Sickness and Tea Hills

It's been a strange week. When I left Varkala early Wednesday morning toward Thekkady, I was feeling tired and I had a headache. The second part of the journey, five hours in a rattg bus, was a torment and before arriving Kumily I was feeling nauseous as well. I was offered a room the second I stepped out of the bus and I went to have a look. Since the price was ok and the room was spacious and clean, I said yes. I decided to have a little nap to revive myself from the travel stupor. The nap didn't help much unfortunately and later in the evening I felt the first signs of fever.

By the time I went to sleep, I had shivers and high fever. Especially the shivers gave me alarm, since I knew that malaria shows itself with a high fever combined with severe chills and shivering. The next morning the fever was almost gone and I started studying the symptoms of malaria (damn you Dr Google), and I was able to put every symptom I had under the description of malaria. Too much time to think, confined in a room with internet and a mild sickness can turn any minor thing into a massive death-bringing illness.

The high fever didn't come back the next night or day, but a mild fever, headache and some stomach problems persisted. On the third day I was still feeling weak and I made a decision: I was going to a doctor. The malaria troll in my mind had grown too big. After I told the doctor about my symptoms, he said not to worry, but he agreed to take a blood test for malaria and dengue. After thirty minutes the results were ready and everything was just fine. No malaria or dengue and my blood values were better than average.

On my way back to my room, I felt strength returning to my body. It is amazing how big the part of mind is in illnesses. I'm not saying I got cured by the negative test result, but I definitely felt much better afterwards than I did before going to the doctor's. After the doctor's I noticed my nose had started running at some point. It might have been happening a bit longer already, but since it didn't fit the malaria diagnosis, I had ignored it...

The main reason to come to Thekkady/Kumily is the Periyar national park and wildlife sanctuary. I was looking forward to doing some trekking there, but my sickness prevented me from doing that. The last full day of my stay, after the visit to the doctor, I decided to at least do something. I booked a tour that included a tour through a tea plantation, a tea factory and a spice farm. I learned a lot about tea and spices. Especially the spice tour was interesting. The same afternoon I took a boat tour on the Periyar lake and saw some buffalos, elephants and a lot of birds. The boats (yes, there were four of them) were loud and crowded with people and not really what I had expected. I was happy to see the elephants though.

Yesterday morning I left Thekkady and I arrived in Munnar, a hill station about hundred kilometers north of Thekkady. It's probably most famous of its tea. The last twenty kilometers of the bus ride were absolutely spectacular. Beautiful hills covered in green tea plants, some water in between and higher peaks in the background.

The town itself doesn't have a lot to offer. Since I'm still blowing my nose all the time, I'm not going to do a lot here today. I booked a bus to Bangalore for this afternoon and night. I'm only staying there for the day and in the late tomorrow evening I'm taking a train to Hospet, the train station nearest to Hampi, my next destination.

More pictures are coming as soon as I find a WiFi hotspot.

Back to Tourist Life

I'm done working in the Coffee Temple. Two weeks went by very fast. I enjoyed the experience very much, but I must say that I would be lying if I told you I was very sad not working. I'm going to miss the good coffee and food for sure and the nice colleagues of course. Still, working for fourteen days straight made me feel like I need a break. And yeah, I know, it was only five hours per day, so I shouldn't really complain.

Saturday morning I took advantage of my free morning and walked two hours north along the seashore. Simply amazing views along the way. The phrase tropical paradise now has a place I connect with it. I also found the spot, where I should have come surfing, but on foot with the board it would have been too far.

I managed to do surfing five times during the two weeks. Twice I rented a board from the local surf school and three times from a local Indian guy on the beach. The waves were mainly good for whitewater surfing only, but to be honest that's probably still the thing I should be doing anyway. It was a lot of fun and that's the main thing.

Saturday afternoon I took a train to Kanyakumari, the land's end. It's the southern most tip of Indian mainland and a very popular pilgrimage site. It's also a place where three seas meet, the Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea. The city reminded me of Vrindavan, my first stop here in India. Many Indian tourists, lots of hustle and bustle and religion all over the place.

