refreshing downpour. Smelled and felt so good! Headed back to Jim's room to play some cards, then back to our bungalow for bed.

Jim decided to join our 8am yoga on the morning of the 3rd. I did a full proper Trika lesson that time, with warm-ups, a set of postures, then relaxation. Realized how much I've missed yoga! And was fun to be the teacher! Beachside breakfast, walk to main beach again, hammered by the waves again (feels like you've just been beat up when you walk out of that water!), and had a yummy fruit salad with ice-cream for lunch. Perfect meal for the heat. Used Jim's iPad to research the course I wanted to take in Bangalore at The Art of Living Foundation. Sent an e-mail to register for the weekend level 1 course, Friday evening and Saturday-Sunday afternoon (will explain in the Bangalore blog what happened with that). Walked back to our rooms for AC cool-down and showers, then sat at the tables directly on the sand for our last beach dinner, and yes, another stunning sunset (it's quite ridiculous how many sunset photos I have). As we ate, Jim was telling Blaire about a great restaurant in Denver called Cuba-Cuba, to which Blaire responded, "So, what kind of food do they serve there? Mexican?" Jim laughed about this till the day he left! Back to Jim's room for our routine evening card-playing, then bungalows for reading and bed.

On the 4th, I went down to watch the men pulling in their fishing nets at 7:45am, which Jim and Blaire had watched the two previous days (when I had only watched it from far). What a process! At 8, I set up my yoga mat near the water for a solo session. (Blaire decided to just read in bed that morning, and I would later find out Jim didn't show up because he was recovering from heat stroke.) Decided to do warm-ups followed by sun-salutations, and as I lay down on my back for relaxation, I realized I was directly under a bunch of coconuts high up above in the palm tree. Made it a quick relaxation, since I couldn't keep my eyes closed very long, imagining being knocked out cold by a falling coconut. Went for a cold rinse, then breakfast and packing. Final ocean dip at the tiny beach (which I preferred) just in front Jim's accommodation, then shared a Kingfisher beer with Jim (Blaire drinks wine, not beer, which is harder to come by), before piling into our little Tata car (quite a downgrade from the big Toyota van that brought us here - my huge backpack didn't fit and had to be strapped to the roof!) for the hour and a half drive south to Trivandrum airport. A little nauseating again, but not too long, so not bad. Tons of churches along the way (the south is very Catholic). Checked in and waited an hour for our flight to Bangalore.

Next blog, Bangalore!      

Photo-blog

Lots of new pics from Rishikesh @ erika-india-pics.blogspot.com

Periyar Wildlife Preserve

Didn't sleep in till 2 today, and stomach feeling a bit better, so I was able to explore my surroundings a little. This area of Bangalore (near all the transport hubs - main train station, 2 bus stations) is by far the busiest and dirtiest place I've been in India. Even in the nice area where Jim, Blaire and I were staying, we were surprised that it wasn't more westernized, and that there weren't more westerners. Haven't seen a single one in this area, and I can count on one hand how many we saw in the Cubbon Park area. Bangalore is India's 3rd most populous city and the main hub for software production and IT exports. Hence our expectations of westernization.


I just moved a couple minutes down the street to a slightly nicer room for half the price of the other one. (First accommodation I've had with Indian style toilet. But it's a flush Indian: flat urinal-style ceramic "hole" with a tank and flush on the wall above it.) Two nights at this one before I catch my train to Chennai then Kolkatta on Tuesday (40 hour journey!).


So, time to backtrack... I left off in Fort Kochin, where we were staying at Jim's favorite hotel of the trip, the Old Lighthouse Hotel. On March 30th, our new driver, James (he's Indian, but his name was James Emmanuel, his daughter is Theresa, and his two sons... I forget, but more Christian names) picked us up in a nice Toyota van at 10:30am to drive us to Thekaddy (from where we could access the Periyar Wildlife Preserve). We arrived at 3:30pm, after a beautiful but nauseating drive. A couple hours of crazy city driving (Jim liked to close his eyes for these parts, and joked about having to change his underwear when we'd arrive somewhere), were followed by windy, bumpy (potholes bigger than Montreal's in the spring) mountain roads, lined with spectacular homes (more ornate than women's saris at weddings), and with views of beautiful green tea plantations. The mountains made me nostalgic about Rishikesh. 


