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Published: January 4th 2006
Sigurn and I
My friend from Norway and I at dinner one night here in Shinshiva. Dining outdoors under a thatch roof.I am in Kerala, the southern most state in India, a tropical paradise covered in palm trees and fringed with beautiful beaches. It's amazing here. Warm (30 C. every day), fresh fruits and vegetables to eat, gorgeous people, always friendly and smiling. I love Kerala! (I knew I would.) This state is the spice capital of India, and they also grow tea here and do a lot of fishing.
I am staying at an ayurvedic resort called Shinsiva. There are a lot of ayurvedic resorts aorund here, Kerala is famous for this ancient, holistic form of Indian health care. I get oil massages and other specialzed treatments every day and a special diet of healthful, fresh and flavourful foods -- full of fresh herbs and spices. This is my idea of heaven. Nothing to do but relax, swim, lie in the hammock or on the beach, do yoga, and talk to the other people here, who come from all over the world (but mostly Europe).
I was going to stay one week, but after consultation with the auyrvedic doctor, I decided to stay for two-week treatment. Some people are here for the full panchakarma, which is 51 days! That would cure just about anything.
I will write more later and also upload more pictures. Though most of them will be dominated by palm trees! The resort is on a cliff overlooking the ocean (the Arabian Sea), and below is a traditional fishing village. Each night we see the boats go out, as they have done for hundreds of years. There is a Hindu temple up the hill from here and today is the start of a big festival. There will be lots of noise, music and apparently dozens of elephants dressed up in gold and silk.
Each day I have a routine of walking about 20 minutes through a small town to the beach. I pass fruit and spice sellers, and stores selling cotton and jewellry to tourists. SOme houses are small and look quite poor but some are lovely. Kerlalan design and architecture is very graceful. Reminds me a bit of Thailand. The people here are completely different from north Indians. Different language, different heritage. Much smaller and darker skinned. There is also more diversity of religion -- many Christians and Moslems as well as Hindus. On the beach there is a small Christian shrine with a statue of Jesus. The Christian fishermen pray there before they go out int heir boats.
The waves can be quite fierce and several tourists have drowned here recently. They were washed out to sea by a rip tide. You have to be very careful. But the beach near here is excellent, few people, very clean. For 100 rupees I get a chair, towel, umbrella and several guards who watch the area. Women come by selling fresh fruit. It's wonderful. I am going there now. But I can't load any pictures on this computer so you will have to use your imagination and I will load them later on a faster computer. Maybe I can find a cyber cafe in the nearby town of Kovalam.
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Vic
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Oh my gosh it sounds amazing
Wow you look so HAPPY! It does sound like paradise there. Watching a foot of snow fall while I write this. I just love the fact that I can think about your trip while I am shovelling snow - honestly, I am not being sarcastic. Looking forward to more pictures. Love your sis.