Planet Mars

A family affair

2005-07-26T03:00:00.000Z

It hasn’t been my intention to stop writing Planet Mars although I have abandoned briefly since my arrival in Thailand.

This is due to the facts that I am no longer an iBaba writer and have lost the comfort of Internet from my home, so trips to the cyber cafe are much less inspirational not to mention timed and shared with keeping my personal e-mailing alive.

But mainly the reason for the lack of Blog entries is that Thailand has become a Family affair. Spending time with my Dad and Priya (his wife) is on my agenda now compared to my lonely planet days back in India. Days here are filled with home life, wizzing around on my moped, cooking, eating, watching movies together, reading the newspaper, making cups of tea and drinking a cold beer of an evening outside in the garden. It’s a good life and Thailand is a good place to relax, anything for an easy life seems to be the general rule around here.

But my three weeks here have also held a few highlights of events, I am in Thailand after all!! And I’m not one to relax both my feet at the same time, I am Mars after all!!

So to keep you up to date I have listed a few of these events:

* One hair cut in the village by a deaf and dumb 39-year-old angel that looks like she’s 25 and gives you a ride home on her moped when she’s finished with the blow drier.

* One visit to the dentist chair for a un-anesthetised sesion of drilling and filling a cracked tooth. I add my Dads comment as I walk out without slurring and dribbling my words “You’ve got bigger balls than me girl, I’ll take the needle any day”

* Three birthdays.

* Two trips to the Temple. The first a Chinese temple where Priya and I prayed and donated money for the people who die in this country and have no means for burial. The Thais believe that if you don’t have a proper burial your soul is stuck unrecognized and unappreciated for this life time. There is a billboard of pictures of these people and bodies that benefit from our help outside the temple, I saw a naked man with a plastic bag over his head, a dismembered body and a Farang (Foreigner) in a car wreck before I walked away.

* One bus ride to Bangkok. My one day there was a cat and mouse chase, trying to catch up with my number one fan, Nick, through the laberinth of sky rising buildings, air conditioned Skytrain and free river taxis to the Marriot. Cat never caught mouse before the game was over.

* Two traffic police stops and bribes. It seems to be a certain part of the journey when you are a Farang (Foreigner) driving perfectly and spotlessly on to the high way leaving Bangkok. I’m sad to say but luckily we had Priya with us and could haggle with the Police mafia in their demands for hard cash in exchange for an easy escape from the threatened trip to the central police station back in the heart of the city for some un-necessary and totally un-justified questioning and fining.

* One dinner party, I cooked spag-bowl for them, they cooked.....everything!! for me, yum!!

* One torture massage (no kink!)

Witch brings me up to date with my current plans. On Friday I am leaving the nest to add one train trip to Chiang Mai and two weeks massage course to my list. I am adding the ancient techniques of this Thai Torture to my endless talents and skills. Ha, ha..!!

Jai Baba!

A new Mars

2005-07-08T07:09:00.000Z

In just a short 2 1/2 hour flight and so much has changed, I have woken up in a new part of my Plannet Mars journey.

Not only did i leave India behind but so many new and diferent circumstances that are now part of my daily life that were not there before, and not only did I gain things but lost some too.

* New country: Thailand, clean, calm, quiet modern and civilized. I am living in the 21st century again.

* New status: no loger solo traveller but now part of a family of four.

* New Tecnology: Internet cafes and no longer freedom of Laptop connection.

* New food and bevarage: Meat, fish and fresh veg every day. Gone are the oily and stained fingers and delicious vegetarian Thalis, but in it's place are chopsticks and the best food in the world!! Too much to mention, only one word can describe....DELICIOUS.

* New form of transport: A 4x4 rent a car Mazda Pick-up.

* New accomodation: My own room with double bed and bathroom, in my dads kitchen, garden, Tv house.

* New Look: Hair cut into a style, clean and shinny soft skin, new clothes, shoes, painted toe nails. I feel human again!

* New Itinerary: Travel on a journey to discover and meet my new family.

I am Loving my new life, I am loving Thailand, who could not?

Jai Baba!

Stuck in the Present

2005-06-29T02:09:00.000Z

It was an initial culture shock arriving at the train station at New Jaipalguri, how quickly I had forgotten the heat, the luminous sun, the dust, dirt, grime, the sweat and most of all the noise, that never ending sound of rickshaws, horns, traffic, bells, hello madam Taxi? Hello madam come? Hello madam madam hello...there is no escaping from it.

Then on the train the screaming children...everywhere! I was on “The screaming children family car” and of course the usual cocktail of cockroaches, vendors and oily smells to add flavour.

Where is my peace and tranquillity gone? Is it really left behind in the mountains? What do the next 5 days hold for me in Calcutta? 6 months and my last 5 days in India, the end of the first chapter of this journey, the end of a solo journey and the beginning of a family reunion, what have I learned, what have I gained, or lost?

13 hours on the train and so many questions found myself in deep conversation with Baba. I soon realised that all peace and tranquillity was inside me, the world around me had gone silent and it’s inside that I felt calm and composed.

The last 6 months and beyond flashed before my eyes like a movie, the people I had met and most of all the people I had left behind, including myself.
It was all clear and crisp printed, signed and sealed in the book of “Past“.
The book of “Tomorrow” not yet written was just a mountain of speculations, assumptions and expectations sunk in a big white cloud like the mist of Darjeeling, you have an image of what you think you are going to be looking at but cannot see it until but an inch away from it.

So I am stuck in the book of “Present” and all is as it should be. Baba is no fool! Everything has been placed perfectly for me to arrive at this very present moment and every other single present moment of my entire life (lives). Even if it seems otherwise some times it's all an essential part of this spiritual/life training he puts us trhough, to reach the ultimate Goal, "HIM"
Now he has sat me down for awareness of it, like assessment at the end of a school year about to start a new.

And he is happy with me I know as I have received a pat on the shoulder, a big warm hug and a loving smile.

And my reward! A very welcoming cool rainy and wet Calcutta, a great hotel room and a little dip into one of my passions, Cooking!

Yes I am the new Mistress of Spices X-) (to be continued...)

Jai Baba!

Darjeeling comes to an end

2005-06-25T08:04:00.000Z

I’m leaving Darjeeling, that’s it, time has come…. I queued for 3 hours over two mornings at the train reservation booth but I am stuck with my return ticket to Calcutta tomorrow 16:00pm, what can I do?

