Finally, I have almost succeeded in getting the songs of the ashram out of my head... But only almost! Feel just a little bit brain washed ;)
I do actually miss the ashram a little bit. It was nice to have yoga classes for 4 hours per day and the food in the ashram was really healthy and tasty. And for a choir singer like me it was (occasionally) nice to sing all together, even though the leaders were not the best singers and it more often than seldom sounded pretty false. Well well.
In a couple of days I will leave India. It feels very weird leaving this place now, after such a long time, and in some ways I will miss it (for sure!). I think most of all I will miss meeting all these incredibly interesting people! Wherever you go in India you find these originals, these open-minded and free spirits, who just wont confine themselves into living ordinary lives. It is really very refreshing, even though I many times discover myself thinking "this person is a little bit freaky" ;)
But I shouldn't complain about leaving India, because now it's time for Thailand! Finally after three months I will meet Erik and we will have another month together travelling. Not too bad!
Hopefully no cyclone, tidal wave or volcano will stop me this time...
tisdag 30 november 2010
söndag 28 november 2010
Om namo narayanaya!
Om nao narayanaya, the universal prayer for peace, both inside yourself and in the world.
Kind of impossible not to be moved by the messages of the Ashram!
After eight days of constant chanting and meditating and yoga, I am back in Varkala. I really enjoyed my stay in the ashram, however I am very happy to be "free" again! It is kind of hard for a bitten atheist like me to be in such a religious environment for such a long time. I was supposed to stay 2 weeks, but after one week I had enough and I left before I would actually start to not enjoy the place.
I met loads of nice people there, one of them is the english girl Amelia. We left the Ashram together, and decided to share accomodation during the rest of our stay in Varkala. Not that it is expensive, we pay 150 rupees/3 euros each per night! She is really such a darling, and we spend a lot of time together. Still I need some quality time by myself of course, but we always do things separate during the days so that is not a problem! However, constantly spending time with an english girl doesn't make it easier for me to get back to swedish again. Everything I do, everything I say and think and dream, is in english! When I write in Swedish (like mail or diary) I have to translate from english to swedish. Kind of weird... Well, I guess it's not a big problem :)
So far we have been spending time on the beach and in the various cafes in Varkala, and we have seen dolphins swimming in the early morning! We are also enjoying having hot showers (for the first time in months I can actually have a hot shower (hot water bucket) every morning if I'd like to!).
Well well now it's dinner time.
Tomorrow I will try to be a little cultural and actually go visit the 2000 year old temple here in varkala!
Om namo narayanaya
Kind of impossible not to be moved by the messages of the Ashram!
After eight days of constant chanting and meditating and yoga, I am back in Varkala. I really enjoyed my stay in the ashram, however I am very happy to be "free" again! It is kind of hard for a bitten atheist like me to be in such a religious environment for such a long time. I was supposed to stay 2 weeks, but after one week I had enough and I left before I would actually start to not enjoy the place.
I met loads of nice people there, one of them is the english girl Amelia. We left the Ashram together, and decided to share accomodation during the rest of our stay in Varkala. Not that it is expensive, we pay 150 rupees/3 euros each per night! She is really such a darling, and we spend a lot of time together. Still I need some quality time by myself of course, but we always do things separate during the days so that is not a problem! However, constantly spending time with an english girl doesn't make it easier for me to get back to swedish again. Everything I do, everything I say and think and dream, is in english! When I write in Swedish (like mail or diary) I have to translate from english to swedish. Kind of weird... Well, I guess it's not a big problem :)
So far we have been spending time on the beach and in the various cafes in Varkala, and we have seen dolphins swimming in the early morning! We are also enjoying having hot showers (for the first time in months I can actually have a hot shower (hot water bucket) every morning if I'd like to!).
Well well now it's dinner time.
Tomorrow I will try to be a little cultural and actually go visit the 2000 year old temple here in varkala!
Om namo narayanaya
torsdag 11 november 2010
Backwaters
I just came back from the stunning beautiful backwaters of Kerala (I did a cruise for 8 hours) and it was really an interesting experience. First of all on the boat from Kollam I suddenly hear "Aaaleeex!" and when I look up it's one girl I met in Varkala a couple of days ago. I thought she went the opposite way, but she had decided to change her plans and went to Allepey instead. The boat trip was a very slow but nice experience, the top things were when a little toddler started to play with me, and finally ended up in my knee for half an hour (you all know how much I love kids! Especially this kind - happy, laughing, smiling, cuddling, chubby baby :) and of course the sunset. It was the most amazing sunset I've seen in my whole life, the colors were stunning! Bright red, deep blue, golden yellow... Lovely.
