26.01.08 Kollam

After a leisurely start and watching locals playing cricket on the beach at sunrise, a quick fix and a big breakfast we decided to take a tuktuk the 35k to Kollam. Bit sad to leave the easygoing beach life but it was a bit too artificial in the end. The sea was lovely though and a welcome distraction. The sand carried on forever out into the surf...no rocks no shells...and no fish that I could see although Paul swears he saw a stingray on one of our early morning seasions...I think it was probably a sari with a string of mussels attached..at least that's what I talked myself into. The tuktuk to Kollam was supposed to cost 400r but he needed petrol on the way so got 100r deposit for petrol. All we wanted in Kollam was for him to take us to the temple but he had no idea and we drove in circles and he asked at least 6 people before we got there. The trip up was noisy and bumpy and we passeda lot of serious real estate on the way.

Got a reasonable couple of rooms for 200 and 300r in the centre of town. had lunch at the 'Indian Coffee House' which is a chain which has been running for 60 years by the coffee growers coop. They have just opened their first otside India in dubai...alll terbaned waiters in the style of the 40's when the brits were here in big nos. Kollam doesn't have a lot to offer so we took a tuk tuk 2k to the beach ..had a quick wander but left son after...the locals parc here and it was a real mess....funnily enough they had just finished a multistorey hotel conference centre and its first booking was a national medical conference. We had wandered why it was quiet everywhere and then heard it was a national holiday for independence.

Our rooms were half way between the temple and the mosque and in true style chanting in the mosque started early which is ok except that they do it here through loudspeakers ..i think just to promote the cause....Had a great dinner at a local outlet full of families who took a real shine to us.

Well I can't believe I've been here 2 weeks already. I've covered a lot of ground but theres a lot more to see. By now I've stopped wanting to get the spray n wipe out every time we stop somewhere. You just come to accept things the way they are and then occasionally you get a squeeky clean restaurant full of locals who must prefer to be there as well so maybe things are slowly changing. My mosquito net I got out the other night in Varkala. i bought it in NZ and it was described as 'ultr fine mosquito net' ...I think they meant blowfly net...the mesh is large enough to let mr and mrs and 3 children through and thats what happened..so I've packed it up and it will be going back to it's supplier. In the meantime the scheme is to turn the fans on full and hope the turbulence doesn't allow them to land. The mossies here are small bur pack a big punch. My filter machine gave up the ghost after churning out great water for 2 weeks at abot 4l per day...the filter got really brown and I couldnt get it clean even with bleach and then it broke due to fatigue I think...so it's into buying water like everybody else.

The people continue to fascinate me wherever we go. They are so willing to help and friendly and easily break into broad grins. Paul has a really good rapport with them particularly children and beggars. Have just been told this cafe is closing so will continue soon. Poytu varukirehn! Back for more now. I've now seen 2,734,249 women and 2,734,249 different saris. The women's clothing is very vibrant in colour and they are all different unless art of a uniform. When I went wandering in Madurai i witnessed women on a building site carrying huge demoltion rocks out on their heads and tiping them into the back of a truck and just down the road their were about 10 mixing concrete with trowels and carrying the concrete by the wokful to do a major repair on a footbridge which at that rate would be several months work. Yes the women here display such a degree of elegance and poise which doesn't really reflect how hard they work. Everywhere you look they are washing cleaning scrubbing and going about their chores. They are always immaculately presented and friendly when you engage in conversation with them. Considering how many people there are here it astonishes me that I have yet to hear a voice raised in anger or a hand or anything (with the exception of the bus conductors slap for the drunk) Road rage just doesn't exist and there's plenty of excuse to use it. The children are so quiet and apparently happy and crying or childrens raised voices is a non event. So a society quite different in every aspect to our own. Crime is also a very low aspect of society here and it appears that the lower you are down the socioeconomic ladder the stronger your family ties and thus less crime from those that would benefit most. i note that the odd crime that does get reported here the guilty person is described as son of so and so family etc so further disincentive. The prisons here are well known for their aalling conditions so nobody wants to do time! The men on the other hand generally let the side down. To me they hoic, expectorate, parc on the beach, leer, smoke, scratch and pee where and whenever they like. They arent all like that of course and some work incredibly hard for very little reward but the general impression is just that, unfortunately. Surely if the womenfolk can deal with lifes issues with dignity then their male counterparts can also!

Well enough of that. Interstingly now that we are in more affluent areas the animals look in better condition as well. They really are the strangest of sights appearing as if from nowhere and just ambling along slowly like the rest of the population.

As for the smell...well it's hot and humid like Athens and it's not the odd waft of raw sewage that irritates but the fumes of burning plastics everwhere as people try to rid themselves of the day's accumulated rubbish. The best thind though is turning a corner and then smelling the rich spices that make up so much of the cuisine here.

The temps have yet to drop below 25C at night (with the exception of the night bus trip some week odr so ago) and daytime hovers incessantly between 35 and 40C. The last few days there's been a low cloud cover but that just ups the humidity so just as much a struggle.