Not that the tickets are unchangeable, it’s just that It’s a “no chance” (quote the sales assistant) situation to get a confirmed seat for at least 2 weeks and the idea of standing in a train corridor all night for 13 hours is just not worth it for a couple extra days of being here, or is it?…..no, it’s not Marcella, get a grip.
So I’m leaving, thank god I purchased my return while in Calcutta 10 days ago as I’m still on a waiting list for tomorrow but I hold a very small number, I could feel the weight of the hungry eyes glaring at me at the sight of my ticket, it is worth it’s weight in Gold.

I haven’t really got a better reason for staying here longer other than trying to stay away from steaming sweaty Calcutta A.L.A.P (as long as possible), I have exausted all that I can do here, drink tea, eat dumplings and be a lazy mountain-bum sums it up.
But I guess it is time to leave before I become part of the mould in my bathroom or my only fleese, that I have only taken off for showers in the past 10 days, walks off without me or starts procreating.

Still though, Id rather be mould than sweat and that’s what awaits me.
So I’ll be brave and go all the way, I have rebooked my slaving over a hot stove Bengali cooking class in Calcutta.

I intend to leave India with a Bang! A curry smelling Bang!

Jai Baba

In the clouds and mist

2005-06-23T04:42:00.000Z

This is what I should be looking at....

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Well, maybe without the snow

2005-06-23T04:39:00.000Z

Courtesy of Darjeeling postcards

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and this is what I am looking at.....

2005-06-23T04:36:00.000Z

On a clear day

2005-06-23T04:35:00.000Z

Can you make out the face in the clouds?

2005-06-23T04:25:00.000Z

Yep! “The Himalayas” they’re out there right in front of my nose but I’m left in the white. The whole mountain and town is buried in a big thick white cloud, it’s actually lovely. Walking around the streets, climbing through steep alleyways and the mist follows you and moves like a ghost, it gives such an atmosphere like an old Dracula movie but without the vampires, only little Nepalese people and Budhist monks in yellow and red robes.

It also rains a lot, It is the monsoon but much less scary than what I experienced down in the tropical hot India, I’m in the mountains so I expect a shower and it is a gentle at that, no thunder and no lightning bolts!! Those of you who have been in my pressence in a lightning storm will appreciatte how pleased I am at this X-)
The temperature is also just around 24 dgrs so it’s even pleasant if you get caught outside in the wet. The air is clean and crisp, I feel clean for the first time in months, no dust up my nose or hard skin of my feet.

Yesterday was one of the better clear days, I actually saw a patch of brown in between the white in front of me...there it was, gone!

So I jumped into a shared Jeep and visited the Yiga Cholin Ghompa in Ghoom, 8kms away from Darjeeling.
A 20 minute walk up the mountain from the main road where my jeep dropped me off, through quiet little muddy lanes, with but a handful of huts and houses, hundreds of prayer flags and the smell of Steaming soup and Tea.
I reached the gates but the Monastery was nowhere to be seen, not till I reached the last 50mtrs could I even make out the shape of the colourful building and in the still silence there it was hiding in the mist, peacefully sitting there as if waiting for my arrival, I felt like I had reached the end of the world.

There was nobody inside only a warm welcoming cozy atmosphere, the beautiful Budha with compassionate eyes just sitting there in complete serenity, surrounded by incense,candles and murals, the air was intoxicated with calmness and well being, the sound of the prayer bells hipnotising. The monk let me take a couple of pictures and wished me love and peace and as if under a spell I floated back to Darjeeling.
The whole area is under this spell, this is truly a magical beautiful place to feel peace in.
I am really on cloud number nine.

Jai Baba!

2005-06-23T04:23:00.000Z

Yiga Cholin Ghompa, Ghoom

2005-06-23T04:19:00.000Z

A rainbow of colour in the mist

2005-06-23T03:51:00.000Z

Budha

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Murals on every inch of the walls

Darjeeling, my cup of tea

2005-06-19T11:03:00.000Z

Darjeeling, darling Darjeeling.

So peaceful compared to India, yes I know I am still on Indian soil but you would never know.

Up here in the mountains people are so very different, mainly Nepalese, Tibetan and Budhists, they dont look Indian at all with slanted eyes and yellow skin. Not once have I been asked for money, to look in their shop or do i want a taxi or rickshaw, they never bother me and are so pleasent to sit and chat with, civilised and educated, calm and adorably welcoming and warm and I havent been asked once what country I am coming from!! It's a holiday for my ears.

The food too is a godsend, the local steamed Momos (dumplings) and Thupka (Noodles in broth) are such a welcoming relief from my fried diet down town India.

Squeezed in between these Himalaya peaks, I know Everest is visible to the naked eye from here but I have not yet seen, as it is fog, fog and mist as far as the eye can see since I arrived. But never the less amongst the big white clouds I can feel the hight and the pressence of these giants .

I am here for a good 8 days so I will get a clear day for sure, but if not i am still relishing sitting back with the finest cup of Tea taking a break from India....mmmm...this is my cup of Tea!!

Jai Baba!

Arond the block in Calcutta

2005-06-18T14:05:00.000Z

It’s amazing what the weather does to you, not only physically but mentally too.

So I arrived in Calcutta and very happy to be there, I made my way to Sudder street were all the action and hustle’n-bustle is concentrated, already I could see a glimpse from my taxi window the old musty mouldy colourful dilapidated buildings, pedal rickshaws, traffic chaos, street food stalls preparing Chaats and Bhel Poori (Indian snacks) everywhere, markets and bazaars, life oozes in the streets from every corner, it’s steping back 100 years, just like a film set it’s hard to believe that what I was seeing was real, how could this be normal life in such a big city and not built up a little for tourism sake like so many other places in India? but it is, it’s authentic!
So I get a hotel room and shower and am eager to get myself around the streets and bazaars and just take in the Old City of Joy.

I walk outside and after walking around my block find myself again in my hotel room taking another shower, must be tired from the long journey, never mind It’s only Sunday, I have time, time to rest, time to sightsee, time for the Bengali cooking lesson I have booked myself on for Wednesday ect…so what’s the hurry? Just take it all in at it’s own pace.

