This place is an oasis

How's it going?

I've been hanging out at the beach for 10 days now. It's funny how an oasis can suck you in for so long without your realizing it. I arrived here on December 30, strung out from travel, lucky to find a thatch hut with clay floors (often visited by strange animals and insects) on the main beach so close to New Year's. I figured I would move into a real hostel as soon as I could, yet here I am ten days later. I'm pretty used to the environment, which is great because this is the first place I've been in India where I didn't have an urge to move on or my daily activities didn't require it. Until now, India had been culture shock, train rides, hiking and pesky stomach troubles. It's been great to just withdraw for so long while still being surrounded by a different culture, plus people from all over the world (mostly Europeans). It's almost an enforced laid back culture here, as footwear is not allowed in any of the restaurants. So I've gotten pretty skilled at walking barefoot most everywhere. Since my hut is a decent (5 minute) walk from the beach, over a rocky gravelly surface of some sort, this has given the bottoms of my feet...character.

New Year's was a fun celebration. I saw my first sunset on the ocean, although I'm not sure if it counts because there is some sort of cloudy area in the distance that always covers the sun right before it hits the horizon. From what I've heard about places in California, this last minute cop out isn't essential and can be avoided, so my pristine sunset will have to wait until another day.

Some hippies built a large (about 12 feet high) Burning Woman, which they set on fire shortly before midnight. Everyone danced around it and chanted, and then ten minutes before midnight the local cops poured water on it out of nowhere, and one guy (not in uniform but carrying a large stick) even pushed a few bongo players with no warning. I'd hate to get paid specifically to ruin other people's fun. I found some other circle to sit near when the clock actually changed, although I had to base that on my iPod clock since there wasn't any kind of formal announcement or anything.

Since then, I've been doing whatever and the time goes somewhere. A few boat rides and adventures through the jungle and cliffs to get to other beaches. A few trips into town (or barefoot back from town because my boat was no longer running) for basic supplies and money. Lots of swimming.

I've had a few decent conversations since I got here, mostly with people who happen to be sitting at the same table during a meal, but the connection lasts only as long as the meal usually. It's fun to be in a place that one could describe as paradise, but after several days on your own, it gets a little boring (which seems like some horrible sin on my part. I just try to remind myself of this time last year in the office each time I find myself slightly bored or homesick...)

Tomorrow I'm moving on, catching an overnight train to Kerala. I was about to buy a bus ticket to Bangalore, and a British guy who happened to sit at my table for lunch planted the Kerala idea in my mind at the last minute, so I changed my mind. That flexibility is one of the most fun parts about this journey. Kerala is well known for its lazy boat trips on its backwaters, so hopefully it will be fun. After that, I should probably start heading north, since I have three weeks before I need to be up in Kolkata.

Peace