Cochin-Guruvayoor

Hindu Temple, Guruvayoor
Elephant sun shade, Guruvayoor
The beach, guess where

I had 3 days to get to Calicut, or Kozhicode as it is known now, 200 Kms north of Cochin, or Kochi.....as it is known now. Got an `express coach` driven by the usual rally driver who weaved in and out of traffic at lightning, frightning, excitning speed, often being overtaken whilst overtaking with at least 3 vehicles doing the same in the opposite direction. Luckily they all sound their their excessively loud horns so everything will work out fine. The drivers also have much insurance having a flashing shrine to Shiva, Ganesha etc, with a rosary and cross hung around it and various Muslim writings for good luck. Long live religious tolerance I say. Is there not a religious equivalent to Esparanto? (on second thoughts it is almost a religion to those who speak it.) After 3 hours of sharing personal space and sweat with a series of co-bussers, I made the mistake of taking the leg-room option of the back seat which means getting catapulted towards the roof at each pot hole, we scream into a town called Guruvayoor. My Friend Saj has bought some land there to develop as another home-stay, and highly recommended that I visit. My first impression is a party town, there is bunting everywhere and thousands, no hundreds of people dressed in off white lunghis trimmed with gold, hundreds of stalls selling ....everything, definately something going on here. Turns out this is one of the majorm pilgrimage towns with a huge temple devoted to Ganesh (I think), and not a tourist in site. Luckily I find a room and go gawking. Now I`ve been here in India a while and been to some less frequented spots but this is special, a town full of Brahmin devotees out for their annual bash, various coloured splotches on their foreheads, and I have just gate-crashed the party. Being the Brahmin cast they are preists, intelectuals, teachers etc and they had a noble aire to them, friendly but aloof. I had heard about the Elephant sanctuary from Saj so I took a tuc-tuc to have a look. They are all temple elephants and 5 of the 80 or so walk the 5Kms to town to paricipate in then daily rituals, at the end of the 10 day festival they have an elephant race, not to be underestimated, they have killed 3 trainers in the last 9 months!
We go from there to the local beach. A dozen fishing boats, fishermen`s palm shacks, and a hand ful of locals frolicking in saris, lunghis in the sea. Oh I forgot 1 vendor selling drinks. In either direction beach and palm trees to the horizon, I see what Saj sees in the place but there is NO infrastructure yet. However with tourism rising by over 20% a year, an econmy bursting at over 9% for the last 4 years, I feel it wont be long before Guruvayoor is on the map (it`s not even in the guidebooks yet!)
Back to town for a Brahmin meal at my Brahmin hotel and off to the concert area, Folk dancing
Carnatic music, Katakali dance, I am riveted to the spot till a lovely man gripped my arm like a vice and lead me to the front saying `you will see much better here` in perfect English. Wot a day.
inoubliable.

Kerala State Agri show.

On my way back from the dentist I had to go to the High Court Jetty to check out busses to Calicut on Sunday, there aren`t any. Next door however was the Kerala state Agricultural show, a lively mix of best flower arrangement, as in a village fete, hi tech companies selling their wares and individual producers selling theirs. No democratic wandering around, there were alleys cordonned off to usher us all in a long queue and tough shit if you wanted to bypass a section. On reflection this is what we do to animals so hardly supprising. There were at least 50 varieties of coconut, the same of bananas, strange masses of twisted tubers weighing upwards of 50 Kg, fascinating. Then came spices, veg, fruit in awesome profusion, a whole area dedicated to orchids, Rosie`s favourite, Remember Barbados? To cut a long story short I made contact with 2 organic producers, 1 of whom I was going to meet later anyway, saves me a trip, and left with a bunch of interesting seeds. Anybody interested in raising tropical seeds let me know. (see rosies blog about chillis)

Now this is international trade

While writing this , hopefully 2 nice fotos of darling Rosie`s new glasses are uploading themselves so that she can choose. For her information, they are both green side bits, one brighter than the other. Incredible, they, that is 2 fotos took a total of 4 minutes to upload, unheard of, I might add some more. Either one will cost 7400rupees or134 euros with light sensitive lenses and an anti reflecting treatment (garanteed not to peel off!) and thin lenses not tom be mistaken for coke bottle bottoms.Rosie, let me know ASAP, they take a week to order,I prefer the top ones. This is the ultimate cyber cafe so far, brand new with sort of Japaneese decore, all black and white, brand new computers (with all the letters still ledgible, air conditioning so cold that I just asked to turn it down before `I catch me death` and it is just next door to the ferry jetty where I get my boat to the dentist. Talking of which, I am well on the way to a new chewing experience, 3 root canals, more on Fri+Sat. That means I can go to Calicut on Sunday( 200Kms north) and meet Kris, a lovely man G/Rosie met on Youtube. he is now an eco tourism consultant having been a high flying accountant in Oxford in another life, more to come on that soon. .

Wisdom is relative.