I spent 4 nights and saw little more than on that first day, one block was as far as I could walk and make it back safely without fainting, even at night. The heat was just unbearable, the humidity suffocating and the traffic just robbed the last breath of fresh air left in the atmosphere. Then when I thought I might be able to get used to this it rained for 2 hours and it all got 100% worse a low pressure was pressing down heavily making a sandwich between the ground and the sky and pressing all the people the heat the fumes and the moisture into one sweaty, sticky, airless and disorientated concoction.
Physically my body started to rebel, heat rash, sweat, the pores on my face just clogged and broke into millions of little pimples, and my hair did a good impersonation of a greasy mop stuck to my forehead. My mind also rebelled and went on strike and shut down, even went into a delirious state for some time. I couldn’t even hold a conversation with anyone let alone write in my blog, well what was there to write? All I could see was the fan going round and around on the ceiling of my room and how many showers (hot) I could take in one day, not that that made any difference to my body temperature but it was more a phsicological rutine action to keep me sane in the brain

Then my cooking teacher called to cancel as she came down with a fever, haven’t we all got a fever? I am burning up too!! It was a blessing to be relieved from slaving over a hot burning stove anyway, even for educational sakes.
So what did I do? I walked around my block a few times a day in between laying flat and melting on my bed and when the electricity cut out in Sudder street, being anywhere without fan was just out of the question, I went to the cinema witch was worse as when I walked out of the air conditioning theatre I nearly had a heart attack. I felt someone had punched me in the face with a heat wave.

Even unable to venture to the train station myself, from the comfort of the reception desk in my hotel I booked a pricy return ticket to Darjeeling.

So once again I am on the run from the weather and find myself in the mountains. I am squeezed in between Nepal, China/Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh at 2,134 metres altitude and it’s 26dgrs and wet and cloudy.....aaahhhhh, heaven X-)
My brain has kicked started again this morning, my speach is returning to me slowly and my Blogs are being resumed....normality is settling in once again.
I will remain here drinking nice cups of tea for the rest of my days till my flight to Thailand on the 2nd July.

What can I do? Just advise you that from June to September India is hard to be in, anywhere.

Jai Baba!

2005-06-18T14:01:00.000Z

Around the streets around my block, Calcutta.

2005-06-18T13:59:00.000Z

2005-06-18T13:58:00.000Z

Indoor meat and veg market...hold your stomack and breath!

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2005-06-18T13:48:00.000Z

2005-06-18T13:47:00.000Z

Chicken in a basket

2005-06-18T13:40:00.000Z

the meat....

2005-06-18T13:39:00.000Z

the butcher...

2005-06-18T13:37:00.000Z

the fish...

2005-06-18T13:31:00.000Z

the Veg....

2005-06-18T13:29:00.000Z

2005-06-18T13:20:00.000Z

Mid Range/ Top End Hotel according to Lonely Planet. My Hotel is Budget so i spared you the picture.

2005-06-18T13:08:00.000Z

On the train again. Thats my foot hanging out on the left

2005-06-18T13:06:00.000Z

Fried Samosas for breakfast, lunch or dinner

Arrived alive and well in calcutta

2005-06-13T14:40:00.000Z

So I left Tamil Nadu went through the Devils kitchen and rised at the other end alive, safe and sound, and smiling. I’m so happy to be here in Calcutta.

Train journeys in India are pretty much all the same, whether it’s one hour or 28. The only difference is the duration of this journey to how you arrive at your destination. I my record so far is 28hours and I was a good blend of sticky, smelly, oily dirt and sweat but in pretty good shape at the end.
While in Kanyakumnary I contemplated taking the longest train journey possible in India departing from Kanyakumary, the most southern tip of the continent and arriving in Jammu & Kashmir 74 hours later, but I don’t think I’ve got the stamina or the stomach in this life time.

You board the prehistoric metal cage, find your number, swap and change and trade for the best plastic sleeper bunk with other passengers, then with the precision and skill of an Origami magician you arrange your stuff and your body to fit in it trying not to touch any surface that is unnecessary and with as few limbs hanging out as possible. Then you sit back and wait to arrive, while you watch the spectacle of chai, greasy hot food, beggars, transvestites, statues-stickers and pretty much anything you could possibly ever want or think of vendors, race up and down the corridors wanting your money.

So with 28hours under my belt I will give you just a few facts, observations and thoughts of this particular trip:

* Depart Chennai on time 09:05am not a minute early not a minute late (good start X-)

* My name is in black and white print on the outside of my wagon with a big FT (Foreign Tourist) by the side.

* I am the only FT on the whole train.

* Indian people don’t speak to each other for the whole duration of the journey, I only realised that the group of 2 women, one young girl and 2 men, one with 6 fingers, next to me were travelling together once we arrived in Calcutta and they all started sharing out their luggage to each other. Guess they are not a close family, eh?

* Andra Pradesh and Orissa are the "Devils Kitchen" they cook you alive! By far the hottest states I have been in so far, and I hope never to further my experience, 1pm it was 42dgrs, at 3pm it was 42dgrs, at 6pm it was 42dgrs and at 11pm it was 38dgrs. The air that blew in the windows burned my feet. If I had a tea bag I would have put it in my water bottle and made my own brew.

* The furthest from the pantry-wagon (always last wagon) you are the less chai you get to drink or food you get to buy. Either the vendors get devoured by passengers or melt on the way but they seldom seem to reach the front. I was in Wagon S3 and had to run down the platform at each stop to buy 5 litres of water at a time. I was a little disappointed for the lack of entertainment and at the same time relieved for the lack of entertainment. It was certanly more quiet and less oily!

* We stopped 11 times

* Interneting on the move proves to be more difficult than I thought, the signal is on a rollercoaster ride as you move at high speed. So those of you who received an e-mail “LIVE” are the lucky winners.

* Indians don’t use western toilets ever, even thought they are exactly the same as Indian toilets just a toilet seat decorates the hole that goes straight down to the track with no flush. So I had my own unused = unsmelly FT toilet. I always enjoy the sight of my pee hitting the track at such high speed. The pleasures of small things X-)

* A police man came on to the train at night and screamed some kind of abuse to a pair on Young guys in Hindi for about 30 min, he was fuming and looked like he was about to burst, the poor boys lowered their heads more and more and eventually walked off to stand in the corridor for the rest of the journey??? When the show was all over the policeman disappeared I looked at my watch, 11:30, 37.5dgrs and thought I’m half way. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

* We arrived in Calcutta on the dot, 13:05, not a minute early not a minute late.

Calcutta: it’s hot, it’s old, it’s huge, it’s bussy but it’s not Tamil Nadu, It’s charming!

Jai Baba!

