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Published: February 13th 2014
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Last view of Varkala beach. It was a bit old hippie. But they were harmless and I liked them. Right, a bit of a preamble: I actually wrote the bulk of this about two weeks ago, and had thought about rewriting it, but decided to leave it the same but add some postscript so this text and the pictures might be a bit disjointed.
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Hello everyone, as always I hope you are all well.
A fairly short entry this time round, not to say that stuff hasn’t happened, because it has, but it is just not quite as much stuff as on previous posts.
Or, let me flip that a bit. I have been suspecting for sometime that things that would have filled me with novelty on the previous trip are now pretty much matter of course and so I don’t report on them. I remember on my last trip I would report on things such as frogs in toilets, cows on the streets, the laughable driving, regular power cuts. Things that would intrigue and entertain me have slowly become…..normal.
I must try and reverse this as many of the readers of this current blog were not readers before, so I must make more of an effort to capture these things that define a
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Train travel in India can be a hot and tiresome business. good old fashioned developing country. But please don’t think that I am taking anything for granted I am not, I am deeply appreciative of my current lifestyle.
Does that make sense? I hope so.
But. To complicate things a bit further, I also suspect that I have not really been off the beaten track that much since coming to India. The funny thing about the beaten track is that when you are off it you wish you were on it, and, many times, when you are off it you wish you are on it again. Like all things in life it is all about balance.
Anywoo. So. Last time I left you in Varkala. I liked that town. Which I why I stayed for two weeks. But I did finally leave to head to Cochin to meet a friend called Zane. I met Zane on the Turkey to Iran train (you always meet the best people on trains, especially in remote areas). It turned out Zane was going to be in the North of India, I was going to be in the South, so we decided to meet up half way.
I really enjoyed my time
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Every house or shop has a little shrine area. with him, he is interested in stuff, I am interested in stuff, so we had much stuff in common. I have a natural fear and suspicion of technology, he on the other hand embraced technology as an aid that can enhance life. I spent much time warning him that the satellites could fall from the sky and the Internet could breakdown whilst happily following his GPS I Phone and using his various apps to help me identify various onward travel options.
He had to carry on down South to meet up with a tech company developing a gravity light (Google it) and I had to make up South to Goa, Via Mangalore, to meet with another traveling partner.
I met a lass called Neriman when working on the farm in Turkey and I got an E mail about a month ago to say she was heading to India so we decided to meet up in Goa.
Not quite sure where we will go but that is fine. India is that sort of place, just play it by ear. She has some friends who live up in the North of Goa so I think we will head there
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A popular Ice Cream make here is Uncle John. I have two Uncle Johns. And as I write this I am reminded that I am also an Uncle John. To those who know all three of us, which Uncle John does this chap look like most? Answers on a postcard. at some point. Not sure how long we will travel together, it is very hard to know these things.
So……I am enjoying India, but I am conscious I am yet to see the “real” India. I have had to deal with a few beggars, seen a small amount of public street defecation but I continue to be reminded that Kerala and Goa are not really the real India. Fear not peeps, I will…….I will.
Oh, I also meant to say that the great thing about India is that you can get off the beaten track just by catching a bus twenty minutes in any direction. You don’t need to go to the disputed territory of Kashmir or the lawless bandit country of Mizoram to get away from Westerners, just catch a bus to a town that is not mentioned in the Lonely Planet. Oh don’t get me started on the Lonely Planet…..maybe that is a rant for another time….
All my love.
John-Jo
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Ok, so now for the postscript..
So, met with Neriman and had lots of fun in Goa but I have decided I can’t spend any more time on the
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Mother Teresa holding a poor infant. They seems to have stuck her in a disco. The lights rotated. These Indians, they be crazy. coastal beach places, six weeks is just about my limit. I cannot believe I am saying this but….I am bored of beaches.
I can now walk in any beach restaurant in Kerala, Goa or Karnataka and recite the menu without even looking. If I hear another Bongo drum I am going to cry. If someone tries to sell me another trinket they may end up in Hospital. After so many weeks in Beach Huts I am getting desperate for a change of scenery.
Neriman however is just at the start of her trip so these places hold the same appeal as they did for me when I arrived (remember the “life is a beach” comments, the endless photos of palm trees?). India holds so much interesting places I am at a point where I want to and explore a bit more.
I loves a good beach I do, but like all things in life you need a balance. We plan to meet up again later in the adventure because she is a jolly good lass and a fun traveling partner.
So, I decided to catch the 15 hour over night train (vomit) from Gokarna
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Another Country, another Church. You cannot escape religion in these countries. Where are you from? Are you married? What is your religion? In that order. to Mysore as an attempt to break away from the coast. Blimey India is big. Google map Gokarna, then Google map Mysore. Ask yourself how it takes 15 hours. It looks like a quick jaunt up the road, but it isn’t.
I am also at the point where I need a break from the heat so I am going to try and find some hills soon. I want to stop sweating.
Those pesky North East States still seem to be calling me….But what folk don’t understand is that at the moment the North of India is very cold. And I mean very cold, so maybe these will have to wait until later on. But, I have a decent Interweb connection in my new place so I can spend some much needed time looking at the logistics of a trip up there.
So, there we are, a wee update. I really hope that the terrible weather you Brits are being subjected too isn’t getting you down. I have just seen the news for the first time in ages and it looks mighty bad.
I know that this has almost become a standard issue statement but I am
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These are the famous Chinese fishing nets of Kochin. They don't seem to be catching very much fish. Maybe the fish ate the rubbish and all died. sorry if I haven’t replied to any messages, with this superfast Internet connection I hope to make amends.
All my love
John
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