Blogs from Kannur, Kerala, India, Asia
February 10th 2012
Today has been very relaxed. First thing we went to St Angelo's Fort and I got to go for my first tuk tuk ride! We spent a while wondering round the fort, I got to look at lots of birds again and lots of school children came to say hello and take my photo. Another tuk tuk ride back to the hotel and I've spent the rest of the day swimming, splashing mummy and daddy and sleeping. Mia, the little girl I met yesterday, came and had a splash with me too!... read more
February 9th 2012
It's been a long day. We got up early today and got a taxi all the way from Mysore to Kannur - again I was carsick when going down the hills :-( We got to see more elephants cared for by the government and mummy thought she saw a wild one too but that was actually just wild boar! We are staying in a hotel in Kannur right next to the sea and it's got a swimming pool! I had so much fun splashing about and kicking my legs - some people that work in the hotel came out to see me, they thought I was funny. The best bit was when i kept splashing daddy and then he made silly noises. It was hilarious! It's a good hotel. I really like the food, the waiters ... read more
Last Week of Volunteering...Goodbye Parassinikadavu
Published: January 5th 2012Asia » India » Kerala » Kannur
January 4th 2012
Lots to tell but I'm kinda falling behind on this blog thing! Luckily I've taken some notes to write a quick overview about the last week of volunteering. After a quick weekend trip to Wayanad (beautiful but lots of bus rides, not very relaxing though we did see elephants!) we were back to work and finished most of the projects we started; the one that was the most fun was the painting of an ABC mural (see photo). Hopefully the kids will enjoy our art skills, or lack there of! We got to do a few cool "cultural outings" during our last week; only a quick hike from our house we were able to see "tody" collection which is the collecting of a certain part of the coconut that is fermented and then turned into alcohol...quite ... read more
More of volunteering/life in Parassinikadavu
Published: December 28th 2011Asia » India » Kerala » Kannur
December 26th 2011
12/6/11 First day of some physical labor! We are working for a few hours a day at the school for mentally-disabled children; the building is already constructed and we are priming/painting/creating colorful pictures/etc. While most of the group is doing this a few others prepare lesson plans and substitute teach at the "normal school". On Friday I will be teaching Literature to a class of 10-20 8th graders...I'm nervous! Today we had our first lecture in Ayurveda and we will be having a lesson or practical each day. So far it is fascinating and the professor is extremely knowledgable and informative. The school where we are receiving our lessons is quite renowned for Ayurveda and some of the practicals we will be doing are the same as doctors-in-training. Not sure how I feel about this but ... read more
December 15th 2011
12/6/11 Today was a busy and exhausting day; we woke up at 7 and left for breakfast at 8, from there we went to all three of the schools we will be working at; a school for blind children, a school for the mentally disabled, and what they call the "normal" school which is a school run by nuns but is a secular school that accepts all children regardless of their religion. Of course all of the kids at each school are so cute and amazing; we were greeted by songs from many of the kids and we shared some songs from our cultures as well. Our walk from school to school is quite a hike and we walk on the small brim of a busy highway and try to not get hit by cars and ... read more
December 5th 2011
I hopped a 90 min flight from Mumbai to Kohizikode (Calicut) in the state of Kerala. Kerala is the most educated state in the region so to be honest I expected to have more of my western standards met here of all places...not really the case, for example see pic of toilet at Calicut airport. Even though I was starving I figured i would first hire a cab and try to get to my destination rather than hangout and eat in Calicut. I had researched enough to know that a cab should be about a 75 minute drive from the airport to Kannur, however it feels a bit longer when you apparently drag-racing. The route there is one road that is a 2 way "highway" but the cabbie spent most of our journey either in the ... read more
May 22nd 2011
She's a tough life sometimes. Kannur was pretty hard going. All that sun, eating good food and relaxing has got to be bad for you. I think that is probably why I did actually get sick on the second day I was there. It was just too tough. Asides from toughing it out eating ridiculously good food, losing swimming races and fending off perverts, I watched some Theyyamm, which is described by wikipedia as a living cult with several thousand year old traditions, rituals and customs. What I saw was an elaborate dance ritual where a painted man wearing a mask worked himself up, whilst dancing to ritualistic music. It is believed by those that believe that the performer becomes possessed by a deity during the dance. After the ritual is complete, the townsfolk lined up ... read more
Kannur – Costa Malabari – relaxing, swimming and great food – by Zoe
Published: March 22nd 2011Asia » India » Kerala » Kannur
March 22nd 2011
We got up early to get the bus to Kannur. Suneer took us to the bus station and made sure that we got on the right bus. 5 ½ hours on the bus, included on this trip were 5 hair pin turns (I know this because they were sign posted). I’ve never seen an Indian bus driver be that cautious or a bus load of Indian people be that silent, it was a good thing that he was being cautious because if he hadn’t been we would have driven off the side of a very high mountain. We arrived in Kannur safe and sound and took an auto out to our accommodation Costa Malabari recommended by Nicola. We arrived in time for lunch and a delicious fruit salad. All of our meals were included this gave ... read more
January 31st 2011
Hi all! i have been ill since the 21st, fever and snot and aching bones not the most fun iv'e had in a while. Luckily i'm on the mend, iv'e been having medication from the local Indian doctors, it doesn't taste so nice but it seems to b doing the job. I cut my hair by puting it all up in a bunch on top of my head and then i just cut the bunch off! It looks bad. Well no point crying over cut hair. we are leaving Kannur soon, i cant wait, we have been in India for about three weeks and two weeks off it spent here, mostly because of me and my illness but you know... its nice to move on! We are going to Hampi which is meant to be really ... read more
October 24th 2010
... bi zarepal Zlatko. Jaz pa tudi. Dolgujem se pripetljaj od sinoci. Ko sem mlatila masala doso v Aquariusu, sta prisedli neka Indijka in njena mama. Hci je bila ze na pogled drugacna, saj je imela krajse lase, majico in kavbojke. Zapletli smo se v pogovor in izvedela sem, da zivi z mozem v Savdski Arabiji, ker on tam dela. Ona je brezposelna, saj ji ni treba delati, poleg tega pa se trudi spoceti, ker se je porocila pozno in je zdaj pa res ze cas za to. Raje je tam kot v Indiji, saj tam ni nobenih sorodnikov, ki bi jo imeli pod nadzorom in opazovali vsak njen gib. Njen brat je v Washnigntonu DC, cel kup zlahte ima po Evropi (Svica, VB), skratka, vsi so raje kje drugje kot v Indiji. Zjutraj sem se ... read more