Escape from Tamil

2005-06-10T14:18:00.000Z

For my fans out there, Just letting you know that I will not be posting for the next 2 days as I have booked myself on a 28 hour train from Chennai to Calcutta.....yes you heard it 28 HOURS!! Depart 10th June 09:00am arrive 13:30pm the following day, ha! 2nd class all the way....chai, chai, chai...I can hear it already X-)

And I will not be writting about Pondicherry or Chennai either because there is nothing to writte.
The further I go into Tamil Nadu state the more I realise that I just don't like it, so after trying to improve places by moving costantly and realising that the previous one was even better I have had enough with Tamil Nadu and am making a quick get away (well..quick?).

I will however be posting my pics of Madurai in the near future because that was a city!! and some of my best pics, but right now I must love you and leave you as I have advanced sleep to get on with.

Wish me luck!!

Jai Baba XXX

Giving and taking

2005-06-08T05:18:00.000Z

To the Indians I look like a walking wallet, everyone in India wants money from me.

The Hotels ask for how many nights I will stay and they ask you to pay them all as you check in, I have to haggle to just pay daily as I know not how long I will stay….Ok leave a deposit then, or I take money now and then give it back, WHY? Are you going to put it in a high interest bank for 2 days? One Hotel was charging me 100 rupees more for my room than the woman next to me, I argued this and finally he said, I know 100 rupees in your country is the price of a coffee so it means nothing to you, basically it’s a system of I have more so therefore should pay more.

On the streets all day long I hear people telling me the price of things they want to sell to me and services they offer, of witch I have no interest in buying, but without me asking or as I just walk buy I constantly hear rickshaw madam only 20 rupees, sightseeing madam only 200 rupees, massage madam, come to my shop madam, Mangoes madam, madam madam madam….!!!

And then it’s the beggars, kids, women, with kids, skinny old men, Men dragging themselves along the ground, I’ve even seen an old lady with shoes on her knees, legs tucked behind intact, pretending to be a cripple.

Sadus, self claimed holy men dressed in orange robes, believe that they have given up all material possessions and live of what God provides begging for they daily food but it’s become a profession in India. Outside a Madurai Temple there was a line of Sadu’s rattling their begging pots inviting, or should I say persisting, you to give a donation, one wouldn’t leave me alone, he followed me, blessed me painted a third eye on my forehead and then I must pay him, I asked him why? He replied: because I’m a child of God, I said I was also a child of God so I asked him to give me money, the thought just didn’t register, why would he give me money when I am the white woman tourist with the money?

This may sound a little un-compassionate, but I do see the hunger and poverty around me, these people are hungry, they need clothes, kids, the sick, the wounded, I have seem unimaginable things, and it breaks my heart, but you have to put a small barrier up or it will eat you up, I cannot save them or help by giving them my few rupees. Things are just so. Baba said that you are giving them bad impressions by doing this, they might not see that but in the long run it’s better I don’t.

So I’ve made it my religion to never give money, Instead if I am buying a tea, or sweets or street food or fruit and someone asks I buy for them too. Sometimes they refuse and want only money walking away with nothing if I don’t give, amazing!

But yesterday something really surprised me.

I was walking around the Bazaar in Trichy in the evening, when I came upon a water Square named the Teppakulam Tank. At one side by a small temple by the steps going into the water, there was a gathering of people. Mainly men, old men and children and extremely poor, they had hardly no clothes, no shoes and these were torn and old. Their bodies so thin and frail sitting, waiting, immaculately side-by-side, in rows facing the water in complete silence and union.

By the shrine there were 3 well-dressed men scooping plentiful heaps of rice and vegetables from big metal pots into individual big metal bowls and handing them over one by one. The food would then be passed on to it’s neighbour and so on till it reached down the end of the line.
Other people would come and fill their Tiffin cans and leave. Every one got their share and in such a wonderful calm and respectful manner.
I was really moved by this sight, one man also watching told me that this happens every day at the same time and any one can come. These people are really the poorest of the town.

I had an overwhelming feeling of wanting to help this cause, and asked the man If I could give a contribution, he went over an expressed my feelings to the man serving the rice and he came over to me. With a big smile he said, Thank you my child nut we don’t need any money, we have been doing this for 10 years and we have enough money for this cause so we don’t need any more. But I thank you for your offer and your help. I thanked him for dedicating and doing such a wonderful thing. And I walked away.

The difference between given and taking, true Love.

Jai Baba!

Food factor: Fab, Fun & Fascinating!

2005-06-06T10:35:00.000Z

A big part of the culture of any country is the food, and India is yet again, like in everything else, extreme in this, I felt it deserved a place in my Blog all for itself.

For me the best places to eat the best food and the biggest quantity are the local places, I think this applies to anywhere in the world.
When you see a restaurant full of Indians, that’s the place.

I have an obsession about Thali’s. I look forward to it every day, its so much fun to sit at a table with lots of people you don’t know, mainly men. Get a banana leaf as a plate/place matt, and let the bus boys do the rounds, you will never see a woman in a food establishment.

One man carries the chutneys and pickles, another the 3 vegetables of the day, some dry some or in gravy but always spicy, another carries dhal (pulses) and curry, another butter milk and so on, all in metal containers with handles, like small buckets, so they scoop little mountains at the top of the leaf in the blink of an eye. You get a cup of curd, one of buttermilk and one sweet something. All 100% vegetarian (no eggs)

Then the rice man scoops a pile onto the bottom part of your leaf and another pours sambar all over it (a liquid vegetable curry) oh! and a popodom salt, chilli.... I look down at the perfect colourful composition in front of me and with my right hand I dig in! this takes a lot of practise but I haven’t seen a knife, fork or spoon since I left Meherabad.

The sounds of people rushing around keeping everyone constantly with full piles of everything is a work of art, it all happens like ball room dancing, without asking, they just come round and plop more on the leaf, the water boys filling cups and the cleaning boys clear places and set new leafs down, you never see a dirty place for even one second. And people rush in and out collecting Parcels (take away) the kitchen is full of choppers, cutters, boilers, rollers, fryers, everyone has one busy job and they get on with it all day without stopping or talking.

When all stuffed and finished you wash your hand in the basin someone hands you a piece of paper and you pay at the cash desk.

Its so much fun!! for me, its not social dinning, its stuff your face and go! And all from 15-35 rupees, depending on the place. And the food is great! it gives a new meaning to fast food. I want to open a Thali restaurant in the west, I think it would be a great new thing. With a little more finesse of course. Like a new menu del dia invention for a change. And not necesarily indian food.

