a breath of fresh air.

That is how Nepal feels after coming from India. Even the relatively peaceful pace of southern India is nothing compared to Nepal, or precisely, Pokhara. Surrounded by the Himalayas on one side and a rather impressive lake on the other, Pokhara is the jumping off point for all the major trekking trails. Annapurna, Fishtail Mountain....others also, but I'm not going to lie, trekking isn't high on my list of things I love so I can't remember any more names.
We arrived here on the tail end of monsoon season, so although we know geographically we are surrounded by enormously beautiful snow-capped mountains, the ever prevailing clouds make it slightly impossible to believe. We did get lucky though...mother nature must have taken pity on us as on Wednesday some of the clouds disappeared for a time and we were able to spot the snowy peaks of two giant mountains. Very exciting.
The lakeside of Pokhara, while being completely set up for tourists, isn't enormously developed, and although restaurants now offer WIFI and internet cafes line the streets, it still has the feel of a chilled out hippie destination of the 70's or 80's. Or my imagined version of what that would be like, anyway. Everybody who comes here is here for the trekking (with the exception, of course, of me) so everybody has that air of unconcerned scruffiness about them (including me)...there are no flashy clubs or bars. Pubs have live bands that play old Chili Pepper songs and Stairway to Heaven....and there is a LOT of U2.
We also made a lovely new friend here who runs a small business that provides jobs for otherwise unemployed village men and women. It's an interesting story and I am going to dedicate another whole entry to it, but that might have to wait until I am home, with a reliable internet connection so I can upload pictures.
So....this is my last blog from overseas. Bit sad really, but mostly unbelievable. The thought of going home is very bittersweet, but at the moment it is just that, a thought. It doesn't feel like anything real. I have been away so long that I have actually forgotten what parts of my house look like and the idea that I will be home on Monday, in one place, with no intention or need to move on to a new place, a new bed, a new town, is quite surreal.
See you soon Adelaide!

the land of coconuts.

We traversed the country in trains and buses and it took us no less than two days, but we finally arrived in the southern state of Kerala, and our home for the next ten days. A guesthouse set up high in the Keralan mountains, in a tiny village, five minutes walk to the local school which is the centre of life at the guesthouse set up for volunteers. There are six or seven people living here at the moment...the volunteers (and only white people in the village and surrounding areas), the couple who run the school and connected orphanage and any family or others who are connected in some way to the organisation. It's a lovely environment to live in....as I expected, a very different view of India than what I have seen so far.

The school, which is run specifically for poorer children and orphans, is making do with whatever they can. Very few supplies, untrained teachers and classrooms which are literally all set in a large concrete hall and separated by curtains. The children are all gorgeous though and doing very well with what they have.

P.s The title of this post is referring to the fact the 'Kerala' means 'Land of the coconuts'...ie, there are a lot of coconuts down here.

notes from the land of insanity.

India. As the cliche goes, westerners come to India to 'find themselves'. Although, after being here for nearly two weeks myself, I honestly have no idea why people expect India to be the place in which this will happen. There is so much other (four letter word) to deal with that I can't fathom how anybody would find the time to even search for themselves here. What it does teach you however, or at least what it has taught me so far, is that home is a beautiful, beautiful place. In fact, more than any other place I have visited in the course of these travels, India has made me appreciate the land of Oz the most. Imagine, a place where locals and foreigners are charged the same price....where people genuinely want to talk to visitors, not just score the contents of their wallets....where locals will help you and not hold out their hands for compensation....ahh just imagine! Is it not beautiful? It is. And thankyou to the great subcontinent for helping me realise this.
This description may seem cynical...I don't mean it to be. It is genuinely how I feel about this place, or what I have seen of it so far at least. But, of course, so far I have been in major tourist areas visiting major monuments and landmarks, so this is only one representation of a very varied land.
After spending about twelve days traversing Rajasthan (yes, we saw the Taj Mahal and yes, it is actually something you have to see in real life to truly understand it's beauty), we are currently on a night stopover in Mumbai, the most westernised city in India, before we have two overnight train rides down to the southern state of Kerala, where will be met by my lovely mummy who will then take us to the school she is volunteering her time to. After I have seen this side of the country I am sure I will have a lot of different things to say about it. We'll see.
(P.s Sorry, no photos this time, India doesn't seem to have caught on to the wifi craze yet (at least in the budget hotels) so I am using public computers and can't upload anything.)