Varkala, Jan 7, 2009

So I'm changing my plans. I was planning to stay many days in Varkala, but I figured that two days will be enough. Varkala is a very nice beach, but too touristic. Feels a bit like Pucket in Thailand. Many charter tourists from the UK, sophisticated resorts and relatively expensive restaurants (in Indian terms). All the resorts, hotels, restaurants are on the top of a cliff and the beach is down the cliff. Reminds a bit of Hertzliah Pituach. There are tons of guest houses, hotels, small resorts and restaurants. The tourists are very different than the other places I've been. More middle class, older and richer than the typical back-packer which I have been meeting so far. For me it is less interesting and I decided to move on to Madurai on the 9th by train. My train leaves in the middle of the night. I get to Madurai at about 11:00 AM. Madurai supposedly has a very beautiful temple. From there I'm moving to Pondicherry. Which is a very nice city on the east cost of India. Pondicherry was under French colonialism and supposedly has a French charm to it. From there I go to Chennay and I have already booked another flight from Chennay to Mumbai.
Varkala has very good seafood and fish, therefore I'm profiting to eat some fish and seafood.
The beach is not very good, as it is very wavy and with strong currents. Quite dangerous for swimming. In the beach there a few Indian guys with whistles controlling where people bath. Feels a bit like in Israel, but without the Megaphones. They only whistle. Not clear that they are life-guards. Today I changed to another guest house. It is cheaper and better located. In the previous one I felt that I was not getting to return to my money. So Varkala and in General Kerala is one of the richest states in India and in many respects sometime you feel it is too organized. I prefer the messy India. Tomorrow I'm going to the town, as the beach does not feel like India. I liked much better Goa and Gokarna compared to Verkala. Today I bought a few used books. The books in India are in General quite cheap, specially used. There is a book that all tourists are reading called Shantaram. This is a story which happens in Mumbai and talks a lot about the life in this huge city. So it is quite interesting for someone which is traveling in India. I also bought a book of Salman Rashid, his books are very recommended to all the ones I talk.
So now my travel is much more planned as I cannot just flow. The days are counted. I'm starting to feel homesick, so it seems I had enough.

Allepey, Kerala Jan 6th, 2009

Now I'm in Allepey for my boat trip in the backwaters. I've decided to take the trip down to Kollan which is an 8 hour trip. Some people say it is a bit boring, but it is convenient to me as I'm going down to Kerala and it is on the right direction.
Allepey is a small village close to the see. Not much to see here. It has two big canals and many of the boat trips to the backwaters start here. I'm in this Heritage Hotel (long name) which is nice and nicely located. Unfortunately they gave me a room which has lots of problems with the water. Everytime I need to use water, they need to turn a noise pump on. But the place has a very nice internal garden full of birds, and green.
Yesterday I passed the day in Fort Cochin. Cochin is nice but not much to see.Fortunately I'm becoming pretty good at meeting people and starting to talk to them. Today I basically spent most of the day with a Canadian woman (a Jewish one) and made my day more enjoyable, instead of touring by myself. Cochin has a very ancient (1600) Jewish community. One of the highlights of the city is the Jewish city, which is basically a small neighborhood with a very ancient synagogue and Jewish cemetery. So I met my Canadian friend in the Jewish cemetery :-). It was closed but we were the only ones there. It is quite interesting. So I figured she would be Jewish and started a conversation. She is a Yoga practicer for many years, a chef and lives in an Ashram in Vancouver Island in Canada.

So Cochin has not much to do in the evening. Food here is very good, but quite expensive in India terms (not in western). Actually Kerala is a communist state inside India. It is richer than most states, more educated and more quiet. You really feel the difference. Streets are clean, well signed and cars don't use their horn at all. Feels quite different than the standard Indian City. Lots of arts, spices, antiques, etc.