You might be wondering how can she eat all that and be so thin? she is not eating it all, well I am and I cannot explain why I am thin…. Lack of proteins?

South Indian food is very poor and basic, mainly vegetarian , Its hard to get meat, eggs ect… I have even seen brains and rabbits at street stalls, chickens are thinner than me, and when you order a mutton curry you get a lot of curry and you have to search for the mutton, you could play a game called, who ever finds the mutton first wins a price ….another piece of mutton. But its all mainly veg, rice and fried stodge.

The menus are all the same but something’s you eat only at breakfast and others only at dinner, Thali’s only lunch.

This is my dictionary of a local menu I have discovered so far:

* Meals: (15-35Rs) Rice, Lunch Thali’s always vegetarian
* Iddli : (6Rs) 2x Steamed fermented rice cakes, coconut chutney & sambar (there are 4-6 different variations on this, Sambar iddli, ghee iddli, kushbu iddli)
* Pongal : (12Rs) a dollop of ghee slop made from rice, with the consistency of baby food, sambar & tomato chutney
*Poori : (12Rs ) Deep-fried wheat disks that puff up like balloons, chutney & sambar
* Vaddai : (6Rs) doughnut shape flour bread dough deep-fried, coconut chutney & sambar
* Curd Vaddai : (13Rs) same but drenched in yogurt sprinkled with fried garlic, fried croutons and chilli powder
* Bajji : (6Rs) 2x Balls of dough and veg (onion or spinach) deep fried, dhal & sambar
* Pakoda : (6Rs) 2x chickpea flour dough ball deep-fried, dhal & sambar
* Dosa : (12Rs) massive lentil flour crispy crepe is the main ingredient then you can have endless varieties & combinations, massala dosa (filled with spicy potato) Paper dosa (twice the size), Ghee roast (???) special dosa (???) Set dosa (???) Rava dosa (??? ) Special ghee rava massala dosa (???) ect……the list is endless. It’s a dosa institution!

Then there is the page of Porothas, oily flat grilled dough, stuffed, chopped, mixed ect…..
The page of Oothappams, flat oily rice flour pancake also stuffed unstuffed ect….
The page of chapatti’s, nan’s, roti’s, rice, ex: ghee rice, tamarind rice, rassam rice, curd (yogurt) rice, biriyani, pilau………..

So as you can see it’s an endless variety of fried, oily white dough and stodge and veg. Always sipcy.

And this is just the local daily working class food served on the streets and in simple eaters, I won’t even mention the menu dishes in restaurants, chinnese, north Indian foods, sweets or the bhelpoori and chaat street vendors for example!
I cannot list them all as I would be here writting through breakfast lunch and dinner, but you get the picture.

I recon it takes lifetimes to master the Indian menu, they all seem to know as if by instinct, even the youngest, but I don’t pretend to learn all this time round, let alone learn to cook any.

So I just happily dig in to my Thali’s and struggle to learn a little more every day, mainly by pointing and saying What’s This?

They usually reply, “5 rupees, what country?”

Jai Baba!

2005-06-06T10:33:00.000Z

Let me take you out to lunch, I know great place!

2005-06-06T10:31:00.000Z

My beloved "Thali"

2005-06-06T10:30:00.000Z

I'm an expert at this

2005-06-06T10:15:00.000Z

A brief choice, the rest is a mistery

2005-06-06T10:13:00.000Z

And on the streets....

2005-06-06T10:11:00.000Z

"Porotha" boys at work

2005-06-06T10:10:00.000Z

Mountains of.....fried crispy things

2005-06-06T10:09:00.000Z

No idea?????

2005-06-06T10:07:00.000Z

Dessert

2005-06-06T10:04:00.000Z

This ones easy....my heaven.

A perfect life.....I mean dream.

2005-06-05T14:36:00.000Z

I am In Madurai now but not a lot has happened since I arrived (suffering a little Delhi-Belly, making me stay in and within 1/2km from my room with attached bathroom. I now know why they call it “The Runs” every second counts! Glad to have a TV though :)

So I will tell you a little of my Rameshwaram adventures, a few days ago I know but what would you know if I hadn’t told you, eh? This is not live blogging!

So, I met the gorgeous Vinoh immediately descending from my Hell ride, a 30 year old Yoga teacher who has, till only 8 months ago, lived in a Yoga Ashram in Pushkar with no contact with the outside world. At the age of 16 he entered and for the next 13 years, the best part of his adult life, trained strictly without ever leaving the compounds of the Ashram. Now he has come to Rameshwaram to build his own Yoga school and learn about life.

Like a child thirsty for knowledge, he was eager to talk, and thought I, being a westerner, could teach him a lot about the world and about human behavior, and he could teach me a lot about Rameshwaram and physical control and well being. It’s a date!

Next day he picked me up in his friends silver Enfield and we cruised the Island in biker-style, he has learned good things so far…

Rameshwaram is connected to India mainland by a huge bridge and is no more than a whisper away from Sri Lanka. Vinohs grandfather is a famous and respected man in town for swimming across 3 times. I start to see Vinoh’s endurance and self-discipline runs in the blood.

A narrow sand covered new road takes you all the way to a few bamboo huts at the end. A big city used to exist here but in the mid 1900’s (not sure exact dates) a cyclone took it into the depths of the ocean. Gone! Wiped off the map! Thousands died. All that remains now is a few visible railway tracks under the sand. I asked Vinoh if the tsunami had any effect here, he said God thought "Once is enough".
The people rebuilt a bamboo church were the old one used to stand in concrete, they have their priorities always with God, but no one lives here, they just come to spend the day and return back to the new town 20kms away. One of the huts is Vinoh’s grandfathers.

We rode to another Temple a few kms back, very simple in appearance compared to others in the area, yet of great significance. The cyclone demolished everything before, around and after it but only the exterior wall was damaged, the actual temple inside was left intact.
We sat for some time on the ground and listened to a woman seeking guidance from the temple priest as she wanted to marry her daughter fast. He looked at her astrology charts and told the woman to go to certain temples in India to give offerings to those specific Gods and then return to him, she took his instructions and left immediately, you could see she would me making plans A.S.A.P.
I told Vinoh we act from our emotions and he seemed to like this better, but I also told him that emotions sometimes are so strong and misleading and that a balance between love and compatibility must be there, too much of one or the other could also be a failure. So many marriages in our western world ending in divorce is a perfect proof of this.

