A brief update

It's been difficult to keep up with blogging with a lack of stable internet access, general laziness on my part and being zoned out mainly during my days in India. Temperature is rising and Kerala's humidity doesn't make things any easier. A/C is a luxury where you always have to pay more for, and "can I have ice with that please?" seems to be a saying I hear myself ask more frequently than ever.

To sum up what I've been up to in the last few weeks before I forget (which I probably wouldn't but that's beside the point...):

I was in Chennai for just over 4 weeks where I did a course called the Heart of Yoga. Amazing school, wonderful teachers, a tradition in yoga that is so wise I hope I can share everything I have learnt with everyone. Met a bunch of amazing people from all different countries and backgrounds, all of whom I have learnt so much from and I look forward to seeing them again in different places in the future.

Then I went to Assagao, Goa for 2 weeks for a yoga retreat at Purple Valley where my friend Han from Australia joined me. Here we did Ashtanga yoga with Kino Mcgregor and Tim Feldman who are apparently "celebrities" in the Ashtangi world. I learnt part of the primary series up to Navasana where we practised in Mysore style every morning. Very different to my experience in Chennai as it was more physical intensive than my previous 4 weeks. Here I ate a lot of salad and Macrobiotic food prepared by Sayuri Tanaka which was truly amazing, especially after a very starchy diet in Chennai. My days were filled with lying around by the pool tanning, eating at the retreat as well as venturing out to try out different restaurants, ashtanga yoga, day trips to markets, beaches, Old Goa, spice plantations, chai time, shopping, etc.

After 2 weeks of hard work of yoga, eating and relaxing, we moved onto Fort Cochin for 3 nights where we were joined by another friend Ivy from Taiwan. Shopping and eating continued.

A quick 1 hour drive took us from Fort Cochin to Alleppey, the Backwaters of Kerala. We spent 1 night on a houseboat, an experience I will recommend to all friends and family, maybe even enemies as it is truly amazing. Even before I left I was thinking of when to return... The houseboat then dropped us off at a heritage homestay called Emerald Isle, only reachable by boat, where we spent 2 nights. Here we did absolutely nothing except just BE.

We left the homestay today and it was very sad. I'm now on a car on my way to Trivandrum, some 130km from the backwaters, yet it takes 3 hours to get there... There will be many follow up posts in the months ahead for more detailed stories of my travels. Right now I need to eat lunch! Hungry....

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Posted via email from Karen In Wonderland