THE SOUTHERN MOST POINT IN INDIA

I TOOK A TRAIN TO CAPE COMORIN TO SEE WERE THE 3 SEAS MEET. IT IS A TOWN THAT IS FULL OF PILGRIMS. IT WAS GREAT FUN BUT THE WEATHER WAS TOURENTUAL RAIN!

THE BEACH AT VARKELA

THE BEACH HERE IS SET OFF THE CLIFFS, SO BEAUTIFUL AND THERE ARE DOLPHINS THAT SWIM CLOSE TO SHORE. THIS PLACE REMINDED ME OF DAHAB EGYPT FROM MY TRIP LAST YEAR AS IT WAS TOURISTED ENOUGH THAT WOMEN COULD WEAR BATHING SUITS! I HAD MY FABRIC THAT I BOUT IN VARANASI MADE INTO A TOP AND DRAWSTRING PANTS BY A TAILOR HERE. I STAYED IN A FAMILY HOME HERE FOR 2 DAYS. LOTS OF KIDS THERE, NOT SURE WHO WAS WHAT. BUT THEY WERE KIND AND IT WAS IN THE JUNGLE...SORRY FORGOT TO TAKE PICUTRES!

ON THE TRAIN TO VARKALA

I WAS ON THE SLEEPER CLASS TRAIN (AS ALL THE BETTER CLASSES ARE PRE BOOKED). it started out not so great, i got on the train early, which i was very happy about as i am usually running through the terminal trying to find my train as it is leaving. so i am sitting there on my seat and a 30 something gfuy asks if he can sit across from me, i say sure if it is your seat. thenn he keeps talking to me. i am reading and my creep radar is going off so i barely answer him and keep reading, i look up and he is umm...yeah.. fondling himself. alot! i grabbed my purse and got off the train. i didnt know what to do. if i told the condutor or someone they might just treat me like a 'western woman'. i was stumped, i thought about how i didnt pay much for the ticket anyways and i could just take another train, this man said that he was going 175 kms. i just couldnt sit there for that long. i noticed that the train wasnt very full. so i decided that i could sit somewhere else and when the condutor asked me why i would tall him. i got back on the train and returned to my seat to find the horny indian guy gone. IT WASNT EVEN HIS SEAT!! he had only sat there to do what he did then he disapeared. thank god! and a very nice korean fellow took his place.

i had had enough so i went back to reading when the train left and a few stops later...28ppl with children get on, they had been at a wedding, they were so loud. i put my ear plugs in and contiuned to read. i could hear them asking the poor korean guy about me. the women really wanted to know my story. i held out for a while...then i took out my ear plugs and with the younger peoples help i had great conversations with the women.

i noticed that one of them was rubbing her temples with a headache. i offered my headache balm and she was so happy. she left and then returned with another woman who sat down, took my hand and started to do amazing henna on my palm and hand!

people from their party kept coming and going to our car... it was such fun, and so many questions and i had the children singing the abc's and the young men were sharing their mp3 music. ahh such fun. they went to sleep for a few hours, then when i heard then get up i did too so i could say good bye. i am so glad that i took my ear plugs out!!

SOUTHERN INDIA

MANGALORE southern india

I DO NOT KNOW THAT THIS FRUIT IS CALLED, IT ISNT SUPER TASTEY, HAD A VAGUE COCONUT TASTE, BUT NOT REALLY, MORE LIKE NO TASTE. SOLD AT THIS BEAUTIFUL MANGALORE BEACH. THERE WERE MANY MEN SWIMMING AND ON THE BEACH BUT NO WOMEN.

THIS IS MY INDIA!!

I AM CURRENTLY IN BANGALORE. SORT OF....I BOOKED A HOTEL ONLINE AND ALTHOUGH IT IS ONE OF THE NICEST HOTELS, EVER, IT IS 30 KMS FROM THIS I.T. CITY. SO I HAVENT AND WONT SEE THIS PLACE AS I HAVE BEEN HOLED UP IN THIS LOVELY HOTEL FOR 3 NIGHTS RECOVERING FROM A SINUS COUGH AND COLD. ROHMANN HAS THE SAME SYMPTOMS ALTHOUGH HE IS IN NEPAL. THIS COLD DID BRING AN AMAZING FEVER SO I WAS VERY HAPPY TO BE IN WARM AND CLEAN PLACE. IN THE MORNING I BEGIN MY SOUTHERN JOURNEY. I FELT THAT I WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT MY NORTHERN INDIA EXPERIENCE BEFORE I SWITCH CHANNELS.
BEFORE COMING TO INDIA I DID A BIT OF RESEARCH AND SPOKE TO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRAVELED HERE AND WERE FROM HERE. THERE WERE MANY GOOD STRORIES BUT MOST OF THEM LEFT ME FEELING LIKE I WAS IN FOR A HUGE SHOCK. I DIDNT FEEL THAT HUGE SHOCK.
I HAVE FOUND NORTHERN INDIA TO BE A BEAUTIFUL PLACE WHERE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE COEXIST IN SOME KIND OF HARMONY. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE OFTEN LITTERALLY SHOULDER TO SHOULDER AND YET THERE ARE VERY FEW HARSH WORDS OR FIGHTS. CHILDREN RARELY CRY AND ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOT FOUND THE INDIAM PEOPLE TO BE THE FRIENDLIEST TOWARDS US, THEY SEEM HAPPY IN THEIR OWN WAY.
I HAVE HAD THE AMAZING OPERTUNITIES TO SPEAK WITH SOME LOCAL WOMEN AND MEN. I KEEP HEARING THE WESTERN WORLD COMING IN. AND IN SOME VERY GOOD WAYS AS WELL AS SOME NOT SO GREAT. CHANGE IN SOCOETY CAN HAPPEN SO QUICKLY THAT THE OLDER GENERATION SHUDDERS,THEN BANG THE NEXT GENERATION IS AND IT IS LIKE IT WAS 'ALWAYS LIKE THIS'.
I SEE THAT HAPPENING NOW IN INDIA. SO MANY MEN AND WOMEN ARE WELL EDUCATED AND HAVE ACCESS TO GLOBAL INFORMATION.
I DONT KNOW HOW THIS WILL HELP THE DESTITUTE, THOSE POOR HUNGRY ILL PEOPLE WHO BARELY SCRAPE THROUGH EACH DAY. BUT THE MIDDLE CLASS/WORKING CLASS...THERE ARE BIG FAST CHANGES COMING THERE WAY!
I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPRESSED I AM WITH A CULTURE THAT CAN LIVE SO CLOSELY WITH EACH OTHER....I OFTEN TALK ABOUT KEEPING 'A CANADIAN' DISTANCE IN A QUEUE...HA IMPOSSIBLE. TO CANADAIANS IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS MADDNESS AND SHOVING BUT TO THE INDIAN PEOPLE IT IS ORDER AND ROUTINE.
BEAUTIFUL.

kama sutra

WALKING AROUND THIS PLACE MADE ME FEEL SO WONDERFUL AND PEACEFUL. IT IS THE MOST PEACEFUL PLACE I HAVE FOUND IN INDIA YET. AND SO BEAUTIFUL. THE CARVINGS...WOW.