Singapore to Malaysia

Jerome's flight finally arrived in Singapore on early Friday morning, after being delayed by the snow in the US. We spent a day wandering thew city, getting him used to the heat and humidity, after -25 in Montreal and then met up with Richard and Annabelle for a lovely meal in a roof top restaurant in Boat Key. Boy is Singapore expensive...especially after India prices but what a lovely night we all had.

We were up bright and early the next day to catch the bus to Mersing, in Malaysia and from here a sort ferry ride to the island of Pulau Tioman in thew South China sea. We learned quickly about Malysia time when the 4.30 ferry turned up at 6 but it was fun waiting at the jetty and we met a couple of interesting people, including an Australian sailor who has just ended up here working as a builder and picking up little sailing jobs.

We are staying just off the beach in a nice A frame hut. We are in Salong, which is a small resort with lots of diving schools and boat charters. It is beautiful and I shall be taking some more envy inducing photos later  on today. Jerome is planning to do some diving and I am going to snorkel and swim. I think we plan to stay 4 nights and then decide what to do....still enjoying the luxury of being off time table and getting used to travelling with someone again.

Singapore

Can't believe that I've been here for 3 and 1/2 days already. As soon as I got off the plane and recognised the way I felt like I had come back home...same house, same bed, Annabelle, Sam, Richard and Sally- Sam and Sally had grown. The only obvious difference since my last visit is the arrival of Harry the cat. How lucky I am to have such lovely friend who don't mind me turning up with a bag full of dirty washing, a cold and some allergy inducing joss sticks. I have been looked after, fed, entertained and given fantastic free pilates tuition....not sure that I want to move on anywhere else, the thought of packing my bag, planning a route and finding somewhere to stay feels like too much effort. However Jerome arrives from Canada tomorrow evening and move on into Malaysia we shall.

India feels very far away now and the distance has given me time to consolidate. I am very, very glad I went. I miss the colourfullness- of  the landscape, the temples and the people. I miss the bizarre contrast between chaos and calm...the streets, the traffic, the noise were all overwhelming but the people floated through peacefully...I am hoping that this has a lasting effect on me. I miss the unexpectedness of everything and the feeling that anything could happen there.I particularly miss Mamallapuram because it is the place I got to know the best and I knew where to go and who to talk to, I stopped feeling like a tourist there. On the other hand I do not miss the rubbish....everywhere you look, beautiful sights marred by piles of bags and paper and bottles. I don't miss the constant personal questions...children, husband, job? It's nice to be able to be a proud single mum again and not have to lie about having a husband in order to stave off the inevitable discussions about marriage and divorce etc ( actually this never happened in Mamallapuram, which is probably why I liked it so much there) All in all my positive experiences have outweighed the negative ones and now that I have some experience I would probably go back.

There are some lessons I have learned about travelling though and I want to try and put them into practice.
1. It is more fun spending time with people than doing it all on your own. I am over the I need time to myself stage and will be looking for people to do things with. ( Vietnam in April anyone?)
2. I need to be near the sea or some sort of water....this is where I am happiest.
3. I need outside space nearby...I need to spend some time everyday in the fresh air.
4. Staying in one place for longer is better, although it makes it hard to leave....bitter sweet.
5. Travelling is tiring and I need to make time to rest, get a massage or some sort of treatment.

5 key lessons to take into the next 5 months.

Photos below are of my last day in India with baby the sari seller and a couple of the Chinese cemetery in Singapore with Annabelle and Sally this morning.

Little moments

The last five days have been peaceful and filled with little special moments that have helped me to fall back in love with India.

Moment 1- Gypsy women whisking Stefanie off to a dark corner near the bus station to rearrange her sari.
Moment 2- The attention Stefanie got for wearing her sari
Moment 3- Rediscovering body boarding and spending an hour squealing with joy in the sea.
Moment 4- Outy, the cook at the cafe, posing for photographs on the rooftop and insisting on hugging and kissing us.
Moment 5- Enjoying the Tamil music at the tribal festival on the beach especially the song that sounds like 'dingle dangle dingle'
Moment 6- The teenager who spontaneously started dancing to the traditional music in front of us, on the beach.
Moment 7- Spotting the moustached fortune teller who made his predictions using a parrot and a guinea pig.
Moment 8- Watching the festival processions, musicians and the lone dancer on Monday morning.
Moment 9- Being recognised in the local restaurant and being encouraged to try pickles.

Moment 10- Seeing the little boy in the room next door's face, when he discovered I had decorated his tricycle with flowers.
Moment 11- Spending some time with 'Baby', the beach sari seller and being invited to eat with her on Thursday.
Moment 12- Swimming with a family of  fully clothed Indian women in the next village.
Moment 13- Hanging out at the beach bar with friends I've made during this last week.

Some of these moment were caught on film, while others will just be great memories

Moment 10- Seeing the little boy in the room next door's face, when he discovered I had decorated his tricycle with flowers.
Moment 11- Spending some time with 'Baby', the beach sari seller and being invited to eat with her on Thursday.
Moment 12- Swimming with a family of  fully clothed Indian women in the next village.
Moment 13- Hanging out at the beach bar with friends I've made during this last week.

