Cochin and Ernakulem

From Kerala Backwaters

From Kerala Backwaters

We had an extra day putzing around while waiting for our trains up north to Goa. We were able to walk around and see some of the city here which has been really cool. Went to Jew Town (I swear that's its real name) and went into a synagogue built in the 1500s. Randi and I had lunch and she ordered the Jew Club Sandwich, although she couldn't bring herself to order it out loud and just pointed.

Kerala Backwaters

From Kerala Backwaters

From Kerala Backwaters

From Kerala Backwaters

From Kerala Backwaters

The sheer amount of (for lack of a more poetic word) things we have seen in the two and a half weeks of being here is hard to reconcile in our minds. Each place has been so different than the last, in almost every way. We went from being freezing cold and walking around temples to draping ourselves on a beach wearing nothing but a bikini and sarong. But to say that I expected anything like what we experienced in Kerala would be a lie. There is no way to comprehend the pure pleasure that cruising down the backwaters in an enormous boat will bring.
We walked onto the boat, took a look around, and within 7 minutes had all decided 24 hours wasn't enough, and we booked 2 days, 2 nights on the spot. I will not be able to accurately describe the boat in all its splendor, so you must look at all the pictures. Two stories, private master bedrooms and baths, and a lounge area as large as my living room at home. Oh wait, did I mention private chef? Freshly caught fish, fresh water prawns, and the most wonderful traditional Keralan dishes.

Both days we got plenty of time to jump off the boat and go swim in the canals. It's really hot here now, so to jump in and cool off was beyond amazing. We blew up rafts, took life preservers and all cruised down the canals floating on whatever we got our hands on.

The most beautiful part of our cruise was the wedding ceremony between our friends Udo and Marco. We had discussed their desire for some ceremony while traveling with them in Hampi, but by the time the seven of us reached Kerala together, it was a planned affair. Randi wrote a beautiful, touching ceremony and we decorated the boat's upstairs lounge with flowers, candles, and incense. India is such an inherently spiritual country, and to be able to participate in such a beautiful spiritual ceremony between two loving men was an honor for all of us. I wish Udo and Marco all the happiness in the world and I thank them for allowing us to be such an enormous part of this experience.

Of course, what kind of wedding doesn't throw down with music and booze?! We moved the dining table in the downstairs lounge and created a huge dance party (thanks to Randi and her travel speakers!). I could have stayed on the boat for another 7 days but Goa is calling...

Just updated for better picture viewing

So for those of you that care, I just re-did the photos for the blog so they're sectioned out by cities. I just went back and embedded slideshows of those cities into the corresponding posts, so have a gander back at the old ones if you're so inclined.

Varkala Beach

From Varkala Beach

From Varkala Beach

From Varkala Beach

Being able to lay out on a beach has been a huge treat for us, and if not for the massive sunburns we've all gotten, it would have been nothing short of perfection. We are all left scratching our heads a bit, as we sat under the shade of an umbrella ALL day and reapplied spf 30 continuously, but I think the Indian sun is too strong of a match for our whiteness. Carrying our backpacks out of the hotel today HURT like a bitch!!
Varkala has been a very interesting stop for us. We're used to running into backpackers all over India (or, in Orchha and Khajuraho, no Westerners or backpackers at ALL) - but here in the South it's like a vacationer's paradise. No backpackers, just groups of vacationing families not unlike the scene you'd see in Hawaii during May. (The major difference, of course, would be the fact that we paid $16 a night for a 3 person room, and last I checked that is the price of a diet coke in Hawaii).
Kerala (the state we're in), is known for its Ayurvedic treatments and people come from all over the world to stay here for weeks or months at a time to get their ailments 'healed'. I had a nice Ayurvedic massage yesterday, but the guy giving it to me really couldn't get over the fact that I wouldn't get buck-naked. I blamed it on my 'shy' American nature (which if you know me is the biggest joke), but there was no way in hell I was stripping down in a room alone with a guy in INDIA. I have heard enough horror stories from people who have traveled here before. He couldn't have been nicer about it, and it didn't come across as creepy at all, but he just couldn't get over the fact that I wanted my privates covered. Obviously Kerala attracts a much more free-wheeling crowd than those we've met earlier on the trip. Speaking of free-wheeling: We've met a lot of interesting people here. Our personal favorite was the British guy who sat next to us at dinner the other night. He was an interesting conversationalist (for a bit), regaling us with stories of his Ayurvedic massages and how several years ago he befriended a girl 30 years his junior on the internet (which borders on creepy). Then in the middle of us all chatting, he leans back in his chair and starts rubbing and tweaking his nipples like it was the most natural thing in the world. We all saw it, and managed to keep it together for 10 seconds until I caught Randi's eye and the three of us lost it. There is no manual on how to properly react when seated at a dinner table with a man tweaking his nipples. Is there?

Traveling has ended and VACATION has begun!!!

