Aug 11
We woke up at 7:30 and went for breakfast. We have escaped the dreaded ‘Delhi Belly’ but we are getting the ‘Buffet Belly.’ Neither Zab and I have gotten sick yet for all those wondering. We have been spared from the runs so far. We are very thankful for this.
We then went to use the internet. We had not been able to check our emails or post the blogs for awhile. I was very curious to see if there was any news about my sister. Her due date was the 5th and so I have been waiting to anxiously to hear if I am a new uncle or not. Janelle finally had her baby! I did a blog post right after I found out. I am so happy that everything went well. I am sad that I am not there to see her, but thanks to technology, I am able to see pictures.
I posted the two blogs I wrote last night and then we headed off for the day at 9:30. We drove through the beautiful tea gardens down to Mattupetty Dam. We walked along it. It was pretty neat. The plan had been for us to take speed boats around the lake, but we both decided we did not want to spend the money. We have been on boats before, and today it was raining and cold. It was a beautiful area to walk around anyways. It actually reminded us a lot of the foothills in Canada. We drove along the lake until we got to a place called Echo Point. Why is it called this you may or may not have asked. When we went to the bottom of the path along side the lake, we heard people yelling across it, and then an amazingly loud and clear echo could be heard. Zab and I had a lot of fun yelling things at each other. It was fun. Along the lake there were vendors selling things, so I bought some local tea and homemade chocolate. Then we had a fresh cut pineapple. I am never going to get sick of these. I think I have pineapple every day.
We drove down into Munnar and went to a spice shop. Here we were able to buy some local spices. Mmmm, Indian pepper!
We drove back to the Resort and just layed around and relaxed for the afternoon. We went to the restaurant for tea time and ordered some more mint tea and the best Samosa I have ever had.
I then came to the computer to get caught up on the blog. I can’t believe that I am actually caught up on the posts. I hope you are all enjoying hearing about our trip. Sorry that the posts are so long. This is serving as a journal for Zab and I, and I also know that there are a few people who want to hear a detailed version of the trip. For all the rest of you, this is a good time to practice your skim reading techniques.
The computer here is on slow dial-up, and the power keeps cutting out, so we are not able to upload our images onto the flickr site. There are a lot of pictures coming as soon as we can upload them. Sorry to keep you in suspense. There are some great pictures I wish I could share with you all right now.
I am now going to get Zab so we can eat supper and then have a relaxing evening before bed. It will be another long day of driving tomorrow.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Day 12: Elephant Rides and near death experiences
Aug 10
We got up at 6:45 to go see the famous rock that the men here kept telling us about. We were laughing a lot about it, because when we were being taken around the resort yesterday, the man kept telling us about their rock and how we need to go visit “the rock.” So that was the plan. We had one of our servants… I mean one of the staff, lead us on a 10 minute hike to this special attraction. It was a big rock! They told me it was 2 hectares in size. It was all one rock. We walked from one side to the other in about 10 minutes. The view was amazing. The clouds were all under us through the hills.
We walked back and had our own breakfast served to us inside a bamboo hut that was out over a cliff. Zab was scared that he would fall through. He said they do not have building codes here. I loved it. It was raw and beautiful.
We had a crazy ride down the hills in the pouring rain. The jeep did well through the creeks and rocks we had to get across. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall. I almost slipped and fell down it, but the guide grabbed my arm and held me from falling. What a kind man! Haha. It was here that zab lost the cover to his camera lens. We looked for a long time, but we could not find it. This worried zab a lot. We do not want it to get damaged. We will have to go and get one in a city if we can. I got a leech on my leg. I didn’t notice it till we got to the bottom of the hills, so it must have had a good dinner. I flicked it off. It is all good, another experience!
We then went to an Elephant Training Centre. Here they had 3 elephants tied to trees. One of them was just a small 3 year old. It was super cute. It knew some tricks: shake a trunk, salute, and run your head. We then got rides on another elephant. It wasn’t very comfy, and I felt like I was going to fall off. It would not be my favorite mode of transportation, but it was fun and hey, now I can say that I rode an elephant in India. Very cool. Oh, and the third elephant there was 50 years old and had, as we were told, killed 2 people! I am glad we did not ride that one!
We drove 5 hours NE towards Munnar. The trip was only 180km, so you can calculate how slow we were going. The roads were very windy, and it was raining and foggy the whole way. People who get car sick would not have done well on this trip. (Julie Renee would have been so sick! This was one of the few times I was glad that you were not on the trip with me.) We had many close calls. I loved it!
We passed rubber, pineapple, coconut, papaya, banana, and orange trees. At one point we stopped to relieve ourselves, and along the side of the road there was coffee trees, and on the other side there was pepper trees! I love this place. I ate some green pepper from the tree. It was wonderful.
As we drove through the hills of Munnar, we saw fields and fields of Tea plants. The sides of the hills were covered in these plants. As far as the eye could see there were Tea plants. It is really neat to see. It was still raining, foggy, and cold. The temperature was around 10 degrees we think. We did not pack for cooler weather, so we are hoping this doesn’t last too long. I thought India was supposed to be hot! Haha I think we somehow have been transported to Peru.
