Kovallam

I've said before that you keep meeting the same people. Belinda was going to the same place I was. We were lucky to have a very nice Indian bloke near us who kept us right (after introducing us to his whole family, as usual).
Indian buses are just another world but I think they are great. As the (2nd) bus got nearer the beach you could feel the difference with the air gettting fresher and more and more coconut groves. I had booked a room at 450/- but we decided to go to a place that was cheaper and not in my book. fortunately it was full but the place I had booked was just across from it. When we went and asked if he had two rooms the answer was yes at 350/-. Bargain. I think this was the nicest hotel that I've stayed in this trip. It was set back about 50 yards from the beach in a coconut grove. It was spotless, quiet and just so relaxed. There was a communal verandah outside the rooms and it was so nice to just chill. It was also nice to go to the beach and go swimming on Christmas day! The beach was beautiful and the water was quite warm. What do you expect when you're only 700 miles north of the equator?
At breakfast one day and American guy, Ben, who Belinda knew and I had met walked into the restaurant we were in. So the three of us had a really good beach orientated couple of days. We didn't really do anything more than eat, drink, swim and lie in the sun! At least we didn't waste our time.
Being at the beach has got me thinking about avoiding cities for the rest of this trip (however long that is) and travelling right up this western coast hopping from beach to beach. I'll have to investigate further!

Kanniyakumari

It didn't start very well when I was waitlisted 7 and didn't move on the list for my train. the train was two hours late anyway and as good as the station manager was he just couldn't get me a seat on the train. I got on in sleeper class and sat on my pack for two hours then at a station I moved to the class I had a ticket for (Indian trains are quite confusing until you get your head round them). After about an hour the conductor found me a bunk and I managed to get three hours sleep. Arriving at 6.30am at what is the most southerly point of India, I got a rickshaw to one of the hotels in the LP. The streets were absolutely jam packed. I'm talking the main street of a city on Christmas Eve! I didn't think this was a good sign. It took two hours of asking in hotels to eventually find a room and that was a hovel for 500/- (6.25).
I went in search of breakfast and ended up seeing everything there was and having lunch by 1230. I was pretty fed up by then. In the afternoon I got a deathtrap sorry ferry across to two islands and looked at that which was nice and I started to feel better but I was bored.
I didn't do much more I had an early night. 5.45am a l;oud knock on the door "Do you want to to see the sunrise Sir?" No I bloody didn't!
I got up though and went to see it. It was pretty spectacular and there must have been 10,000 people milling about watching it. Not bad for Christmas day morning!
Taking the opportunity I thought I would get out early. Standing at the bus station, which had nothing written in English, who should walk past me?

Trichy

Sitting in the bus station waiting for (more like wondering if there was) a bus to Trichy, I looked up and saw the beautiful face and smile of an Australian lady I'd met before. (See attached photo). Great, always nice to have company. Then we were joined by another Ozzie guy and we chatted together for the next seven hours or so until we arrived at trichy late as usual. None of us had accom booked but we got rooms on our second try. Mal and I shared a room which always keeps the costs down and it's nice to have someone to chat to.
Well for a few days I had a really good time. We went sightseeing, chatted, had a few drinks.
Very laid back. We went to one temple which didn't let non Hindus through a door into the central area. So we turned right and kept strolling and eventually came out of the door we weren't allowed in!
I know I keep going on about good food here but it was exceptional in Trichy. We got ripped off twice but it wasn't by much and we still had quite a lot to eat. It was a bit of a wrench when Belinda left at lunchtime and Mal a few hours later. I'd thoroughly enjoyed myself with those two.
Never mind we'll all bump into each other in the near future I'm sure.
But then the journey from and to hell took place.....

Pondicherry

Got here on the bus and was it raining? Yes!
The bus was tearing down the road at about 70 and he had no windscreen wipers. I couldn't see a thing so God knows how he could!
When I got here I had to search for a hotel and I just couldn't get one. Eventually Iended up at quite a pretentious place and managed to get him down from 900/- to 600/-. It wasn't really worth it. There was very little to do because of the rain. You just got soaked within seconds. I managed to see some of the town but it was always in short bursts. The next night i moved into an Indian hotel next door for 200/- which was almost the same as the other place.
Pondi has a fairly active pub scene (for India anyway) and there was always plenty of travellers to speak to. As usual you keep bumping into the same people. Which is nice really because meeting people every day gets a bit repetitive when you are asking/asked the same questions.
Anyway that was Pondi really, a bit of a washout and a couple of days talking in bars. I just wish I could have seen more of it.

