Etelassa, missa kuukin on kuumempi...

(Ainon vuoro)
Jatettiin siis Pohjos-Intia taakse, ja lennettiin tanne Keralan osavaltioon. Meidan lento oli viivastyny kolme tuntia joten piti hengailla lentokentalla. Tytot ei ollu ihan kunnossa, Saara oli jostain syysta tosi, tosi vasynyt ja Allilla oli viela vahan ripsan jalkimaininkeja. Taisin olla siis ainoa taysissa voimissa oleva. Lentokentalla kylla vahan kuumotti, kun terroristi-iskut oli niin tuore uutinen. Saara huomasi turbaanipaisen miehen, joka oli todella hermostuneen oloinen. Mies palyili kokoajan ymparilleen... Kun paastiin terminaaliin, Saara myos suunnitteli meille pakoreitin mahdollisen terroristi-iskun varalta. Noh hyva sille on nyt nauraa mutta lennon viivastyminen ei todellakaan ollut mieluisa uutinen, ja mielikuvitus oli kylla lentokentalla taysissa voimissaan..itse kullakin. Aliisa oli lentopelkoisena aika paineessa Intian sisaisesta lennosta, mutta Opamax tuuditti Allin jalleen suloiseen uneen, eika paniikista ollut tietoakaan. Itseakin vahan kuumotti budjettiyhtio Jetliten lento, mutta se oli ehka smoothein lento ikina! Aliisa on samaa mielta (tosin se oli Opanaxhoyryissa koettu). Kylla intialaiset lentoyhtiot on ihan jees! Kun astuttiin lentokoneesta ulos, ensimmainen lause oli "Taalla haisee ihan home!" jonka sanoi Saara. Kochin kaupunki on rannikolla, ja tosi etelassa, joten ilmasto on sen mukainen, eli kuuman kostea, huh. Luontokin on taalla ihan erilainen ku pohjoisessa, taalla on niin paljon kasvillisuutta ja palmuja! Otettiin prepaidtaksi ja mentiin Lounarin suosittelemaan hotelliin. Nukuttiin kolmestaan parisangyssa, koska kolmannessa sangyssa vilisi jotain pikkuotokoita. Mutta meidan huoneessapa oli telkkari!
Kochi oli ihan kiva kaupunki, vietettiin siella pari paivaa. Se oli kylla aika turistialue se missa me oltiin, mutta silti ihan kiva. Ikava asia siella oli, etta mahatauti iski jalleen. Herasin aamulla, ja olin niin kipea, etta paatin ottaa Aliisalta ripsa-antibiootteja etta se menis nopeasti ohi. Nappasin antibiootin, mutta sen jalkeen tuli aivan jarkyttava olo, ihan erilainen kun edellisessa mahataudissa. En pystynyt nukkumaan enka olemaan oikein missaan asennossa. Tarisin vaan, ja mahassa aivan kamala kipu. Oli pakko ottaa puhelu kotiin kun ei oikein tiennyt mita se oli. Mietittiin jo, etta kutsutaan intialainen laakari paikalle. Paadyttiin sitten soittamaan Saaran iskalle, joka on laakari. Ermo oli kuitenkin sita mielta, etta nuo oireet kuuluu normi mahatautiin kun kuumettakaan ei ollu, ja nyt kannattaa vain levata. Ajatus "vain lepaamisesta" siina olossa tuntui kylla sietamattomalta, mutta paatin uskoa. Ja niin se vain menikin muutamassa tunnissa ohi, ja illalla olin jo valmis syomaan tyttojen kanssa. Lyhyt tauti oli se,ja hyva niin.





