Incredible India!

Hello!

It's been awhile, Happy 2011!

While I'm in the mood to accomplish anything tonight (yes, my favourite sugared tea is keeping me up and hyper at the moment), therefore I shall no longer procrastinate, and attempt to share my experience in India through my eyes?

Tra lala ...

Immigration form I had to fill in during my plane ride.

Strolling about the village on my first morning - my first taste of village life.

Dogs and villagers aplenty, they were a curious bunch - since I am probably the only Chinese girl they'll see in their life entire life time. I have to say that they are a very sincere bunch though...

* the place I stayed in the ashram was pretty decent by my Singaporean standard...so fret not for me!

Our Indian chief suggested that we embark on a stroll to the beach - which turned out to be a tormenting hike in a swamp trail, filled with lots of crazy thorns that poked through my slippers.

Add in a loooong trail of squishy, muddy grounds so slippery that was practically i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e to walk.

Out of desperation, I gave up on my slippers and walked bare footed.

Post Beach stroll, Kuge suggested that we attempt the vegan breakfast served at the Ashram daily.
This is how it looks like - Rice flour cake with coconut milk and dahl-like curry.
The rice cakes reminds me somewhat of a moist and softer textured version of our local Tutu Kueh.

On the top left corner of the picture, out water was supplied in packet forms.

You're supposed to chew off a corner of the packet, and drink out of it.
No Straws.

The meal tasted decent to me, but I must say that 1 rice cake was definitely enough for me.

It's waaay too much carbohydrates in 3 rice cakes for me to stomach in the morning.

The lady who handed me my food was very concerned that I would starve, and insisted I finish at least 2 cakes. Just to be polite ( and because most villagers are very poor/ do alot of manual chores they eat at least 20 rice cakes in one seating or something along the lines, I tried not to waste food!) Gosh - I nearly died from from my attempt.

Us smiling with our lovingly made breakfast before partaking.

(I love how sincere everyone was, even though I could not understand their language.)

Post breakfast, we ran off with our driver for a little sight seeing around the main town.

Spotted a rare Signage with English words.. and I have no idea why it emphasized that the shop was owned by a Fish monger.

Peeped through the wall, while waiting for my ferry ride.

Yes, this is my ferry queue. I am quite the rare sight in India, being Chinese and female.

Haha. Everyone did their part in taking care of me, and I am really thankful!

On the left, we have Kuge, who's blending really well with the rest of his homies, and on the right, we have a quarter of Aden who's resting on the queuing bench.

And this would be the name of the Ferry that we boarded.  

Before boarding, there was a mad rush to grab a smelly worn out life vest. 

In the midst of the chaos, I panicked, and didnt manage to get any pictures of the smelly pile of life vest, dumped on the floor.  

I picked up a dingy looking vest, and refused to put it on...Better dead than smelly for me!

But Crix seems to be loving his vest tho... 

Setting foot onto the island, I love the sign that greeted me : Each soul is potentially divine.

So zen!

This island we visited housed the statue/house to the founder of Yoga. This is where Yoga apparently originated in. *beams*

As with most holy places - Visitors are required to remove their footwear.

Therefore the random pictures of my feet following the arrows.

Waiting for the ferry back - self entertainment was absolutely essential.

I attempted an arty shot of Aiden and myself through the reflection of Crix's sunnies,

but FAILED.  :(

my usual self shots, and the intrusion of Crix's peace sign in the picture..

Speaking of peace signs, we are extremely amused with the coins we received when we paid for our meals...

Meals were decent. Being the spoilt Singaporeans we were, we got the driver to drive us out to the fancy hotel in town, and we practically camped out at the same Restaurant almost every lunch and Dinner. 

Our first taste of Pepsi in a bottle! I think I was having a good hair day..

Sample picture of our typical meal. Tandoori Chicken, Fish Tikka (yummiest!) Chicken manchuria and blahblahblahblah. We ate so much meat that I constipated for the first 3-4 days! (so much for everyone's concern that India would give me diarrhea. Hahaha!)

Restaurant interior

Our favorite Booth Seat!

Our last day at Lunch! Chinese vs Indians! LOL

Post Lunch, a random shot of me in my heart shaped sunnies that was taken by Crix.

Kuge in his Epic Kawaii Gangsta shot.

Joker borrowed my shades. Totally amusing! 

Floor art at the entrance of the Ashram.

I love them to bits, and cannot take my eyes off them every time I walk past the entrance. :)

The wall of the Ashram is filled with plenty of wall murals, and these are just some that spoke the most to me.

As for my lodgings provided by the Ashram, we had ceiling fan, aircon, water heater, 2 washing sink (one in the toilet, and one in the corner by the window)

I was not expecting this standard before embarking on my trip, and I am glad to say that this was waaay better than what I have anticipated. For that I am extremely thankful for all that was provided.

On our last day, we visited a fortress nearby with a mega huge pond that was said to be where the Princess used to shower. -_-" The way I looked at it, the pond/bath could hold 10 elephants in it, or house a really HUGE princess, or the princess fancied pool parties?

I was not impressed with the pond, but I do have to share this...

Funny thing was, the men on the right of the sign were really comfortable on the tree...

Lol! I guess the signs were meant for tourists only?!

Ending off with a random picture of me posing with a tree that everyone tried to climb, but me.

Footnote: I never thought a city loving girl like me would ever say this, but I would choose to make a trip back to Kanyakumari again in the near future, for it was this little village that I found the inner peace that I desperately seek.

Okay, bye for now!