Benny our driver has been sick with a cold for the last few days. I think it is because of the air conditioning in the car for us. We had another driver come with us to Munnar, and then we dropped him off and he took the bus 6 hours back to his home. Benny was a great driver, and he spoke English. Our new driver does not. This is sad.
We arrived at Sienna Village Resort in the hills above Munnar. At check-in we were given some amazing fresh mint tea. It was some of the best tea I have ever had in my life. And it was hot, on a cold rainy day in Peru, this is just what a guy needs. Our new place reminds me of an Italian villa. It has a really tall ceiling over the sitting room, and there is a half level over looking it with a table and chairs. Underneath this is the bedroom and bathroom. We have a queen sized bed to share. Snuggle up Zab! We have another patio that we think would have a nice view, but all we see is fog and rain.
We had another amazing buffet. I am really going to miss this food. We went to the computer to do some blogs, but the dial-up internet was not working, so I just typed some up, and then went to bed at around 10.
We got up at 6:45 to go see the famous rock that the men here kept telling us about. We were laughing a lot about it, because when we were being taken around the resort yesterday, the man kept telling us about their rock and how we need to go visit “the rock.” So that was the plan. We had one of our servants… I mean one of the staff, lead us on a 10 minute hike to this special attraction. It was a big rock! They told me it was 2 hectares in size. It was all one rock. We walked from one side to the other in about 10 minutes. The view was amazing. The clouds were all under us through the hills.
We walked back and had our own breakfast served to us inside a bamboo hut that was out over a cliff. Zab was scared that he would fall through. He said they do not have building codes here. I loved it. It was raw and beautiful.
We had a crazy ride down the hills in the pouring rain. The jeep did well through the creeks and rocks we had to get across. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall. I almost slipped and fell down it, but the guide grabbed my arm and held me from falling. What a kind man! Haha. It was here that zab lost the cover to his camera lens. We looked for a long time, but we could not find it. This worried zab a lot. We do not want it to get damaged. We will have to go and get one in a city if we can. I got a leech on my leg. I didn’t notice it till we got to the bottom of the hills, so it must have had a good dinner. I flicked it off. It is all good, another experience!
We then went to an Elephant Training Centre. Here they had 3 elephants tied to trees. One of them was just a small 3 year old. It was super cute. It knew some tricks: shake a trunk, salute, and run your head. We then got rides on another elephant. It wasn’t very comfy, and I felt like I was going to fall off. It would not be my favorite mode of transportation, but it was fun and hey, now I can say that I rode an elephant in India. Very cool. Oh, and the third elephant there was 50 years old and had, as we were told, killed 2 people! I am glad we did not ride that one!
We drove 5 hours NE towards Munnar. The trip was only 180km, so you can calculate how slow we were going. The roads were very windy, and it was raining and foggy the whole way. People who get car sick would not have done well on this trip. (Julie Renee would have been so sick! This was one of the few times I was glad that you were not on the trip with me.) We had many close calls. I loved it!
We passed rubber, pineapple, coconut, papaya, banana, and orange trees. At one point we stopped to relieve ourselves, and along the side of the road there was coffee trees, and on the other side there was pepper trees! I love this place. I ate some green pepper from the tree. It was wonderful.
As we drove through the hills of Munnar, we saw fields and fields of Tea plants. The sides of the hills were covered in these plants. As far as the eye could see there were Tea plants. It is really neat to see. It was still raining, foggy, and cold. The temperature was around 10 degrees we think. We did not pack for cooler weather, so we are hoping this doesn’t last too long. I thought India was supposed to be hot! Haha I think we somehow have been transported to Peru.
Benny our driver has been sick with a cold for the last few days. I think it is because of the air conditioning in the car for us. We had another driver come with us to Munnar, and then we dropped him off and he took the bus 6 hours back to his home. Benny was a great driver, and he spoke English. Our new driver does not. This is sad.
We arrived at Sienna Village Resort in the hills above Munnar. At check-in we were given some amazing fresh mint tea. It was some of the best tea I have ever had in my life. And it was hot, on a cold rainy day in Peru, this is just what a guy needs. Our new place reminds me of an Italian villa. It has a really tall ceiling over the sitting room, and there is a half level over looking it with a table and chairs. Underneath this is the bedroom and bathroom. We have a queen sized bed to share. Snuggle up Zab! We have another patio that we think would have a nice view, but all we see is fog and rain.
We had another amazing buffet. I am really going to miss this food. We went to the computer to do some blogs, but the dial-up internet was not working, so I just typed some up, and then went to bed at around 10.
Day 11: Look like adults, act like children.
Aug 09
We woke up at 6:45 and headed to reception where we got into a boat that drove down the canal, out into the lake, and dropped us off on an island. This island is a bird sanctuary, and we had our own guide take us through the island and show us all the birds. He was VERY into birds. He told us all we ever wanted to know about birds. It was very interesting actually. He even did a lot of the bird calls to which the birds would answer. We saw hundreds of birds, dragon flies, and bats! The worlds largest bats live here. They were hanging from the trees, and even flying around.
