Kerala and Mysore

So, we've been hoping all around Kerela and having a really great time, and far more has happened than I'll manage to put down here. But here's a shot.
We spent a couple of days in Kollam, which was a nice town, not that much going on, but good atmosphere and friendly people, very traditional, very few tourists. Sanya got some new eyeglasses with a new prescription and I got a couple lungis, the man-sarong that has been sweeping south-indian fashion for the past five thousand years. after that we went to alleppey where we did the "backwater boat ride", the most typical touristy thing to do in Kerela, but absolutely unmissable. It was 24 hours on our own private houseboat, with an on board chef and two guys to punt it along Venetian gondola style but with 30ft bamboo poles. It was great to see the village life up close, but at the same time was a little uncomfortable, i felt like a colonial having these guys pushing us along in the heat while we reclined with a cup of tea on a cultural safari. but I guess thats been a semi-theme of the trip, coming to terms with being wealthy relative to such a poor country. today I bought a suit for my friend's wedding, I walked into a really nice store on the nice-store-street and there was nothing i couldnt afford. very strange feeling.
but catching back up. after alleppey we spent four nights, i think, in Fort Cochin, a very nice, though quite touristy town. It was so calm and clean, nice seafood, and great walking around. there was one really nice show in a gallery there, Wasiwo X Wasiwo I believe was the artists name, an expat living in india for the past 8 years. Half the show was photography, really nicely done, blending this kind of hand tinted colonial style portraiture with modern indian professions, which have really changed very little since colonial times, so the interest was in the details, the hello kitty on the knife sharpener's bag and such. the other half of the show was miniature paintings in the traditional indian style, self portraits as the white tourist, bound to his lonely planet guide, and a group dealing specifically with his life in India, overcoming cultural differences, and dealing with issues like his homosexuality.
after Cochin we were planning to go to wayanad wildlife sanctuary for a few days, but we got there and just had such a hassle getting information about the park. we went on a jeep safari, which totally is not how we had envisioned seeing the wildlife, but which is the only method allowed by the government it seems. so we left prematurely and headed up to mysore on a whim. Mysore is wonderful, the city is just charismatic. I'll tell you all about it when I'm gone!
namaste

down south

we're in Kerala! We got here yesterday, its ridiculously hot. seriously. probably the hottest I've ever been, and I've been plenty hot mind you. but its great here! the banana vendors, the jungle-book views everywhere! Just a little note to say I'm doing great, we saw some contemporary Indian art finally, but more on that later. bye bye!

Sikkim

Hooo, travel days are exhausting! We got up at 5, took 2 jeeps, and are now killing time before we take an auto-rickshaw to our train! Sikkim was so tranquil and sweet, but now we're going back into "real" India. We didn't end up extending our time there, it was just to much hassle, so we had about a week. We took it easy in this sweet little village called Ravangla, and luckily our $4 per night hotel had BBC world news, so we got to watch all the election night (morning for us) excitement, as well as Obama's acceptance speech! We are so excited, and so is the rest of the world! When people ask where we're from, they always tell us how happy they are about Obama winning. In the papers there were articles about how McCain would actually be better for India, being more pro-business, aka outsourcing, but the entire country is behind Obama.
But back to Sikkim. The state is wedged up between Nepal and Bhutan, and has only been a part of India for some 30 years. So the culture there is really unlike that of the rest of India, the people are primarily Buddhist, the architecture and the food is different, closer to Chinese (not tooo close though). There's a lot of politics around the state, China doesn't recognize India's claim to the area, so India absolutely pampers the state to keep it happy and pro-Delhi. The residents live in little farm houses, but they have satellite tv, pay no taxes, have more lax alcohol laws, and an environmentalist agenda that is the polar opposite of the rest of India. So the state is made up of scattered villages connected by footpaths and bumpy roads only jeeps can travel on. The topography is incredible, steeply rolling jungley hills that reminded me of the best parts of Norway and Hawaii, behind which rise the Himalayas. In the area where we were there are red pandas (we didn't see any though) and over 300 species of orchids. Only a few were in blooming season, but there were tons of wild hibiscus, poinsettia, rhododendron! plus bananas, all kinds of ferns, banyans, it was an absolute paradise! We spent a few days in Ravangla, and a few in Yuksom, a yet smaller quainter village, and one in Tasheding, which isn't so interesting except it has a really beautiful, super holy, Buddhist monastery.
So next is Calcutta, which should be... interesting. I let you know!

Darjeeling

Sanya and I are in Darjeeling, killing time waiting for our Jeep to Gangtok, Sikkim. We Spent three nights here, and it was absolutely wonderful! This area is much more calm than where we've been prior, no one hasseling us, its cleaner, friendlier. Yesterday Sanya and I let ourselves get lost as we wandered in the direction of an old Buddhist monestary, we passed through jungely quiet neighborhoods with incredible views of the himalayas, and eventualy found the monestary. Afterward, we saw someone deepfrying on a beautiful back patio, so we asked if it was a resturant. It wasnt, but they invited us over and gave us fried sweets they were making for Diwali, as well as coffee and potato curry! We stayed for a while and talked, then the 15 year old son walked with us to the Tibetan refugee center, where we said goodbye. The center is a community of orphans and others in need, they make traditional handycrafts and sell them to support their community and the mission of the center, so we bought some nice things and felt happy the money was going to people who needed it.
The day before, we took a long walk through the tea plantations, again with absolutely amazing views in every direction, jungle covered ridges leading up to huge snow cover mountains. We're really excited about Sikkim, and are looking for ways to rearange our trip to have more time there! Two months in India used to sound like a long time, now it doesn't feel long enough for anything!
For those of you biting your nails about the election, don't worry, I managed to submit my early ballot from over here, and I recieved confirmation that it will be counted. So that ought to seal the deal.
Namaste!