Monday is D-day here in Cochin, for me any way. The main excuse to come to India has always
been to visit a dentist who is professional, serious, thorough and who`s first interest is not his bank account and new 4x4 BMW. This person is perhaps to be found in Brittany but as yet I have not had that luck. Treatment seems to be based on getting you out of there with the max bill for min treatment, I have not once had a dentist in France propose a deep cleaning every year, a long term plan or take the time to explain risks, options etc. My last bridge of 2 teeth lasted a total of 3 years for an investment of several thousand euros......end of rant.
I arrived at the Quality Dental Clinic and despite trepidation at the state of the road under repair, as soon as I entered the Air-conditioned reception I felt at ease. the receptionist in beautiful sari, put on the big screen TV and gave me the tele-command (sorry remote control). Dr. Prasanth arrived 5 mins later, a dapper moustached gent, mid-thirties, with bedside manner oozing from every pore. He proceeded with a thorough examination and we got down to treatment options. What he discovered was that I had an `impacted` wisdom tooth lying horizontally against my last molar, the one supporting the future bridge. It needs to come out before any other work is done. Now I had a Quote and x-ray in Plaintel for 2500 euros for 3 units and the subject of the wisdom tooth was never even mentioned WHY WAS THIS?
So I have no more wisdom tooth after a surgeon came the same afternoon and had a jaw-wrestling match that he won, I will have 3 root canals, a bridge of 4 units (teeth), A special crown to replace the tooth that anchors my plate (TMI too much information?), in all 3 weeks of treatment for.................750 euros. He called me this morning on my mobile to see how I felt!!!
cant imagine Plaintel doing that.

Kerala at last

I finally dragged myself from my litte slice of paradise, after visiting Palolem beach I wonder how much time is left before Agonda joins its sister beach and becomes the hut-sprawl, vendor saturated spot that it is. Agonda is still a community, village with locals out-numbering visitors, mostly called Fernandez it seems.
16 hours of train journey which I shared with a Goan basketball team, all considerably shorter than me, and I arrived in Ernakulam, part of the greater Cochin agglomeration. A transport strike ensured a sweaty wait then sweaty walk in search of a tuc-tuc, found after 1/2 hour and shared with a couple of Israeli tourists braving the world outside their 5* air-conditioned hotel.
I took a walk to the chineese nets, first installed in the 16th century and a big tourist draw, cameras at the ready, snap, move on. As I sat gawking as usual the fishermen on the nearest machine invited me to come and try my hand, just pull on a rope really. I stayed for an hour chatting about our respective lives families, names....incomes. they dont make more than a euro a day and depend on volonteer helpers for a small donation, which they got and richly deserved.
Sorry, no fotos this time as no compatible driver.

Valentines day in paradise (alone)

beach huts at Agonda Beach, Goa
The beach, Quoi

The 2 Kids in Udaipur that I mentioned before

Now I`m the romantic type really so to be here in Goa, Agonda beach in the very south, to be precise is a mixed blessing. A beach 4 Km long almost deserted, coconut palms dangling their nuts (over the beach), bamboo beach huts waiting for a tsunami, 26/28 degrees in the day, beach restos serving up tasty food of all types, all this and you can easily live well for 300 rupees a day (6 euros). So what`s wrong you say? Basically it`s much better if you come with your true love by your side I say. A beach hut is great, don`t get me wrong, but for 2.....a candle-lit tandoori and a Kingfisher beer is great, but for 2..., and to top it off it`s Valentines and lots of entertainement tonight.....for couples. I do however love it here after the dusty desert of Ragasthan, I could easily imagine...........?

2 in one day, never heard the like

Yes I`m back, I just cant resist cos I dont know when I`ll have this facility again. So here at last is an AMLA (or AONLA as it`s known locally, or Indian gooseberry) about the size of a tangerine (clementine) and the next health craze to hit the world, I hope. Next, 2 enterprising beggar kids who had the entrepreneurial initiative to dress up and ask a premium for the tourists in Udaipur `10 rupees photo` 10 times as much as the other kids, and they got it!

Mumbai the way

After a long night train ride from Rajasthan to Mumbai, sharing 4 bunks with a family of 4 with 2 snivveling kids, all of whom had colds, coughed all the time (without covering their mouths, listening kids?) and basically not leaving much room for4 me, I was ready to arrive in Mumbai. The usual `bidonville` on the outskirts but on an unimaginable scale. Took a taxi to the station which I leave from which is in the banking district, got my first european meal in a long time in the Malongo Cafe, full of idni-yuppies. Veg lasagne, mango juice and oh god, a chocolate torte, YES. All this and a spotless loo where I had a quick scrub and changed my socks. I think every body ought live in the sort of conditions that I have lately just to experience the benefits afterwards (those of us in the world who can). All this and I found a cybercafe with...a keyboard that has all the letters on, a connection in at least in second gear, and to top it off air conditioning, yes at last, it`s hot, well about 22 C. Pictures at last- local sound system in Bundi, a marching brass band followed by these `sound wagons` 2 truck batteries and a mic for the singer, give you ideas Ronan? a couple of my larcenous monkeys at the RN haveli, Bundi

Monkey stole my breakfast

There I was eating my breakfast, a lovely papaya, good for the digestion, purched yesterday especially and poof it ws not there any more. all I saw was a monkey flying straight up the garden wall with it in her hand. Kamala my sweet host had warned me but nothing quite prepares you for the stealth, she must have slowly approached and hidden for the right moment, and the speed, amazing. I reflect on the human race and how, and from where we evolved....this explaines a lot.
Off to Goa, the south, no all-night drug induced raves for me (now). going to try again to upload photos now there seems to be favourable conditions.

