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Published: January 3rd 2005
Goa
This is in southern Goa...and after a 20+ km bike ride (on a bike with barely 1 gear), up and down some pretty rough hills, this was my gorgeous view from Cabo de Rama.I apologize that it has taken forever to get a blog together. Since all of the tsunami stuff, I haven't been particularly excited to sit in front of the computer...and I've really needed to take some time to let things soak in before I wrote. The devastation caused by the tsunami was (and is) so awfully overwhelming and tragic that it's a little sobering to think that of all the places I could have been at that moment--I was only a train ride away from, and en route, to a place that was hit (and it was only 2 months ago that I was on Koh Phi Phi with Matt). Sure, in some ways I feel blessed that I wasn't there, but in other ways it's hard to feel anything but grief for the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives -- and especially for those who lost everything and everybody in their lives. I was in Mangalore when the wave hit the coast, and holding a ticket to Kochi (one of the coastal Keralan cities) for the following day. I decided not to cancel the ticket, but rather to figure out what to do when I arrived in Kochi.
Fort Kochin
These are the traditional chinese fishing nets that were introduced sometime between the 14th-15th centuries. Before I go on, let me recap:
I left the Himalayas and, like every warm-blooded SoCal girl would do, I boarded a 50+ hour train ride for the coast (the West Coast, that is 😊 ) I met up with Caitlin (a friend from the Biostats dept) and her husband Hari in Goa, and for the first time on this trip I was in a place that offered ROOM SERVICE!! wow! We went to see the once-every-10-years showing of St. Francis Xavier's body (a Portuguese missionary) who died in the 16th century (it was actually a bit creepy), and planned to join up a few days later in Mangalore. I spent the next five days in Palolem relaxing in the sun and catching up on some reading, writing, running, and even rented a bike to explore some of the neighboring beaches (Agonda, Patnem), and old portuguese forts. The beaches were perfect -- similar to a California beach minus all the people!!! I literally had a 100 ft radius of my own beach...ahh.....Mangalore was fantastic, especially because I had a wonderful Christmas with Caitlin and Hari's family -- who were all soooo kind and generous (and I got to try
real mom-made southern Indian food). After a few days in Mangalore, I was headed to Kochi...
(This is where the start of this entry began). I went on an overnighter to Kochi, and after arriving and reading newspaper warnings of another tidal wave I decided to detour and catch a north bound bus (to Mysore) that night. I spent the day walking around through different neighborhoods, and when I make it south again, I hope to spend a little more time in the area. In Fort Kochin I saw fishermen casting traditional chinese nets, a nice Dutch palace, and a couple of small art galleries; I walked to the next neighborhood, Jewtown, where wafts of jasmine, sandalwood, and other scented treats filled the alleys.
Another overnight bus, this time to Mysore...
And this is where I will continue with the next blog (hopefully soon)(and hopefully with pictures)
have a great day, and HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!
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anonymous
non-member comment
wow.
Glad to hear you are ok. It must be difficult to cope with the feeling of relief when so many others are less fortunate. Keep up the travels because the blogs are great! - Ricky G.