Gokarna, OM Beach, Jan 2 2009

Tomorrow is my last day in OM beach, I'm traveling to Kerala starting in Cochin. The last few days have been very relaxed. Waiting for new years. Thinking where the big party would be, etc. Many people talked about going to Kuttle beach which is a 20 minute walk. But in the night and not being completely sober would be tough. So ultimately I stayed in OM. Had a great dinner with my Serbian friend Ivana and some other people. Wow amazing King fish. I have figured that eating with my hands makes food more delicious than ever (on a side note, I used to criticize my daughter Daniela for doing this at home). It seems that using your hands increases your senses and things are even more tasty. Very early in the evening everybody was either drunk or stoned in this beach. So everybody is happy and smiling, etc. Around 10:00 PM a few fires where lit on the beach and people started singing, playing all kinds of instruments. Therefore the atmosphere was great. Watching the fire is amazing, you don't get bored any second. At some point I decided to go to sleep and it was already 5:00 AM. Later I heard that the party in Kutle beach was a flop, was police was all over and stopped the party at 11:00 PM.
So the days pass by with this wonderful lazyness of not doing much. I'm doing some kind of fitness exercice every morning: Yoga, Jogging, Walking and then swimming in this fantastic little beach. It is so refreshing. Spend a long time in the water and then on the sand (when the sun is not very hot). New Years is an Indian holiday and the beaches are full of local Indians.
The majority don't know how to swim and it feels that they haven't been much on beaches. They get crazy about playing in the water.
In many cases you see them watching the western women in their bikinis and quite astounded. I can imagine how different it looks to them from the local women which bathe on their clothes.
They are wonderful people. On the few occasions that you get to talk to them
They typically keep asking your name, country, etc. At some point it gets a bit tiring as they are so many. But when you do get to the next level of conversation you find wonderful, knowleadgeable and good people.

About drugs: It is just amazing the amount of people that you see consuming drugs around. From Charas to other more heavy stuff. I'm a passive smoker of cigarretes, joints ... You just sit aroudn and it is in the air. It starts with breakfast and goes on for the whole day. If not drugs, lots of drinking goes on. So people are happy, friendly, talkative, etc.
Also there is always a place where someone is playing some instrument.
On the 31st, I met quite a few people that wanted to have a great trip experience. So a few I know tried LSD. I'm too old for this stuff and too afraid to try it. But I'm learning a bit about it through the experience of others.
Today I wanted to jog on the beach, but I have a little wound on my leg and it hurts. So put some medicine on it and will wait for it to be better. Wounds here for some reason don't heal very fast, so I need to be careful.
It will be hard for me to leave as with time (I'm more than 10 days here) you get to know many people around, in the guest house, in the beach and you feel like home.
But so far every new beginning has been better than the previous. Therefore I'm sure Cochin will be great too.

Gokarna, OM Beach, Dec 29 2008

Everything is great. I'm staying in Gokarna, OM beach at least until the 3rd of January.
I have a booked train ticket to Cochin in Kerala (14 hours). Many people say that Cochin
is not that great, but I want to see Kerala and go in the back-waters.

OM beach is full of Israelis, as many people came from GOA to make sure their parents are not too worried. My guest house has a load of them. But also other Europeans. I'm not sticking in particular with the Israelis, too young for me.

Yesterday I met an Indian woman which is breaking all my stereotypes of Indians. She comes from Bangalore, she is divorced, owns a business, has her own car, etc, etc.
Therefore I'm getting to know how modern Indians live and not only the low classes which are extremely conservative. This is an amazing experience, as so far the Indian Woman I met here are too distant and don't get to close to westerners. From what I'm learning more and more you have modern Indians in the big cities, but also how hard it is to be divorced in such a conservative society. Her name is Sarita. She came here with her car. So yesterday we travelled to another nearby beach Karwar, north towards Goa. The beach was a bit of a disappointment.
OM is much better. Today I went again to Half Moon and Paradise beach. Wow so beautiful. Little bay with a few guest houses, shacks. You have to walk over the rocks to get there.
The huts don't have electricity, the restaurant has solar panels. And somehow there is an internet cafe. In the past, it was difficult for me to see me staying in such a place, but now I got the point and it can be really amazing. I'm not moving there, but who knows.
There is an Israeli guy, leaving in Half-Moon for 8 years with a scandinavian girl. They are building an Iglo with sand-bags to live. Wow such interesting people.
There is a German guy in my guest house, in his late 40s always playing the guitar. I talk to him and he had liver for quite a few years in Porto-Alegre. His wife is from there (which he is divorcing) and we spoke portuguese. Such a small world.
The food here in the different shacks is just delicious. I'm eating more and more with my hands and slowly and enjoying every bite.
Evening here starts with sunset around 6:00 PM and everybody seats on the beach, on the rocks. Many smoke joints (if not all) and beers start flowing. Around 7:00 places fill with people for dinner. Later in the evening the fires on the beach start, with people playing music and having a good time. It is an amazing lazy routine and real heaven.
The restaurant shacks are always full with people eating, drinking, smoking, playing cards, reading books, etc,
I'm happy