As we were walking back to the boat, there were vines hanging down from the trees. Zab jokes about me swinging on them, and so I pulled a little on it to pretend, and water from the rain on the leaves fell. It was really neat, so u pulled really hard on it, and a lot of water fell. We thought this was very fun. The boat driver said something to the guide. Later zab told me what he had said. “They look like adults, but they act like children.” Oops. Oh well, we are tourists.
After a great breakfast and a long chat, we checked out and were taken by boat to the parking area. Here we were met by Benny. We drove 4 hours to Konni hills. It was here that we experienced our first rain of the trip. It started to pour down. Because of the rain, Benny didn’t think that we could make it up the hills to our next resort. So we waited in a gas station for someone to pick us up. A man came in a jeep and we headed up the hills. It seemed like a mountain road. It was a small single lane path going along steep cliffs. Everything was green and lush. It was amazing. Zab and I have been saying that this whole area reminds us of Peru. It is raining, and green, and hilly. I have never been to Peru, but from the pictures, this seems close. All along the side of the roads were little villages and insane amounts of rubber trees. There were tapping the rubber trees just like they do for maple trees back home. They collect a white ooze that back in Canada we like to call “rubber.” *smirk*
We got to the very top of the hill without sliding off, and we saw our resort. Contour Hills Jungle Resort. It was crazy. It was a resort on the top of the tallest hill in the area. The place was amazing, and I was in awe to think how they built it. We were told that most everything was carried up piece by piece by hundreds of workers. It was here that we found out that we would be the ONLY guests while we were there. No one else, just Zab and I for the whole resort. It was not a huge place, but still, this was crazy. We found out that it had only been open for 1 and a half years, and they only opened it for the new season the day before. There were a few guests the previous day, and we were the first international travelers for the new season. The staff were a little over zealous however. They watched us where ever we went, and kept telling us that if we needed anything, we could just tell them, or call them. They offered us drinks. We had fresh squeezed passion fruit juice and then some South Indian coffee. We were staying in a small cabin with a full working bathroom, satellite TV, and an amazing view out our patio down the valleys and hills.
Supper was made for just us. It was wonderful. They asked us when we wanted to eat, and what we wanted to eat. They did an amazing job. We sat in their dining hall, which was an open air room on the side of the hill. The night sounds of water and crickets made for an amazing ambiance. It was very romantic. Again, they just watched us as we ate and immediately came when we were finished or had any questions. This was a very surreal experience. I felt extremely important to have them all serve just us so diligently.
We went to bed at 9:30 after reading and watching a bit of television.
We woke up at 6:45 and headed to reception where we got into a boat that drove down the canal, out into the lake, and dropped us off on an island. This island is a bird sanctuary, and we had our own guide take us through the island and show us all the birds. He was VERY into birds. He told us all we ever wanted to know about birds. It was very interesting actually. He even did a lot of the bird calls to which the birds would answer. We saw hundreds of birds, dragon flies, and bats! The worlds largest bats live here. They were hanging from the trees, and even flying around.
As we were walking back to the boat, there were vines hanging down from the trees. Zab jokes about me swinging on them, and so I pulled a little on it to pretend, and water from the rain on the leaves fell. It was really neat, so u pulled really hard on it, and a lot of water fell. We thought this was very fun. The boat driver said something to the guide. Later zab told me what he had said. “They look like adults, but they act like children.” Oops. Oh well, we are tourists.
After a great breakfast and a long chat, we checked out and were taken by boat to the parking area. Here we were met by Benny. We drove 4 hours to Konni hills. It was here that we experienced our first rain of the trip. It started to pour down. Because of the rain, Benny didn’t think that we could make it up the hills to our next resort. So we waited in a gas station for someone to pick us up. A man came in a jeep and we headed up the hills. It seemed like a mountain road. It was a small single lane path going along steep cliffs. Everything was green and lush. It was amazing. Zab and I have been saying that this whole area reminds us of Peru. It is raining, and green, and hilly. I have never been to Peru, but from the pictures, this seems close. All along the side of the roads were little villages and insane amounts of rubber trees. There were tapping the rubber trees just like they do for maple trees back home. They collect a white ooze that back in Canada we like to call “rubber.” *smirk*
We got to the very top of the hill without sliding off, and we saw our resort. Contour Hills Jungle Resort. It was crazy. It was a resort on the top of the tallest hill in the area. The place was amazing, and I was in awe to think how they built it. We were told that most everything was carried up piece by piece by hundreds of workers. It was here that we found out that we would be the ONLY guests while we were there. No one else, just Zab and I for the whole resort. It was not a huge place, but still, this was crazy. We found out that it had only been open for 1 and a half years, and they only opened it for the new season the day before. There were a few guests the previous day, and we were the first international travelers for the new season. The staff were a little over zealous however. They watched us where ever we went, and kept telling us that if we needed anything, we could just tell them, or call them. They offered us drinks. We had fresh squeezed passion fruit juice and then some South Indian coffee. We were staying in a small cabin with a full working bathroom, satellite TV, and an amazing view out our patio down the valleys and hills.