Felt very nauseous when James dropped us off at the Elephant Court (http://www.theelephantcourt.com/). Everytime we check in to a new place, I don't think it can get any better than the last, and it always does. We were greeted with fresh pink fruit juice, flower garlands and a candle-burning/forehead dotting blessing. Our rooms and the whole place were incredible. Relaxed in our rooms for a bit until our nausea was settled, then James drove us into town where for a Kathakali (traditional Kerala dance) performance. We had tried to see one in Kochi, but they weren't on because it was low season. Glad we caught one here! It was like nothing I've ever seen before. The costumes are spectacular (one actor was being dressed on stage before the show started, which was an impressive process to watch) and the performance was so incredibly unique. There are only small movements and no talking, most of the show being in the actors' facial expressions. They can move their faces in such bizarre and intense ways, which would be difficult to describe. Back home for a great sleep in our great room.


The next morning, James picked us up at 8:30 to take us to Periyar, where we got onto a tour boat that brought us through beautiful rivers and scenery (the only place in India I'd been so far where there were no people - except on the boat, which was packed full, us three being the only westerners). Tree trunks were coming out of the river, creating stunning reflections, and along the way we saw a mother elephant with her two children, as well as herd of buffalo and beautiful birds perched atop the tree trunks.


James then drove us to an ayurvedic organic spice farm, where we were led through a fascinating variety of medicinal plants by a hilarious guide. Bought spices and homemade pistachio chocolate (yum!) on the way out. Next stop was the elephant park. Jim and I had both ridden elephants in the past, and both felt the same way about it: worst experience of our lives! But Blaire is obsessed with the big animals and wouldn't let us leave without going for a ride (and she wouldn't go alone). So Jim and I sucked it up and straddled the elephant behind Blaire, letting her ride shotgun. Jim and I still didn't love the ride, but the smiles and laughter that came from Blaire made it all worth it. She had the time of her life. (When she first arrived in India, she told me there were two things she absolutely wanted to do: go to a wedding and see an elephant. Well, she worked at a wedding and rode an elephant. Not bad.) 


Back to Elephant Court for lunch, pool, relaxation. That night we gave James a break and walked into town, where I found more delicious homemade chocolate to bring as a snack as we went back to the same performance area as last night, but this time for some traditional Keralan martial arts. All three of us agreed it was our favorite show yet. We were seated in elevated stands, around a gladiator-like pit below. A team of five incredible guys performed impressive and dangerous stunts, fighting with knives, ropes, and jumping through fire rings. What a show! Walked home, got our our Kingfisher beers and cards out, and the three of us had a great night of fun on Blaire and I's lovely front patio.


On April 1st, we packed, used the complimentary business center for internet, and had our last breakfast brunch at Elephant Court (all the great food and buffets have added a few pounds onto me!). Jim got up bright and early that morning to go on another Periyar boat ride, hoping to see more wildlife on the 7am boat than the 9:30 one. No luck, said he saw even less. But the sun's lighting was apparently spectacular for photos at that time. James picked us up at 11am for another long and nauseating drive down to Varkala, a beach town in southern Kerala.
More about that in the next post tomorrow.   