Kochilla meilla oli paljon aktiviteetteja. Tytot kavi muun muassa katolisen kirkon messussa (itse jain nukkumaan), kaytiin kokovartalohieronnassa Saaran kanssa ja kaytiin myos tablakonsertissa. Saara ei tiennyyt, etta kokovartalohieronnassa ollaan alasti, ja vahan hammentyi kun hierojanainen aluksi vain totesi: "Okay, now take everything off." Mutta 50 min. hieronta oli kylla ihana, ja tuli tarpeeseen. Tablakonserttikin oli oikein rentouttava.
Kolmen yon jalkeen lahdettiin junalla tanne Varkalaan. Kuten aina, juna-asemalla tuli taas kamala hossakka. Luultiin, etta meidan juna lahtee klo6.10 aamulla, mutta juna Varkalaan lahtikin jo 5.45. Juostiin rinkkojen kanssa pitkin asemaa laiturille, eika ollut ihan selvaa, oliko juna edes oikea, kun kukaan ei oikein osannut neuvoa. Hypattiin junaan, joka oli ihan taynna. Meilla ei ollut mitaan paikkalippuja, joten mentiin nukkumaan matkatavarahyllyille. Kuten arvata saattaa, hylly oli todella kova, mutta saatiin kuitenkin hyvin nukuttua. Matka kesti 4 tuntia. Kysyttiin taas neuvoa, milloin pitaa jaada pois. Aliisa meni viime hetkella viela vessaan ,ja juna hidasti. "Hurry up, madam, this is your stop!!", miehet huusivat. Luultiin jo, etta ei ehdita, mutta miehet auttoivat meita ottamaan rinkat akkia, ja Aliisakin ehti. Niin oltiin Varkalassa.
Taa on viela etelammassa kuin Kochi, joten taalla on ehka viela vahan kuumempi. Mutta Varkala on ihana! Taalla on aivan mahtava hiekkaranta, rantakahviloita, aina ihana ilma, tosi hyvia kalaruokia... Tanne vois jaada joksikin aikaa. Meidan majoitus on halvempi kuin koskaan aikaisemmin talla matkalla. 250 rupiaa, eli noin 4 euroa yhteensa. Huomattiin kylla pian, etta huoneen vessan ovessa on termiittipesa, ja eilen loydettiin lattialta tuhatjalkainen. Mutta tuhottiin muurahaispesa myrkylla, ja mina vanhana karpaasina vein tuhatjalkaisen ulos. Huh me INHOTAAN otokoita!! Ja huone haisee oikeesti vahan homeelle... Taa on spurguin huone missa me ollaan oltu, mutta kai sekin pitaa kokea.
Ollaan oltu taalla nyt pari paivaa. Lahinna vaan chillailtu, oltu rannalla, siemailtu mangolasseja, kavelty ympariinsa... Taalla Varkalassa on muuten hirveesti ruotsalaisia, ei kylla tiedeta, miksi.. Taalla on ihanaa olla, mutta tuntuu silta, etta taalla me ei valttamatta tavata kaltaisiamme. Pitaa nyt kattoo kuinka kauan taalla viihdytaan, mutta onhan meilla kolmestaankin kivaa :).
Huh eikohan taa ollu tassa. Koitetaan paivitella ehka jatkossa vahan useammin tata blogia.

Aino

Aliisa writing again after a reasonably long break..

So, it's been a while. Hope you're all doing well (wherever you may be). Thank you for the lovely comments and messages you've sent us so far. I was touched by the amount of messages following the Mumbai terrorist attacks. I'm also very glad to say we're doing perfectly fine - all limbs attached and functioning. As you may have already heard or read, we were in Delhi at the time of the attacks. We were very lucky to be staying at my school mate Roy's parent's house, located in an area some distance away from the city's touristic centers. Roy's mum, Kavita informed us about the attacks as they were happening, and we turned on the TV. Horrified by the situation, we began pondering whether it was safe for us to travel to the areas around the capital. We had already planned a visit to Agra and its famous Taj Mahal for the following day - had even booked a personal driver! Kavita suggested skipping the trip due to potential traffic and obvious safety reasons. We thought a while about doing just that, but decided otherwise. The decision was the right one, because we did end up having a safe, and awesome day visiting one of the seven wonders. The temple city of Vrindavan, was however a huge disappointment. Our one-hour visit consisted of rude locals, misleading directions and unnecessary mix-ups. And I suppose the saddest thing was that we didn't even get to see a single temple!

I apologise in advance. I'm currently having problems progressing in a chronological order.. Let's go back in time, shall we? - to the time of our visit to Pushkar and its highly anticipated camel safari. I was already feeling a bit better (following my horrid episode of barfing), and decided I was up to the trip. Sadly just before the departure Aino started feeling ill again, but also decided she was able to join. The camel safari was something purely strange. Us three along with camels and riders for each - about to spend a night in the open dead desert far from the city and its endless hassle. We couldn't have been more wrong. In a hilarious way, we ended up being rather disappointed by it all. Sure there were camels, and sure there was sand, but the exact spot of our camp out was conveniently located next to a road leading to Pushkar city. Also the sounds of wedding festivities echoed in the area and we definitely didn't feel excluded from the outside world.

