Well we arrived at our final location on Friday night truly exhausted (but exhilirated) with car horns blaring and hazard lights flashing, to the rousing sound of a traditional Keralan 'band' and the hugest and most beautiful elepant - carnival time! It was magical. There was much hugging of newly made friends and tears of relief and sadness that the trip was essentially over - save for the last party!
The party was to start at 7.30pm so we emptied cars and made our way to some of the best accommodation we have had on the whole trip - little apartments looking out onto beautiful lawns bordering a huge feshwater lake with the view of fisherman laying their nets for the night from narrow,elegant rowing boats and the traditional raffia covered houseboats gliding quietly by.
After much scrubbing under hot showers we gathered in all our newly bought Indian finery on the lawns of this beautiful hotel with the lake in front of us, palm trees and the sound of crikets all around - it was a stunning sight and a great party!
So to finish off I'd like to say that Neil and I have had an amazing trip: we've seen some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and the Indian people we have met on the way have been an insipiration to us in their tolerance of others, their diversity and their inner stillness where somehow they can 'just be' amid all the chaos that is India. Thank you India for having us.
Welcome back - we look forward to the unedited version...by the way is "Lat blog home" some Indian phrase you picked up along the way?
ReplyDelete