Mamallapuram

I'm hiding again but not from the sun this time. There is a cyclone blowing through and it is RAINING! It started at dusk last night and it has just carried on and on. It's coming down so hard it's difficult to see across the road! I ran about 30 yards to get here and I'm soaked. At least it's only for one day. They say!
I was going to move on today but the thought of sitting on a bus with no windows in this rain kept me here. No bad thing, this is as touristy as you get and the food is great and everything is right next to my hotel. I forgot to phone ahead so just chanced it when I got here. I got a single room with bathroom for 125/- thats 1.50!
There isn't really a lot to see here. I did it in a couple of hours yesterday. It's just the beach really that is the main attraction for the people of Chennai.
I dashed to the nearest restaurant for breakfast and there was one other person there. When I heard her speak it was a fellow Scot! She's only just arrived so we're meeting later becauseshe wants to pick my brains about Rajisthan. I was talking to a very nice Ozzie couple yesterday and they had just arrived. I think we're all headed in the same direction for our next stop (Pondicherry) maybe I can get us all to share a taxi which is a hell of a lot better than playing sardines on a bus. A taxi for the 100km is 1200/- which is 15 quid! I know the bus is only 30/- but with your pack it gets a little frustrating.
Nearly forgot. I saw my first Christmas decoration yesterday. It was a cut out of Santas head under a hanging sign which said 'Potato Salad'.
There is seafood where ever you go here. Iwent into the place next door and they had a table groaning under the weight of fresh stuff. I ended up with a sail fish steak (like a tuna) it was at least an inch thick and about 8" in diameter. Cooked in a garlic butter saucewith steamed rice 2 pound 50, thank you very much.
Going to get out of these wet clothes as I'm starting to feel cold.


6.40pm
Still absolutely chucking it down. I'm on my third change of clothes and I'm getting pretty fed up. In this rain there is absolutely nothing to do. I think I will move tomorrow regardless of the weather if only for a change of scenery.
I'm going to eat now. I think I will have pasta tonight. I haven't had that for a while. I actually had beef last night. First red meat since I got to India. I had beef pepper fry. It was chunks of beef fried in a very peppery dry marinade with steamed rice. It was beautiful. I walked past a cafe today and saw a sign saying beef biryani 10/-. The place looked OK but there's a saying if something sounds too good to be true it probably is! Nothing worse than being stuck on a bus for a few hours and getting caught short!

Chennai

Well, I got confirmed on the train and here I am after a 23 hour journey. It's not as bad as you think it would be. I treated myself to Air con so you've got a proper bed sheets, blankets, pillow. There was an Indian family either side of me and they were great. Also there was what they call a pantry car. (This trains whole journey was over 50 hours). This means that they come round and take orders for hot meals for pennies. Every hour they come round with hot Indian snacks. You can hear them shouting but I don't understand half of it. BUT! You can smell it like when someone opens a bag of chips. I kept eating whatever they brought round. At one time I had two huge samosas that were burning my fingers and they were 11/- about 14p.
I won't be on a train for a while now.
I realised this morning that I've really shifted south. It got light over half an hour later today than it did yesterday. And it's hot. Not really hot but humid the type that makes it hard to breathe. I was sat outside the station this morning drinking chai waiting for the world to waken up because I hadn't booked a hotel. I got my first choice no bother and it's only 200/- with cable TV. So I'll do my usual Saturday and get a couple of bottles of beer and sit and watch a good film.
I was temted to skip this place all together. The Rough Guide and the Lonely planet both say very little about this city. Other people have said that there isn't much here and I believe them now. I've had a wander round the beach which is dirty and hot and I've been to the fort museum which was crap so I went for lunch. A huge chicken biryiani and a bottle of lemonade for under 50p.
Tmorrow I'm bussing it to the seaside town of Mamallapuram which is further south in Tamil Nadu and still on the Bay of Bengal. After that I'm going to Pondicherry which is apparently more French than anything else. Not too many miles over the next week I think I've done enough this week. I'm just going to enjoy the beaches. Probably this time next week I'll be stood on the very southern tip of India which I think I remember is called Kanniyakamara or something. (If you look on a map it's at the bottom!). Off now to force a thali down me before I get a beer and lie naked under the fan going a million miles an hour!
Now there's an image for you!!!!!!!

