Blogs from Varkala, Kerala, India, Asia - page 2

The most frequent bit of advice I got when people heard I was going to India was to only eat vegetarian food, I was not overly keen on the idea but thought it was better than being ill, especially when traveling on buses and trains with dodgy facilities!!!! So for the most part I did just that and ate only vegetarian food. I gave in on a couple of occasions where I felt the fish/chicken was safe. It is really easy to remain veggy in India as a huge proportion of the population is vegetarian for religious reasons and so the variety to choose from is massive. Luckily we were travelling with a few seasoned India travellers so advice and explanations were readily available. Whether it was a simple Thali lunch, a mixture of several small ... read more

Eight and a half weeks down. One to go. With Adina and Lisa having wrapped up their school responsibilities, we headed south from Coimbatore. Our destination - Varkala, a touristy beach resort destination in the state of Kerala. For the next seven days, this is where we set up shop. At this point in the trip for me, motivation dwindles to see and do everything possible. It's not that a 9 week trip is so long at all (not much compared to the 7 month trip in South America), its rather that when you've been traveling for a good while and you have known all along that the end is April 25th, well when that time nears, you're mentally ready to head home. At least for me that's how its been on my long trips and ... read more

Our start in Varkala was.... well, tired. Having been up since 4 am with a bit of sleep in the sleeper train from Coimbatore, we were desperate for a nice shower and a cool beer. The night before we had made a reservation at a guesthouse. But as we showed up, the owner told us that she had not received a reservation. Anyway, a room was free for 3 nights - so no problem. And what a room it was: it was the cleanest room that exists in India (at least that is what we think!) with a wonderful private balcony and a fridge! Perfect to buy and store some fruit and relax. Well, if (after this blog) you still want to go to Varkala then you must stay at the Mango Villa. The owner is ... read more

Back home again. But this time not alone. I am sharing my home with Thomas, who claimed it as his home a few years ago as well. We are in Varkala, Kerala. Enjoying the sun, the ocean and the delicious food. Although we have quite a different idea of what delicious means...so I drag him to my touristy restaurants with a great view of the ocean to eat my orgasmic cheese naan (gooey cheese ozzing out of the fluffy bread...mmmm) and when he's had enough he pulls me in the other direction to the small, dirty, smelly local joints in town for Keralan thali...rice, parotta, vegetables, dal and sometimes a fried banana for dessert. For a third of the price (80 cents). Its a nice balance. We drive to town on our rented scooter and feel ... read more

Namaste friends!6 months of work in Montreal and Vancouver has once again brought me to the other side of the world. The journey took me in the opposite direction than usual...I flew over the pacific instead of over Europe, landing first in Honk Kong to visit Jordan and Alice and meet their daughter. I had only seen them once since our last encounter in HK in 2006. So I was really happy to be back there again. I wasn't surprised by the overwhelming amount of people in HK. I remembered it being bustling and busy at all times. But I noticed this time that everywhere the enormous crowds walked, they had a sense of purpose. they were often going to and from the metro stations. Everyone must have had somewhere really important to go! Few people ... read more