Travel Update - Diu to Coimbatore

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I had nearly given up on the blog, couldn't be bothered to write anymore, but since I have an hour to kill I might as well make use of it and update you on my recent movements.

So let's see if I can pick up where I left off. After Diu I went to Mumbai, where I hung out with a lot of couchsurfers, all of them very nice. They made me forget about my bad experiences in Rajhastan and restored my faith in the site. Mumbai is my favourite among the big India cities. I don't know if it's the presence of the sea or the fact that is more Westernised but unlike Delhi I could see myself spending some time there. It was very hot there and I fancied being on the beach again, so after three days there I joined my former travel companions in Goa.

Goa is OK but it's not the real India, it's practically all foreigners there. Three days was enough for me and with the same people (the three Finns) I went to Gokarna, in the neighbouring state of Karnataka. Gokarna is like a mini Goa but quieter. At first I enjoyed a lot but after my travel companions left and I was alone with the hippies I started to feel a bit uneasy. I hooked up with some Latin American people, which is nice, but I felt like the main purpose of the travellers here is to smoke cannabis and since I'm not really into it I don't fit it.

After Gokarna I went to Hampi, which has been the highlight of the trip so far. Not so much for the ruins of the temples (there are hundreds of them in the surrounding area) but for the landscape, which consists of really strange rock formations. It is hard to describe but it's something quite unique. I had never seen anything like it before and I'm unlikely to see it again. In Hampi I hired a bicycle one day, a motorcycle another day (I even rode it for about half a kilometre), I swam in a lake and did a few hours of volunteering for a children trust. I also met some really cool Spanish people who told me about an NGO in Anantapur, a mere five hours away from Hampi and I decided to pay a visit.

I went there and all in a sudden I was not in India anymore. I was given a great room with hot water and CLEAN SHEETS, and I had to capitalise that because that was the first time that I got to sleep in clean sheet since I left the family in Delhi. I also had three nice meals a day and was driven around in a private vehicle to the visit the various projects of the associations. My favourite moment was seeing the children with celebral palsy. I never knew they could be so sweet and inspiring. There was one girl in particular whose smile went straight to my heart. It made me consider working in a similar environment in the future. These four days spent at the NGO (including Christmas day) helped me recharge my battery and I was ready to face India once again.

I went to Bangalore even though I had no desire to visit the city just because the travel connection there was easier. It was horrible going back to the noise, the chaos, the pollution but fortunately I was hosted by a very cool couple, who entertained me by playing the Cranberries and Tracy Chapman on guitar. A nasty accident happened there - I was bitten by the landlady's dog. Since it appeared to have been vaccinated for rabies I didn't worry to much but the thought was always at the back of my mind and two days later I decided to undergo the anti-rabies injections even though I was at low risk.

From Bangalore I went to Ooty, a nice little village on the hills and a good place for trekking. For the first time there I stayed in a dorm and I met a nice American girl. We got on very well, too bad we were travelling in opposite direction. Still, I convinced her to stay an extra day and we spent New Year's Eve together (a German guy, a Swiss guy and an Australian guy were with us too). It was a pretty boring night as there were only two parties - one was way to expensive and we were refused entry to the other one. So Midnight caught us in the street, with no drink, no nothing. We wished Happy New Year to each other and went back to the hostel.

New Year's day, on the other day, was very special. I went off trekking with the Australian guy, we were meant to see some waterfalls, but our plan got pear-shaped. So we ventured through a tea plantation, got followed by some kids, and ended up being invited for tea by a lovely woman who hardly spoke any English but would never stop smiling. It as a very magic moment.

The following day a took a trekking tour and though I was a bit skeptical I ended up having a good time. Finally yesterday I took a miniature train to a place called Mettupalayan and the view was amazing. From there a bus to Coimbatore to spend the night and then today I'm finally off to Kerala, which is supposed to be the highlight of my holiday. Let's see if it lives up to its expectations.

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