14.03 Line has been lying in the pool for one and a half hour, in the middle of the day, without sunscreen, but with sunglasses..not the best idea..

Backwaters

It's Thursday 8. of march and we are a group of new friends going to Kerala, Allappey, on something called Backwaters. That is where you rent a houseboat, get a cook, a captain and a little helper with it, and head out on the waters of Allappey (or Allapuhza).

We were taking the train from Chennai to Allappey, we were traveling at night, the ride takes about 13 hours, so we figured we could get a good nights sleep on our way there. But as it turns out, the train people have overbooked so we don't get a bed each, we have to share, but that works out good in the end:) The journey home is another story though, I will get to that later..

Line on the train to Allappey, drinking Chai:)

We arrive in Allappey around 11 o'clock friday morning. We settle in at a little cafe called the Indian Coffee House, very cheap and very good food.

The next thing to do is to find ourself a houseboat! Now, we are 13 people traveling together so this isn't just a piece of cake, but we are studying Peace- and Conflict so of course we solve this in a democratic way, there are two houseboats to choose from, raise your hands! Not everyone was pleased, but thats democracy..

After having settled on a houseboat, we need some supplies...

We left the harbor around, maybe five o'clock, and headed out on the open waters! We were happy, the sun was shining, we had the wind in our hair, we had cold beer and a cigarette, good friends, good food, we were in India "studying", traveling and simply just enjoying life. Everything was good, until we suddenly realized that we were back where we had started..We had been promised a bonfire on a beach and a party no one would want to miss, and then here we were, at the concrete harbor. This couldn't be right, we had a talk with some people and then after a few hours we went to the neighboring island and they made a bonfire for us inside the woods. They just had to wait for the other guys to arrive, they also wanted to join the party. And we figured, we are on holiday, nothing will ruin our mood, so we waited patiently, some enjoyed a swim while others drank beer:)

The Bonfire was not for everyone, including me, it was just a little too much. But for the ones who went for it, they sang songs, shared stories, learned to play some kind of Indian drum and finished off with limbo dancing!

The next day we headed back out on the open waters, again we were happy, we had the wind in our hair, the sun was shining, we had good friends, beers and food! Life was smiling! This trip lasted the whole day and night! We made a few stops by the riverbanks, by some small villages where you could buy chocolate! And go see a church, but again, that was not for me, I was busy writing postcards...

Chocolate:)

We sailed on and got to see a beautiful sunset

Sunday around 9 am we arrive at the dock. We are going back to Chennai 4 pm so we have a few hours to look around in Allappey.

Some choose to go kayaking and some just go to a cafe and relax after the two very active days on the boat. Some are leaving for new adventures outside of Allappey. 

Heading for the train station around three o'clock, we are 9 exited students looking forward to the ride home, each and everyone of us have our own bed to sleep in, this is going to be the best train ride ever!:) 

However, as it turns out about two hours into our trip, we have tickets for 11. of April and not March...

Well, to make a long story short, we had to get off the train, we got hold of some new tickets, but couldn't get any seats, we got the general wagon, basically means where you have to stand up for the entire ride, because it's so crowded. Anyway, we got into the wrong wagon, we had to get out and run for the right wagon at the next station, that didn't go so well for some of us. Iben, Mette, Sabitha and I watched the train drive away..with Camilla, Kasper and Maja still on the train..without any tickets..(Bjørn and Adil, the two last friends didn't get on the train at all because they went to see if there were any busses leaving for Chennai, and there wasn't, so they had to get on another train..) Well, the four of us had no idea where we were, literally. But we are no damsels in distress, we asked around, we had an open ticket, so we could just jump on the next train! This was around midnight. As we got on the next train, our friends calls and tells us they don't want to stay on the train without tickets, they could be sent to jail for 6 months, so they abandon ship on the next station..After a few hours, a lot of phone calls and some more asking we are finally all together again! But, then again we are in the wrong wagon! Then the sweet(?) conductor lets us know that we can pay 130 rupees so we can stay in the sleepers wagon, but there are no seats so we have to sleep by the toilets... ... cockroaches, a lot of cockroaches ... toilet ... Well, once again we are no damsels in distress, we lay down and have ourself a good night sleep..almost..By the end of the trip we get some sleepers (beds), this is like heaven!:) 

In Chennai we buy breakfast, and then we just want to go home.

On our way to the bus station in Chennai we meet these funny people, it's a goat in-between them there on the bike, for eating.

After having arrived in Pondi at around 2-3 pm, I took a long shower and then fell asleep right away..

Eventhough the train left us and we had to sleep next to the toilets, it was an amazing trip!:) 

And one of the most funny moments was watching the train start to move and we couldn't do anything, we just looked at each other and started to laugh:) what can you do..

It's been a while since I've written something here, so I'm not really sure where to start.

Last weekend Maja, Mette and I went to Mamalampuram, just to get away for a little while and experience something else. Mamalampuram is about two hours away in a bus. 

We could have seen temples and gone surfing, amongst other things, but we ended up shopping a bit (?), hanging out on the beach, eating good food, going to bed early and doing some reading. The power is gone 10 hours every day, so we had to take baths in the dark with just our (head torch?) on, we had a lot of fun..
It was a very good weekend:)
The bus drive there war so nice! The bus was almost empty, all the windows were open, the wind coming from everywhere, it was the afternoon, we drove past rice fields, water and palm trees!:)

view from the bus

Maja and Mette:)

Overlock sewing machine! Nice!

Maja and I at the beach:)

There is not a whole lot more to tell really, we are studying and having a good time in Pondi:)

Well, tuesday (6.03) i was walking to Majson Raja, it was Iben's birthday and we were going to celebrate her:) but as I walked there I saw this women running after her child, grabbed him, shook him and hit him really hard..I felt so sad for the boy, but we are in India and I can't interfere or do anything, but should i just forget it and accept it because it's another culture and I'm in a different country? There are so many things to think about, things you see that force you to think about how good we have it in our country, how lucky we are, and I think it't a good thing that we are forced to face these issues, but sometimes it's also hard..you see beggars everywhere, should i give them money? little children living on the streets..there are a lot of stray dogs here, friendly and playful during the day, but at night you really don't want to walk alone..But India is a beautiful country and i love being here, especially with all my new lovable friends:)

I'm getting more and more fond of the food in India! This is from a restaurant in Pondicherry.

This food is probably the most spicy i ever had! I was sweating and my mouth was burning, but it was so good! it is mutton (geit) and nan bread! mmm! delicious! 

view from the restaurant, a man selling a lot of nice colored plastic buckets and different house necessities 

 Chillin', I mean studying, in one of the 'bungalows' at the study center

Today we are a bunch of people leaving for Kerala, its 3 hours in bus to Chennai and from Chennai it about 13 hours on a train to Kerala. But I'm looking forward to it! Looking at the country and the people, feeling the wind on my face!:) We are going to rent a houseboat and just chill around on the water!:) Probably going to bring some beer and cigarettes as well..

Hope you all are doing well! see you after the weekend!:)