Blogs from Kochi, Kerala, India, Asia - page 11

Now we don't know if the gods that watch over the Indian railways (and we're sure there must be SOME obscure god for railways and other rail-based transport) were doing us a favour in light of previous experience, but we managed to get a decent seat (as in, ANY seat) for our 10 rupees each. Ernakulam was an hour and a half away and we settled in for the ride and watched the scenery go by. Aisha has formed the opinion that between the backstreets of Alleppey and their rundown canals overgrown with vegetation, the rubbish and piles of burning refuse everywhere, and the ramshackle villages between Alleppey and Ernakulam, parts of India give the impression of struggling through the aftermath of some dreadful apocalypse. Ernakulam Station was a huge mass of tracks, platforms half under ... read more

After a whole day of debating in Pondicherry, we decided to change our plans and not head to Madurai. Instead we got a night train to Trivandrum in the hope that if we heading south we would miss the monsoon rain. Not much point in visiting places when its raining so hard that you don't want to leave the hotel room! We spent one night in Trivandrum. Not much to see here really. We tried to visit the zoo, art gallery and museum but apparently it was a public holiday so it was all closed! The next night we headed to Varkala by train (took half an hour). For the first time we tried out the general class on the train- very cheap, very crowded. A friendly mouse decided to climb up the back of my ... read more

Brittaney left this morning. I feel so fortunate to have met her. We were perfect travelling buddies. Both of us easy going and of like mind. We had tons of stuff to talk about. So here’s what’s been going on since the last time I reported. We left Varkala on the train and it was really easy. I had heard that train travel was complicated, but we had no problem. The train was not packed, so we were able to find a seat. We went to a town called Kollam, from which we were taking the Backwater tour. The canoe was a local dugout and our guide poled us down the narrow canals, through the backwaters, past fish and prawn hatcheries and the local homesteads. I got some cool pix, which I’ve uploaded to Kodak gallery. ... read more

Time has become a bit of a blur recently. We're in Kerala, which seems a world away from Chennai. Prac is really interesting. So far we have been visiting the services that Rajagiri provide which have some similarities and some differences to the services in Chennai. I've had some thoughts recently: Birkenstocks are the best thing that happened to my feet. I am a reformed critic and I recon you would be too if you tried them! If that woman touches and hisses at me again I'm going to pull my hair out strand by strand. Seeing a dead body is surreal and real all at once (we saw one after a social worker had to go to a funeral, not the first, but the first up close. Her eyes, mouth and ears were being stuffed ... read more

1925: Da ich gerade am PC sitze, noch ein paar Zeilen zu heute. Heute Morgen beim YMCA ausgezogen und ins Hotel gegangen. Danach am Strand entlang zu den chinesichen Fischernetzen, weiter durch Port Cochin zur Basilika, zur Synagoge, zum Bazaar. Leider kaum Geschaefte geoeffnet, da Sonntag ist. 1930: Ich bin zum Dinner verabredet ... Update: Wir frühstücken auf der Dachterasse eines kleinen Restaurants gegenüber der Santa Cruz Basilika. Eigentlich ist es sehr gemütlich, aber es dauert über eine Stunde, bis alle Speisen zubereitet sind. Der Koch/Kellner macht alles selbst. Zurück beim YMCA beschließen wir, in Hotels umzuziehen. Das günstigere von beiden hat nicht genügend Zimmer frei, also gehen Martin, Kristina und ich in ein teureres. (Fort House Hotel, 3800Rp/Nacht). Das Hotel macht einen sehr guten Eindruck, alles ist sauber, ordentlich, funktioniert. Es liegt direkt am... read more