Kerala, India

We are ready to leave India after a month.  It has been very hot and humid in Kerala state, which is in the south of India.  The breeze from the Arabian Sea helps a little with the heat.  Too bad swimming is not allowed in a lot of places- too dangerous.

Our favorite beaches were Kovalam and Varkala.  Those were the only two beaches where we could actually swim in the sea.  Also, we stayed in beautiful rooms with a sea view.  In Kovalam we ate local food.  For lunch we had meals, which included unlimited rice with different sauces and bread.  For dinner we had different breads with curry.  My favorite was parotta with vegetable curry.  Even though we liked the food, both of us still got sick from eating it.  After that we decided to eat western or fusion food.  In Varkala we found the best inexpensive restaurant on the beach next to our hotel.  We ate every meal of the day there.

When traveling, looking for a place to eat 3 times a day was tiring.  So, when we found tasty food for a reasonable price, we went to the same place until it was time to move to another town.  We noticed that a good cook was not easy to find.  Also, a good cook made anything taste delicious.  I also learned that I got tired quickly of unusual flavors.  In South America we missed the computer the most.  Now we have a computer.  This time we missed a kitchen the most.  It was nice when we could cook something familiar ourselves, like eggs for breakfast.  We are dreaming about European food.  We already planned our first dinner in Frankfurt.  I am going to have sausage with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  Dangis is going to have a schnitzel.  Well, food becomes really important when you travel, especially when you are a picky eater like me.  In Columbia, Peru, Ecuador and especially Bolivia, food was bland.  In Southeast Asia and India, the food had too many unusual flavors.  Also, way too much sugar in everything in the Asian countries. 

India is a country of contrasts and paradoxes.  A lot of Indians want to be doctors or engineers.  At the same time, a lot of people do not believe in modern medicine and technology or do not have access to them.  Most people are dressed beautifully, while the streets are full of garbage.  Men and women are segregated, but women are still being raped.  Women are drowning in fabric making their figures invisible, while men are wearing short skirts.  The front seats of the buses are reserved for women, while men have to sit in the back.  Sometimes there are even separate lines or waiting rooms for women in the train stations.  There are women hostels available, too.  It is rear to see a woman and a man holding hands, but it is common to see two men or two women holding hands.  The young girls seem to be very shy, but the elder women seem dominant.  It was interesting to see some girls having to stop in front of the little creek on the beach to make a decision on how to pass it.  The creek was ankle deep and a little wider than a step.  The tourists just jumped over it or walked through it without having to pause before. 

Overall people were friendly, even to the point of being annoying.  Indians were curious.  Sometimes someone repeated random phrases in Lithuanian after overhearing us talking.  Bargaining in India was always a pleasure.  Indians are always willing to give a discount.  The trick was to figure out if the original price was a double or quadruple of the actual price.  Almost always we were able to get half a price on most things.  Sometimes we were even able to get a final price of 150 rupees from original price of 500 rupees.  Also, most people spoke perfect English, making it easy for us to get around.  We only drove with the rickshaw once to the beach, since the buses did not go there.  Otherwise, we could always ask people for help on the buses we needed to take. 

Well, the bus drivers were the most aggressive drivers in the streets.  All of them would be fired in US and probably sued.  Every time the bus drivers used a horn, they should have been breaking instead.  Sometimes, they only slowed down for the passengers to get on or off the bus.  One time our city bus even stopped in the gas station to fill up. 

Even though, Indians love their rules and paperwork, they themselves break a lot of rules.  We have never had to fill out so many pages just to reserve a hotel room.  Also, Indians were honest.  One seller told me that a watermelon I selected was bad.  In Thailand, the sellers would be happy to sell rotten fruit for you.  Also, in India we almost always received the correct change.

Drinking is socially unacceptable in India.  There were only 3 places where alcohol was available: special alcohol stores, bars and tourist restaurants.  The stores were few and away from the street.  There was always a long line of men outside the store.  The store had bars, and the alcohol was sold through the window.  A lot of men gave money to others to buy alcohol for them, so they did not have to stand in line.  About 15 men cut in front of us that way, when we wanted to buy some beer.  The bars were also away from the street.  There was a security present at all bars.  It was dark inside and no women.  Once we ordered beer in the tourist restaurant.  The waiter poured half of the beer in the coffee cups and put the bottles with the remaining beer under our table.

The foreigners we met in India seemed a little funny to us.  They were wearing local traditional clothing and seemed distant, not friendly.  I guess most of them were very obsessed with yoga, spirituality, and everything India, more obsessed than Indians themselves.