Go to Kerala, India!

I have no idea how to do this in one post without it going on and on and on...but I am going to give it a go! My trip to Kerala, India was absolutely amazing (but I feel like that does not really capture it)! My favorite part was the people. They were so kind and generous. I loved my time in Kerala and did not want to return to Doha (but that does not take much...). FYI I went with Kristin, one of my co-workers. ANYWAY, all our pictures (over 400...but I did my best to group them by day) are on my Shutterfly page (no WAY I was going to post them all here): adventuresofjade.shutterfly.com. Let me know if you have any questions or whatever about the pics.
So here is the trip breakdown (location, lodging, dates):
Cochin at the Avenue Anex - 18 Jan to 19 Jan and 21 Jan to 22 Jan
Munnar at Ayur County - 19 Jan to 21 Jan

Kottayam at Puzhayoram (for wedding of George and Shilpa in Tiruvalla) - 22 Jan to 23 Jan
Houseboat from Kumarakom to Alleppey - 23 Jan to 24 Jan
Kovalam (near Trivandrum) at Uday Samudra - 24 Jan to 26 Jan
Sunday
The flight over was full of workers from Doha going home (we arrived in Cochin very early in the morning on 18 Jan). I heard that many families in Kerala have at least one family member working (or, really, busting ass) in the Gulf to support family back home. These workers, as I have said before, are building Doha and other places in the Gulf like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, etc. Anyway, you could feel the energy of people on the flight - they were full of emotion coming home for the first to last time.
On this flight I learned that Indians love to pickle just about anything. And pickled anything is just nasty.

The roads are full of all sorts of crazy modes of transportation that I have only seen in photos or on the television - Nash Ambassadors, rickshaws, crazy decorated trucks, super old buses, bicycles, mopeds... And lots and LOTS of honking. And there really are no such thing as lanes.

We have a massive suite to ourselves! And a dude named Sebastian who is possibly the happiest guy on the planet (he does not stop laughing) comes to our place to make us breakfast!

Indians sure love their music videos. Channel after channel of addictive music videos.

India is dirty. But is it really? Or do we in the West just hide all our garbage really well? Makes me think of The Story of Stuff: http://www.storyofstuff.com/.

The Chinese fishing nets in Cochin are sweet! They are like a cross between giant spiders and really good climbing trees.

Cochin has been influenced by many different cultures - Indian (obviously), Jewish, Portuguese, Dutch, Arab... This place is so rich with culture (the opposite of Doha...)!

Antique shops here could kick the ass of any antique shop in the States or in the U.K. Even better than most museums.

Grrreat dinner (with APPLE PIE and BEER) for only $20! And lunch only costs us $3! I heart this place.

Monday

Four hour drive to Munnar plus crazy driving by all on the road equals Jade a bit carsick. But the drive was sure beautiful!

MUNNAR IS STUNNING. Hills filled with tea plants! I have never seen anything like this before.

Tuesday

Lots of people staring at us (usually with smiles), asking us questions (all they want to know is our names and where we are from and then they walk away), and taking pictures of us. That is right, people, you have two white ladies from America in your presense. We are not a figment of your imagination nor do we only exist on television. But it does not bother me at all. I think Doha has prepped me for almost anything (not sure if this is a good or bad thing...).

The isms are alive and well here (and, really, all over much of the world). The ranger guys at the national park we visited wanted to let these British tourists take cuts in front of everyone waiting in a line to catch a bus back down the mountain. But this Indian lady would not have any of it! She told them nearly all of us in the line had paid the same amount as them and believed they should wait in line like everyone else. She then pointed at Kristin and I (we were the only white folks in the line) several times saying that we looked just fine waiting in line (and we were). Finally, the ranger guys and the group of British tourists caved and they had to wait like everyone else. Keep fighting the system, lady!

I have been in India a little over 48 hours now and there are loads of power outages. But life goes on...

I rode an elephant today. Yep. Not sure how I feel about it...

I love Munnar. I really, really love Munnar.

A ayurvedic massage is one of the most bizarre experiences a person can go through. It is a head to feet massage using lots of oil and ends with lots of steam. Put it this way: I was naked except for a paper sumo wrestler thong thingy, caked in oil that smelled like soy sauce, and locked with a giggly girl in a dark room that looked like it was used for torture. I am not sure if I came out of it feeling very relaxed, but it was quite the experience (still makes me laugh). But my skin was amazingly soft. And the nearly two hour treatment cost me about $20. Kristin had it done too and I could hear her chatting it up in the room next door like she gets it done on every damn day.

We saw a Kathakali show right after the massage, but I had a hard time focusing because I was so pooped out after the massage.

Inauguration of President Obama. Does not matter who it is, it was quite memorable to watch it from Munnar...and I wish him luck because that is a thankless, tough job, a job I never would want. And I loved Ms. Aretha's hat.

Wednesday

I feel like Tata runs India. Mobile phone service, tea, steel, cars and trucks... The company is everywhere.

Ablilash, our sweet and patient driver, showed a little asswipe on a motorbike not to mess with him in his little Tata (see!) Indira.

Saw my first wild monkeys! But I did not want to get close to them because I was afraid they would attack me and then I would get Ebola or something.

India is the land of the mustache. Dudes love the 'stache here.

Shopping in India is quite fun and CHEAP! Thomas, the guy who made all our travel arrangements, had his wife (she had some crazy name that translated to Mary Elizabeth of Thomas and thus that is what I call her...) take us to the best shops in Cochin. I got the cutest pair of shoes for $5 and several sarees (to make dresses) and wraps for $30. And I am not much of a shopper!