Back on my own in Bangalore

Sniff, sniff, sniff... my amazing travel companions are halfway home as I write. After 5 incredible weeks with Blaire and 2 stunning weeks with Jim, it's back to just me. And that means back to more than just one blog per week! But it seems that my body, and not just my heart, is quite upset by the departure. Woke up this morning with stomach pains and diarrhea, staying in bed till 3pm. Couldn't keep my eyes open, but couldn't really sleep either. Noisy street outside, with roosters crowing non-stop (first woke me up at 6am, and were still going when I left my room at 3:30pm. Yup, downtown Bangalore and there are roosters in the yard). Went from what was probably the nicest, fanciest boutique hotel the night before, to what might be the dumpiest room I've stayed in yet. (Though that might just be a matter of perspective after the places Jim has been treating us to.) The place looked much better on the website. And when no one came out to offer me fresh fruit juice as I arrived, nor insist on carrying my bags for me, I wondered where their manners were. Grimy lobby, where check-in took forever and felt like going through customs with all the questions and paperwork. Up to the third floor, junk-filled hallway, Indian man's door open across my room, sitting in shorts and a white tank-top, watching loud TV under a noisy fan. Mine a stuffy room that smells like urine. Still had glossy eyes from the tearful goodbyes just a short while earlier. Settled into bed (it was about 9:30, Jim and Blaire were being picked up for the airport at 10). Watched a little TV to have voices in the room, and had a pretty decent sleep till 6 this morning.

Just re-read that and realized how depressing it sounds! I suppose it was easier to arrive in India on my own, than to go from great company back to solo. No worries, I'm sure I'll be back into the solo swing in no time. And then Papa will be here in 3 weeks :)  Spending two more days in Bangalore (Bengaluru) before taking a 2 day train journey to Kolkatta. Bangalore's weather is actually quite pleasant given its altitude, but Kolkatta will greet me like an open oven. It's 40 degrees, going down to a refreshing 30 at night. Might have to splurge on AC.

Of course I have a lot of backtracking to do on the blog - Periyar, Varkala, Bangalore... but I'll head back to my room, write some notes from my journal, and fill in those gaps tomorrow. Photo-blog update soon too now that I have more time to spare. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful long Easter weekend! I'll try to find some good Indian chocolate to spoil myself with (if my stomach feels better...)    
Back out into the busy Bangalore streets...        

Hello Kerala, We're a Party of 3!

Ok, not three quite yet in blogtime.

After the rough overnight train journey, we arrived at Ernakulam Junction station at 10:30am. Hauled our luggage into the trunk of a white Ambassador taxi and rode to Maple Regency, checking into a decent but hot and sticky room. Had a much needed shower (I mention showers a lot because they are often the most satisfying part of our days!), and then happily plopped down on the bed with the fan on max, and watched some TV. We were pretty exhausted and doing nothing was just what we needed. Managed to drag ourselves out to lunch to a great spot we went back to 2 more times. Discovered a Keralan specialty bread: appam - must learn how to make it. Inquired about the tea plantations in the hills of Munnar on our way back to our room, an outing we had really been looking forward to. But we didn't know it was so far: 5hr bus ride each way, and we wanted to do the trip in one day (had no choice since we were meeting Jim two mornings later). After spending so much time on transportation, we decided to forget Munnar. Back to our room for more TV lounging, then emerged again only for dinner, and came right back to the telly afterwards. (Ok, so we spent a lot of time loafing in from of the tube that day, but we really did need some rest.)

Next day, instead of seeing the lush green tea hills of Munnar, we went for a field trip to... the mall! Sounds as bad as watching TV all day, but again, it was needed. Weather is still unbearably hot and humid down here, and all we want to do is be in air-conditioning. What better place to get it for hours than a slick, western-style mall. Got a tuk-tuk there, 7 km north of downtown, and loved the cold that greeted us. Checked the ticket counter for Bollywood movie times, booked one for 4pm, so had 2 hours to stroll around. Bought some jewelry, jubejubes (for the movie), and books. Yes, more books. Movie was called Agent Vinod, another pretty tacky bollywood number, so loud I thought my eardrums would pop, but overall, better than I expected it to be. We managed to follow the general plotline with the Hinglish they spoke (80% Hindi, 20% English). Got a ride back to town and went to the guidebook-recommended Grand Pavillion Restaurant in the Grand Hotel along Mahatma Gandhi Road for our last dinner just the two of us, sniff-sniff (meeting Jim the next morning). Dined in style, then back to our room for a little more TV before bed.

