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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.

Leaving Goa

I'm done with Goa. It was a beautiful place and my last week has been full of party, good food and interesting people. I'm ready to move on now. My body is strained by over-eating and to much beer and most of the other people I stayed with at the hostel have gone. It was time to move on. I've got a new volunteering project starting in two days in Varkala.

I'm now in Mangalore, a coastal city with a long history in the state of Karnataka. I chose to come here simply because I wanted to avoid doing another twenty hour train trip. I really might have chosen a different stop if I had bothered reading about Mangalore first. There's nothing much special to see and do here it seems, but I might still find some interesting things today. Very early tomorrow morning I'll continue down south towards Varkala.

But there are still a few stories untold about my week in Goa. In my last post I told you that I rented a scooter. Well, on Friday we decided to take a ride to Old Goa. We had been warned of the police controls in Panjim, the capital of Goa, on the way and we wore our helmets to avoid trouble. That and carrying a valid driver's license was supposed to be enough, but when we got pulled over and gave our licenses over, the faces of the officers turned into a wide grin. They told us that we need international driver's licenses and that they would take our bikes, charge us 1 250 and the bike rental agency 700 rupees. We were lucky to have an Indian guy from the hostel with us. He talked and talked and after about half an hour of convincing talking, he managed to bring the total sum down to 1 200 rupees per person with no other consequences for us. We considered for a while, but since we were pretty sure the officer was telling the truth about the international permit and since this was the only way to keep our bikes we ended up paying. We knew of course that we wouldn't get any official ticket stating our crime and that the money would surely end up going straight into the officers' own pockets, but we didn't have much choice really. On our way back we got pulled over by another group of cops, but as we were told by the first group, we told them the license plate number of the police vehicle that belonged to the first group and that we'd already paid, they let us go without trouble. But not after first asking how much we paid and blurting out loud "that means 900 for us and 1 500 for them" (two people paid 1 200). Not much ashamed of taking bribes it seems. Now I've experienced this (essential) part of Indian culture as well. Bakhshees, a "tip" or more clearly stated, a bribe.

Well, Old Goa was worth seeing, even after all that trouble getting there in the first place. The UNESCO world heritage site hosts three impressive churches and a couple of museums. One of the churches, the Jesuit Basilica of Bom Jesus, holds the mummified remains of Saint Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuit order, who is also called the Apostle to the far east, because of his "brave" work in converting Asians. The body is said to be miraculously well preserved, but unfortunately the next time the corpse is being brought down for show is in one year from now. I guess I'll just have to believe that's how it is without seeing...

Other than our tour to Old Goa, the already mentioned activities of drinking beer, eating well and simply having fun is what happened the last days in Goa. On Friday we went to a free concert sponsored by Red Bull. The music was very loud and strange (I'm getting old, I know), but otherwise I enjoyed it.

On Friday I'm going to start working in a cafe in Varkala. Three meals a day and free accommodation for five to six hours of working seems like a good deal to me. I hope I'm right, but I'll let you know how things are when I get there.

Vagator Beach, Goa - Hostel Life

I've enjoyed a relaxed beach environment in Goa since Monday afternoon. It's something very different from the places I've seen in India so far. More tourists than locals, cheap alcohol, cheap accommodation and of course beautiful beaches.

Monday and Tuesday I didn't do anything special really, except enjoying the company of nice people and relaxed atmosphere in the hostel. I did go to the beach in the morning yesterday, but just to have a look.

The first two evenings I spent playing Texas hold 'em and drinking chilled Kingfisher from the hostel fridge (50rs a bottle). I'm definitely winning so far, but not enough to cover my beer tap.

Yesterday I rented a scooter. I was trying to avoid doing that, I even asked around for a place that rents bicycles. I was unsuccessful with my search and I also realized that the distances here are much greater than I had thought. The rent for a scooter is two hundred rupees for a day, which really isn't much.
I took my scooter for a test drive to the Arambol beach with three Scottish guys, who live in the same hostel with me. It's a very nice looking beach and also the only location I was able to find in Goa that rents surf boards.

Last night I did not play poker or drink. I went to bed early, because I had decided to take the morning waves in Arambol. It takes about 45 minutes from here to the surf beach with the scooter, so I set my alarm for six and made it to the surf club that rents boards at seven. To my disappointment, the waves were much smaller than I had hoped for. It still was fun and I spent about three hours in the water before heading back to the hostel. The rent was 500 rupees for an hour, but the surf dudes in the rental place told me they'd be happy with a thousand for the almost three hours.

I also got some news about my further plans, but right now I'm too tired to put them in this post in more detail. I'm happy to tell you, I'm finally going volunteering again. But more info on that and about my next destinations in the next post.

Mumbai - Big City Feeling

My stay in Mumbai, the biggest city in India is over. Three days went by quickly. I was rather impressed about the city. It definitely has much more western feeling than Delhi does. I do need to spend a bit more time in Delhi to confirm that, but that's my opinion based on what I've seen so far. The skyline to the city from the Marine drive, a promenade on the western edge of south Mumbai, looks very familiar to a western eye. I stayed in a cheap dorm in the Fort district, which is just north of Colaba, perhaps the most famous area of touristic Mumbai. I was also surprised about the cleanliness of the city. Of course I'm referring to the areas around my hotel and not the big slums a bit further away. I saw garbage trucks for the first time in India.

I decided against doing a guided slum tour. I know I probably missed an opportunity to see different kind of living and to shed some stereotypes about slum life. I simply couldn't get rid of the idea of going around other people's homes as if I were in a zoo. It made me feel sick, even when others told me it was not like that at all. Instead I washed around the city write a bit. Chowpatty beach, was a surprisingly clean beach in a huge metropole the size of Mumbai. Also the Gandhi museum was more than with the visit. You can find my Mumbai photos here.

The day before yesterday I visited the Elephanta island, about ten kilometers ferry ride east of the Gateway to India. The caves in the island date back to the 5th - 8th century and especially the first one is amazingly spacious and beautifully decorated. It's hard to imagine how the cave looked like in its full splendor, but even now I was very much impressed. It's even harder to imagine the amount of years of digging and carving it must have taken to get something that huge done with the tools of that time. You can find some pictures from the caves here.

My plan was to go to Pune after Mumbai, but due to extremely costly accommodation, I decided to skip the city and head straight to Goa. There I can spend over a week with the cost of one night in Pune. I know it's strange that I've gotten this stingy being a rich westerner, but after some time in this country you really tend to get that way. I've heard this from others as well. I can't explain it, but neither can I shake the new habit off. It's not just happening with hotels but restaurants as well. I hope to be cured of this as soon as possible when I get back home.

Tomorrow at noon, I'm reaching Goa, a place I originally didn't plan to visit. So many people have told me that it's really with a visit, even though its very touristy reputation. I'm looking forward to some relaxed hostel life, western people and delicious food - maybe even the beaches.