To start
with, I just wanted to apologise for not updating my blog over the last two
weeks and explain my reasons. Firstly, this blog is about my year of teaching -
I only have time off because the school is closed! And secondly, my holiday has
been so jam packed that there hasn't been time to think, or even write my
diary. We quickly sussed the Indian bus system and navigated our way on some
very overcrowded buses to Pondicherry, Rameswaran, Madurai, Kanyakumari,
Kollam, Alleppey, and even had time for five relaxing days in Fort Cochin and
enough time to detour to Coimbatore to see Caitlin and Nuala. Instead of boring
you with all of the details, I thought I'd post some extracts from my journal
(which I still haven't caught up on!), so happy reading.
15.10.12
"Didn't sleep a wink last night
because I had five men in the bunks surrounding me, all staring. But we arrived
safely into Chennai at gone 3am with the plan of getting a bus straight to
Pondicherry. Navigating our way to the bus stand was a challenge. Rickshaw
drivers wanted Rs250 per person for the journey to the bus stand, but we knew
we wanted bus 15B... It was just a case of finding it. We walked out of the
train station and were pointed in the direction of the bus stop by a car park
attendant. Avoiding all of the rickshaw drivers who couldn't believe what we
were doing, we climbed over a barrier jn the middle of the road and started
wandering up and down the closed shops in search of the 'bus stop'. We finally
asked the right people, who flagged down the bus for us as it drove past. So
proud we managed to persevere - especially as the bus was only Rs12!"
17.10.12
"We arrived in Madurai at 4am and,
after considerable debate, decided to go straight to Rameswaran so that we would be
back by evening. Finding our way involved a lot of asking people and a lot of
buses. The view as we crossed the Indira Gandhi bridge, which seemed to go on
forever, on to Rameswaran was amazing. The view from the next bus was equally
impressive and we felt like we were back in rural India again, passing dozens
of small huts made of woven reeds. Upon reaching the last stop slightly
confused, we were hearded off the bus and towards some kind of elongated jeep.
Already full with Indian tourists, it was a tight squeeze inside the jeep, but
the hour long journey across the sands was worth it. Despite the rubbish and
the lone snack stall, the beach was stunningly beautiful. We dipped our toes in
the ocean and looked out to the first island of Sri Lanka. After having our
photo taken with an Indian couple (on their camera), we headed back across the
sands before suddenly grinding to a halt. The Indian tourists all jumped out
and beckoned us to follow. The excitement was over a 'floating stone' which
Rama had touched after leading an army of monkeys and bears over the sea to Sri
Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from the demon Ravana. We quietly discussed the
science behind the stone, but at the same time were intrigued by the
excitement."
19.10.12
"Pineapple and mango looking out
over the three seas which meet at the bottom of India was a pretty cool way to
start the day. We then took a ferry - wearing giant orange lifejackets - to the
Vivekananda Memorial off Kanyakumari. We enjoyed exploring the mini island and
taking photos of school children who were taking photos of us! Typically, the
monsoon rain started when we were at the furthest point possible from the
ferry, so we all sat with our plastic bags full of soaking wet clothes on the
bus to Kollam later that evening."
21.10.12 "The guidebook says that the large number of houseboats on the backwaters in Alleppey can be disappointing, but I found them beautiful. Renting a houseboat with six other volunteers [we met two more volunteers, Ruby and Veebs, for a couple of days in Kerala] and relaxing on the top deck chatting, writing postcards and taking in the beautiful views has to be the highlight of the holiday so far... We pulled over to the bank for dinner just as the monsoon rain started, which made for a strangely atmospheric end to the evening".
Got your postcard today, which was just after I read these blogposts...soo exciting. Does that count as a letter and should I write to you now (more than happy to) or am I waiting for something longer in the post after my letter I sent to you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having a great time, it all sounds really pretty, if a little wet, although we had snow here last week! In October, crazy!
Jo.
xxxxxx
P.s explain things a little more in your blogs...like who are the two boys you mentioned, students/helpers
Snow, woah! Thanks for the tip about blogging, still getting the hang of it and I definitely need to start writing more about the small details. I'll do a blog post on the family I'm staying with sometime this week - they look after me so well that I really should have written some more about them before now.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to replying to your letter xxxxx
PS Hope you liked your mention!
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