From the Beach to the Sky

It has been a busy week. I spent most of last week in the Kerela region in the southern part of India on a beach called Varkala. Its a beautiful beach surrounded by cliffs. All the places to stay are on the cliff side. It was a very chilled out place. I found great accommodation for 300 Rupees, about $6.I ate my meals here most days, it was called the Sunshine Restaurant. The servers were amazing, happy and very welcoming.

I left Varkala last Thursday and headed to Tirunelvelli. It was two train rides and about a 6 hour journey. I visited with a family in Tirunelvelli. It was an amazing experience to spend a few days living with an Indian family. They were so kind to me. Always concerned about if I had enough to eat and drink. The father and mother of the family are Salvation Army pastors. On Monday I got an opportunity to attend a wedding that he was officiating. It was another of those experiences that you can't believe that you are in the middle of. First the Groom arrived at the church being led by a band that consisted of three drums, cymbals and a saxaphone. The bride was next to arrive. After the meal we were fed some great food. The 'heat' in the food made me sweat but it was great. It was all very festive. I felt very priviledged to be a part of their day.


The 'happy' couple.

During the wedding, all the people sat on the floor. The colours of the ladies' saris were amazing. Its difficult to capture it in a photo.



Trains in India is the main mode of transportation. I always choose sleeper class, which is just one step up from the bottom. Its cheap, but very basic. The long rides can be back breaking and it seems that all the rides are very long. A 150km journey can take up to six hours.

I left Tirunelvelli yesterday (Tuesday) for Kodaikanal. Sometimes getting around is a challenge. This was a train ride and a four hour bus ride. The region is Tamil Nadu and the main language is Tamil, the problem is that they have a different alphabet. Signs are most often in Tamil, so reading street signs and travel information is almost impossible. I arrived at the bus station to catch my bus to Kodaikanal. Again all the information was in Tamil. I talked to a lot of people, with everyone giving me different information. There were two Indian guys that were travelling to the same place, so I stuck to them like glue. Eventually I ended up on the right bus. Kodaikanal is 2100 metres above sea level. The climb up the mountain was interesting. The view from the top is amazing.


This is my view out the front door at Kodaikanal.