Manda s Marvellous Mission

So as I dashed onto the bus from my tea shop luggage storage centre and made my way down yet another mountain pass full of hairpin bends, I found myself suitably alone for the first time in weeks. Dom long gone, my ashram buddies dispersed, Gail on her way to Cochin and the Israeli couple a few days ahead of me.... Its me alone on the bus with lots of cold Nilgiri locals - looking curiously at this mad South African woman travelling on her own.... "what is your place?" Indeed I ask myself! So I head over to Gudalur where I change buses to Theppakadu which leaves me slap bang in the middle of the national Park. An abundant place filled with the most gorgeous woodland and wildlife. Having reserved myself the dormitory in Ooty ... read more

Just had the most fantastic 4 days in a place called Kodaikanal. Another hillstation in the Western Ghats. This is the mountain range that runs parallel with the coast for about 100kms and at this time of year it is pretty chilly! I had been told about Kodai by a guy we met in Hampi but also done my own research into an earthship being built in the same town so it seemed like there were more than enough reasons to spend 12 hours getting there on 3 buses! Yes - when you look at it on the map it only looks about 50kms from Munnar - but how wrong can one woman be! Because of the mountainous landscape and the positioning of the villages and bus routes - it is all in all 12hours - ... read more

Kumily is a great place to visit just for the town itself. Its a busting spice town set in the mountains and lush green rolling hills of the Western Ghats. Its also the gateway to the Periyar Nature reserve - famous for its tigers and elephants..... but unless you have a helicopter - don't think you will see any! Gail and I arrived in Kumily after the bus trip from hell and checked into Elephant Hills Cottages - where we got a huge room, TV and comfy bed each for 300 R.... Bargain and just what we both needed after 3 weeks in a dormitory and a few nights bunking in in Varkala! All in the name of saving money of course - but sometimes a bit of solitude can do you the world of good! ... read more

After Dom and I parted company on a super-fast bus on route to Trivandrum I made my way to Varkala - a sunny beach town about an hour north of Trivandrum. Its full of western travelers drinking cocktails and wearing tie dye but its got a ocean and a nice sandy beach to lie on for a few days. A welcome break after some hard travel in India in the commotion of curry and chaos. So i donned the suntan lotion and hit the shores. A lot of like minded travellers chilling, reading, doing yoga and this very funky type of acro-yoga on the beach at sunset. First night I hooked up with some people I had bumped into a few times on route - they live in Melbourne and we got along famously. I was ... read more

Hampi in brief.. Hampi in brief : A quick over view of Hampi. Dotted around the hills and valleys are 500 plus monuments. Among them are beautiful temples, basement of palaces, remains of aquatic structures, ancient market streets, royal pavilions, bastions, royal platforms, treasury buildings.., the list is practically endless. So armed with our new found friend, Harold, a sweet but slightly insecure Dutch man - he was very bold on the bus and when we arrived in Hampi he asked if he could travel with us to Cochin. Being the good friendly girl I am - I said yes of course! So off we went to find out next taste of paradise - Dom me and little Harry! We hiked up to a temple dedicated to Hanuman - the monkey god yesterday to watch the ... read more

So far I have had lots of adventures in Mumbai. All very pleasant and wonderful. It all started at the airport in Heathrow where the lovely lady from the travelex told me not to get any currency as it is restricted and the rate was very poor. What I should do was buy a cash passport - put some money onto that and then draw it at the airport from an ATM at 80R to the pound as opposed to 60 in London.... what a bargain I thought... Fantastic idea! Except when you get to Mumbai at 3am and the ATM isn't working it just doesn't seem like such a good idea! Its 30 degrees in the dark and you don't have a penny to your name - you are sweating not only because you are ... read more