No editor`s toolbar

There is definatety no editor`s toolbar, any ideas

At last, a connection, no power cut (for the moment)

I felt well sad leaving Jaipur and my good friends recently made. Also, had time on the train to start feeling home sick (strange expression that, you`d think it meant the opposite, there must be a technical term for that..... Rosie ?) Arriving at Udaipur you are confronted with the ubiquitous filth, squallour, and abject poverty that you see everywhere. Combined with the COLD nights and bedrooms without heating, I decided to get the hell out of Dodge, go straigt to Goa. Not so easy,mate, bookings for sleepers need to be made at least 2 weeks before. So instead I explore and finally very pleased I stayed. Buildings painted sky-blue, narrow twisting alleys, full of art shops selling miniature paintings on sink of the Mughal era, truly amazing when you look under a magnifying glass, and lovely happy smiling people. Changed hotels for a cheaper one, on the 3rd floor overlooking the Maharaja`s palace and the lake palace where`Octopussy` was filmed., much better. I have to wonder about guides like lonley planet. Next on the plan, a cookery course. Along with A Danish boy, 2 Norweian girls and 3 ladies from Geogia, we made a real student masala. We learned to make Masala Tchai, a Paneer ( sort of unfermented cheese) Biriani vegetable Rice, Veg cutlets with Korma sauce and Kashmiri tea. All was going great till my lunch declared that it had not been made in a european kitchen and proceeded a sleepless night and much sweating and shivvering. Leave you in suspense now, see if you can guess the outcome? (I must be slowing down or train lagged but there is no toolbar here to upload photos, always something, aaaagh.)

Jaipur, the Explorer`s Nest

The mullahs are wailing away as I write, it`s 7.45 pm and it reminds me of stories my dear W tells about her childhood, everybody singing a different tune depending on personal taste. There are 4 mosques within half a Km and they all crank up the volume at 2 or 3 minuites intervals calling there respective faithful. It would not be so bad if there was a common tuning or coordination of some sort. Arrived by train in Jaipur Sat. am and was met by the charming ex- Lt-Colonel Arvind Grover who took me off to the `Explorer`s Nest`, the B and B he runs with his wife Somana, Professer of botany at Jaipur Uni. Lovely little room on the roof, which one big terrace looking over the old town. There I met Ron, a fellow traveller from Lincolnshire and a bit older than me> You doing a bit of traveling around I asked by way of opening, `yes, I`m here to buy 3 camels and treck across the Rajasthan desert for 6 months` My explorer`s hat was firmly knocked sideways. since then we have reminisced for hours at table, the `60`s, mods and rockers, england etc, great fun.
I spent today at an organic Amla farm. `What is that` you all chorus. Amla is a 6 sectioned fruit the size of a big golf ball also known as the Indian Gooseberry. Gram for gram it has a vit C content 150 times that of an apple, 30 times that of an orange. It has been eaten here for thousands of years and has truly remarkable health qualities. I am truly impressed and left with a bag of fruit, dried with salt and sugar, Bio tea, Amla powder. You will be hearing more of this stuff. Off to Udaipur tomorrow to boldly go..........
Off to get dressed for bed, it was 2 degrees last night, no heating and almost no windows!

Delhi Delites

Well I`ll try again. This morning I wrote a cracker of a blog and after 50 minutes there was a short but decisive current cut and oops, no blog. Luckily the camera was not plugged in but still....

I woke up at noon well groggy and time to check out the shower, bliss hot water and lots of it.

Time now to chech out the world outside, I`d already seen enough to prepare me a bit but now for the real thing. I have to admit that I was actually shaking, me the well seasoned traveller and all. Outside is actually straight from a science fiction book, except that it is not, it`s real and here and now. I went for an explore on foot and saw the most sqallid horror, the most beautiful and the most friendly people. The poor unfortunates sleep, covered by aqn old tatty shawl, just any where in the street, 4x4`s passing inches away. Nobody would notice or care if they died. At the station there was a corpse on a stretcher with a woman squatting next to it waiting for a train?

Don`t get me wrong there is truly wonderful stuff here but you soon get your sense of priorities sorted out.

Basically, to keep things short, I have been to the.........main station-all documents copied out in stacks of ledgers, straight from the Raj...... many stupifyingly dense and sensational markets

.....the `Organic Expo where were 3 organic exhibiters` but have been invited back 11+12 March at the expense of the Indian Gouvernment!!!......eaten superbe, mostly South Indian food, mmmmm.....and generally immersed myself totally. /before I sign off, just to say that it is not what you`ve got that makes you great, it`s how you see the world... These people are humble, poor but smiling, generous and really interested in you ( apart from 1 or 2 touts) bye for now