Some of these moment were caught on film, while others will just be great memories

Shore temple, rathas and another coincidence

Still enjoying it here in Malammapuram and had yet again another bizarre experience last night. I was sitting casually in the roof top cafe, sipping my first beer in about 3 weeks when I heard the couple nearby tell the waiter that they were from Brighton. I looked over and recognised a guy called Jack who I went on a date with in 1998....luckily for Julia, his wife sitting next to him neither of us were interested in the other-I vaguely remember inviting him to a party so he could meet people but neither of us had a very good memory of this.. So India strikes again, throwing up the unexpected...we had a great evening, chatting about Brighton things and I realised how long it had been since I had spent any time with English people. They are here for a few days and we have a loose plan to meet up on Sunday night for some sort of full moon festival that is happening here at the Shore Temple.

Did lots of sight seeing today....lots more ancient stone carvings. It is very, very busy here now and I think I was lucky to have found a room yesterday.

mamallapuram

I love it!!
My expensive rickshaw journey was worth every penny, comfortable, nice company and he knew of a good cheap guesthouse on the beach....I would have spent ages looking. I'm right back to basics but the room is very clean ( it was being cleaned as I arrived), it has a small terrace which looks onto the sea and a rooftop cafe with nice views and nice food.

I've already chatted to a few people here, all French of course and wandered around town. Mamallapuram is famous for it stone carving and stone carved temples and I've seen  a couple today...actually I can see one from the cafe I'm in now. It is touristy but quite small and although there are lots of Westerners here there are also lots of Indian tourists too. It's more backpacker style than scarves and pony tails although the average age of the backpackers is closer to mine that might have been expected. There is plenty to keep me busy without having to go very far...infact I'm not planning on getting into any form of transport til I have to leave for the airport on Thursday.

Last day in Pondicherry

I have really enjoyed my time here at Mango Hill. I settled into a routine very quickly, involving daily massage, a little trip in a rickshaw and swimming in the pool. The massage/torture has been really beneficial and would probably rate amongst the best treatment I have ever had.

I liked Auroville much more than I was expecting. It was very clean and rubbish free and some of the houses were lovely. As a visitor you don't get to see much beyond the visitors' centre and the bizarre Matri Madir dome, which is the'soul of Auroville' but looks a bit like a giant UFO but it had less of a cult feel to it and it does provide work in the area, there is a sense of community and it is meant to be non-religious- although there is a bit of 'Mother' worship which seems to go on.

Petra my German neighbour and I visited some wacky local temples which was fun and it has been really nice to have some company ( Eric the French man is still in the background but there have been no further developments, although she does talk about him a lot). Most of the other people I have met here have been French or Belgian so I have been speaking lots of French. I've also enjoyed finally installing Skype on my laptop and being able to catch up with friends and family. Talking to Ginny from my balcony as if she were sitting there with me was a surreal experience.

I'm off to Mamallapuram tomorrow, by rickshaw rather than local bus because my driver is very sweet and the journey will be fun and more comfortable....although it will cost at least twice as much. Mamallapuram will be my last stop in India and I intend to enjoy it, although I will be back to basic guest houses.

Pondicherry

Today got off to a good start with a very vigorous ayurvedic powder massage. I  was pummelled and punched with bags of warm herbs and spices that smelled like they had been soaked in ghee. This was not a relaxing treatment but a whole body workout and I felt amazing afterwards...arthritis aches were banished and I felt positive and full of energy.

I got taken around Pondicherry by a lovely rickshaw driver, who didn't try and rip me off or cuddle me on a bench and who has got the next 3 days planned for me in terms of sightseeing. Pondicherry was so much quieter than I was expecting and I loved the shabby chic run down French quarter. It is quite dirty and the beaches were full of rubbish but it had a real charm and I can see why people would spend time here.

I braved another ashram, this time the Sri Arobindo ashram, which was full of flowers and very peaceful. I bought myself an introduction to Sri Aurobindo's philosophy but I'm still none the wiser really-he seemed to be interested in how to find enlightenment in the real world but I could be wrong. he was joined at some point in the 20s or 30s by a French woman who became known as 'The Mother' and she is also considered as a very important spiritual figure in the area. 'The Mother' was very involved with the setting up of Auroville an international community set up to live by the 'The Mother's'  teaching and to promote love and interconnectedness etc....sounds to me a bit like a JG Ballard novel and opinion is divided about the place but I shall see for myself tomorrow afternoon.

I spent this afternoon swimming and chatting with some fellow guests and this evening getting to know Petra, the German woman next door who is lovely but preoccupied with Eric the swarthy Frenchman. I acted as translator for them for a while but as she sank her second pina colada in 20 minutes I decided it was time to escape to my room.

Photos are of Pondy sea front....as I said a bit run down and the Basilica