Finally in Allepey I decided to go with some German guys (really nice young guys who just finished high school and are now working in an Indian school in the countryside, as volunteers, for a year) and we went to find a cheap and nice hotel. We got a place for 150 Rs only, which is like not even 3 euros per night for a double room... However, the room and the sheets were dirty (but they changed them, luckily) and there was no mosquito net. The place is run by some Indian youngsters, and it really needs the touch of a woman's hand erhmm..... or at least a mother who can pinch their ears! All they seem to do is trying to get people to come, and then smoke marijuana all day/night long. It was still a nice stay though, and I met some interesting people. I was pretty happy to go back to Varkala today though :)
I start to get to know quite lot of people here in Varkala now, every where I go I bump in to someone I know and who invites me for a drink or similar. It is really nice! You are never alone while traveling, actually you must fight for some alone time sometimes!
Hope all is well at home, now I have a couple of days left in Varkala before I go to the ashram.
Finally in Allepey I decided to go with some German guys (really nice young guys who just finished high school and are now working in an Indian school in the countryside, as volunteers, for a year) and we went to find a cheap and nice hotel. We got a place for 150 Rs only, which is like not even 3 euros per night for a double room... However, the room and the sheets were dirty (but they changed them, luckily) and there was no mosquito net. The place is run by some Indian youngsters, and it really needs the touch of a woman's hand erhmm..... or at least a mother who can pinch their ears! All they seem to do is trying to get people to come, and then smoke marijuana all day/night long. It was still a nice stay though, and I met some interesting people. I was pretty happy to go back to Varkala today though :)
I start to get to know quite lot of people here in Varkala now, every where I go I bump in to someone I know and who invites me for a drink or similar. It is really nice! You are never alone while traveling, actually you must fight for some alone time sometimes!
Hope all is well at home, now I have a couple of days left in Varkala before I go to the ashram.
söndag 7 november 2010
Feeling hot, hot, hot!
When I woke up this morning there was a palpable difference in the temperature - the last days it has been raining and thereby a lower temperature, but today the sun is sailing the blue sky without any clouds to accompany her... And now it's hot hot hot! I will go down to the beach, just had to send some e-mails to book my hotel in Allepey..
The plan is to go to Kollam to take a ferry through the beautiful backwaters of Kerala, arrive in Allepey in the evening and stay in a nice hotel before heading back to Varkala by train the next day. I think this is just as much as I feel for traveling in Kerala now :) If I wouldn't go to the Ashram, there are so many places that I would like to visit. Like Hampi, Munnar, Periyar... But since going to the Yoga Ashram is one of my main goals with this trip I will stick to my plan.
The last days it has been raining, but I still went to the beach, and I have been hanging out with some other back packers. It is really nice and relaxing to be here in Varkala, and slowly slowly now I'm starting to wind down...
Every day you get amazed by the stunning beauty - the ocean, the cliffs, the palm trees... Every day on the beach I walk out until the water reaches me up to my waist. Then I just stand there, admiring the powerful waves, how they roll in from the ocean and break into tides, turning the water into bubbles and froth, feeling like I am standing in the middle of a huge jacuzzi!
One must be careful though, the under current is really strong and you can feel how it pulls your legs, pleading you to come with out in the vast sea. It is indeed very mighty and powerful, and every year loads of people get dragged out and drown. Luckily there are plenty of life guards at the beach, blowing their whistles as soon as they find that some one is too far out. We have been speculating, though, if theese guys really would try to do anything if someone actually got into trouble - they seem pretty lazy and ignorant. But hopefully they have a system so they know what to do when someone needs their help.
Another thing that is potentially dangerous here is the Dengue fever. It's a virus that is transmitted by a certain type of mosquito which bites during dusk and dawn. If you get the Dengue, you get very sick, with symptoms similar to malaria. However, you can't vaccinate against it and you wont acquire immunity - instead you run a very dangerous race if you stay in this part of the world since Dengue gets more aggravated every time you get it, and it might lead to death :/
Well well.