On the way back Vinoh showed me His temple, a patch of ground between the pine trees were he said Namaste (salutation) with 5 smooth and flawless movements and he gave me a tandem-Yoga lesson. His physical posture, control and strength is impressive, and I actually surprised myself at what my body is capable of doing too with proper guidance and support, my muscles are not developed to hold those postures and I had muscle cramps for the next two days, imagine if I practiced everyday, I’d be Super woman!! So I better not, I don’t want to be that perfect.

Before returning our faithful Enfield we let it roar onto the windy bridge to end our perfect day with the perfect sunset. Totally a little smitten with each other, I could see myself marrying Vinoh the perfect man, having his perfectly beautiful dark babies and spending the rest of my life in a perfect Yoga school telling the perfect stories of the world out there……. I opened my eyes down onto the railway track by the water and I knew how I was to be leaving this town, and I would be leaving first thing tomorrow morning.

It will be my perfect dream forever. Jai Baba!

2005-06-05T14:30:00.000Z

Rameshwaram

2005-06-05T14:28:00.000Z

New church, its charming.

2005-06-05T14:26:00.000Z

Vinoh....charming X-)

2005-06-05T14:25:00.000Z

Perfect.

2005-06-05T14:24:00.000Z

My escape route

2005-06-05T14:23:00.000Z

2005-06-05T14:14:00.000Z

Here we goooooooooo!!!!!

2005-06-05T14:10:00.000Z

Check out the little white shape in the water on the right of the train.......

2005-06-05T14:09:00.000Z

......kids!!!!

2005-06-05T14:08:00.000Z

I find this a bizarre picture

2005-06-05T14:05:00.000Z

Farewell my perfect dream XXXX

Hell Ride

2005-06-02T14:21:00.000Z

My relationship with my Lonely Planet reminds me of an old saying, can’t live with it and can’t live without it. It’s a marriage made in hell! for me and I have many times come close divorce….makes me furious that I cannot live without it, (you really can’t)

So the latest tiff happened leaving Kanyakumary, desired destination Rameshwaram.
I cannot blame the 7 buses daily stated in the book when only 2 run, as this could have changed since they reviewed the area, this is to be expected and I always find accurate local timetables and prices when and were I need them, this is not a problem. But there should be a sign of warning!!!! In BIG RED LETTERS!!! Not to attempt this 9-hour direct route under any circumstance (unless insane or massoquist) and take other more suitable detour to Madurai and change for Rameshwaram.

How can I describe it……..it was “HELL” 9 hours of it, there wasn’t one single minute that I thought it was in any way pleasant or amusing.
Just the leaving Kerala and entering Tamil Nadu is a bit of an anticlimax. Tamil is like Kerala but not quite, there are palm trees and coconuts but of a lower class, Kerala is refined and Tamil is hiding behind this and pretending to be the same but just doesn’t pull it off. Like the difference between Marbella and Estepona, one has style, an understated certain finesse and the other is “Cateto”.

Anyway, back to the bus trip, I have travelled in all shapes, smells and forms but this bus was grotesque. The dirt was thick sticky and everywhere, nauseating, a black metal cage, full of very dull and sick passengers.
I mean sick in the physical sense, for hours I had to sit and watch the woman in front of me vomit and spit out of the window, this being a contagious symptom, making the little boy behind do the same, only he didn’t quite make it to the window before depositing some of his breakfast on my head (I am so glad I was wearing a scarf) but my Luftansa pillow didn’t escape so easily.
You could say, “come on, be compassionate”, but I saw the same thing over and over, a girl vomits when we stop for lunch, then another in the isle, as if it was a normal thing to do! What is wrong with you people?!
And they just get back to their dull business.

But then there is the road, or lack of it, after 20 minutes we turned into a back road, and never came off it. You know when you are looking for your friends house in the country (my house) and the last 5 minutes are down a small narrow track in desperate need of tarmac after a rainy winter, full of pot holes and barely wide enough to fit a donkey let alone your nice new car, well this was it, a full 200kms (200kms taking 9 hours?) well this was why, there was no stopping to the stopping to go round yet another pothole, and when we were moving for an un-interrupted 10-mtrs, it was a cocktail shaker, hard to focus on the TV, forget resting your head on any surface (metal).
Oh! The TV! Ah, yes the wonders of Tamilwood, a Tamil movie is like watching the lowest educated, un-cultured B-movie garbage in high (very annoying) pitch voices screaming at each other, no signing and dancing. I wondered why they even bothered as every 40 minutes or so the tape would scratch and a new film was started and not even from the beginning. It was more the idea of having entertainment but no one seemed to care, so I kept reaching over to turn the obscene volume down.
So I arrived head aching, back aching, nauseated and un compassionate to Rameshwaram.

Wow! I sound so negative, and I thought it must be me, a bad hair day, but it isn’t. Really, do not travel on this route, I feel it is my duty to inform the Lonely planet, to save you fellow future travellers from such unpleasant experience, I owe it to you, not them so in my revenge I am using the fat travel book as a beer glass coaster tonight, it’s all you are good for today darling.

At the end

2005-06-02T12:44:00.000Z

I live on the southern most point of Spain and Europe, the lands end, next stop Africa. I know what its like to stand one foot in the warm Mediterranean sea and the other in the ice cold Atlantic Ocean, with the ancient cities of Morocco a stone throw away, so I have made it a personal mission to find out what is at the end of this big country.

Kanyakunmary is the name and memorial sites are the game.

A small town built on tourism and better yet pilgrimage. There is no real town here, just a few sky-high modern neon lit Hotels and restaurants and souvenir stalls. No one seems to live here even the souvenir vendors that fill the streets with shell key chains, chandeliers and mirrors and the coconut wallas come from a short distance away.

It’s a place of pilgrimage and of great importance to the Hindus, hundreds come to the temple to give their thanks to Devi, the goddess that single handedly fought Demons and obtained liberty for them.
At Sunrise and sunset the beach fills with people and in April you can see the Sunset and the Moonrise simultaneously. I missed it, and due to a cloudy day missed the sun altogether, but that didn’t stop me or anyone else from bathing in the sacred waters, the Bay of Bengal meets the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean here.

Then the memorials begin:

There are two Islands that stand out like a sore thumb just 400mtrs from the shore.
One has two buildings facing each other, the first houses the footstep of Goddess Pavarti when she asked for the hand of Siva. Inside there is a glass dome protecting a rock that has a similar shape to a foot, enhanced by painted toenails.

