Monday February 28

Monday, Feb 28

Today is a travel day to Varkala. It was a 5-turned-six hour ride from Thrissur. After a breakfast and a brief stop at the local travel agency to research festivals in Thrissur the end of March. The book of festivals in India is as thick as the Bible. Fortunately, there is one so we will return. There is also an Indian film festival during that time. We caught a rickshaw from the travel agency back to the hotel to retrieve our backpacks and off to the train station. We were lucky to get two adjacent seats in the air conditioning. My ipod is introducing Heather to Randy Newman. He came up in conversation a couple of days ago when our train to Thrissur was not and we ended up on the bus. I often recall his lyrics, "you have to roll with the punches white boy." Heather had never heard of Randy Newman so here she sits with her eyes closed listening to Randy Newman as the lush tropical jungles of India pass by outside (as best you see thru the grime on the window). This is as far as today has progressed.

Not ten minutes after I wrote the last sentence we were busted in Aluva. At the train station in Aluva the owners of the two seats in the A/C class had showed up. We were quickly pointed the way to the next car which was second class and no A/C. Once the backpacks were stowed in the overhead we looked for two seats together but there were none. Women need to sit next to women so they directed Heather to the rear of the car where a shuffle of Hindu and Muslim bodies took place. I think there were seven people who got up and moved around to make room. They directed Heather to the empty bench seat and motioned for me to come join her. How thoughtful is that? That all those people got up and moved around to make room for two westerners and that they were happy to do so.

As it turned out the second class seating was actually more enjoyable than the A/C section. There is no glass on the windows so there was a nice breeze and the view was unobstructed. Our seats were in the rear of the car the last row in front of the exit so we could stand by the doors and hang out of the doors like you see in every railway scene in India. The people (almost all men) were friendly and pleasant and made the entire 6 hour ride a very memorable event. I almost forgot the chai and coffee walla's walking the aisles uttering "chai chai chai" or "coffee coffee coffee." The farther south we got the more beautiful the scenery became. There are pineapple fields, banana trees, and rice paddies all along the way. We passed one large body of water that was dotted with long slender wooden fishing boats with small white sails. It was absolutely beautiful. Finally arriving at Varkala we hopped on another rickshaw and made our way to yet another hotel. The Krishnatheeram hotel which sits above a cliff overlooking, which happened to be my first view of, the Arabian Sea. After dinner at a vegetarian restaurant we headed back to our rooms to complete yet another fascinating day. I think we're staying here two nights.