Supper was made for just us. It was wonderful. They asked us when we wanted to eat, and what we wanted to eat. They did an amazing job. We sat in their dining hall, which was an open air room on the side of the hill. The night sounds of water and crickets made for an amazing ambiance. It was very romantic. Again, they just watched us as we ate and immediately came when we were finished or had any questions. This was a very surreal experience. I felt extremely important to have them all serve just us so diligently.
We went to bed at 9:30 after reading and watching a bit of television.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
IT'S A GIRL!
My sister Janelle just had her baby! WOW. I am an uncle again.
Here is what I know so far:
Katelyn Hay was born at 3:04 am on Thursday, August 10. She was 9 lbs, 6 oz and 21 1/2 inches at birth.
She is strong and healthy and has lots of dark hair.
OHHH, I can't wait to go home and hold her! Congrats Dave and Janelle.
To see pictures and hear from Dave and Janelle, you can check out their webpage at:
http://www.myfamilywebsite.ca/Default.aspx?alias=www.myfamilywebsite.ca/hay
CLICK PHOTOS ON THE TOP LEFT TO SEE KATELYN AND THE PROUD PARENTS.
Here is what I know so far:
Katelyn Hay was born at 3:04 am on Thursday, August 10. She was 9 lbs, 6 oz and 21 1/2 inches at birth.
She is strong and healthy and has lots of dark hair.
OHHH, I can't wait to go home and hold her! Congrats Dave and Janelle.
To see pictures and hear from Dave and Janelle, you can check out their webpage at:
http://www.myfamilywebsite.ca/Default.aspx?alias=www.myfamilywebsite.ca/hay
CLICK PHOTOS ON THE TOP LEFT TO SEE KATELYN AND THE PROUD PARENTS.
Day 10: Personal boat cruise and exotic sunsets.
Aug 08
We woke up again at 6:30, packed, and then went for our last breakfast at the Travencore Heritage Resort. Did we say how amazing it was? Wow. We drove 3 hours North to a city called Alleppey. Benny dropped us off for a backwater boat cruise. We thought we would be with other guests, but we were wrong. Zab and I had the whole boat to ourselves, including the cook, the captain, and another man to serve us. It was a house boat that had it’s own kitchen, bedroom with a bathroom, and a dining area. It was the smaller ‘honeymoon’ style lake cruise boat. It was 25 meters in longth. We saw 3 bedroom versions that were 100 meters long.
After traveling for a few hours down the canals and past the rice patties, we stopped for an amazing diner that had been made on board just for us. There were fish that had been freshly caught in that lake. The lake is called Vembanad Lake and it is the largest lake in Kelala (as we were told many times).
After a total of 5 hours on the lake, we arrived at our next destination, Coconut Lagoon Resort. The boat pulled up to the side, we walked off and then were escorted to reception. It was beautiful. There were coconut trees everywhere as well as little canals that went all throughout the resort. It reminded us of Venice. Again, there were maze like walkways to get from place to place and they had fun little bridges over all the water.
Again we were welcomed with fresh coconuts to drink from. These are actually quite good. We had a little 2 level cabin to sleep in. On the main floor was the sitting and eating area, and on top floor were the beds. Out a door in the back was the bathroom. There was an L shaped room over the shower, toilet, and sink, but the rest of it was open to the sky and there were trees and plants growing. In the bathroom. It was very different. The resort is nice, but we were expecting more from a 5 star resort after coming from the last one and it only being a 4 star.
I went swimming in the pool and watched the sun set while Zab took pictures. It was a beautiful evening with one of the nicest sunsets I have ever seen. We watched a traditional dance/drama before supper. The characters are dressed very elaborately and have a lot of make up on. The story is told mostly with their facial and exaggerated body movements. Fur supper we had another buffet. The food was amazing and there was even more selection than the last place. It was good, but Zab and I decided that we needed to stop eating so much. There is so much good food to try, but we have to hold back or we will come home a few sizes bigger.
We went to the computers and tried to work on the blog. The computer was slow and the internet was expensive. We were able to upload more pictures and check our email. We then went to bed at around 11pm.
We woke up again at 6:30, packed, and then went for our last breakfast at the Travencore Heritage Resort. Did we say how amazing it was? Wow. We drove 3 hours North to a city called Alleppey. Benny dropped us off for a backwater boat cruise. We thought we would be with other guests, but we were wrong. Zab and I had the whole boat to ourselves, including the cook, the captain, and another man to serve us. It was a house boat that had it’s own kitchen, bedroom with a bathroom, and a dining area. It was the smaller ‘honeymoon’ style lake cruise boat. It was 25 meters in longth. We saw 3 bedroom versions that were 100 meters long.