Jim had e-mailed us the name of the hotel we were staying at the first two nights, and told us to meet him in the lobby at 10am (he was flying in from Salt Lake City). We googled it (www.bolgattypalacekochi.com) and when I saw the photos of the palace suites on the main page, I thought, Wow, I wonder what our rooms will look like. Lo and behold, when Jim leads us to our room, it's a palace suite. Blaire and I have one to ourselves, and Jim has another. Our rooms didn't even have numbers, they had names. Blaire and I were in Vermeer, and Jim was in Van Dyck. We knew he liked to spoil his daughter and niece, but this was living like royalty! Wait till you see photos of our room. And a few steps from our palatial veranda was the beautiful palace pool. (Though, like the ocean water in Goa, it was not at all refreshing. They need water coolers rather than water heaters down here!)  Jim napped a bit after we all had a nice breakfast together at the palace buffet while starting our catching up. Lounged by the pool, relaxed in our room (well, palatial home with 5 rooms), then all went back to the Pavilion Restaurant for dinner where Blaire and I ate the night before. Back to our palace suite for TV and bed.

After another Bolgatty breakfast buffet, we got a ride to the boat jetty, where a 5 cent ferry took us across the water to Jew Town (it was actually called that). Sweltering walk around town, great main street, lots of ancient buildings and great scenes of daily life. Went into the Dutch Palace museum, where I spent more time standing in front of the fans holding my shirt up (just a little) rather than in front of the artifacts. Walked by the synagogue, and along Jew Street (yes, it was again called that), and stopped in at Cafe Jew Town (yup). Walked by a shop that sold nothing but garlic, great photo of it (which will appear on my photoblog in, well, a long time). Back to the boat jetty, where Jim stood in the Gents line, and Blaire and I stood in the Ladies line to get our tickets. Back to Bolgatty for a swim and some poolside bar snacks. Then got a cab ride (we have a personal driver) to the Kerala Folklore Museum, a really impressive collection of performing arts pieces (among lots of other cool knick-knacks). Back to Bolgatty for buffet dinner, TV, early bed.

Alarm at 8 to be ready for our pick-up at 9 to head down to Allepey where we'd be going on a houseboat tour in the backwaters. Couple hour drive, and then boarded our own, private houseboat. Thought there would be a few families on one, but no, just two rooms, one for Blaire and I and one for Jim. Still livin' like royalty! Lounged on the boat, watched the great scenery and local life go by, pulled The God of Small Things back out (takes place in Kerala, so thought this would be the perfect place to read chapter 2). Stopped at a small market to pick up some fresh fish for our boat crew to cook up for our dinner and lunch. Meals were amazing, but could have fed 10 (I hope someone ate our leftovers... such a shame to waste all that!). More reading, photo-taking, and some card-playing after dinner. Boat docked for the night, had a great sleep.

Lovely tea and breakfast on board, then engine back on at 8. Floated around for an hour before 9am final dock. Our driver brought us back to Kochi, this time to the Fort Kochi area, where we stayed at the wonderful Old Lighthouse Hotel (www.oldlighthousehotel.com). We were greeted with flower garlands and fresh juice. Checked in, then walked around town, and came back for our complimentary arrival reflexology foot massages! Blaire and I continued with our own little spa, painting our fingernails and toenails pretty bright colors. Walked to town for dinner and an evening concert of tabla and sitar at the Kerala Kathakali Centre.