Miss you all, both volunteers in Kolkata and all you people, my dear dear friends and family back home.
I can't wait now to go to Thailand and finally meet up with Erik...! :)
The plan is to go to Kollam to take a ferry through the beautiful backwaters of Kerala, arrive in Allepey in the evening and stay in a nice hotel before heading back to Varkala by train the next day. I think this is just as much as I feel for traveling in Kerala now :) If I wouldn't go to the Ashram, there are so many places that I would like to visit. Like Hampi, Munnar, Periyar... But since going to the Yoga Ashram is one of my main goals with this trip I will stick to my plan.
The last days it has been raining, but I still went to the beach, and I have been hanging out with some other back packers. It is really nice and relaxing to be here in Varkala, and slowly slowly now I'm starting to wind down...
Every day you get amazed by the stunning beauty - the ocean, the cliffs, the palm trees... Every day on the beach I walk out until the water reaches me up to my waist. Then I just stand there, admiring the powerful waves, how they roll in from the ocean and break into tides, turning the water into bubbles and froth, feeling like I am standing in the middle of a huge jacuzzi!
One must be careful though, the under current is really strong and you can feel how it pulls your legs, pleading you to come with out in the vast sea. It is indeed very mighty and powerful, and every year loads of people get dragged out and drown. Luckily there are plenty of life guards at the beach, blowing their whistles as soon as they find that some one is too far out. We have been speculating, though, if theese guys really would try to do anything if someone actually got into trouble - they seem pretty lazy and ignorant. But hopefully they have a system so they know what to do when someone needs their help.
Another thing that is potentially dangerous here is the Dengue fever. It's a virus that is transmitted by a certain type of mosquito which bites during dusk and dawn. If you get the Dengue, you get very sick, with symptoms similar to malaria. However, you can't vaccinate against it and you wont acquire immunity - instead you run a very dangerous race if you stay in this part of the world since Dengue gets more aggravated every time you get it, and it might lead to death :/
Well well.
Miss you all, both volunteers in Kolkata and all you people, my dear dear friends and family back home.
I can't wait now to go to Thailand and finally meet up with Erik...! :)
fredag 5 november 2010
How long are you staying?
The constant question from all people I meet. If I then answer "Maybe a week or two", they would say "Oh really, so long?!"... Hmmm.... However, I know that there are people here that stay longer, some even for a month or two. The thing about Varkala is that there is absolutely nothing to do here, except going to the beach! Today I took a day off from the beach, and went for a long walk in the morning (which was nice, there is a walking path just by the sea) and then I strolled around among the shops (which is less fun since they all get so disappointed when you don't buy anything).
Before lunch I went for a massage - the most oily and intimate massage in my whole life! She literally poured olive oil all over me, over my head, face, body, everywhere! And then she rubbed it in in the most intimate way I experienced (I had to get ALL my clothes off, which was a little bit uncomfortable in the beginning but soon I forgot about it). I must say that it was an hour of relaxation, it really wasn't bad, but I wouldn't call it massage (I actually had more back pain afterward then before since I had to lay down on a hard bench).
After the massage I went to a Tibetan restaurant - most people who work here are Nepalese or Tibetan - and had some great momos. I really enjoy trying a new dish every day, and most of the time I am not disappointed.
I must also say that if you take the time to talk with the vendors in the street for a little while, you find out that some of them are really nice! So far I met two female shop owners from Karnataka (north of Kerala) that are very kind and interested even if you don't buy anything from their shop, and three restaurant waiters (one from Darjeeling and two from Varkala proper) who are really chatty and really interested to know more about you and your life. If you just go with the flow (and not do as I often do, rush past them and hurry through the conversation) and relax, it can be quite an interesting and giving little chat. You just have to get used to their sometimes intimate questions (such as religion, money, house, social status etc ).
There are also some vendors that are not quite so nice though. Several times they tried to convince me and basically shame me into buying their products. "If you don't buy anything from our shop we wont survive!" several women exclaimed. I try to politely tell them that I neither need nor have space in my bag for more stuff, but they just continue: "you can send the things home with the post, it's very cheap, buy some of our stuff!". If you continue to refuse, they will say "okay, you come back later, another time, and buy from my shop". And next time you pass them they will say: "You promised to come back and have a look, now come buy!"