After traveling for a few hours down the canals and past the rice patties, we stopped for an amazing diner that had been made on board just for us. There were fish that had been freshly caught in that lake. The lake is called Vembanad Lake and it is the largest lake in Kelala (as we were told many times).
After a total of 5 hours on the lake, we arrived at our next destination, Coconut Lagoon Resort. The boat pulled up to the side, we walked off and then were escorted to reception. It was beautiful. There were coconut trees everywhere as well as little canals that went all throughout the resort. It reminded us of Venice. Again, there were maze like walkways to get from place to place and they had fun little bridges over all the water.
Again we were welcomed with fresh coconuts to drink from. These are actually quite good. We had a little 2 level cabin to sleep in. On the main floor was the sitting and eating area, and on top floor were the beds. Out a door in the back was the bathroom. There was an L shaped room over the shower, toilet, and sink, but the rest of it was open to the sky and there were trees and plants growing. In the bathroom. It was very different. The resort is nice, but we were expecting more from a 5 star resort after coming from the last one and it only being a 4 star.
I went swimming in the pool and watched the sun set while Zab took pictures. It was a beautiful evening with one of the nicest sunsets I have ever seen. We watched a traditional dance/drama before supper. The characters are dressed very elaborately and have a lot of make up on. The story is told mostly with their facial and exaggerated body movements. Fur supper we had another buffet. The food was amazing and there was even more selection than the last place. It was good, but Zab and I decided that we needed to stop eating so much. There is so much good food to try, but we have to hold back or we will come home a few sizes bigger.
We went to the computers and tried to work on the blog. The computer was slow and the internet was expensive. We were able to upload more pictures and check our email. We then went to bed at around 11pm.
Day 9: Massage, cotton mill, beach
Aug 07
I woke up 6:30 to work on the blog. It is hard to keep up on the posts when there is not email at places, or we do not have time. I actually lost my USB cord. I think that it is in London still. Without this I am unable to upload my pictures. So I will have to buy another one soon.
We ate a wonderful spicy buffet breakfast and then went to see some cotton industries where they were actually making cloths. It was neat to see them working. After seeing them get made, we went to the store and bout some lungie. These are the traditional clothes worn by the men. They are like a sarong, just a piece of fabric wrapped around the waist and then tucked up to the height of shorts. They are very colorful. I also bought a traditional shirt for the people of Kerala. It is very lights cotton with long sleeves.
We went to a small resort type thingy where they give Ayruvedic massages. These are very popular in India. It seems to be their form of healing. They offered many different variations, but we decided on the 1.5 hour rejuvenating massage. It seemed to be a good deal at only $20 CAD. =) They used a lot of strong smelling oils. First I got an amazing head massage, followed by the face, then I laid on the floor and he gave me a massage with his feet. He worked on the back and then the front, using a lot of oil and a rope hanging from the ceiling for balance. Then I went on a table where he used his hands again to give me a full body massage. It was so amazing. I fell asleep at multiple times.
I had a little bit of an embarrassing moment with my masseuse before the massage. He asked me my name and I told him, then he said something that sounded like a command. It was in the local language and I didn’t understand him so I asked him to repeat it, and after hearing it again I told him I did not understand what he was saying. He kept repeating it. I was confused, he seemed confused and frustrated. And then I realized he was saying his name! oops.
Oh and for those who have vivid imaginations, skip to the next paragraph. Haha I wanted to try to the true experience and so when I was told to take all my clothes off, I did. So I got the true FULL body massage. It was quite lovely. Those of you who are Zab’s friends will be relived to know that he did not go sans clothing. You are safe.
This was an amazing experience and I am glad that I was able to have it. Zab liked it also, it was his first ever massage! Unfortunately his masseuse had calloused feet and so there was a bit of exfoliation action for his foot massage. Poor guy.
After a quick shower to get off some of the oil we had been lathered in, we headed off to Kovalam beach. This is the nicest beach in Kerala we have been told. It was amazing. The waves were huge and there were not many people there. We walked the length of the beach and went body surfing in an area where there were half a dozen boggy boarders. The sand was black in most places. When we were leaving we were over taken by nice ladies trying to see us fruit. I bought some bananas, a mango, and a pineapple.
Zab asked if we could go to the lighthouse we could see from the beach. We went and were able to go to the top. It had an amazing view of the beaches, the surrounding area, and all the fishing boats out on the ocean. We were also able to work off some of the buffet food on the way up and down.
Zab and I dressed in our lungie for supper. It was really fun to dress up like the people of the area. We however did not know how to wear them, so we looked really silly. A nice waiter took me aside and put it on my correctly. I still don’t know what he did, but it felt much better.
I borrowed a USB cord from another guest and uploaded pictures for the blog. By the time I was done, after waiting for another guest to finish with the computer, it was about 1am. The garden path down to the elevator is like a maze in the daylight, and I thought I could find my way back by myself with my trusty flashlight, but I wondered around for 15 minutes before I went back to the lobby and asked to be directed down. A very nice man on night shift walked me down. Then I went to sleep, finally.