I just finished reading Gandhi's autobiography a few days ago and interestingly enough, Kanyakumari has an impressive Gandhi memorial, the Gandhi Mandapam. It's where Gandhi's ashes were kept until they were immersed the sea. The building is built combining Christian, Hindu and Moslem architecture to remind everyone of Gandhi's views of peaceful coexistence of religions. The height of the building is also exactly 79 feet tall, which represents Gandhi's age at the time of his assassination.

The main thing to do in Kanyakumari is to see the Sun rising from the Bay of Bengal and setting into the Arabian sea. The sunset last night was really nice, but the sunrise this morning didn't really happen because of clouds. I should have gotten up early yesterday morning, but I just couldn't. Pictures from Kanyakumari here.

Now I'm on the train back to Varkala. Two more days of beach holiday without working and then I'll start my slow journey to the north.

Working, Surfing and Sweating

My first four workdays as a waiter have gone by quickly. I've learned many things and my appreciation for the job has increased a lot. It's not always been easy and I've goofed a few orders up so far, but nothing too serious so far.

Yesterday I had the afternoon shift, so I used the morning for surfing. I chose the small beach closest to the board rental place. I'm now pretty sure that I could have chosen better. The waves weren't as big as they were the first two days of my Varkala stay, but they had enough power to throw me off the board more than often enough. The next time I'm going to be a bit more patient with looking for a spot. The interesting feature on this beach was that during the three hours I spent surfing there, at least a hundred locals gave their offerings and dipped at least their feet into the sea. The water on that beach is supposed to wash away your sins.

The next surf morning might be tomorrow, but I haven't quite decided yet. I'll have a look at the forecast later tonight and then see if I can have the afternoon shift again.

It's been extremely hot here. There has been some rain as well and the high humidity gives the weather an extra steaming feature. During noon and early afternoon it's difficult to enjoy outdoors, but luckily there's some hope for cooling down the next days.

Varkala pictures here.

A Working Man's Paradise

My first work day is over and it feels really good! Ok, it was just six hours and most of it that busy, but I still felt drained after I was done. But I'm going a bit too quickly for you now, sorry! I haven't told anything, except that I'm volunteering again. And this time it's not your regular volunteering job really. I'm working as a waiter in a cafe here in Varkala. For five to six hours of working, I get food and accommodation for free. Today was my first day ever of working as a waiter. I think I managed fairly well for my first day. I don't think I screwed up many orders and I didn't hear any complaints about missing money in the cash register. I learned many things today and I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow. 

I arrived yesterday evening and didn't see much of Varkala yet. The places I did saw, have a paradise-kind of flair. Palm trees, beaches under beautiful cliffs and a relaxed atmosphere. Forget about Goa, I say! Well ok, beer was cheaper there, but that doesn't change things much for me.

One thing that definitely makes a difference for me are the waves. In Goa the three hours I played in the water, didn't feel much like surfing, but here it seems I will have pretty much the perfect environment for my skills. I'll have a try on Monday morning.

The first photos from Varkala are here and there will be more soon.

Kochi - A Quick Stop

I'm sitting in a nice restaurant in Kochi, Kerala and waiting for my breakfast. I arrived here yesterday from Mangalore in the afternoon and I'm taking a train down to Varkala later today. I've got a feeling I should have stayed longer, but I'm sure Varkala will have a lot to offer as well.

My hostel is nice and its location couldn't be better for seeing the old part of Kochi, Fort Kochi. Yesterday I only went for a short walk, since it was raining a little. This morning looks completely different. Not a single cloud and it's already getting very hot. I've only got until noon before I have to start heading off to the train station again. I'll try to take a few more pictures and upload them soon. There's a nice atmosphere here and I do recommend visiting this place if you ever have the chance.

So, now it's time for some sightseeing.