What are the chances?

We know that everyone has probably heard that there were bombs in India over the weekend and we want to let you know that we are not in the area of the bombs. We checked and the one that was supposedly in Kochin was just a telephone call . Gujaret, north of Mumbai, did have a bomb, and so did Bangalore. A man explained it all to us today. But no one knows of another bomb in Kerala. Everyone is so helpful and kind... we are having a blast. We are being careful not to eat things we shouldn't, and are happy to be dry. The train station manager took us into his office and got us top berth train tickets for tonight, in 4 hours, where we will sleep and arrive in the morning, in time to take a bus to Mamallapuram and get to town for breakfast. It's perfect actually. We don't have plans about when to leave mamallapuram to travel south again .... you know, I still need to see the 3 seas. And we fly out of Trivandrum. Susan had a top made at a tailor today. She's better at directions than I seem to be, and we've had our share of haggling over prices. It's great to be with her instead of alone. Plus, she doesn't seem bothered about any of it; because something we ordered came with mayonnaise, we boxed it up and gave it to two children begging on the streets. Very satisfying. All our clothes are dry, we took a hot shower and washed our hair before checking out of our hotel, and we are set to begin again. The rooftop restaurants are fantastic. So pleasant, breezy and out of the heat of the streets. We tried to visit the temple today, to find out that it was covered over in thatch that took about three months to cover. Now they are in the process of repainting the temple which is only done every twelve years. The expected finish time is around the end of Octber which we will miss the unveiling. We were taken to the rooftop of a shop and he explained what we would have been able to see had we been able to go inside. Afterwards, we tried to visit a palace for a light and sound show to find out upon arrival that it too was being renovated. Great timing. Thanks to everyone for the comments. It is nice to hear from you and know that you are keeping up with us. We are now off to dinner on a rooftop and then to our train where hopefully, we will get some sleep. Goodnight. Susan and Maggi

Throw Away The Maps

Ok. Here's a shocker. I'm typing today (Susan). After a restless night of deciding where to travel to today, we started back toward Kochin with Ravi (our rickshaw driver and tour guide) to find out that during the night there had been a landslide and the road was closed. That helped to confirm our decision to travel to Madurai, where we heard it wasn't raining and it was warmer. After discussing it with Ravi, we hired Babu, a taxi driver, that would drive us to Madurai. After deciding to go with Babu, Ravi asked if he could go home and get his son, Sreeram 8 years old, who needed to go to the village medicine doctor along the way to have his broken arm checked. We agreed to let them ride with us, and he was our tour guide for the trip. Tonight we are in Tamil Nadu, another state of India, that we had not thought we would visit. Tomorrow night we head further east to Chennai on a train, which neither of us has ever ridden, then on to Mamalapuram. We have left Kerala all together and GLAD FOR THE HEAT AND SUN. Our trip here was wonderful and we took lots of pictures over the mountain pass of the Western Ghats with some pretty awesome views of waterfalls. We had a wonderful rooftop dinner overlooking Madurai. Stay tuned.

A slight Detour

At our friend, Dr. Thomas' suggestion, yesterday visited a state park where we rode Tunita, an elephant bare back (oooh, prickly!), climbed in treehouses overlooking the Periyar River, took turns swinging on swings made of bamboo, visited an orphanage, a zoo with deer, monkeys, peacocks, crocodiles, pythons, and bald eagles. The elephants there were rescued and trained. Then we hopped on a bus and rode 4 1/2 hours east up to a hill station that Dr. Thomas said was his favorite spot. Munnar (which means "3 rivers") is a small town in the mountains, 90% tea plantations, home of wildlife preserves, waterfalls, and sandalwood forests. We met Ravi, who became our guide in his rickshaw with blue tarps fastened to the sides to HELP keep the rain out. He took us to a guesthouse, and today, picked us up and took us to a breakfast of dosas (enormous crepes) on banana leaves, with coconut chutney and a spicy sauce to dip them in. Again, Susan ate with her hands like she'd been doing it all her life. Ravi took us to buy jackets (2 for $6), and socks, because we were cold! Then he took us even higher in the mountains where we could see the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu. (Rain stopped and clouds cleared for only a few minutes when we reached the summit). We spotted wild elephants, drank hot chai from the side of the road where they were roasting corn, and stopped to take pictures (grey ones in all this rain and wind) of waterfalls, lakes and dams. Tomorrow, we will visit huge waterfalls, and more wildlife parks, and then eventually move on back down to Kochin. We'll leave our jackets here for Ravi to sell again, for money for his 3 children. It is an amazing experience to be here, where the Communist party makes India seem "the same same, but different" -- as they say in India. Of course, Susan is seeing all of this for the first time, and it doesn't seem to phase her. We are having a blast! Hope you all are well. More soon. Susan and Maggi

The Adventure Begins at Home!

We know any vacation begins at home, and this one is no exception. First plane from RDU was cancelled. We were put on an earlier flight. The Newark flight was 3 1/2 hours delayed WHILE we sat on the tarmac in a lightning and thunderstorm. The airport was closed down because lightning struck the radar. When we finally got to take off, there was quite a bit of turbulence, of course, but we managed to get to Brussels ... WAIT! Brussels? We thought we were on a non-stop to Mumbai. Herein lies the difference between "non-stop" and "direct" flights. Pay attention, girls! The plane was unloaded and then we were told there would be a delay... because... get this --- the plane had been struck by lightning twice! If they couldn't fix it, we would get a new plane from Mumbai the following day. We were given food vouchers, and we set up camp on the floor. Finally we were loaded back onto our plane and landed in Mumbai 6 hours late. Of course, we wouldn't make our connection to Cochin from a different airport. But we did it. They held the plane and Dr. Thomas, our friend in Cochin, picked us up at 8:30 Friday morning. In one short day, Susan has learned to eat with her RIGHT hand, learned Indian traffic patterns (that supposedly include driving on the left side of the road), seen men in dhotis, toured Dr. Thomas' farm where we saw how rubber is made, visited a school full of children where we counted with them in English and asked them to all introduce themselves. Maggi already got a new filling and Susan held Dr. Thomas' new baby girl, Nissi Susan. We feel like part of this huge wonderul extended family, and the soft summer rain in Kerala. We have big smiles on our faces!

Where is Kerala?

Kerala is the very small (green) state in the most southwest tip of India. Here are maps to orient you as we make our way south from Kochi (Cochin), about midway down the western coast of Kerala, to the very tip of India, where it joins the state of Tamil Nadu. [Click on yellow map of Kerala to enlarge.]

Bags are Packed

Susan is especially proud of the fact that we are taking only one backpack each, and not checking any bags at the airport.