Jaipur to Kochi

Feb 17

We are now in Kochi, Kerala. Last night when we checked into the hotel the thermostat on the A/C said that the temperature was 37 degrees in the room. It took all evening and most of the night for the room to get down to 21. Today with the A/C running all day the temperature is 26. It is really hot outside. I am loving the heat but Lindsay is not so much. I bought some drinks at a roadside stand that claimed to be a "cold bar". Really what this was is a stand with a tarp for shade where 4-5 guys can stand and drink coffee. An Indian Coffee Shop! I joined the 4 guys who were having coffee and had a Limca (like sprite only better). One of the guys started talking about me to the lady who works there. At once everyone started laughing and the lady (who spoke english well) said " don't worry about them", with a laugh as she circled her finger around her ear, as if they were loonie. So that's my first coffee shop experience in India. I think I am going back for coffee tomorrow morning! - Don

Feb 22

It has been quite a while since we wrote anything. One of the reasons, at least for the last couple of days, is that in the time that we spend in the hotel room resting we have been watching the olympics. Right now Don is recovering from our mens hockey loss to the US. The other reason is simply that we have been enjoying ourselves. Jaipur seems like ages ago. We stayed in a great hotel (with the first hot shower we've had in India) and ate superb food. We spent our day there wandering as usual, admiring the intricate facades of ancient buildings and even doing a bit of shopping. Within Jaipur is an old walled city that is buzzing with bazaar activity and littered with cows and goats and beautiful fruit and vegetable stalls. It was such a nice day out that I managed to get a sun burn. It might sound weird but until this we hadn't got so much as a tan. Right now Don and I are in Kochi on the coast of the province of Kerala. It's like we have gone to a different country. The first thing you notice is that it is about 15 degrees hotter here than in the north. The heat and humidity are so exhausting so we find that our days just can't be as long. Sometimes we end up taking a nap in the afternoon in our air conditioned room or like last night I sit down for a minute after supper and wake up in the morning. The people and culture here are also vastly different from the north. It is refreshing for people to be friendly and not trying to take advantage of us. We think there are a few possible reasons that people here are happier and not as desperate or needy. Kerala is apparently the first place where the people have freely elected a communist government almost continuously. We have heard people talking proudly about how castes are not allowed in Kerala. One guy jovially told us that there are no slum dogs or millionaires in Kerala. Although they are exaggerating we can tell from our past experiences that Kerala is doing something right. People here are more shy and modest but also eager. Kids especially want to say hi and be waved at, but people back off after encountering you: They don't pester you or follow you and they don't leer nearly as much. We've had so many positive experiences here. -Lindsay