Mass Email - Paradise Found

Namaste all...

Well, I am now more than 3/4 of the way into my journey, with less than a month left in India!! It's quite hard to believe, as it seems the time has flown by, but at the same time, I feel as though I have lived a lifetime of experiences throughout my travels.

Arriving in the south was exciting, as this is the "vacation" part of my trip, but also a bit bittersweet to know that I am on the last leg of my travels, and already have so many warm memories to look back upon.

My time in Kochi was short but extremely positive. On my first day there, I met several very nice people with whom I shared some traditional Keralan ceremonies, as well as some traditional Keralan meals. One of the girls, Kristin, an adorable young woman from Australia (who has been living in the UK for the past 4 years) and I became close friends very quickly, and after spending a few days exploring Kochi together, we decided to take a 10 day trip further south down the coast together to spend 2 nights at Amma's Ashram, and the remainder of the time in Varkala Beach, and then fly up to Goa on the 24th.

Kochi (aka Fort Cochin) was a very peaceful ("shanti shanti" as they say here in India) small town located close to the Ocean with quite a few smaller islands off the coast (which, unfortunately, I never got a chance to see). It was the perfect combination of a small town feel with amazing tropical weather, complete with swaying coconut trees, colorful birds, fresh fish to eat, and the most incredible tropical storms that hit every night like clockwork for about an hour, lighting the town with flashes of lightning and sending thunder echoing down the alleyways. The town was small enough that one could walk around safely without getting lost, and tended to run into the same people every day, which is nice when traveling alone. I stayed at this small, family-run homestay called Wilson's Homestay, and quickly became very close friends with Wilson's mother and their "servant," Asha. I would spend hours in the mornings with them, helping them make breakfast, helping them with laundry (which is quite a task in India, let me tell you) and talking to them about anything and everything we were able to communicate between my lack of Hindi and their lack of English skills. They, like most of the women I've found here in India, were absolutely magnificent people with such warm hearts and an openness unlike any found in the states in most cases. They cried when I left, and begged me to write and send them photos of the 3 of us that I had taken with my camera. A beautiful time..

Kristin and I caught a taxi to Alleppey, a town about an hour south of Kochi, where we caught our backwater ferry the next morning to take us to Amma's Ashram. The 6 hour backwater ferry ride was surreal, as I felt I was drifting through a picturesque postcard or National Geographic documentary. Kristin and I talked about how easy it is to become desensitized to the beauty around us, as it really is quite unreal, yet all encompassing. We watched as incredibly-constructed bamboo houseboats drifted past us, tourists waving as the Indian men steered the boat along with very long bamboo rods they used to push from the bottom of the rivers. We caught snapshots of people's lives as we passed homes, schools, towns, women doing laundry, people bathing, workers in the fields, and children screaming from the shores asking us for pens.
We stopped halfway for lunch at the only building constructed on the land we were passing which was a restaurant apparently run for the sole purpose of feeding ferry passengers. They served us all traditional Keralan dishes on banana leaves....a huge pile of rice, several curries, a fried fish, and a quarter of a pineapple....all of which we had to eat "Indian style" with our fingers, which was interesting to say the least. The food was delicious though.

We arrived at Amma's Ashram around 4, and were amazed to see that it was an ENORMOUS highrise in the middle of miles and miles of coconut trees, rivers, and the ocean on the western side. It was quite an impressive facility, and the atmosphere was quite a bit to take in, as over 2000 devotees live there, walking around in their bleached white saris. There was a huge temple in the middle, surrounded by buildings housing visitors, as well as many shops, cafes and support centers. We had to do "seva" (service) in order to stay there, so we ended up doing dishes in the Western cafe and meeting some very nice (but very fanatical) devotees from around the world who had been living there for many years. We spent the rest of our time meditating, and watching the sunsets from our 15th floor view looking out over the ocean which lay a mere 300 feet in front of us. It was spectacular.

Yesterday we departed Amma's and arrived here in Varkala Beach, which is truly Paradise Found. We are staying at an oceanside guesthouse hidden among coconut trees with perfect little balconies facing the ocean, and absolutely everything we could possibly need within a stone's throw of us (restaurants, yoga centers, a German Bakery, internet, a beauty center for pedicures, massages and facials, shops, tailors, and most importantly a private beach along the legendary North Cliffs of Varkala). Today it has been raining all day, impeding our beach time, but making for a perfect opportunity to sit out on our balconies watching the ocean and catching up on some reading. Tomorrow I start a 3-day cooking class at one of the restaurants next door where I learn how to make traditional keralan thalis (which we sampled last night and are AWESOME)! I'm really excited to stick around here for a week or so before heading to Goa, and I'm even toying with the idea of staying for 2 weeks, and spending my last 2 weeks in Goa rather than having the extra week to leave open. We'll see, though...one never knows what will happen....the joy of traveling. :)

For now, I am soaking up the paradise around me, and enjoying my final days in India, awaiting what will come along next....

I hope everyone is well at home. It was great talking to some of you the past few days. I can't wait to get a chance to see you all in a month or so.

Much love,
Cass