Up at 8 after a pretty sleepless night. AC not working properly, slits in the windows and doors letting mosquitoes in which bit and buzzed all night. Breakfast at the town bakery, near the great Loafer's Corner Cafe (where we stopped for shakes yesterday). Ambassador ride to the jetty again, 5 cent ferry to Ernakulam part of town (where Blaire and I stayed when we arrived) to get on a tour boat. Had noticed lots of party-music boats going by in the last few days, thought we'd try one. We could either get a Regular boat for $1 per person, or a Special boat for $5 per person. Difference: on the regular one you have to wait for 20 people to be on before it leaves. Place was deserted, so we paid the extra for the Special, immediate departure boat. It felt pretty strange being a large empty boat. Chairs were set up for about 30, and we were 3. And there was no party music. And the sight-seeing spots along the way were all places we had already been: Bolgatty Palace, Chinese fishing nets, Jew town. Didn't matter. All we wanted was to be out on the water on a moving boat - it was again ridiculously hot, humid and muggy. Water breeze helped a little. Got off, went to Coffee Beanz, great lunch spot Blaire and I had discovered when we were there a few days ago. Back to Fort Kochi, back to Old Lighthouse for nap. AC still not working, told front desk as we headed out for dinner, said it would be in order when we returned. Quick meal before concert #2, this time a tabla-harmonium-singing combo. Saw better versions of this up north in Rishikesh (sigh... miss my little home). Back to Old Lighthouse, AC not fixed, but managed a decent sleep.

Next destination: Periyar Wildlife Preserve in Thekkady.                

Good-bye Goa!

We have finally moved on from Goa. Loved it, but it was time to go. Like I said before, when you become unmoved by beaches, sunsets and 80 year olds wiggling about in loincloths, it's time for a change of scenery.

We packed up and left Sevas around noon on Wednesday, took a tuk-tuk to Chaudi bus station (for the 45 minute ride up the coast to Benaulim), where, upon arrival, we saw a toddler squatting on the station floor with a turd coming out of his bum. Blaire was uncontrollable with laughter, got her camera out, and photographed the kid who angrily stared back. Fantastic shot. Bus was there and about to leave, threw our bags into the back compartment and got onto the already crowded bus. No seats. The heat was unbearable. A couple minutes after departure, I looked at Blaire and said, with exasperation, "The sweat trickling down my spine is going into my but crack." The look on her face was priceless. The two of us and a couple great Danes (aka two large Danish guys) were the only westerners on the bus. They were sitting across the aisle from each other (their long legs needing an aisle seat), so when the two Indians on either side of them got off the bus, Blaire and I squeezed into the window seats beside each one. Chatted for a couple minutes (the typical, much repeated, Where are you from, How long have you been here, Where are you going next), then they both fell asleep, heads bobbing up and down a little, and their huge bodies limp and leaning on us as they snoozed. Seriously??? I was drenched by the time we got off the bus. Got a tuk-tuk to our guesthouse from the station, had a much needed shower, and walked to the waterfront for dinner. Back in our room, played cards, and in bed by 9pm. I had a great sleep, getting up at 8 the next morning (only a couple typical night wakes), the darkness and quietness and closed room a nice change from Sevas. But Blaire had a harder time sleeping. She was totally spooked out by the isolated guesthouse in the palm tree woods, the whole place reminding her of a horror movie she had seen The Skeleton Key. It was pretty  creepy. There was hardly anyone around, but lots of Jesus photos, calendars and statues staring at us (Benaulim is a Catholic fishing village).

That day, there were a few sights we wanted to check out around Benaulim, and we didn't want another bike fiasco, so we rented our first scooters in India. Can't be that hard. The guys who rented them to us looked quite concerned about the well-being of their vehicles when they realized we didn't even know how to start the engine. Then, when they saw our wobbly test ride, they made sure to tell us to wear our helmets (which we didn't, it was way to hot) and that the parts were expensive to replace if damaged. If have to admit, the first 5 minutes of riding were quite terrifying. We didn't really know how to manoeuvre the things, and we are on lawless Indian roads (though we purposely picked a relatively calm town to rent our bikes). We rode on the wrong side half the time, wondering why so many people were driving towards us, and got honked at a million times, though that's just normal here, and doesn't necessarily mean you're doing anything wrong (though we probably were). We got the hang of it after not too long, and from then on really enjoyed scootering along, and increased our pathetically slow speed a little. We rode to Goa Chitra, Benaulim's ethnographic museum, with great antique pieces showing the development of farming and daily life. There were fabulous gypsy carriages, bridal carriages, and an immense sugar can press. Then we scooted a little south down the coast to Vaca, where Blaire had her first sugar cane juice, from a much smaller - yet still fascinating - contraption, and then up the coast a little ways to Colva, where we stopped for a couple minutes to dip our feet in the ocean water. Back to town, stopped at Baskin Robbins for an ice-cream (sign on the counter said 100% pure veg ice cream... ?) and a quick reprieve from the heat in the AC. Next stop was Braganza House, and 400 year old Portuguese mansion which we could visit the inside of, but it was at least a half hour scooter ride that went through a main town, and even though we were feeling pretty at ease on our rides, we weren't confident enough for this. So we returned our scooters, got a cab, and went to the amazing mansion. The rooms and furniture were exquisite, my favorite part being the ballroom, imagining all the lovely ladies in their gowns dancing the night away with live piano music echoing around the grand hall. Cab back to town, picked our scooters back up, and rode to dinner.   

