Wanted: One Blue and White Raincoat

I know I said I'd blog from Kollam - I really was going to. Except we didn't go there!

Confused? Don't be!

Last time I wrote a proper blog post, we were in Madurai. Now Madurai is quite nice as far as big cities go. The temples there are positively decadent, the detail would drive an architect mad. We have some gorgeous photos of the temples - our hotel had a view overlooking it so we could see it at different times of the day in different light! Lydia should be burning a CD sometime soon I think. I make no promises.

It was really funny at the temple, they're free to go in - but at one part you have to pay a small donation to take photographs. There was no sign on the wall, nor information around informing us of this. So we just toddled on, exclaiming at how beautiful everything was - when one man approached us. Now it was blatantly obvious that we were deaf - I mean, we were signing to each other, neither of us were using our voices. How much more do you need? The old guy comes up to us and starts talking about something or other. Lydia and I gesture that we're deaf and that we can't hear. He starts getting angry and yelling at us and gesturing at us to come with him. Obviously if some strange guy is yelling at you for no reason then the last thing you're going to do is meekly follow him to wherever it is he was indicating. Things were starting to go from bad to disasterous - with a crowd forming around us when two younger guides arrived and explained to the man that we were deaf (something we'd been trying to tell him for five minutes), and then took us to the desk to pay for our camera. Mortifying!

Anyway, that was pretty much Madurai. We decided to get a late train onwards and downwards as we're not really keen on the big cities, so caught a 2am train to Kanyakumari, which is the arse end of India. Kanyakumari is very touristy - both Indian and Western - the selling point is that it is flanked by three different seas and in April you can see both the sunrise and the moon on the horizon at the same time. It's supposed to be absolutely stunning. But it isn't April.

We did catch sunrise in Kanyakumari (although we *almost* missed it, we are not morning people - especially after a couple of beers). Beautiful.

One night in Kanyakumari was enough for us - really not our cup of tea. So onwards it was to Varkala - which despite being off-season was FANTASTIC! A lot of places were closed for refurbishment but there were enough hotels, bars and restaurants open to warrant a two night stay.

We stayed somewhere called the Bamboo Village, in a tiny bamboo hut. Just round the corner was a place called the Funky Art Cafe - a huge restaurant-bar right on a clifftop. Hammocks and comfortable chairs all round, and the best prawn biryani EVAH. Two Kingfishers later we were soon in the right frame of mind, and befriended two local boys - Sabu and Richie. We're both quite suspicious of men in general - you have to be when travelling - so we were initially a bit apprehensive. But they were absolutely lovely. Sabu took us to a Government shop where we bought a huge bottle of rum, which we smuggled into the bar. We then drank rum and coke all night, and talked.

We found out that Joan (from the Poonjeri project - we met her in Mamallapuram) was in Varkala with her boyfriend, Rathna. Such a small world! So arranged to meet for dinner in the evening at the Dolphin Bay Restaurant. Spent the day checking out a local town, Attingal, with Sabu and Richie. Not recommended, nothing really interesting there - should have stayed in Varkala really, but they were really eager to show us around!

Dophin Bay Restaurant was great - if you're in the area - go there! They have sausages! And bacon (although they didn't have any when we were there).

Lydia and I did the most stupid thing when we left Varkala. What happened was Richie was quite taken with my bandana and my rather funky (if I say so myself) blue and white polka dotted raincoat. He decided to pinch them for the evening, which was fine with me - although I did retrieve my bandana at some point. Anyway, the next morning we went to say goodbye to Sabu and Richie with the intention of retrieving my raincoat. Somehow we forgot. Even though he was wearing it when we said goodbye to him. Even though he was wearing it when we shook his hand. Even though he was wearing it when we turned back and waved to him. We forgot it. Idiots! So I am not sans raincoat - and it is royally coming down!

We are now in Cochin, on the West Coast of India. Cochin is famous for it's traditional dances and the huge fishing nets (which take 5 to 6 men to operate!). It's very beautiful here - the architecture is quite Dutch/Portuguese. Everywhere in India is aesthetically so different - and this is all part of the fun!

The change in plan was because Joan was heading on to Allepey, which is where we were headed. They were going by car - and offered us a lift, which we gratefully accepted. There are only so many trains and buses you can take! We were going to hire a boat and sail the backwaters overnight, but no boats available and we couldn't wait around. So that's something for next year. So instead all of us headed on to Cochin, and are staying in the Fort Cochin area. Dinner last night with Joan and Rathna in their hotel (which they wouldn't let us pay for), which was fantastic. We then crashed and burned (we'd only had 3 hours sleep - shattered - but Varkala is that kind of place, a place where you stay up late drinking rum and coke!) and slept for 12 hours! Oops!

We're off to explore in a bit - spent most of today on the internet! Just under three more weeks till I'm back, and I need a job! If there are any media people reading this and you need a fantastic AP who makes great tea and mediocre coffee - get in touch!

Tomorrow we're off to Mysore, then on to Bangalore.

Sorry this is so boring... I also can't be bothered to spellcheck - so please, no emails JR!

Caroline xx