Puri

As the title says I'm in Puri in the state of Orissa which is on the coast on the Bay of Bengal. I woke up on the train the other morning just after six (when we were supposed to arrive but I've never been on time yet!). When I got down from my bunk and looked out of the window it looked like I'd entered a different country! This is the India that I know. Very green with banana and coconut palms everywhere. Very wet too. Ieven recognised some species of birds. I'm a lot happier now as I'm out of the urban sprawl for a while, until Madras more later. I had a hotel room booked and I'm beginning to get a feel for a place by the getting of a rickshaw on arrival. Too complicated to explain here. When I came out of the station I ignored them all and went and found a chai stand because I was choking with thirst. A rickshaw wallah stood beside me for twenty minutes not saying a word then when I'd finished he was ready. "Rickshaw sahib? Very cheap!" And he was! 20/- for miles. I got to my hotel at 7am they gave me my room right then. My door opens onto the beach. It's a bit grotty but it has a bathroom and it's very quiet there is an excellent beach restaurant attached and a room is only 200/- a night that's 2pounds 50p.

I just went for a walk on the first day. It's just pleasantly warm in the morning but by lunchtime it's seriously hot, only 90 degrees but it presses down on you. So i walked back along the beach and that was a lot cooler. I was asleep in bed by 8pm the journey and the heat just got to me.

Yesterday I went off on an experience or in other words used the local buses! I think they are great it's just complete pandemonium. There are no signs in English it's all in sanscript. People give you directions to about three buses. Eventually the conductor of one will swear to you that his bus is the only one going to your destination, so you get on. I've learned that it's quite important to get a window seat. This is because you can hang on to the rail across the hole where windows would be and you can use the bulkhead to push any third person that tries to sit on the double seat - off! Also you can just stare out of the window and be oblivious to all the shouting going on about the 'gora' (me the white foreigner) not letting locals sit down.

Anyway I eventally got to Konark which isrenowned for thesun temple. It was built about 1200AD and it was quite a building. It's more famous these days I think for the XXX erotic carvings all over it. When I say XXX I mean it! Just in case people wouldn't believ me I took some photos just to prove my point you understand.

I left there about 1ish and headed for the museum as my Rough Guide suggests. It was crap and not worth the 6p it cost me to get in. I was walking back intending to get the bus and it was boiling. The restaurants werte all touting for business. I never usually feel hungry in the day when it's warm. Then one of them said the magic words. "Ice cold beer Sir!" That did it. As happens quite a lot they didn't actually have a license for sellingbeer so they slap a kid a couple of times and send him to the bottle shop. It comes back wrapped in newspaper and that's how they serve it on the table. I don't know why it just looks like a bottle of beer wrapped in newspaper! I also ordered the Gujurat Thali. I know that Gujurat is a stae in the west and I've eaten loads of Thalis (a big plate with a bit of everything) but I didn't know what I'd be getting. When it arrived it was HUGE! It was on one of those metal segmented trays, mess trays we called them in the Navy. There was a mound of rice in the middle I could have climbed. Then there was a potato type curry thing and a veg type one. There were two types of pickle, the usual Dhal fry (lentil sauce and quite thick. Raita which is yoghurt with cucumber through it, a salad of tomatoes and cucumber two chapatis and a pappad. I thought I was going to struggle but it was delicious. Ishould have twigged that it would be because the place was packed with Indians. Of course there is no cutlery in places like this so all the kids stand and watch the foreigner making a mess! AS I was slowly beginning to see the bottom of my tray they came round with steaming pots and refilled all the little segments. I was stuffed like I never have been before. The cost of that huge lunch? 30/- or 37.5p! Back at the hotel last night one of the staff was sitting speaking to me and we were talking about British v Indian prices. He couldn't believe how much the Thali would cost out of a local take-away place at home. He was even phoning people up to tell them!

Today I hired a bike for 25p for the day and took my life in my hands. I've cycled for miles and this place is good for that because it's very flat. It was an old 'sit up and beg' boneshaker with the handle grips turned in to face you. This meant I kept hitting my knees on the handle bars and wobbling. Still, I managed to see more than if I'd walked again. But my groinal area is a bit raw!

