Tag: misc

Some little updates and new photos

These were added in place in the original posts as italicized updates, but I’m putting them here for those of you reading regularly:

Kanyakumari: I forgot to mention that at the memorial there is a darkened meditation room with a glowing Om symbol and a recorded Om sound that plays every 30 seconds or soo. Very relaxing.

Alleppey: I forgot to mention that on the train was also a 22 year old Finnish girl who had just married a local Indian boy in Varkala!

brief Alleppey and Fort Cochin posts: I added one photo to each of these posts (one has an elderly woman and grandchild, the other has the trio from Hong Kong), so scroll down or click on “Older posts”!

Flying to Bangalore tonight

On Kingfisher airlines – yes, the same company that owns the popular Indian beer Kingfisher (they are quite the conglomerate; they also have branded bottled drinking water). And I did see actual kingfishers on power lines in the backwaters…

The flight is 1hr20min flight, vs a wait-listed overnight train ride.

Does anybody work with outsourced IT in Bangalore, such that I might meet with a local IT guy for a coffee or drink?

I’ll probably go to Mysore in the later morning, then return to Bangalore for a few hours on Tue before boarding my (already reserved) night train to Hampi on Tue night.

PS Today I posted 2 videos from Varkala at http://jantrabandt.blip.tv/

Still in Varkala

It’s so relaxing, I’m spending 2 extra nights here in my semi-luxurious hotel room (Rs800/$20 per night) – sheets without stains or holes! top sheet! real towels!

Yesterday I took a hands-on cooking class (Rs500/$12.50 for 1-2 people) with my new Scottish bud Brennen

Brennen and Jan at cooking class

(the pic shows 4 of the 5 dishes we prepared and then ate; the chicken kurma was particularly good!).

Tomorrow morning I will take my first yoga class ever.

I’ve also been doing a lot of body surfing these past few days… though yesterday it felt like I had bruised a rib (on my right side) from 2 poundings the waves gave me the day before that… though I am a little sunburnt after today.
And eating fresh seafood every night – I counted 16 restos that had fresh fish on display for dinner along the 1.2km cliff-top walkway (there are in fact more restos than that).

Oh, and today a British couple got married on the beach, arriving on separate elephants, led by a small band (and leaving together on one elephant after the brief ceremony)

Beach wedding with elephants

Yesterday was cloudy all day; today was sunny, though it rained in the evening (and feels even more humid!).

On Sunday I will move on to Alleppey, a town that is the gateway to the Keralan backwaters (hundreds of kilometers of canals connecting little villages).

Arrived in Varkala last night (cliff-top beach town)

Internet is very slow here, but will try to post some updates over the next 2 days as I chill here for 3 nights.
I’m now in the state of Kerala, in the southwest corner o India.
It’s a beautiful setting, albeit very touristy (though apparently not as commercial as beaches in Goa).
Fresh fish is on display in the many restaurants every night.

There is a cliff-top walkway with no buildings on the ocean side (no railings either, for the most part!) and a long row of restaurants, shops and hotels on the inland side. My hotel is further back (a 2 min walk from the “action”). There is a nice breeze from the ocean, and I’ve gotten some nice body surfing rides down at the wide beach, which you reach via steps on the cliff. There are even lifeguards on the beach (the rips are strong).

Beach and cliff

The main stairs down to the beach from the cliff top are visible on the right

Leaving Madurai late tonight for Kanyakumari

At 2:10 in the morning, that is, on a night train that puts me in at 6:30 in the morning. I have a sleeper berth in AC3 class – that’s open compartments of 6 berths (3 per side) with A/C. Since I have a cheap hotel room (Rs160/$4 per 24 hours, I took it an extra “night” and so I can snooze tonight before going to the train station.
I did notice on my previous train, also in AC3 class, that there is no extra luggage room for my backpack – it will have to go on the berth with me!
Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), informally known as Cap Com, is at the southern tip of India, where the Gulf of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea all come together.
After one day and night there I start heading up the west coast to the state of Kerala; first stop will be Varkala, a cliff-top beach town (there is a beach below).

Today I tried to go to a bank to change a large bill (Rs1000/$25 is extremely hard to use, but that’s what the ATM mainly spits out), only to discover that it was in fact Sunday and the bank wasn’t open. Oops!

Did I mention I’m very much looking forward to seeing the ocean again after 5 landlocked days? Getting tired of temples and cities…

Here is a photo from the vegetable market in Madurai:

Vegetable market

Tips/thoughts/feelings: Accomodation

Having been in 4 hotels now…
Note this applies to budget and moderate hotels (all under $20/night), since I haven’t stayed in any fancier ones…

  • Often 24-hour checkout is possible, i.e. you can check out 24 hours after you check in, instead of by 11am like we are used to
  • A/C can be nice (duh!), but mostly because it gets rid of the mosquitoes. Hotels just don’t get that a screen-less slatted-glass window in the bathroom makes having a screen (usually with holes or a poor seam) on the window ineffective. (This isn’t a problem only in India)
  • You can reserve a room just by calling and giving your name. No credit card or deposit. Worked so far…
  • Book ahead (a few days) if possible, esp. around holidays or weekends in popular areas. For one town, I had to call 6 hotels; today, I called 5 and ended up with a more-expensive-than-I-wanted moderate A/C room for this Sat night.
  • You can pay one night at a time, which is handy if you aren’t entirely sure how long you will stay, or might want to bail after one night (I haven’t yet). Also handy if you don’t have all the cash on you when you first check in.
  • Expect thin, ratty sheets and small, thin, ratty towels. I’ve been using my silk dreamsack (like a thin sleeping bag liner) as a barrier and to keep the breeze from the ceiling fan from chilling me.
  • You have to ask for a towel. Yes, I do have a travel towel, but if I can get a reasonable towel I’ll use that first…
  • Bring (or buy) toilet paper. There won’t be any, and not always a wastebin in which to discard them (like in Mexico, they don’t go in the toilet or the pipes will clog).
  • Bring a good big padlock (or buy one here cheaply); sometimes the rooms don’t have regular keyholes in the door, rather they use a padlock to lock the door (by locking a metal bar to a loop behind the lock). One thing I like about the local-style locks is that you can’t lock it without using the key, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally locking your key inside the room. Note that your typical luggage lock isn’t big enough. It’s comforting to know you can keep the staff out, and it’s not like you’re getting daily maid service at these places :-)
  • Buy mosquito coils here and burn one in the room (or bathroom) while you are out for the day to clear out the mosquitoes.
  • I’ve only had hot water in 1 of 4 hotels. Supposedly you can sometimes get it by the bucket (sometimes at extra cost) but I haven’t figured that one out yet. Of course, the “cold” water tap isn’t anywhere near as cold as back home, in fact it’s actually refreshing!