I love wandering around the market stalls. Love the noises, smells, action...

I still smell like soy sauce.

I want a slurpee.

Thursday

I have a cold, an Indian cold.

Singing to myself - my tactic to not get carsick or freak out due to the insane driving

I have realized that honking is a form of communication and Ablilash always has one hand on the horn. Want someone to move? Honk. You are passing? Honk. Saying hello? Honk.

Briefly met Ablilash's wife and little girl. They are sweet just like their ol' man!

"Was that an elephant in that truck that we just drove past?"

I made the observation today that the size of one's body is a sign of how much money one has or what class one belongs to. The bigger you are, the more money you have. And most people here are rather poor and thus are quite little (I cannot get over the lack of muscle in the legs of the men here). But they are motherfucking (sorry...) tough. For example, I saw a couple guys at construction site in traditional skirty things and no shoes moving a massive boulder (this job would be reserved for machines and the workers would have to wear boots and hardhats just to watch in the States). These people amaze me!

Wedding time! It was a lot like a Christian wedding back home, but in Mayalam (sounds like they are gargling) and all the ladies are in sarees. Rekha (Kristin and I work with her) and her mom wrapped me painfully tight in my saree (it should not be so tight, but they were afraid it would fall off). But I looked good! The reception was rather short and really just about feeding roughly 1000 people. Kristin and I felt like we got more attention than the bride and groom and they thanked us before they thanked their parents. Then everyone met at the groom's parents' (the groom is Rehka's nephew) house. No partying. It is all about ritual. But Rehka's family was so generous with us. After everything was done, Rehka's sister and mother took us to their family homes in the area and shared so much with us. I was beyond exhausted by the end of the day.

Still want a slurpee, but now I want a big basket of french fries and a milkshake. And, of course, chicken strips.

Friday

India news is silly. Top story: "Obama makes all the right moves. Is he the best ever?" Yo, he has only been in office for like 48 hours!

Watched a little Discovery Channel. I did not know FARC is also in Panama!

Beautiful and completely unique houseboat trip from Kumarakom to Alleppey. Probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. It was just Kristin and I on a boat with three staff guys (two of them ran the boat while the other cooked). We floated by rice fields, super friendly locals (lots of smiling and waving) living in huts along the water or paddling around in canoes, other houseboats (I think they look like something out of Star Wars). And amazing food - everything was fresh, including fish and prawns from the water right off the boat! And our houseboat's name is Ganga (and thus I snicker to myself...).

Is this really real? I am listening to music ranging from Jay-Z to traditional Irish music (and of course M.I.A.) on my iPod in remote India!

I love mini bananas. I like bananas, but can usually eat only half of one before I am over it. Therefore, Jade-size bananas are perfect.

When we docked for the night, a local villager came up to our boat in his canoe just to say hello. He asked us where we were from in his broken English and we answered we were from the United States and his reaction was, "OBAMA!" Too funny!

"Holy crap, Kristin! Is that a UFO? No, my mad, it is just a FIREFLY!!!" But the big bats did freak me out a bit.
Saturday
I hate Kristin's alarm clock. It sounds like a rooster. Not a good way to start a day.
Only in India: Elephant walking down the highway (or 'higway' as it appeared on most signs) with dudes drumming around it...
Ablilash treated us to a really wonderful visit to a Hindu temple in Alleppey, his hometown.
After the four hour drive to Kovalam, we were ready for some fun in the sun! I am swimming in India!
I cannot eat anymore Indian food. I am 'naaned out.' Or 'Naan no more.' So we ate Mexican food for dinner, but it was really Indian food with sort of a Mexican twist.
Sunday
Kerala is such a special place with such friendly people. It is our last day, but I want to stay!!! And everyone should seriously think about a trip here...so I can come back! :)

The village of Kovalam is prepping for a big Hindu festival and thus there are massive speakers all over the place playing super loud music 24 hours a day. It is quite humerous because you will be driving through basically the woods, but then you are assaulted by music coming from a speaker randomly placed in the brush.

They even have the NBA on television here! Watched the Celtics spank the Magic!

Everyone obviously knows I am not from here (look at me...), but whenever someone assumes my nationality without asking, they think I am Scandinavian (particularly Finnish for whatever damn reason) or German (thank goodness not British! I kid, I kid...). But I am more than happy to say I am from the States! Love me some America!

My feet are in dire need of serious cleaning. I have been wearing mostly my new sandals and I have to frequently take off them off to go into temples, museums, stores, etc. So they are super dirty and as a result I think I am due for a pedicure.

More shopping for Kristin (the girl is a shopper...and a talker) and thus I am basically in agony since I am not much of a shopper. She can shop and shop and shop and spends a lot of time looking at one item. For instance, we have probably spent nearly five hours shopping for tableclothes. Tableclothes! But I did buy three things of art for about $25 (it took me less than 30 minutes to complete these transactions because I do not mess around).

More fun in the sun time for me in India! Kristin continued to shop.

Last sunset in India...for now. I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity. I am really beyond fortunate to have the life I have. Gotta make the most of it. Gotta do good.

I asked Ablilash what is his secret to living such a joyous life and he said in his broken English, "Live full, live right." Beautiful! Might be my new motto!

I did not get one mosquito bite the entire time. Ha ha, suckas!

Monday

Fly back EARLY to Doha. Damn it!