If I wouldn't have had the best Indian breakfast of Idlys, Sambar and coconut chutney and a pleasant morning strolling around the spectacular temple grounds at Madurai watching the ritual unfold during a Hindu festival, and had a delicious coffee from a stand by the temple - this mail would consist of me moaning about the spit-stained walls of my hotel room and my lack of sleep due to vicious mosquitoes fighting for my blood in this dirty, polluted city.
After a stress-free week in the ashram and a beautiful week of sunshine and sea at Varkala, where I enjoyed all the tourist luxuries, ate fish and had some great company, it's a bit of a culture shock to be back on the road again. I took the train from Trivandrum to Madurai last night, sharing my seats with a wonderful Keralan family of husbands, wives, sisters, children and cousins all on their way to enjoy a few days of holiday at a temple town about 3 hours from here. Entering the state of Tamil Nadu, the secenery changed completely from palm trees, water and rice-fields to craggy, mist-covered mountains dotted with statues of the Virgin Mary and looking more like the highlands of Scotland than how you'd imagine south India.
I've now booked a flight back to Delhi from Chennai on Feb 4th and will be taking a short tour of Tamil Nadu in the next 10 days or so. I feel like I've earned a bit of luxury after travelling down most of the length of India by bus and train and a two hour flight sounds much more appealing than a 35 hour train journey at the moment.
Sitting outside the temple in Trivandrum yesterday reading my copy of Time magazine I realised how easy it is to find places to just sit and be around smiling, humble people. Around Kerala and South India especially you can just while away the hours watching the locals laugh and playfight, while the beautiful women walk past shaded under an umbrella in the blazing sun. Whenever you've had a stressful time that's all you need to do and you're smiling again.
I'm off to Kodai this afternoon, which is a cool hill station with some nice jungle walks. Time to walk off all those cakes and ice-creams that I've been eating at the beach and get out of the heat for a bit. A bit of empathy for you lot stuck in the English winter. I think the temperature drops to about 6 or 7 degrees at night. Out with the wooly hat!
love
Guy
PS. I found a shop that sells international CDs! Managed to get a copy of The Doors, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. Been listening to Nick Drake for about a month so nice to have some fresh music!
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