Gokarna and everything after

scene: I have 2 hours until the internet closes for the night, my next date with "broadband" is probably distant, I've just had to drink a few to wake myself up after one of the more relaxing experiences I've had (naked, covered in oil, being rubbed all over by 2 hairy indian men simultaneously), 2 feet behind me a live bangra band is playing "you are my sunshine." I am dazed and i am confused, this may not make much sense.

So, my last day in Hampi was significant for a terrifying experience involving a "14-year-old" "boy" and a razor blade. This kid was not my first choice for my first ever cut-throat shave, but his dad said he was fine so what could i do? He was fine, but he must've been 12 and he wore red nail varnish. Because of the festival in Hampi, all trains were over-booked back to the coast, so i had no choice but to take the overnight bus. Fortunately I had company - Josephine, a parisian food designer with whom I'm still travelling - but i have vowed to avoid night time buses from now on. My "bed" was a plank that must've been 1' wide, 5' long, the "bus" had no windscreen or suspension, and the "road" was possibly entirely imaginary. Most of the night was spent in mid-air, trying to make sure i landed on my target when i finally crashed back to gravity. Still, somehow we made it to Gokarna...

This is one of the most important places for Hindus, spiritually. Its on the Arabian see, just south of Goa, and is an incredible place. There are several gorgeous beaches to the south (Gokarna beach itself is covered in litter) which I think are just as nice as Goa, and the town itself has the nicest feel I've experienced in India so far. Foreigners (there aren't many, relatively) aren't allowed in the temples which is a shame as they're in use and would have been interesting, but its symptomatic of (part of) what makes the town so special: its really not there for tourists. There's a real spiritual tranquility in the air and I very much hope to go back there at some point.

Spent a few days in Gokarna, then headed down the coast to Kerala. Kerala is a small state in the south-west corner of India and is often trumpeted as the country's most advanced state in terms of literacy, poverty, infant mortality, child labour etc. It also seems to continue the trend of travelling becoming easier the further south I get. In general, its extremely friendly. On the tourist trail (such as Kochi, where I am now), there's a lot of hassle (it is mildly irritating to be asked the same leading question / told the same joke about rickshaws and ferraris 5 times within the first minute of leaving the hotel), but its definitely not aggressive. Went to a Theyyam (seemingly pre-Hindu religious ritual) in Kannur, northern Kerala, which was confusing - I feel a bit cynical about important religious events being held right next to a bus stop on a busy road, especially when westerners are being charged, but actually there were lots and lots of locals taking it very seriously, making it really interesting for me. Good drumming too.

Its nice to be travelling with someone else for a while, especially when not on the beaten track. Josephine & I next headed to a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Kerala to try and see elephants, tigers, wooly mammouths etc. Nice to be the only westerners in the city, to have some linguistic challenges, and very very spicy food, but really very little wildlife.

Another day, another bus, this time to Ooty. The most famous south-Indian hill station (2250m up I think), where the british top-brass relocated in the summer when Madras became too hot. Strange place. Incredible scenery, nice to have some cold weather, but strange place. Here's an illegal picture of the ballroom in the maharajah's palace: The highlight of Ooty was riding a horse through a cloud and emerging to a landscape of Eucalyptus forests / sweeping hills of tea plantations... This was amazing. Hard to take a good photo from a big moody horse when you can't ride a horse though:

And when you ride a horse for 3 hours, having not ridden for at least 15 years, its advisable not to commit yourself to sitting down for the next 6 hours... We took the minature railway out of Ooty in an effort to get back to the coast, but didn't get very far before a landslide halted our progress. Fortunately we met 3 french guys on the train and shared a taxi for the last 4 hours of the journey. Nice to be able to get out of jail free, but its not moral backpacking! Still, I probably speak better french than ever now...

Here's some fishing in Kochi, capital of Kerala, where I am now.

Its nice to be in "civilisation" again, but I look forward to leaving tomorrow. Its easy to spend more on a meal than most Indians earn in a week. Seriously, in fact while I'm on the subject I should share my naive horror at finding out (in Gokarna) that the average waiter works 17 hours per day, 7 days per week, for 2000 rupees per month. Its misleading to think of it in pounds but it works out at about 5 pence per hour. And that's a good job - the alternative for many is back-breaking field work for half the money. There are many shocking facts very close to the surface here that I won't try to do justice to in this state, and time is running out...

Off to the Keralan backwaters tomorrow.