The Big Man

-


Kanyakamari is a quaint little town. Life is slow and there is no need to rush. We left the hotel for breakfast at a small street stall. 3 paratha each and we were done. Tea is another of our regular stops and through out the day we drink a lot!

We walked straight past the street where the boats to the small island begin. We backtracked and joined the queue. It went fairly quickly but boarding the boat was rather more interesting. Men and ladies were seperated in seperate queues. A big box full of life jackets was waiting ...

Basically, after a count of 3 everyone ran to grab a life jacket and dived on to the boat. Some crammed through the door, some dived through the window. Pushing and shoving was the way the locals caught the small ferry. We haven't witnessed this kind of behaviour in India for about 20 years. Even some of the locals were shocked. We put this bizarre behaviour down to holiday (pilgrimage ) excitement and the fear of husband and wife being seperated.

We stood at the front of the boat as everyone fought for a seat. It was nice and calm there. The boat trip was short and as soon as we were on, we wer off again. 

First we explored the island temple and meditation hall
. Next we queued to go across onto the island where the giant man stood. He really is huge and build from pieces of rock fitted together. Finally we queued one more time to escape.


We walked the small streets hunting for interesting things to buy. We did buy  small rangoli pattern sieve and essential items such as toothpaste. Curd is so nice we got 0.5 kg to eat.

We visited the Gandhi museum but didn't have much time as they were closing. Next, to the sea front to watch people bathing. We chatted to a deaf lady and she was very friendly. She bought us some pineapple to share. We bought her some tea. We think she has 2 children and her husband was killed in the Tsunami. Though we may be completely wrong...

We ate in a small cafe and couldn't face another thing to eat. Cake was skipped and we bought coke instead!


Popular posts from this blog

First Day Explorers

-
Image
After a good night's sleep, we woke early...ish for breakfast. We were hoping for a traditional Indian spicy fair but got a traditional boiled egg, bread and jam. We washed it down with a hot cup of Chai, so all was good. We ventured out in search of a few sites, however were easily distracted by fresh fruit platters, mango lassis and mobile phone cover shops. Next, an ATM stop to test various SBI machines. One small branch failed but the head office one worked. This was near the Mumbai stock exchange, complete with bull outside. We ended up at Horniman circular garden. An interesting name but the garden was being 'refurbished' - dug up. Marine drive is famous amongst the people of Mumbai. A huge boulevard next to the sea for romantic strolls. The stroll today wasn't filled with romance, more noise pollution as the whole sea defence boulevard was being fixed. Almost all of it for mile after mile. We had to walk on the dual carriageway but soon got fed up and headed inla
Read more

Le Havre to Nevers (7th-18th March)

-
Image
We have been cycling for 2 weeks now and have covered a lot of ground.  We have had varying weather of heavy rain, scattered showers and dry but cold.  Night's in the tent have been pretty cold! THE ROUTE (Le Havre) After our last night in a 'proper bed' for a while, we stocked up on food and headed out of Le Havre. We cycled through farmland to a pretty little town called Harfleur and then on to Lillebonne. We saw 2 massive birds nesting at the top of a post. Our first night camping was beside the river, very tranquil. (First night camping on the River Seine) We followed the Seine down to Rouen. This is funky town with lots of bars and restaurants all along the river. Unfortunately the heavens opened just as we approached so, after taking shelter for a while we continued on to find a camping spot for the night, this time near a railway line. From Rouen we headed throy St Aubin Les Ebeuf and Les Andleys following the river.  We saw lots of beautiful houses and chateau
Read more

Around Valence 22nd March to 9th April

-
Image
We are now staying with friends. One lives one side of the Rhone in the Ardeche and the other on the other side, in the Drome Region. We had originally planned to visit for a few days, however, due to the weather we have been here over 2 weeks! The day we arrived we had blue skies and sunshine, which lasted the first day! Since then we have had a lot of rain, thunder, lightning and hail. Our friends have very kindly said we can stay as long as we like. We have spent some time mending broken things eg. the bike repair kit bag, which virtually disintegrated and the sleeping mat, which we have now accepted cannot be fixed easily! We went to the Salon des Vin de France for a wine tasting event and tasted many wines from around France - some good, some not to our taste and not worth the high price. One sunny day we explored Valence. There are some very pretty parks and lots of historical buildings. We saw the Maison de Tete and a house where Napoleon used to live. We wandered the
Read more