The second is a memorial built for Swami Vivekananda, the wondering monk. He is said to have come here in 1892, swam over in shark-infested waters to the island and meditated for a period of three days. From there he set out and became one of India's biggest religious crusaders.
He said things like: “These prophets were not unique; they were men as you or I. They were great Yogis. They had gained superconsciouness, and you and I can get the same. The very fact that one man ever reached that state proves that it is possible for every man to do so. Not only is it possible, but every man must, eventually, get to that state, and that is religion“ – “What we need today it to know that there is a God, and that we can see and feel Him here and now“ Yes!!!! Jai Baba!

He was an inspiring and great man. All of us that practise Yoga owe it to him, he was, if you could call it, the inventor, creator of Yoga practice as we know it today, this man brought Yoga to the world! and ferry-loads of people from all religions come to sit in the exact spot were he sat, it is now a small meditation room, pitch black with a dim neon green “Om” glowing on the wall at the back, It reminded me of an acid-house after-party room, but all in the best possible taste!

Then on the next island a huge 133ft Statue of Thiruvalluvar, stands proud. He was an Indian Poet that lived from 300AD to 600AD, no one knows exactly. The Thirukkural, his sayings, were at first not accepted by the Poets comitee of those days as he used to address polititians, rulers, artists, scholars, kings, ordinary men without casts or religions. His approach to God was by praising the qualities of the almighty and not Icon based prayers. It was unique at the time, his message is meant for the entire human kind not to one particular religion. Now famous throughout India and the world the Thirukkural is immortalised in this gigantic statue. Completed in 2000 and it is really a land mark and when you stand by it you really get the feeling of being in Liliput at the feet of Gulliver.

And it doesn’t end there, back on the shore there is the Mahatma Gandhi memorial, I hope I don’t need to explain who he was. A pink temple shaped building was erected were Gandhi’s ashes were stored in 1948 for just two hours before they were immersed in the sea. Every year on his birthday a ray of sun shines through a hole in the ceiling on the exact spot were the ashes were kept.

So at the lands-end of the big country the people of today come together by the three waters and remember the big people that helped make India such a powerful place.

“The voice of Asia has been the voice of religion. The voice of Europe is the voice of politics. India is immortal, if she persists in her search for God“ -Swami Vivekananda-

2005-06-02T12:40:00.000Z

Kanyakumari and the two Islands

2005-06-02T12:37:00.000Z

2005-06-02T12:35:00.000Z

2005-06-02T12:23:00.000Z

Over to Island Num.1

2005-06-02T12:20:00.000Z

Shri Pada Mandapam Memorial, where The Goddess Parvarti's footstep is.

2005-06-02T12:16:00.000Z

Swami Vivekananda Memorial

2005-06-02T12:15:00.001Z

Island Num.2 Thiruvalluvar Memorial

2005-06-02T12:09:00.000Z

Hello!!!!! You up there!!!! He is Big....

2005-06-02T12:08:00.000Z

and he has a Big Feet!....and I am zo zmall..

2005-06-02T12:06:00.000Z

Mahatma Gandhi Memorial

2005-06-02T12:04:00.000Z

2005-06-02T12:02:00.000Z

And from all directions the 3 waters meet.

2005-06-02T12:01:00.000Z

The end.

Back on track

2005-06-01T13:36:00.000Z

I’ve been incommunicado for the past....nearly one week? days don’t seem to count as usual here. They fly by and blend into one big pot of clourful, spicy massala.

So with no plugs, no signal on my cell phone and no internet café for two towns (360kms apart) I have much to catch up, so many where are you’s? and so many stories and pictures ect....I’ve even had recuests!
I have to backtrack, wouldn’t want you guys to miss out on any of this.

So I leave you again, briefly, with some backdated photos of my backwater Monsoon to Paradise days to keep you entertained while I takle the big task and write my next post (with chapters)

Enjoy! I did. Jai Baba X-)

2005-06-01T13:14:00.000Z

Take a trip down backwaters lane. Ideal for honeymoons, lonely planets and most specially stressed workaholics.

2005-06-01T13:11:00.000Z

Shop around for suitable mode of transport...

2005-06-01T13:08:00.000Z

Choose a two seater chopper. For the wild maximum experience...

2005-06-01T13:06:00.000Z

for all comfort....

2005-06-01T13:03:00.000Z

for the most intimate..

2005-06-01T13:00:00.000Z

or choose one for the family

2005-06-01T12:50:00.000Z

It's a laid-back-water life

2005-06-01T12:45:00.000Z

laid-back-water fishing

2005-06-01T12:43:00.000Z

laid-back-water sand digging

2005-06-01T12:42:00.000Z

Ladies?

2005-06-01T12:41:00.000Z

Got any spare coconut shells? Men at the "Cocobarge"

2005-06-01T12:37:00.000Z

laid-backwater crossing

2005-06-01T12:36:00.000Z

laid-back-water boat building

2005-06-01T12:30:00.000Z

The goddes of light welcomes us into the Monsoon with a moonie! (Statue on Private propertie, ha! you have to be bonkers)

2005-06-01T12:23:00.000Z

Eden Garden Ayurvedic re"TREAT" (ie. a little heaven, a little treat...why not?)

2005-06-01T12:14:00.000Z

The practice of Ayurveda. Mural in Local Kerala style, Eden Garden retreat.

A sad day

2005-05-28T18:11:00.000Z

I’m finding it really hard to write this post, actually I have found it real hard to do anything today and have spent best part of the day on my Hotel room bed, eating, sleeping and watching TV. (First TV in months)

I had conflicting feelings about whether I should even write down what happened to me yesterday, but have decided not to sensor my journey. India is hard and naked at times, but to exclude this feels like covering it in a make up to hide its real skin.

I was finally on board of my already delayed train out of Trivandrum, and was eager to get to Kanyakumi, the end of India, the most southern point, when after only 15 minutes into the journey the train comes to a halt in the middle of nowhere.

Everyone started to get of the train and gather around and lean out of the windows, I followed the commotion to find out what was happening.

What I found was 3 meters away from my wagon.
Two bodies were laying on the side of the train, one of a woman whose head had been decapitated and was under the train, her dismembered body about 1 meter away lay by the track. In her arms was the lifeless, viciously broken body of a 3ish year old girl, probably her daughter. Flesh ripped and cut like meat in a butchers.
It appears to have been a suicide.