Haha well well, what to do, nothing but laughing ;)
(and there's no need for getting bad conscience because very very soon the high season will start and the place will be heaped with all the tourists who will stay in India just for a week or two and will love to buy things from their shop :)
I am not really sure what to do now, it's raining outside so no beach (and I am way to red from sun worshiping already... But wait a minute! This is why I came here, no? To do nothing? To just read books, listen to audio books and pod casts, and relax. It is really so hard to remember that I should do nothing, since I am so used to always do SOMETHING.
So now, I am going to go and do nothing!
:)
Before lunch I went for a massage - the most oily and intimate massage in my whole life! She literally poured olive oil all over me, over my head, face, body, everywhere! And then she rubbed it in in the most intimate way I experienced (I had to get ALL my clothes off, which was a little bit uncomfortable in the beginning but soon I forgot about it). I must say that it was an hour of relaxation, it really wasn't bad, but I wouldn't call it massage (I actually had more back pain afterward then before since I had to lay down on a hard bench).
After the massage I went to a Tibetan restaurant - most people who work here are Nepalese or Tibetan - and had some great momos. I really enjoy trying a new dish every day, and most of the time I am not disappointed.
I must also say that if you take the time to talk with the vendors in the street for a little while, you find out that some of them are really nice! So far I met two female shop owners from Karnataka (north of Kerala) that are very kind and interested even if you don't buy anything from their shop, and three restaurant waiters (one from Darjeeling and two from Varkala proper) who are really chatty and really interested to know more about you and your life. If you just go with the flow (and not do as I often do, rush past them and hurry through the conversation) and relax, it can be quite an interesting and giving little chat. You just have to get used to their sometimes intimate questions (such as religion, money, house, social status etc ).
There are also some vendors that are not quite so nice though. Several times they tried to convince me and basically shame me into buying their products. "If you don't buy anything from our shop we wont survive!" several women exclaimed. I try to politely tell them that I neither need nor have space in my bag for more stuff, but they just continue: "you can send the things home with the post, it's very cheap, buy some of our stuff!". If you continue to refuse, they will say "okay, you come back later, another time, and buy from my shop". And next time you pass them they will say: "You promised to come back and have a look, now come buy!"
Haha well well, what to do, nothing but laughing ;)
(and there's no need for getting bad conscience because very very soon the high season will start and the place will be heaped with all the tourists who will stay in India just for a week or two and will love to buy things from their shop :)
I am not really sure what to do now, it's raining outside so no beach (and I am way to red from sun worshiping already... But wait a minute! This is why I came here, no? To do nothing? To just read books, listen to audio books and pod casts, and relax. It is really so hard to remember that I should do nothing, since I am so used to always do SOMETHING.
So now, I am going to go and do nothing!
:)
onsdag 3 november 2010
Namastey Varkala!
Can it be true?
I was expecting my flight to be delayed, but it was on time. I expected my connecting flight to be stressful, but I had all the time in the world. I was sure that my luggage would get lost somewhere on the way, but it was one of the first bags that arrived on the band. And I was certain that the pick-up at the airport wouldn't find me, or wouldn't arrive, but he was there waiting for me with my name written on a piece of paper. I expected the streets to be bumpy and dirty, but they were well maintained and had proper shops on their sides. I expected the hotel to be small, dirty and stinky, but it turned out to be super clean and the owner is super nice. I expected the beach to be dirty and over crowded, but it was clean and pretty spacious. And finally I expected it to be way too hot and humid, but it is just hot and nice during the day and perfect with cool breezes during night!
What a bliss!
I almost started crying arriving in Varkala, and it's not until now that I understand how shaken and slightly traumatized I got in Kolkata... I was thinking of staying here in Varkala by the beach a couple of days before moving on with my trip, but I just realized that it is SO NICE to be here, and I really need to wind down and relax a bit... So maybe maybe I'll sty here all the way until I go for my Ashram Yoga retreat? Hmm we'll see...
Also I must say that my first day in Varkala (yesterday) really was brightened by a new friend I met on the beach (Stephen) who unfortunately had to go to Mumbai this morning. He showed me a place to have great chicken momos and really good sea food, and told me a little about the places in Kerala worth seeing, which was very nice for me who was newly arrived. However, I am sure I'll be fine now with my books and my mp3-player (I have all these podcasts with Thich Nhat Hanh that I still didn't finish for example) and also I have my yoga (my hotel has the perfect roof for yoga in the morning!!!)
