That's why I love traveling

Morning walk along the cliff watching fishermen bringing in the night's catch: 2.5hours
Breakfast with friends: 1.5hours
Manicure, pedicure and chit-chat with Reji: 2 hours
Facial treatment and eyelashes colouring with Sindhu: 1 hour
Cloths shopping: 2 hours
Relaxing in the shade and talking about men: 2 hours
Sunset drinks: 1 hour
Dinner with friends: open end

I'm so loving it!

Mandurai

Overlooking Mandurai at sunset:

 

Indian breakkie: 

 

dressing up to go to the temple: 

 

temple guard: 

 

more temple guards - the Nandi: 

 

me & Amin in front of the Entrance gate to Meenakshi Temple. Meenakshi is the three-breasted, fish-eyed goddess... and fish eyes are considered most beautiful.

 

more Nandi: 

Mamallapuram

Old temple Monuments and at a beautiful beach 

 

Hmmmm, fresh coconut: 

 

As happy as a cow in India :-) 

Kairali wrap-up

Day 23 is finished and part of me feels like being released from jail. From now on I can eat what I want, decide about my own daily schedule, do my own Yoga with my own breathing rhythm and forbid people to touch me...

The other part of me is a bit anxious of how I will deal with all the temptations out there. It's a great feeling to be reduced by 6.6kg or 2-3 inches at every part of the body (including neck!), and all this with 3 meals daily and no significant exercise. I feel nicely energized and are keen to do more traveling now.
And I will miss Santosh's Yoga sessions, just when I fully deciphered is coded instructions:
moose = mouth
eaps = hips
leg fingers = toes
I'm so used to relaxing my "left feet", I can hold my breath as long as it takes him to say "Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaale", he made me do flexible assanas (Yoga postures), I can turn into a palmtree, a mountain or a cobra and I finally understood the meaning behind different pranayamas (breathing exercises), I can sit with folded legs for 1 hour and have surprisingly grown abs and back muscles...

I took medicine with names like Trivrilleham and Manasamitram Gulika for better (faster) digestion and the specially disgusting Guggulu Thikthakam Kashayam for better skin.

What I won't miss for a while are the massage sessions. Every day 2 treatments with oil (or sometimes milk), 4 hands touching me all over, making me feel like a  piece of meat being marinated for barbecue... I must be so tender and delicious by now, if I were a pig...
On the other hand my 2 favourite massage ladies Pria and Renoga did their best to help me relax during the sessions.
Speaking of pig... I have no craving for meat whatsoever, I didn't miss that, but I'm looking forward to have something more substantial than cucumber curry now.
I also have now finished 23 days without alcohol (no problem as well), without milk products, without caffeine (especially missed my morning coffee with milk), without wheat products, without raw vegetables (always always cooked) and most importantly: without action!
And yet, it is still me ;-)
I discovered the quiet side of life which I have ignored for the last years. No worries I haven't turned into a nerdy bookworm. But doing quiet things like sitting around doing nothing exciting, enjoying food without distraction or meditation don't scare me anymore. I haven't been bored a single hour of my stay. I will try hard to fit that into my new life after travels. An era I have named my "new, better, more balanced life".

The only problem is: I have to keep that thought for the next 6-7 months, until I can consider life "normal" again...

 

Happy Onam!

preparations for the festival of flowers:

and finished:

Drama on the doorstep

Not sure if he wants to eat it or tie a knot ;-)

But guess who won!

 

(Yes,  this is pretty much the most adventurous that's happening in my life at the moment) 

Happy birthday, Ganesha!

Ganesha birthday celebration: only for men (women don't go because the crowds would encourage drunk men to take advantage)

 

... but most of them in miniskirts ;-) 

 

only barefoot in the shrine! 

 

kids placing their small, self-made Ganeshas to the original's foot 

Indian encounter

Caution: Elephant in the backyard!

...elephant and the MAAAAAAAAN:

 

Hehe... hello Mister Elephant...

 What? I should go closer? Like this?

 

 Touch the tusk???

 

Aaaaaaww, look he's flapping his ears :-) 

 

 small donation for the mahout: 100 rupees

being that close to the giant: priceless!

 

Kairali half-time update

My days have settled in a nice routine and still it is not boring. Of my 23 days half the time is over. Unfortunately 2 days ago the last of the group of 4 had left and no new guests checked in, so I don't have company during the meals anymore, can't share a giggle after Yoga or have someone to join for trips outside the resort. But on the other hand it gives me more time to read, reflect and concentrate on what's important at the moment: me and my well-being. Yoga and meditation are excellent ways to clear your mind and find out who you are and what your task in life is. I just hope I'll be able to keep it up after the program is finished.

The food is still delicious but not overly exciting, it's ayurvedic cuisine after all. I most enjoy breakfast, when they give me pomegranate seeds and papaya. I not so much enjoy when they serve me porridge.

 

Once a week there is a "diet cooking demonstration" led by the chef. This is nice for a change but I can not possibly remember all the special ingredients. So I more enjoy the show. And when nobody is looking, chef is cooking some small dessert for us which we normally shouldn't eat during diet ;-)

 

 

 

For some reason the doctor took the challenge in reducing my pigmentation in the face which I have for 6 years now. I haven't asked for it as I got used to it and don't mind anymore. But now everybody is mentioning how much better my skin looks. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm not much exposed to sunlight anymore, maybe the stuff they smear in my face really helps (all herbal, guaranteed), everybody seems to be more excited about it than I am. Anyway, I don't mind, it's heaps better than getting enema, that's for sure!

So, that's it about the news, not much going on here, just me and my body slowly transforming to the better...