Beachlife (Sarah)

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So we arrived in India - just in time for new year! After our journey across Asia and the mad dash from Kathmandu to Goa it was fantastic to kick back for a while and spend time with the lovely Hannah and her friends! Staying in a flat with a kitchen was a real treat - we got to make some of our own food for a change - something we had really been missing! We celebrated Bob's birthday at Silent Noise - a party where everyone has cordless headphones to listen to the music through - sounds crazy but it was ACE!! Our time in Palolem was spent on the beach, going to yoga classes, taking a basic Reiki course which was fascinating, taking part in Hannah's fantastic Bollywood class and getting to know various people from the UK who have made Goa their home and have set up houses and businesses there. It was a really easy introduction to India - nice places to eat and drink, not much hassle from anyone and a chance to immerse ourselves in the relaxing and meditative delights that India has to offer.

From Goa we made our way to Hampi in Karnataka. We spent a week there visiting the ruined temples and bazaars that surround the area and the huge boulder rock formations that litter the land. It’s a pretty spectacular place with many gorgeous spots from which to watch the sunset! We headed south from Hampi to Bengalaru (formerly Bangalore), the capital of Karnataka and known as India’s silicon city due to the explosion of IT businesses there in recent years. It was our first Indian city experience and it was hectic and busy with traffic but fairly pleasant - we did spend much of our one day there in the botanical gardens though!

Next stop was Kovalam in Kerala where we met my Mum who came to visit us for a couple of weeks. We had a nice few days chilling out by the sea and catching up on the last few months! Then we headed north to Kochi (formerly Fort Cochin) an interesting place that has been settled by the Portuguese and Dutch at various points in its history - there are churches, a synagogue and a vibrant fishing industry which operates around the harbour where there are a number of Chinese fishing nets - massive shoreside constructions which take a team of men to operate. From here we took a daytrip along the beautiful Keralan backwaters where we saw coir making in action and floated past many interesting backwater villages. We also had a trip to the nearby Athirampalli waterfalls which were pretty stunning and packed with Indian tourists and hardly any foreigners, this meant we were swamped by people wanting to say hello and find out where we were from and we were invited to feature in many peoples photos!!! Varkala was our next stopover - a lovely seaside clifftop resort with many nice cafes, restaurants and shops. We spent an enjoyable few days here before returning to Kovalam to relax on the beach some more! It was lovely to spend a couple of weeks in Kerala with my Mum before we headed to Tamil Nadu and the Russ Foundation in Madurai.

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