There are only two major drawbacks with Varkala.
The first one is all the shop owners here, there are so many many many shops (with many many colours!) and all of them have their owners outside the shop saying - Hello! Hello! come inside, looking, please just look, very nice things, very good price, please come.... after politely saying No about twenty times you end up feeling a bit jiggered, and just the thought of walking back (I live on one side of the beach and the beach is on the other side) makes you exhausted. However, today I took some time to actually talk to the shop owners who approached me, trying to explain to them that I am not interested in buying their stuff since I can't carry it around on my back while travelling. Some of them understood and became more friendly and we had a got chat, some just got angry.
The second drawback is that there are no locals here, only tourist and shop/restaurant owners. One thing that was good with my work in Kolkata, and something that makes me feel very privileged, was the fact that I was working with local on daily basis. You get to see the real India when you live among the locals, and this place (even though it's a really nice place) is just artificial.
Well well... Enough complaining for today :) I am really really glad to be here, and I'll try to find some massage treatments and excursions to do while I am here. Now it's beach time!
I'll keep on giving you updates of course - luckily there are internet cafes even here in Varkala (I must say it feels so strange being surrounded by tourists all the time - this world is so very very different from the India I know).
Namastey Varkala!
I was expecting my flight to be delayed, but it was on time. I expected my connecting flight to be stressful, but I had all the time in the world. I was sure that my luggage would get lost somewhere on the way, but it was one of the first bags that arrived on the band. And I was certain that the pick-up at the airport wouldn't find me, or wouldn't arrive, but he was there waiting for me with my name written on a piece of paper. I expected the streets to be bumpy and dirty, but they were well maintained and had proper shops on their sides. I expected the hotel to be small, dirty and stinky, but it turned out to be super clean and the owner is super nice. I expected the beach to be dirty and over crowded, but it was clean and pretty spacious. And finally I expected it to be way too hot and humid, but it is just hot and nice during the day and perfect with cool breezes during night!
What a bliss!
I almost started crying arriving in Varkala, and it's not until now that I understand how shaken and slightly traumatized I got in Kolkata... I was thinking of staying here in Varkala by the beach a couple of days before moving on with my trip, but I just realized that it is SO NICE to be here, and I really need to wind down and relax a bit... So maybe maybe I'll sty here all the way until I go for my Ashram Yoga retreat? Hmm we'll see...
Also I must say that my first day in Varkala (yesterday) really was brightened by a new friend I met on the beach (Stephen) who unfortunately had to go to Mumbai this morning. He showed me a place to have great chicken momos and really good sea food, and told me a little about the places in Kerala worth seeing, which was very nice for me who was newly arrived. However, I am sure I'll be fine now with my books and my mp3-player (I have all these podcasts with Thich Nhat Hanh that I still didn't finish for example) and also I have my yoga (my hotel has the perfect roof for yoga in the morning!!!)
There are only two major drawbacks with Varkala.
The first one is all the shop owners here, there are so many many many shops (with many many colours!) and all of them have their owners outside the shop saying - Hello! Hello! come inside, looking, please just look, very nice things, very good price, please come.... after politely saying No about twenty times you end up feeling a bit jiggered, and just the thought of walking back (I live on one side of the beach and the beach is on the other side) makes you exhausted. However, today I took some time to actually talk to the shop owners who approached me, trying to explain to them that I am not interested in buying their stuff since I can't carry it around on my back while travelling. Some of them understood and became more friendly and we had a got chat, some just got angry.
The second drawback is that there are no locals here, only tourist and shop/restaurant owners. One thing that was good with my work in Kolkata, and something that makes me feel very privileged, was the fact that I was working with local on daily basis. You get to see the real India when you live among the locals, and this place (even though it's a really nice place) is just artificial.
Well well... Enough complaining for today :) I am really really glad to be here, and I'll try to find some massage treatments and excursions to do while I am here. Now it's beach time!
I'll keep on giving you updates of course - luckily there are internet cafes even here in Varkala (I must say it feels so strange being surrounded by tourists all the time - this world is so very very different from the India I know).
Namastey Varkala!
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