A quick stop in Delhi and then off to Varkala

 So here I was back in Delhi.  The pollution infested fog had not improved, but Patsy’s house did.  Patsy had students from Seychelles staying with her.  They were currently studying in Bangalore and had some vacation time.  So in the house we had a grand total of 5 people in 2 bedrooms.  We made it work.  The three girls shared the bedroom and the guy slept on the couch.  I got to sleep with Patsy.  

 

The first night I could have gone to a diplomatic party, but I was still feeling sick from Jaipur and I hadn’t slept well in a while.  I stayed in and slept instead.  Patsy’s house has a special aura to it.  I felt all stress and bad things melt away when I was there.  I was able to sleep, eat and not feel sick.  It was the weirdest thing.  I think its Patsy herself.  She just wants everyone to be comfortable and she brings that into her home.

 In the morning I went to the hospital to pick up my x-ray.  Easy peasy.  Then we went to the mall.  Malls are amazingly the same everywhere you go.  Except this one had security guards and metal detectors. 

That night we had dinner at the High Counselors’ house.  He cooked a traditional Seychelles meal just for us.  He was a sweet man.  He showed us a tour of his home and was easy to chat with.  Who would have thought I would meet someone so important?!

The next day was another hellish travel day.  At 3AM I woke up for my flight at 5:30.  After flying into Kochi I took the bus to the bus to the terminal and then another bus to Allepy (Where I was meeting Evey).  I had a wonderful seat on the bus, but then it broke down and we had to take the next bus.  On the next bus I had to stand with all of my luggage. blarg! For 3 hours. 

 On the bus there was an Indian guy that took an interest in me.  He was a young guy and he managed to position himself very close to me.  He had pitched a tent and I had to try and maneuver around it and his subtle humping.   This is difficult with that many people crammed together and the ticket guy constantly squeezing his way up and down the bus aisle.   Really!  I even yelled at the young guy, but I don’t think he understood English very well.  Exiting the bus was a relief and arriving at hostel, where Evey was, was even better.  I ranted for a bit, then calmed down and met Evey’s friend San.

The hostel was a welcome relief.  It was run by a slew of young guys, and who doesn’t like a little eye candy on their vacation?  We just hung out, ate good food and drank that night.  San was a great guy, a little quiet but I never mind that.  The next day we headed off to Varkala where Evey had some more friends we could hang out with.

Varkala was the perfect place to just chill out.  Evey and I had grand plans of going to an ashram and doing three days of meditation, but we quickly abandoned that plan to stay and enjoy the sun.  The first night there we headed off to the beach.  It was spectacular with cliffs all around and  a beautiful night sky.  On the beach a guy was drumming and singing.  We spent the next few days just lazing around on the beach and eating good food.  We never missed a sunset, and were always exploring the hidden beaches around Varkala.   I think I read three books while I was in Varkala, got a nice tan and managed to get myself over to the temple district.  Sometimes I am just a lazy lazy traveler.

San’s friends ran the guest house and were great company . We spent Christmas with the boys and it was very not Christmassy.  I liked it.  There were a few manger scenes set up around Varkala, but beside that it was devoid of the usual hub bub you see at Christmas.  It made it easier to forget that it was Christmas with the sun and sand everyday as well.  One thing I did not enjoy about Christmas was the lack of good internet.  I couldn’t skype my family, but had to send out e-mails instead. 

 Christmas night the boys set up a paper star to celebrate with us.  They are not Christian, so the Christmas celebrations are really just for the guests.  That night we relaxed on the roof playing music and singing.  We also headed out to a club later that night.  It was great fun, but the power got cut about a half hour into our celebrations.  I guess the cops got wind of the party, and liquor licenses are hard to come by.  The club didn’t have one.  We stayed out a bit later looking for another party.  In the end we didn’t find one and returned to the roof.

 While in Varkala we met a quirky French couple who were studying in New Delhi.  They had a month of vacation and decided a trip down south would be perfect.  I enjoyed hanging out with them.  They cooked us crepes one of the nights on the roof.  We made it into a routine.  One night I cooked, one night the boys cooked, and one night Cloe and Jamie cooked (the French couple).  Playing music on the roof became routine, as well, while we there.  I enjoyed meeting the others, staying in the guest house and the weird conversations that ensued.  A couple of times I even slept on the roof.  It was so nice to sleep under the stars.   

It was a sad to say goodbye to all the friends we made, but we had to get Evey back to work in Indonesia.  This created another long day of travel. 

Let me explain.  No there is too much. Let me sum up: 10 am leave hostel, wait 30 minutes, 1 hour train, 20 minute rickshaw to airport, wait 3 ½ hours, plane to Mumbai, wait 10 hours, plane to Colombo, waiting again for next plane for  2 hours, plane to Jakarta, arrive at airport, wait for the bus for 3 hours, arrive at Evey’s home… blah. So basically 30+ hours of transit. We were more than ready to see Evey’s house and crash.

Goodbye India, Hello Indonesia!