I woke up 6:30 to work on the blog. It is hard to keep up on the posts when there is not email at places, or we do not have time. I actually lost my USB cord. I think that it is in London still. Without this I am unable to upload my pictures. So I will have to buy another one soon.
We ate a wonderful spicy buffet breakfast and then went to see some cotton industries where they were actually making cloths. It was neat to see them working. After seeing them get made, we went to the store and bout some lungie. These are the traditional clothes worn by the men. They are like a sarong, just a piece of fabric wrapped around the waist and then tucked up to the height of shorts. They are very colorful. I also bought a traditional shirt for the people of Kerala. It is very lights cotton with long sleeves.
We went to a small resort type thingy where they give Ayruvedic massages. These are very popular in India. It seems to be their form of healing. They offered many different variations, but we decided on the 1.5 hour rejuvenating massage. It seemed to be a good deal at only $20 CAD. =) They used a lot of strong smelling oils. First I got an amazing head massage, followed by the face, then I laid on the floor and he gave me a massage with his feet. He worked on the back and then the front, using a lot of oil and a rope hanging from the ceiling for balance. Then I went on a table where he used his hands again to give me a full body massage. It was so amazing. I fell asleep at multiple times.
I had a little bit of an embarrassing moment with my masseuse before the massage. He asked me my name and I told him, then he said something that sounded like a command. It was in the local language and I didn’t understand him so I asked him to repeat it, and after hearing it again I told him I did not understand what he was saying. He kept repeating it. I was confused, he seemed confused and frustrated. And then I realized he was saying his name! oops.
Oh and for those who have vivid imaginations, skip to the next paragraph. Haha I wanted to try to the true experience and so when I was told to take all my clothes off, I did. So I got the true FULL body massage. It was quite lovely. Those of you who are Zab’s friends will be relived to know that he did not go sans clothing. You are safe.
This was an amazing experience and I am glad that I was able to have it. Zab liked it also, it was his first ever massage! Unfortunately his masseuse had calloused feet and so there was a bit of exfoliation action for his foot massage. Poor guy.
After a quick shower to get off some of the oil we had been lathered in, we headed off to Kovalam beach. This is the nicest beach in Kerala we have been told. It was amazing. The waves were huge and there were not many people there. We walked the length of the beach and went body surfing in an area where there were half a dozen boggy boarders. The sand was black in most places. When we were leaving we were over taken by nice ladies trying to see us fruit. I bought some bananas, a mango, and a pineapple.
Zab asked if we could go to the lighthouse we could see from the beach. We went and were able to go to the top. It had an amazing view of the beaches, the surrounding area, and all the fishing boats out on the ocean. We were also able to work off some of the buffet food on the way up and down.
Zab and I dressed in our lungie for supper. It was really fun to dress up like the people of the area. We however did not know how to wear them, so we looked really silly. A nice waiter took me aside and put it on my correctly. I still don’t know what he did, but it felt much better.
I borrowed a USB cord from another guest and uploaded pictures for the blog. By the time I was done, after waiting for another guest to finish with the computer, it was about 1am. The garden path down to the elevator is like a maze in the daylight, and I thought I could find my way back by myself with my trusty flashlight, but I wondered around for 15 minutes before I went back to the lobby and asked to be directed down. A very nice man on night shift walked me down. Then I went to sleep, finally.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Day 8: Fresh Princes of Kerela.
(zab's rant)
Well today was our last day in delhi and we have surrvived without getting the infamous "delhi Belly". We got up this morning had breakfast and headed over to the airport. We are taking a flight over to Trivandrum..the southern most city in India. This Peninsula city is very tropical and sets itself apart from the rest of India. The people here friendly and the weather is AMAZING. We met our driver at the airport and Lucky for us yet again I spoke in broken Malayalam. He drove us through windey village streets and past many little shops into our hotel. The route we took would make us not expect what we came to. This was THE MOST AMAZING resort on the beach. It was made with very traditional Kerela style. We were greated with 2 coconuts to drink and then a tour of this exqusite place. The hotel is on top a cliff that overlooks the sea..BUT..as he was showing us there was an elevator that brings us from the top to the bottom of the cliff where our room is. We over look the pool and the beach. The beach had huge 7 ft waves and was really really nice in the golden sunset that endured its reflection in the water. During our camera happy moments on the beach we ran into Donna at first sight a silluette of a foreigner but then a Canadian and a friend...whom we later dined with. And as with our plan our buffet meals included a full course Kerela styled meal and was SUPER. Lowell and I both enjoyed it. We were eger to get back to our rooms after super "I feel like a movie star...like Will Smith " ...Lowell said with reaction to the quality of our room and Service. Our Driver, we found out, sleeps in the car while we are in this hotel..."been doing it for 8 years" he says. Oh well. What an AMAZING time in my home State.....