I have run out of places to go. I've asked everyone that I've met and no-one knows of anything worth seeing between here and Chennai (Madras). I even asked the question on India Mike and a bloke from Exeter called Ham,ish answered with some suggestions. At the end he said go and see my mate Clive in the hotel that I'm next to and he can help. As I was reading this a bloke on my right spoke to his amte and said "Oi Clive" Yep it was the guy I was reading about. What a coincidence

I've booked a train for tomorrow from here (well a station 50km away) to Chennai (old Madras) then I'm going to stay one night and head back out to the beach at Mammalapurum, then Pondicherry. Trouble is the train leaves tomorrow morning at 7.30 am (bearing in mind it left Patna this afternoon at 1430! It's supposed to arrive at 0400 but that will be at least 7 - 9 before it gets in. Still I've treated myself and went 3AC which is Aircon and I get sheets and blankets etc.

At least that's the plan. I'm on a wait list at 7 so I should be OK I've been 30 before and got confirmed. going to check now. Watch this space!!!!!!

Calcutta

I eventually got here six hours late on the train yesterday. The place I'd booked into is, I'm sure, the original Black hole! I shouldn't really complain. I've got a clean bed and a fairly good en suite with cable TV for just over three quid. I was knackered yesterday so I didn't do much. I had a wander round and saw some sights. Today I'm cramming as much in as possible because I have a train tonight to Puri in Orrissa and the beach at last.
There isn't really a lot to say about here, it's just another noisy crowded Indian city. I'll be glad to get back out into the country.
The casualty list is getting bigger. My MP3 still doesn't work. My camera is on the blink. The strap broke on my day pack. I ripped a pair of trousers on a rickshaw. The lead for charging my phone isn't working. I'm getting nervous about going to the loo in case anything comes off in my hand!
There was a big train derailment last night about a hundred miles north of here. There were over 200 casualties (or as the news reported it - cashew alities!). The only other option is to go by bus but if you could see the way they drive here you'd understand why I think the train is safer.
I must admit that I'm beginning to rethink the last third of my travels. I'm sorely tempted to just make my way to Goa via Hampi and sit on a beach for a few weeks. I know myself though and I'll get bored in a week and want to move on. Trouble is, if I move on I have to backtrack over 600 miles and that means a 1200 mile round trip as I would have to go through Goa again on the way home. I don't know, maybe things will improve if stuff stops breaking as I enter Southern India properly. Everyone I talk to and myself included agree that the South is the India. We'll see.
My rough calculations (you need to do something on 12 hour train journeys!) have me past the 3000 mile stage with roughly 2500 miles to do if I stick to my original plan. Even if I go to Goa now the train journey from there to Delhi is 36 hours! This place is vast. It's only now in week 6 that I'm starting to see progress on the map. i've also been in 14 different hotels and taken one sleeper bus and 8 sleeper trains and heaps of daytime ones. I try to take overnight trains because you get to travel hundreds of miles and get a bed for a couple of quid and don't have to pay for a hotel! My train tonight is a nine hour express and it cost 257/- that's 3.10.
I have to go now and try and find a hotel in the next place.

Gaya

Well, after yesterdays doom and gloom about rail tickets I was right! I got to the station and it was pandemonium. I queued in several different queues for over three hours to find that I didn't have a confirmed ticket. So I had to book into the hotel across the road that stiffed me for 400/- for a shitty , dirty room. At least it had a TV! The porter asked me the usual 'Your name', 'Which country', 'You want hashish' then I said I really fancied a beer. He went off like a rocket and came back with four beers wrapped in newspaper. Sat in front of the telly in my underwear with a beer in my hand! I was in heaven. Funny how you miss the simple things!
today has been quite cool. I asked this morning what time check out was and he said 3pm! Great with a train at 9.50pm. i then asked how much to keep my room until 8pm and eventually got that for 200/-. So I can park my bum and watch the BBC world service and I'm only across the road from the station and the hotel has a cracking restaurant.
I sort of had an epiphany type thing. I was walking across to the station and needed to use the ATM also. Without thinking I realised that I'd queued for the ATM like an Indian and I was pushing my way forward at the ticket desk like a native. Maybe I've been here too long. I first noticed it when I realised that I was getting badgered less and less. Must be the tan or the world weary demeanour! I have just been for a shave and was quoted 10/- straight away without even going through the tourist price haggling business.
So there we are. I'm confirmed tonight on the train to Calcutta (Kolkata) and then on Monday I have a confirmation to Puri and the seaside. All I've got to do now is find myself somewhere to stay in Calcutta and Puri. Everywhere says they're full but I know from experience if you turn up they usually have a room.
Coming home has been on my mind more and more. Not that I want to come home now, just the whole better booked earlier than later thing. I just think that I'm enjoying myself so much I don't want to have a hard end date which booking a return flight will give me. Maybe I've been on my own too much. When I meet people in Calcutta this weekend things will probably change. Oh for the impetuousity of youth!

