Blogs from Kannur, Kerala, India, Asia

After my ayurvedic treatment we were ready to travel around for the next 3 weeks. Our original plan was to take a train from Aleppey north to Mangalore and then a bus to the pilgrimage town of Udupi. But after 3 weeks of being kind of away from the real world doing the treatment and living in a remote fishing village in Kerala, I simply could not face the "hardcore" travelling in India which would have meant to take a crowded train for 10 hours and a bus for 1,5 hours - only to stay for 2 nights and then another 6 hours through curvy mountain roads to reach our preebooked lodge in the Western Ghats for christmas. So we decided spontaneously to travel the lazy way (which still was not really lazy). We loved Kannur ... read more

When we want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of this routine and mundane life... we all think we need to take a holiday. And then go ahead and plan the most hectic, touristic, sight seeing filled holiday that can ever be.. and we think we had that break. Think about it... we wanted to get away from the stress and we add more stress to the already stressful existence by including a hectic holiday break. When I take a break its normally to soothe and calm my mind... to do nothing but just laze and not think of the time, or agenda or but go deep within me and seek me and find me and be happy with me. This is what meditation is all about and this is when we ... read more

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

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

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