We woke to the sounds and smells of prayers and offerings at 4:30am for our first few days. Incense, chanting, devotion. There's nothing quite like that for a wake up call. Before all the hustle and bustle of the day begins, the calm of the morning is comforting.
As we come out of our jetlagged haze, we meet our new travel friends, Silvo from London & Mona, the Norwegian. Mona knew a local man named Riyas in Alleppey and wanted to support his family guesthouse. We were heading that way anyway, so off we go! She's been working in India on and off for a few years. She rightly took us under her wing and taught us a few things about traveling India.
Riyas joins us for dinner and teaches us how to properly eat with our hands. The food at his guesthouse is unreal. The best we've had in India. Karla made a comment about waking to morning prayers. He tells us its his people, the Muslims. They pray 5 times a day. He doesn't understand why people go to the temple to pray though. He tells us that God is not in the temples, God is in the actions we make. Feeding a hungry child, being nice to a friend, taking care of a stranger. We all agree.
The next morning, we sit out in his cafe on the beach and slowly enjoy breakfast. I'm shocked at how the other tourists treat him. They are demanding and rude. Embarrassment sweeps over me. I applogize to him for them.
We spent the full moon on the Backwaters of Kerela and then travelled North to Goa. From Goa we decided to go with Silvo to meet his friend, Carly at some random beach in a different province. We were already at a nice beach, so we decided to enjoy the day and travel once the sun started setting and the heat cooled down. It involved a 2 and a half hour taxi, then a rickshaw down a road that was clearly not a road any vehicle should be going on and then all of a sudden, the rickshaw driver stops and says: "Ok, you get out now and walk."
He asked us for our flashlight and guided us to the path. Alright then. We walk with our big back packs into the unknown. There is seriously not a light to be seen, there's no information of this place in the guidebooks and he drives away, leaving us there. Trust. My gut tells me this is the right place to be. The stars are amazing! Once we got over the other side of this little hike, we see the beach and have a mission to find Carly. She's amazingly lit up and beautiful, full of love. Perfect. We have a tea, eat some food and get settled into our little huts for 150 Rupes a night (about $3.50). It's basic and wonderful all at the same time. We wake up to Heaven on Earth, knowing this place is surreal. So untouched that I don't even want to tell you where I am. It's full of hippies, who like me, don't want to share the location with anyone. I love and appreciate every peaceful moment. The entire place sits on massive Quartz crystals. Powerful place. We were to stay 2 nights and now, 4 or 5 days later... I'm already lost in time and space.
Tonight we leave. The adventure continues. Tomorrow we'll wake up in the mountains. Hampi. We were planning on going to see the Dalai Lama speak in Banglore on the 30th, but Mother India already has had her way with us and our plans have been derailed. I'll go hang at his house in Dharamshala once I get to the North. Hopefully he'll be around.
I feel like I'm cheating a little. We haven't been to any big cities yet, so we haven't had the true shock of India everyone speaks so fondly of. I went for a healing session with a man yesterday who asked me why? Why would I go there? Why not enjoy the villages, the beaches, the mountains? Why go to an Indian city and be in the filth, the smells, the chaos and danger. There is nothing wonderful about Indian cities he says. We'll see what happens. I'm a small town girl who loves the peace and quiet. Who's to say I haven't experienced India if I don't go to the city? Every time I travel, I keep to the smaller places... why would I do any different here? Curiousity I suppose? Really, heaps of Indians never leave where they're from - so it's the real India to someone. There are over a billion people here. It's all pretty real to me.
Love
As we come out of our jetlagged haze, we meet our new travel friends, Silvo from London & Mona, the Norwegian. Mona knew a local man named Riyas in Alleppey and wanted to support his family guesthouse. We were heading that way anyway, so off we go! She's been working in India on and off for a few years. She rightly took us under her wing and taught us a few things about traveling India.
Riyas joins us for dinner and teaches us how to properly eat with our hands. The food at his guesthouse is unreal. The best we've had in India. Karla made a comment about waking to morning prayers. He tells us its his people, the Muslims. They pray 5 times a day. He doesn't understand why people go to the temple to pray though. He tells us that God is not in the temples, God is in the actions we make. Feeding a hungry child, being nice to a friend, taking care of a stranger. We all agree.
The next morning, we sit out in his cafe on the beach and slowly enjoy breakfast. I'm shocked at how the other tourists treat him. They are demanding and rude. Embarrassment sweeps over me. I applogize to him for them.
We spent the full moon on the Backwaters of Kerela and then travelled North to Goa. From Goa we decided to go with Silvo to meet his friend, Carly at some random beach in a different province. We were already at a nice beach, so we decided to enjoy the day and travel once the sun started setting and the heat cooled down. It involved a 2 and a half hour taxi, then a rickshaw down a road that was clearly not a road any vehicle should be going on and then all of a sudden, the rickshaw driver stops and says: "Ok, you get out now and walk."
He asked us for our flashlight and guided us to the path. Alright then. We walk with our big back packs into the unknown. There is seriously not a light to be seen, there's no information of this place in the guidebooks and he drives away, leaving us there. Trust. My gut tells me this is the right place to be. The stars are amazing! Once we got over the other side of this little hike, we see the beach and have a mission to find Carly. She's amazingly lit up and beautiful, full of love. Perfect. We have a tea, eat some food and get settled into our little huts for 150 Rupes a night (about $3.50). It's basic and wonderful all at the same time. We wake up to Heaven on Earth, knowing this place is surreal. So untouched that I don't even want to tell you where I am. It's full of hippies, who like me, don't want to share the location with anyone. I love and appreciate every peaceful moment. The entire place sits on massive Quartz crystals. Powerful place. We were to stay 2 nights and now, 4 or 5 days later... I'm already lost in time and space.
Tonight we leave. The adventure continues. Tomorrow we'll wake up in the mountains. Hampi. We were planning on going to see the Dalai Lama speak in Banglore on the 30th, but Mother India already has had her way with us and our plans have been derailed. I'll go hang at his house in Dharamshala once I get to the North. Hopefully he'll be around.
I feel like I'm cheating a little. We haven't been to any big cities yet, so we haven't had the true shock of India everyone speaks so fondly of. I went for a healing session with a man yesterday who asked me why? Why would I go there? Why not enjoy the villages, the beaches, the mountains? Why go to an Indian city and be in the filth, the smells, the chaos and danger. There is nothing wonderful about Indian cities he says. We'll see what happens. I'm a small town girl who loves the peace and quiet. Who's to say I haven't experienced India if I don't go to the city? Every time I travel, I keep to the smaller places... why would I do any different here? Curiousity I suppose? Really, heaps of Indians never leave where they're from - so it's the real India to someone. There are over a billion people here. It's all pretty real to me.
Love
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