Buddha

I'm now in Bodhgaya which is in the state of Bihar in the North East of India. This is the holy town where Buddha achieved full enlightenment. I'm not sure if this means he got his electricity reconnected or what. There are a lot of monks walking around and in fact there is one sat next to me on the internet. I've been to see all the temples and they're nice but I'm starting to get a bit templed out! I think my last temple will be in Orrissa next week because it's the big one with all the mucky carvings from the Kama Sutra.
There isn't really much here to see or do. Yesterday I went to see a 80 foot Budha. That's 80 feet tall not a buddha with 80 feet... I also looked at the tree that the big man sat under and looked at a bit of ground that he walked on.
There is a large Tibetan tented village. They come here over winter. The food up there is excellent, in fact the grub here has been great everywhere I've eaten. I actually had meat yesterday, well chicken. First time in over three weeks! Not through choice it's just that the northern part of this country is predominantly veg. Tomorrow in Calcutta I'm going to a world famous tandoori restaurant and I'm having as much meat as I can stuff in my gob!
That's if I get out of here. I booked a ticket with the agent two days ago and he told me today that the computer which deals with the whole of Indias train reservations is broken. From what I can gather the country is starting to grind to a halt. The papers say that it should be fixed today. I hope so because I've kinda burned my bridges. I've checked out of my hotel and the station is 15km away and all the books say not to do the journey at night because of bandits. If I'm stuck there are 'retiring rooms' at the station but from what others have told me they can be a bit hit and miss. I'm not staying in Calcutta long (if I ever get there) Two nights then I'm heading further south to Puri which is a seaside resort. So I'll have a paddle and try and decide where to go after that. I've looked through all the books and even on line but there doesn't seem to be anything else to see/visit between there and Chennai (Madras) and that's 17 hours by train away. Hopefully I'll meet someone in Puri heading north and se where they've been.
I've been enjoying the (relative) coolness of the north. Now is when the temp starts to rise. Goa stays at a steady 33 degrees everyday and I'm going a lot further south towards the equator.
Another reason I'll be glad to get out of here is the bloody mossies. I've never been bitten like this before. The only thing that is different this trip is that I don't smoke. I've been wondering if the trail of fag ash actually kept them off me before!
I just bought a CD of chants. You here this one particular chant everywhere and it sort of grew on me. So I bought a CD for a quid and, of course, I can't play it until I get home where I'll probably find that it's Nana Mouskouris Greatest Hits.
My MP3 player isn't working and I'm not a happy chap!
I could murder a beer. Why do I always seem to visit the dry towns and states?

Moving

I can't believe I've been here 5 days already! I've done almost nothing, but that was the point. I've sorted out my pack and thrown stuff away. I gave a beggar a pair of sandals that I've carried for five weeks and never worn, everyday he has followed me wearing them, smiling and telling everyone. I've also washed my pack and cleaned off all the things that have spilled into it etc. As a result of my clear out and rearrangement it now seems to be half the size and a lot lighter. Ready for buying heaps more shite to fill it up. Apart from going for a walk in the afternoons. The ghats are just great to walk along and sit and people watch if you get too hot. All I've done is sit and read. I've had an appetite that scares me! I was offered a thali in my hotel for dinner but I had to order it before 4pm. I thought I'd give the small one a go. If that's small you could feed a family of four on the special one. A thali is a selection of dishes with smallish portions of various things. On the first night I got rice, dall fry, veg curry, a potato/cauliflower/pea sambal thing, a proper mushroom bhaji with really crispy well fried onions in it (Indian onions are STRONG), two chapati, one nan bread, papadom and rice pudding for afters. A bargain at 75p! All I had for breakfast the next day was tea and I didn't eat again until I had that nights thali. I'm sure they're trying to fatten me up. I've enjoyed here but I'm ready to move. I'm going to Gaya tonight by train then on to Bodigaya which is a Buddhist region and I may see the Dali Lama. It's the start of the long trek south (at last I'm looking forward to beaches) and I reckon it will take me about 16 days to get down the east coast.

The sky was leaking here for about ten minutes the other day. It felt really weird! It was only ten minutes though and we're back now to a million degrees.

I think I'm staying in a monastery for the next few nights (dirt cheap) so I'll post more when I get a chance which will be easy in Calcutta.