My camel rider was rather repulsive, but besides that I found the actual camel riding quite enjoyable. The camel assigned to me was Diamond, a well-trained yet rebellious 3-year old. Krishna, 5, was the slow, gassy one who farted shamelessly through the dark desert night. However, Aino recons riding him was "alright" and we all agree he was beautiful with his henna-decorated fur coat. "Commando", ridden by Saara, was the alpha male of the bunch, and often lead the group. He was the oldest at 7 years, quite bad tempered and grunted every now and then keeping us on our tip-toes. However, slept like a baby - unlike one of the camel riders who snored extremely loudly. But then again (according to some observers), so do I! :S





Moving on to other cities and happenings.. Delhi. As I already mentioned, we stayed at Roy's. From the moment of our arrival, we were blown away by the hospitality and kindness of the Dutta family, and that of Kavita's in particular. She truly wanted us to enjoy our stay and that we did. Our stay in Delhi differed from the previous places in more ways than one. We felt taken care of as supposed to being lost and independent. During our stay, we were able to use the family's driver and, for our pleasant surprise Kavita had also arranged a personal guide for us, Abi. Needless to say, we had no problems what so ever, only the lack of days. There was so much to see and just not enough time. A major portion of our Delhi-stay was also spent on shopping. It was something we hadn't really been able to do before. Being a backpacker, everything you obtain, you also carry on you back. We had planned on sending some things home to lighten the burden, but came to that a bit too late. In other words we're still carrying that same weight on our backs today.



On the night before our departure from Delhi, we had a lovely dinner with the Dutta family. Roy's father, Sonny had also arrived from a business trip along with two other Finnish guests. At this point I have to say the food was amazing. For the first time in India, I ate chicken. And the incredible yogurt dressing was home-made. Cheers to the amazing chef! I had felt a bit funny in the tummy on that day, and it all came down to the tummy bug which had bothered me since Pushkar. This time it was diarrhea, and it kept me up almost all night. I was a bit anxious about the next morning's flight to Cochin, but left the disease into the hands of Imodium. From personal experience, I can now confirm that the drug really works. Saara was feverish on that same night, but was feeling a bit better the next day. Although from what we've written, it might seem as though we've been ill constantly, but I feel we've stayed quite healthy - considering the foods we've consumed and the places we've visited. Staying at Roy's was enjoyable, and compared to our first ever hotel in India, the KGN, pure luxury.






I must really speed up with this, so much to write and the internet cafe is already preparing to close up. Next stop: Cochin. At the Delhi International airport, only two days after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, we felt shivers of paranoia running through our spines. Our flight was delayed by 3 hours and we were literally stuck in a potential target of terrorism. (Side note: Aino ate a mayo sandwich). Saara spotted a suspicious looking turban head and started planning the fastest emergency (exit) route for us if something was to happen. Luckily nothing did, and our flight was a success. We landed in Cochin, took a pre-paid cab to Fort Cochin, an isle near the mainland and decided to stay at Elite hotel. By the way, we've been highly amused by the names of crappy hotels we've stayed at. Royal Palace, Elite.. what's next?

Cochin was a pleasant surprise. We spent two days and three nights there, and knew Kerala (the region) was worth all the waiting, and all the stinky sleeper-bus rides. On the morning following our arrival at Cochin, Aino began reacting to the mayo sandwich she had eaten at the Delhi airport. She felt incredibly sick, and almost to the point we felt we needed a doctor. Aino rang up Saara's dad (a doctor) and got confirmation that what she was experiencing was an early state of something which could progress into something, but which was nothing to be scared about at that particular moment. Although feeling nauseous, she finally fell asleep and stayed in (at the hotel) whereas Saara and I pursued to explore some of the near surroundings. We found the beach, two catholic churches and decided to pay a visit to one of them. But more about that (and lots of other stuff) tomorrow - the race against time is over, I was defeated.

To be continued..