Back at Simon Cottages, we finished packing our last bits and walked out to the front gate to wait for the tuk-tuk we had reserved earlier to bring us to the train station, for the overnight ride to Kochi (Kerala). 5, 10, 15 minutes go by. Ok, gotta strap on the heavy bags (I'm carrying a total of about 30 kilos/66 lbs) and walk 15 minutes to the main intersection to flag down another driver. Got to the station with about 25 min to spare, but train was delayed 30 min, so almost an hour wait. Settled into the Ladies Only waiting room and giggled with a little 4-year-old girl who was very amused by us. I enjoyed her presence very much until she had coughing fit onto my face, while leaning on me, with a mouthful of freshly chewed crackers. Lovely. Blaire laughed. Train finally arrived around 9:30pm. I was looking forward to the overnight journey, as I love train rides (compared to bus rides). But of course, transportation is rarely perfect here, and this turned out to be probably the worst yet. We had guaranteed spots on the train, but our seats numbers were not confirmed (tourist quota tickets). Forgot to check the seating plan at the office while we waited, so had no idea which wagon to get into. Man ushered us into the closest one and told us to have a seat while we waited for the ticket master to make his way down the aisle and check our tickets to direct us to the right seats. Blaire and I were both exhausted, so when the Indian men in front of us tried making conversation, we weren't as chirpy as usual. One kept taking my ticket out of my hands to check the details and try to figure out where we should be (since we were taking up some of their space). After waiting over half an hour, a very friendly Muslim guy across the aisle took our tickets and went to find one of the train attendants to settle the issue. He came back with our seat numbers and offered to walk us there, as it was 3 wagons over and the lights were all out. We gladly accepted. Sleeper trains are set up as such: one open compartment has 6 beds, 3 bunks on each side, an aisle, then 2 perpendicular bunks on the other side. Blaire and I were in the 6 bed section, middle bunk on the left, and top bunk on the right. The lights were out and people were already sleeping when we got there, so we fumbled around to figure out our sleeping arrangements. There are no luggage compartments, and leaving bags on the floor would block the aisle. So we decided to use one of our bunks just for luggage (the middle one on the left since we couldn't haul our bags as high as the third level) and they took up the whole bed. Then both uf us climbed up to the third bunk on the right and tried to puzzle our bodies in such a way that we could both fit on the miniature, hard, sticky plastic covered bed (managed to get both our torsos in a horizontal position, but limbs were dangling off the side. This was a non AC train, which meant open windows, which we figured would be fine for nighttime when it's not too hot, but what it also meant was screechingly loud noise from the wheels against the tracks, the stench of burning rubber and sewers blowing in from outside, and our assumption about the night not being too hot... well, it was wrong. I was drenched. Good thing we were both exhausted, otherwise there would have been zero sleep that night. Still didn't sleep well, of course, but did manage to fall in and out of short snoozes. 

Got up at 5 the next morning to go for a pee in the dark hole-in-the-ground toilet, stayed up listening to music for an hour while Blaire slept, then I managed to fall back asleep, and when I woke again at 7, Blaire was up. So was the sun. So were most people on the train. Stayed up, climbed down the bunk, stretched a little, and looked outside - from an open door without any barriers at the end of the wagon - at the Keralan scenery going by.

Next post: Kerala!