Another grueling train ride to get to our paradise, but we've left Hampi and have now made it to Varkala beach in the WAY south of India. 
I have to just say this: us girls have really had it backwards when it comes to expectations of what the actual traveling will BE.  The 47 hours of straight travel was actually pretty fun, but we were so worried about it being hard to manage!  Then we have an 8 hour train ride from Hampi into Bangalore and think "this will be CAKE!!"  It was an overnight train so ALL we had to do was walk onto the train, go to sleep, and wake up and get off at 6am.  But again, NOTHING is what it seems in India.  The 8 hours was some of the most trying travel we've come across.  People in India (and no offense to the culture, it's just different) have very little issue with spatial relations and keeping that invisible barrier of space between people.  People push, shove, trample, to get to where they need to go - even if they're not in a hurry.  On top of that, there is no socially acceptable decibal upon which a human being should be confined to speak in while on a train at 2am.  So we get on the train at 8pm and try to go to sleep, but people get on the train at a later stop at midnight - come into our bunk and turn ALL the lights on, open all the windows, and turn all three of the fans on (Mel and I had the top bunks, so the ceiling (upon which said fans and light were on) was maybe 12 inches from our eyeballs.  I looked over at Mel and her travel sheet was billowing in the wind so feverishly it looked like a ships' sail. 
And then now, of course, we arrive in paradise.  I know I've said this before but I think I will continue to say it throughout my trip:  India is a land of contradictions.  Our last day in Hampi I bought a pair of pants that I was really excited to get and decided to walk around in them that day.  The fabric was a bit itchy, but let's be realistic - in comparison to the lack of comfort you can have while traveling here, a little itchiness is practically nothing in India.  The day was wonderful and I spend some time alone drinking a masala chai in the restaurant at our guesthouse. I am taking in the beauty of the scenery (we look out upon the big river in Hampi and across the river are 5 ruins the size of Mt. Olympus) and I am reveling in the experience when my legs start itching so badly I can't stand it. I run into our room to change out of my pants when I decide to check the pants out - I turn them inside out and they are COVERED in fire ants.  And THAT, my friends, is India.  One minute you are basking in its beauty and the next minute you're being eaten alive by fire ants that have nested in your brand new pants. 
Okay, that is enough of that.  We arrived today in absolute paradise and it feels like the backpacking way of life has halted for the moment and our tropical vacation has begun.  We got a room super close to the beach and negotiated a great price for 3 nights, so again we get to kick it in one spot for a bit.  I will post more pictures when I get a chance to take some.  For now, I will let my camera take a needed break and I am going to blow up my floaty raft and get a tan. 

The FOOD

From Stacey In India

From Stacey In India

From Stacey In India

I know I am only doing this blog for my friends and for people I love to follow me and join me on this adventure, so I risk writing an entry most of you will care nothing about (except for my parents - love you! and Steve because he is coming out in 10 days!!!) The food here is incredible. Yes the spices can get very overwhelming and the American palette is a *tad* sensitive to the barrage of flavors and spices, but as a Veg I can tell you there is no better place to eat on earth. I eat in a restaurant back home and have 5 options out of 40. Here in India there are 4 PAGES of all veg food and maybe 5 total options in the menu for the carnivores.
The pictures here are of the whole group eating at an outside restaurant on a cliff in Hampi.  This was Luku's recommendation and it was one of the best atmospheres I've ever eaten in.  
I am loving life and eating my way through India. However, I can assure you I will gain no weight on this trip. I'll have to let you interpret that for yourselves and I will leave it at that. :)

Finally in Hampi!!

From Stacey In India

From Stacey In India

From Stacey In India

Hampi is really unlike any place I have ever seen before in my entire life. The landscape is entirely unique with its huge mountains made entirely out of stacked brown boulders and lush green landscape with palm trees surrounding the boulders, it feels like an odd melange of ancient Egypt, Arizona, and Hawaii (STRANGE!!).
There are over 60 temples in Hampi and we were hard-pressed to see even 30 of them in 3 days. Absolutely breathtaking.
We are lucky enough to have met the most amazing group of travel companions - Luku from India, and his friends Udo, Marco, Robert, and Marco's mom (we call Mama) from Germany. They are so much fun and we all have the same sensibilities when it comes to travel. We have spent 3 days in Hampi together and then we will meet up with them in 4 days in Kerala and we will all share a houseboat together. Luku, along with being hilarious and so fun, has given us the added bonus of traveling with a local, so he has been nice enough to arrange so much of our days. He makes us walk around like we don't know him and he goes and negotiates deals like a local and gets INCREDIBLE deals, and then we walk up and take advantage! An all day tour of 20 temples in Hampi cost us about 3 dollars each. Then we are going to the best restaurants and eating the absolute best food. Luku also took us to meet a local sadhu and we have had the pleasure of visiting him at his private ashram twice.