(lowell's rant)
This aint no Hawaii! Wow. Anyone wanting an amazing holiday for a very cheap price, come to Kerela! I however am not allowed to tell you the location of this hotel! If I ever come back I do not want the rest of the world knowing about it! My only problem with it right now however, is that the waves are too big and I can't go swimming in the ocean. We have been too busy anyways. Oh ya, this is the off season, so we have almost the whole place to ourselves. The hotel staff are really friendly and kind. I have never stayed in a place this nice. Thank you to zab, his mother and father, and their friends for making this all possible. Every part of this trip has been amazing so far, and I have so much more to see. I look farward to experiencing ALL that India is and has to offer.
Time to go to sleep in paradise!
Well today was our last day in delhi and we have surrvived without getting the infamous "delhi Belly". We got up this morning had breakfast and headed over to the airport. We are taking a flight over to Trivandrum..the southern most city in India. This Peninsula city is very tropical and sets itself apart from the rest of India. The people here friendly and the weather is AMAZING. We met our driver at the airport and Lucky for us yet again I spoke in broken Malayalam. He drove us through windey village streets and past many little shops into our hotel. The route we took would make us not expect what we came to. This was THE MOST AMAZING resort on the beach. It was made with very traditional Kerela style. We were greated with 2 coconuts to drink and then a tour of this exqusite place. The hotel is on top a cliff that overlooks the sea..BUT..as he was showing us there was an elevator that brings us from the top to the bottom of the cliff where our room is. We over look the pool and the beach. The beach had huge 7 ft waves and was really really nice in the golden sunset that endured its reflection in the water. During our camera happy moments on the beach we ran into Donna at first sight a silluette of a foreigner but then a Canadian and a friend...whom we later dined with. And as with our plan our buffet meals included a full course Kerela styled meal and was SUPER. Lowell and I both enjoyed it. We were eger to get back to our rooms after super "I feel like a movie star...like Will Smith " ...Lowell said with reaction to the quality of our room and Service. Our Driver, we found out, sleeps in the car while we are in this hotel..."been doing it for 8 years" he says. Oh well. What an AMAZING time in my home State.....
(lowell's rant)
This aint no Hawaii! Wow. Anyone wanting an amazing holiday for a very cheap price, come to Kerela! I however am not allowed to tell you the location of this hotel! If I ever come back I do not want the rest of the world knowing about it! My only problem with it right now however, is that the waves are too big and I can't go swimming in the ocean. We have been too busy anyways. Oh ya, this is the off season, so we have almost the whole place to ourselves. The hotel staff are really friendly and kind. I have never stayed in a place this nice. Thank you to zab, his mother and father, and their friends for making this all possible. Every part of this trip has been amazing so far, and I have so much more to see. I look farward to experiencing ALL that India is and has to offer.
Time to go to sleep in paradise!
Day 7: Romance and Crazy Monkey Men
(lowell's rant)
We woke up at 5:40am refreshed from our longest sleep yet. We quickly went up to level 5 and gorged ourselves with a spicy deep fried breakfast. We met Thapas at 6:30am and drove out of New Delhi towards Agra. We were driving on a main highway. It was a 4 lane divided highway. I will not try and express to you how crazy it was! At one check stop we had to go through, there was a man dressed in all white and holding a cane. There was a monkey tied to this cane. I thought this was a neat sight, so I took a picture. Oops. He walked up to the window. We locked our doors. Thapas was not in the car at this time. This man then started to knock on the window. He wanted in? Nope, he actually wanted money for the photo I just took of him. I pretended that I deleted it and told him to leave. He didn’t. We ignored him. He finally went away and I still have the picture. You can see it on the flickr site. I hope to put it on here if we have some time.
For a rest stop we went to a resort and had some spiced Chai tea. It was lovely. The tea cost 60 Rupees. The man gave me change back when I gave him a 500. As I was thinking how much to leave as a tip, Zab told me, “give him 100.” So I did. I thought it was a little much, but zab knew what he was talking about I thought. Well, when we talked about that later, zab said he meant, give him 100 in total. 40 R tip. That makes more sense. Lucky waiter! =)
We went to the washroom and a man followed us around. Turned on the taps for us, and then handed us paper towels. We tipped him also. Tricky fellows!
We then arrived in Agra at the parking area for the Taj Mahal. We caught a little bus to the gates. Here we had to pay. Zab went in as an Indian for 20R and I had to pay 750R as a foreigner. As zab tried to get through security though, they stopped him and told him that he was not Indian! They said he did not look Indian and they wanted to see proof. Zab argued with them in Hindi for awhile, but finally went back and paid the rest! Haha It was a fun time.
We then walked through the first gate, then through an archway and saw one of the 7 wonders of the world. The Taj Mahal. I will spare you with the story of this remarkable building because you already know it. And if you do not,. Google it. I will just say that it is romantic. Well, as much as spending all your life savings and children’s inheritance on a massive monument to your dead wife can be. I really killed the romance didn’t I? sorry. It is a nice white building though! It is something that needs to be seen in real life to get the full effect. They made us wear little white shoe covers out of respect and so they don’t have to remove the black smudges from the foreigner’s shoes. =)
Next on the itinerary was the Agra Fort. This was a huge fort like structure that used to be the capital of India! It was a very cool place. And it has a great view of the Taj Mahal. Which is good because it is where the man who built it was imprisoned by his son because he was going to make another Taj Mahal across the river for himself when he died. It was going to be black. His son didn’t like this. He wanted the money. (or he didn’t like black) So he had his dad imprisoned and the building was never finished.