Gokarna, OM beach, December 25th 2008

The last few days have been focused on what to do for Christmas. Two days ago, me and my french friend Bruno went to visit the German girls I had met in Hampi. We went there, had dinner with them and there was a live music show in the restaurant. It was great a jam of all kinds of musicians playing guitar, flute, table, and a woman singing in Spanish. I also met in the place a Brazilian guy from S. Paulo which is a capoeira teacher here in Gokarna (he has been traveling in many places in Asia teaching capoeira). This guy is also an amazing repercussion player. So my friend Bruno which is a drummer (and a very good one) joined the group and was very happy. So we decide that we will come again to Kuttle beach for Christmas.While listening to the music I drink and have a Bang Lassie (Lassie with Marijuana) which was a disaster. Its effect on me what not very good and I had a hard time going back to my guest house in OM beach during the night. But the end was OK, I made it and recovered.
So on Christmas day we go again to Kuttle beach. This time I took a room in the guest house my German friends Vera and Lisa where staying. So we had a very good dinner with our friends. They are the kind which don't sleep too late. Therefore I stayed with Bruno until late in the beach where people light a fire and musicians play their different instruments. It was great.
Bruno is a very interesting guy. I met him on the bus coming to Gokarna. He had a huge suitcase where he brings his electronic drums. He plays professionally with an old guy which plays the saxophone. His story is weird. He married an Indian woman, lived with her for two years and is currently divorcing her. Very difficult situation in India. The he has been studying tabla with a local Indian guru. He plays great all repercussion instruments.
The German girls are very nice, but they are moving tomorrow and we are in different beaches.
I'm meeting such amazing people. Today I met a girl 19 years old from Munich. We spoke for at least two hours and I'm so amazed how this kid is so mature in her political opinions. At 17 years old she left home. Her parents are both doctors. Lately she was 6 months in south America, now a few months in India and then she is going to New Zeland. So she speaks very well Spanish and we are speaking Spanish as she wants to practice. We talked about politics, solving the worlds problems, etc, etc. I did not feel in any moment that I'm talking to a 19 year old.
Today the Giraffe Israeli band was in my guest house. They have a show in Goa on the 28th, but there are rumors that the show is canceled due to the terrorism concerns. They came specially from Israel to do this show. They where in my guest house to promote the show and make clear to people that it is not canceled. It was nice to see those guys personally and I also talked to them. My friend Bruno asked to join them during the show in Goa.
So now I ordered a train ticket to Cochin in Kerala. I'm planning to move on January 3rd. I'm staying here for a while. I'm having a great time, there is no reason to move.

OM Beach, Golkarna, December 23 2008

I'm having a great time in OM beach. I'm now in a better guest house. The food is also good and many people come to eat. It is called Sangang. If you are local to the guest shop. You don't need money. They write down what you take and you can pay all together.
OM is the 2nd beach after the Gokarna village and Kuttle beach. From the village
you walk over the a rocky hill (15-20 minutes) and you get to Kuttle beach. This is a wider beach with more guest houses and more bars/restaurants. From Kuttle you walk another 15-20 minutes over a rocky hill and you get to OM. You can keep going and get to paradise beach. I haven't been there yet. OM is a small bay with about 10 guest houses. In each there is a restaurant. Most guest houses have a few rooms and a few huts. Most rooms don't have a shower/toiled inside. They are shared. Some do. Nirvana Guest house seems to be the best in OM with beautiful rooms with hammocks, great garden, etc.
I'm happy in the Sangan where I'm staying. Shared bathroom (western style) and shared shower (cold only) but at least you don't need to use a bucket.
For the last two days I've been walking at 7:00 AM to the village. The village has a few temples and is quite sacred to the Hindu. The walk is about 35-40 minutes.
I'm meeting tons of people. I'm putting my shyness aside and talking to everybody. I'm surprised on how good I can smalltalk with whoever. I'm also using all the languages I know.
I'm meeting many people, of special notice is Ivana. She is 52 and bit older than the crowds, like me. She has been coming to OM for the last 15 years. An interesting woman Serbian/Croatian which has been married with a dutch guy and to a greek guy 15 younger than her. She lived for 12 years in Greece. She speaks many languages. She and a group of people are staying in the neighbor guest house Nirvana. She is kind of the Mon of the group which has two Norwegian girls, an Israeli, a Canadian, two Indians, a few British, etc.
I became good friends with her and now she is kind of getting me in the group.
She likes to drink a bit (and smoke good stuff) so the mood is always fun.
So I've been hanging around with them sometimes.
Yesterday after 20 years I played soccer on the beach. This 26 year old Norwegian girl comes with this ball which I though was a volleyball, but not, it was a soccer ball. Inga this girl is like a bull. Very strong and incredible good in playing soccer. So we played. Two by two. Me and the Italian against her and another Turkish guy. I feel great that I'm not falling behind in my shape from people 20 years younger than me. Surprisingly I still can play OK soccer.
So we stay in the beach until sunset. The water is calm, few waves. I'm doing body surfing which I used to do when I was young. I feel in great shape. I think I lost some more weight. I don't even have a mirror in the room, so I don't know how I look.
Today I went to a Yoga class in the neighbor beach. OK but not amazing. There are other yoga places around.
Tomorrow is Christmas and I think the Nirvana group will organize something.
I'm sitting in the evening with all kinds of people. And everybody smokes joints here.
You really don't belong if you don't. Another set of guys tried to teach me to smoke.
I'm trying but I don't feel anything. Anyway I can fake :-).
Alcohol is much more expensive than in Goa, but readily available. Beers are all around and more. So towards evening everybody is happy.
There are lots of cows in the beach and also many dogs, puppies. There are gangs of one female and many male dogs and they kind of protect their territory. Sometimes they bite the female.
The cows are very friendly, but many people had their books eaten by the cows. So you can easily be cow hassled, or they can eat your stuff or book.
I love the dogs. They are dirty and ugly but friendly. In the morning I pet them and they come with me wherever I go.
Paradise !!!!!!!!!!