I never expected or even imagined that I would ever see such a thing in my whole life, it is just unconceivable, unimaginable. I don’t think you are ever prepared for such gory a sight.

Such is life and death I have tried to tell myself, but for some reason it feels so un-natural. Suicide is not a factor of life and death that I can easily come to terms with.
But this isn’t about me.
These two people died a sad death yesterday. There is nothing to do about it.

Only to say Jai Baba.

Monsoon leads the way to paradise

2005-05-28T10:34:00.000Z

Leaving Kochi was hard but I took a wonderful backwater motor ferry from nearby Alleppey to Kollam and soon Kochi was out of mind.

A 100kms of backwaters that takes 8 hours to reach in the most wonderful way of travel. Compared with the rattling and noisy chicken suicide buses and sticky bustling trains, the ferry is calm and peace and nothing to do but just sit back, relax and watch the scenery slowly go by.

It is a paradise for honeymoons I recon, you can rent a varied range of bamboo houseboats, all charming and uniquely ingeniously designed and built. Tended and pampered in luxury all the way I am sure.

I, on the other hand, will save the extreme indulgence for later dates and just enjoyed the one-day ride. Enjoying having time on my hands conversing with fellow passengers as we went through the quiet green canals, passing fishing and boat men pulling nets, and families waving as they went about their daily tranquil chores of building rafts out of coconuts or the parasoled ladies crossing from one side to the other in little gondola style boats.

I as boated away from the Kochi steam room through paradise lane but arrived straight into the Monsoons thundering mouth, only to runaway fast from it.
I have had a taste of the Monsoons roar and it is not to be messed with!
The last half an hour to reach Kollam, a pre-Monsoon shower fell on us, and believe me when it rains it pours! Accompanied by striking and violent lighting and thunder.
The whole crew and passengers were huddled in the cabin down bellow were the shower was finding its way in with ease.
I was petrified to be still on water but even as we got on land it seemed impossible to shelter from it. My plan had been to head for Trivantrum 2 hours away, but the thought of finding transport, train or bus this late in the day and in these conditions was daunting, the lightning storm now right above us looking at spending the night in this little town seemed to be the last resort but I was quickly running out of options, and the longer I took to decide the worse the weather was getting and everyone started making their own decisions and rapidly I saw myself even more stranded.

So in an attempt to just get out of there I jumped into the cab of Thomas, a French guy living in Barcelona that I had briefly chatted to on the ferry. He was heading for Varkala beach 1-hour south and I tagged along for the night and shelter and would deal with my change of plans in the morning and in the dry.

We reached Varkala to be greeted by a luxury Ayruvedic retreat, my biggest splurge to date, but I desserve it after such ordeal.
Candle lit dinner by the beach under the full moon all to ourselves, and thurndestorm back in the distant sky, What a reward for our efforts!

Thomas and I spent the next two days keeping each other company, in this paradise. Walking along the high cliffs were all the restaurants and guesthouses run along with steep footsteps that take you down the beautiful beach bellow. Swimming in the strong currents proofed to be impossible but so much fun, surpringinly there are lifeguards that make sure we didn’t underestimate its force with their whistles, but a dip and run was enough to keep me happy.

With a temple in the back street and Ayurvedic retreats in the depths of the tropical hills, Varkala is realy a lovely place to come for a true escape and rejuvenation break, Goa truly has a lot to live up to.

The Monsoon crept up on us on the morning we were leaving. I headed south to Trivandrum and escaped it yet again. Thomas departed to the devils oven, Chennai, for a brief business meeting before returning back to mi querida Espana.

On arrival in Trivandrum and within half an hour I found myself yet again moving onto different plans, Trivandrum in the arse of Kerala, horrible! what an anticlimax!

How I appreciated my little detour to Varkala even more after seeing what was my original destination.

I guess the Monsoon saved me from hell and took me to paradise.

Sasi

2005-05-24T07:17:00.000Z

Q: Who wants to meet my new friend? Her names Sasi she's 55, 3 meters high, weighs 3 tons and is gray and full of wrinkles....anyone?

2005-05-24T07:11:00.000Z

A: me, me, me!!

2005-05-24T07:04:00.000Z

Here's looking at you kid?

2005-05-24T03:48:00.000Z

Adorable isn't she?

Jai Baba Sasi XXX

Kochi steam bath

2005-05-22T06:50:00.000Z

Kochi is perspiring on me, I am constantly in a pool of sweat but it doesn’t seem to be my own. I don’t feel like I am loosing my own moisture but wrapped around and embraced by the airs hot moisture, like a big steam room or Turkish bath.
But not Turkish at all, more a blend of a charming Indian fishing town by the Arabian Ocean, surrounded by sweet backwaters and lush green islands, connected by ferries, barges and house boats that take you through the narrow jungle of Palmed canals and lakes and past the Bizarre fishing nets on the coast.

A one-rupee ferry takes you to Vypeen Island. Were the salty waters of Cherai beach sweeps and pulls the playful children into the strong currents, swirls them around under the waves and spits them out again on to the white sanded shore, smiling and ready for more.

Back in the heart of Kochi is Fort Kochi, an extent mixture of ingredients, the Portuguese and Dutch architecture, Christian Churches and Basilicas, ayurvedic oils and treatment centres that cover every street corner.
Katakali dancing performances and contemporary art Gallery cafes were the Lonely planets meet, or the Indian families sucking straws and scooping from their coconuts to the sunset by the fishing nets.

With the big skyscraper city centre on the horizon, Ernakulam, standing grand, shiny and polished only a 6-rupee ferry ride away. After one whole week I yet have to discover it.
I've been keeping busy cycling around and finding my way down south to Jew town, were the only trace of the once present Jewish community is a Synagogue and but a handful of tucked away families.

Now Jew town is the home to the treasures of a past. A labyrinth of wonderful antiques and jewellery, telling the stories of the life in Rajasthan palaces, weddings and dowries, Casts and costumes in their skilful arts and crafts.

The streets are fragranced with musky art galleries, Black pepper, Ginger and Cloves from the Spice traders, with its Chanting Mosque, Jain temple, Dutch palace and steaming 30 rupee Fish Birianni on Fridays at Kaika, my favourite Thali venue.

I am sweating and cleansing in this Kochi steam room, and what a wonderful steam room it is!

Jain Baba!

2005-05-22T06:43:00.000Z

Fort Kochi

2005-05-22T06:41:00.000Z

Fort Kochi

2005-05-22T06:39:00.000Z

Crossing the chanel