As we were leaving Agra, we saw many children in the streets. Once small girl with big eyes and no shirt came to the car asking for food. We gave her our last banana. She was very happy. It mad us sad. Not that she was happy, but that she was on the street begging for food. There is so much poverty and pain.
We drove into Delhi and went straight to the home of Nalini Aunty and Babu Uncle. Good friends of Zab and his family. They fed us supper. It was amazing. It was Kerala food. We talked a long time with them. A lot about missions and family. She was trying to recruit me for the India IVCF. I can’t seem to get away from it! Her brother will be speaking at Urbana this year. (ICVF’s mission conference) They took us to the ‘nice’ shopping area of Delhi. Most of the major European and North American companies make clothing in India, so they sell it here also. It was the end of summer clearance sale. So there were sales of up to 80% off Indian prices for high quality items. It is too bad we got there right as they were all closing. It saved us money though. I know many of you would have loved this street! Especially Julie Renee! =)
We went home at 10:00 and were sleeping by 11:30.
(pictures on flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/runlowellrun/ )
We woke up at 5:40am refreshed from our longest sleep yet. We quickly went up to level 5 and gorged ourselves with a spicy deep fried breakfast. We met Thapas at 6:30am and drove out of New Delhi towards Agra. We were driving on a main highway. It was a 4 lane divided highway. I will not try and express to you how crazy it was! At one check stop we had to go through, there was a man dressed in all white and holding a cane. There was a monkey tied to this cane. I thought this was a neat sight, so I took a picture. Oops. He walked up to the window. We locked our doors. Thapas was not in the car at this time. This man then started to knock on the window. He wanted in? Nope, he actually wanted money for the photo I just took of him. I pretended that I deleted it and told him to leave. He didn’t. We ignored him. He finally went away and I still have the picture. You can see it on the flickr site. I hope to put it on here if we have some time.
For a rest stop we went to a resort and had some spiced Chai tea. It was lovely. The tea cost 60 Rupees. The man gave me change back when I gave him a 500. As I was thinking how much to leave as a tip, Zab told me, “give him 100.” So I did. I thought it was a little much, but zab knew what he was talking about I thought. Well, when we talked about that later, zab said he meant, give him 100 in total. 40 R tip. That makes more sense. Lucky waiter! =)
We went to the washroom and a man followed us around. Turned on the taps for us, and then handed us paper towels. We tipped him also. Tricky fellows!
We then arrived in Agra at the parking area for the Taj Mahal. We caught a little bus to the gates. Here we had to pay. Zab went in as an Indian for 20R and I had to pay 750R as a foreigner. As zab tried to get through security though, they stopped him and told him that he was not Indian! They said he did not look Indian and they wanted to see proof. Zab argued with them in Hindi for awhile, but finally went back and paid the rest! Haha It was a fun time.
We then walked through the first gate, then through an archway and saw one of the 7 wonders of the world. The Taj Mahal. I will spare you with the story of this remarkable building because you already know it. And if you do not,. Google it. I will just say that it is romantic. Well, as much as spending all your life savings and children’s inheritance on a massive monument to your dead wife can be. I really killed the romance didn’t I? sorry. It is a nice white building though! It is something that needs to be seen in real life to get the full effect. They made us wear little white shoe covers out of respect and so they don’t have to remove the black smudges from the foreigner’s shoes. =)
Next on the itinerary was the Agra Fort. This was a huge fort like structure that used to be the capital of India! It was a very cool place. And it has a great view of the Taj Mahal. Which is good because it is where the man who built it was imprisoned by his son because he was going to make another Taj Mahal across the river for himself when he died. It was going to be black. His son didn’t like this. He wanted the money. (or he didn’t like black) So he had his dad imprisoned and the building was never finished.
As we were leaving Agra, we saw many children in the streets. Once small girl with big eyes and no shirt came to the car asking for food. We gave her our last banana. She was very happy. It mad us sad. Not that she was happy, but that she was on the street begging for food. There is so much poverty and pain.
We drove into Delhi and went straight to the home of Nalini Aunty and Babu Uncle. Good friends of Zab and his family. They fed us supper. It was amazing. It was Kerala food. We talked a long time with them. A lot about missions and family. She was trying to recruit me for the India IVCF. I can’t seem to get away from it! Her brother will be speaking at Urbana this year. (ICVF’s mission conference) They took us to the ‘nice’ shopping area of Delhi. Most of the major European and North American companies make clothing in India, so they sell it here also. It was the end of summer clearance sale. So there were sales of up to 80% off Indian prices for high quality items. It is too bad we got there right as they were all closing. It saved us money though. I know many of you would have loved this street! Especially Julie Renee! =)
We went home at 10:00 and were sleeping by 11:30.
(pictures on flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/runlowellrun/ )
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