Gokarna, Dec 21 2008

The trip from Mysore to Gokarna was quite and adventure. I had booked a seat on the train and was in the waiting list. So I was not sure I could get a seat. My train was at 11:45 PM. At 9:30 PM I check and see that I'm still in the waiting list and the chart has been closed. I did not know that this means I have got my money back and that there is no point in going to the train station.
So at about 11:00 PM I go to the train station, check-out from my room (paid for the full day).
So I did not get in the train and had to go back to the hotel. The hotel guys were kind enough to let me go back to my room as long as I leave before 6:30 AM. At 4:00 AM I wake up, free the room and go to the bus station for a bus which was supposed to leave at 5:15. The bus I took, is what is called the government busses. They are very cheap and that is where most Indians travel. The journey to Mangalore was supposed to be 8 hours. The bus is like a normal city bus. No special seats for this long journey. Also the roads are terrible and bumpy most of the time. The bus goes through many different villages and people go up and down. It was very tiring, but I cannot say I suffered. I put my back-pack on the seat and slept on it. After this 8 hours I get to Mangalore, and luckily the bus to Gokarna was leaving in a few minutes. Another 7 hour journey of the same kind. In the bus I met Bruno a very cute french guy which is a drummer and is learning to play the table in India. After a long and tiring trip I get at night 8:30 PM to Gokarna. I was planning to stay the night in the village and wait for the morning to check a beach place. But Bruno convince me to go with the Rickshaw directly to the beaches. He is travelling with a big suitcase where he has his electronic drums. We were so fortunate to find two Huts availabe in OM beach. As everything is full. This is the most hectic time of the year.
This is probably the simplest place I've slept so far. A straw hut, right at the beach with sand floor, shared shower (bucket shower, no running water) and shared Indian style bathroom.
But inside the hut is very nice. A clean and confortable bed with a big moskito net.
The place serves very good food, and you just seat on the guest house for a long time enjoying.
The beach is breath-taking. Amazing small bay, with very few people, and very calm water.
The water is not clear like most of Indian beaches. There are cliffs that you can go up and see magnificent views. People tell me that there are dolphins very nearby. So this is really a paradise. It is full with back-packers from all places and has quite a few restaurant shacks where you can drink beers, etc. People tell me that they have here Bangee-Lassi (for the ones that know what it is) and I'll try. To my understand this is a narcotic lassi (yougurt drink) and should make you feel really happy.
So I'm dazzled with this place. I already went for an early morning walk (6:30 is still dark) and it has lots of cows and dogs on the beaches.
I'm planning to stay here for quite a few days, hopefully including new-year. Now I'm shopping for a bit more confortable guest house. I'm paying $3 a day.
My friend Tania, for which I decided to come is here somewhere, but I haven't met her yet.
We were communicating through SMS, but reception here is not always available. In any case I'm already thanking her for having come to such a wonderful place.