| |
Coimbatore
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
We arrived around midnight in Coimbatore. It was hot even then. We took a taxi to the hotel. This was my first taste of the driving in India. I thought Athens was busy...or Rome, Cape Town even....but nothing comes close to India. Organized chaos. Mopeds, bikes, rick-shaws, taxis, buses, cars; all familiar to the average road. Then throw in monkeys, cows, goats, kids, elderly people, women carrying water buckets on their heads, men carrying wood and tools, and road construction (in the middle of the road with no warning or order!). Then add in fast drivers and lots of horn blowing. However, there were no accidents and no road rage. Truely organized chaos!
The next day Reuben’s parents, Joy and Andrew, picked us up at the hotel and we headed up to the hills of Kerala. After the first 15 minutes I had to force my self to not get absorbed into the road as it may have brought on a panic attack. I’d like to say that it got better once we got out of the city, but the roads remained quite narrow and the people drive just as fast. We did drive through a park and saw about 15 wild elephants. They were along side the road, little baby ones too. We stopped in a few shops along the way for some bananas and laundry soap. Everyone here does their laundry by hand. The way they beat their laundy is a sight to behold. They smack it repeately on cement blocks and wring it and whirl it all around!
We eventually got to Reuben’s parents house in Kanthallor (about 6000ft). It’s a beautiful place with a huge garden. They have broccili, beans, chard, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic and corn. It’s rare to get diverse vegetables here in India, the fresh food has been quite a treat.
The landscape is lush and green, terraced with farming. I wake up in the morning, meditate, have breakfast, and walk the beans (pull weeds in the garden). Then I do my Yoga practice and we walk to Sasi’s Tea Shop for lunch. It’s a shack on the hillside, and the food is spicy! Everyone eats with their hands, except me. I ask for a spoon. The rice and the curries and the sauces...it’s just too much for me right now. After lunch we take walk up in the mountains. At sunset we return home, pick some food from the garden and make dinner. Tea and bed. Relaxed, healthy living!
Posted: 04.14.2010
|
|
