Saturday February 26

Saturday Feb 26

What a day! We had a very pleasant breakfast with a Danish couple before checking out around 1130. A short ride to the ferry on three wheeled rickshaw. We took the ferry across Kochi to Willingdon to catch the train to Thrissur. On the way to the train station we stopped at an Ayurvedic restaurant where I ate my first meal with my fingers. It was one delicious meal. The day before Heather had been told by a travel agent that the train to Thrissur departed at 2 pm. We arrived the train station and were told that there was no 2 pm departure and that the next train departed at 4pm. So we left the train station via another rickshaw to the bus terminal. We boarded the next bus for Thrissur and some two hours later we arrived. We got a front row seat and settled in to watch Mother India to pass by. One more rickshaw ride to our Luica Guest House where we'll be staying for two nights. There is an Ayurvedic massage business adjacent to the hotel so off we went. This was my first massage of this type. Traditionally, men only massage men and women only massage women. Traditionally, you strip down to your birthday suit which I had some apprehension thereof. But there I stood in all my glory. As it turned out this business used a disposable loin cloth which was put on by the gentlemen giving me the massage. The massage was performed on a large slab of wood that had been carved out to form a large bowl are in which you laid. It was kinda like laying in a shallow casket. There was no padding just hard wood. So for the next hour he poured warm oil on me and gave me my first Ayurvedic massage. The massage itself was more like a oil rubdown that a massage but it felt great nonetheless. We paid a bit more and got a head massage as well.

We walked back to the hotel where we enjoyed yet another delicious Indian dinner. Exhausted from the day we went to our rooms to call it a day. I wanted to document the day before I go take a shower and get the rest of the oil off of my ankles. Again, what a day!