Heads in the Clouds

Turns out the next two towns we visited were also super touristy, but in the best possible way: they were India-touristy and chock full of Indian families on vacation. This means heaps of authentic cheap food; tons of friendly people; and barely any other Western tourists. It also means heaps of things to see and do.

We spent two days in Cape Comorin, the southernmost point in India. It's seven degrees north of the equator and it was SUPER hot - over 40 degrees Celsius. You can stand at the shore and look out at what appears to be the nexus of the universe, where three seas (the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Bay of Bengal) mingle and dance with the eloquent beauty of a drunken ballerina. There were islands with giant statues and temples just offshore. We got mobbed by many Indian families, and became the main tourist attraction when everyone wanted a "snap" with us. One family treated it like wedding photos, and kept trading family members in and out of the pictures to get many different combinations of everyone in a photo with us. They even got one of just Andrea and the baby. A group of 20 12-year-old girls on a school trip spent half an hour with us, and even got Andrea to sing the Canadian national anthem (no small feat - Andrea does NOT sing in public), and then they sang us the Indian national anthem. Luckily, Craig got most of the encounter (and all of the singing) on film. He, however, somehow managed not to sing.

For the past five days we've been in the hill station town of Kodaikanal (elevation 2100 m). The weather here is glorious - 25 degrees during the day, around 15 degrees overnight. We have done a different walk every day, around lakes, to viewpoints, and even past a golf course full of monkeys (we suspect golf balls get stolen often there).

The food here is incredible, and super cheap: teas and coffees for 5 rupees ($0.12), fresh bakery delights for 6 rupees ($0.15), yummy Indian breakfasts for 15 rupees ($0.40), and all-you-can-eat Indian lunches called thalis where they bring the refills straight to your table - the best kind of buffet ever - for 50 rupees ($1.25).

Everyone here is very friendly. We've met locals and shopowners who love us, so we feel welcome being recognized as we walk down the street. In a town of only 30,000 people, it's not hard to stand out as two of the few white people around.

This past weekend was a holiday weekend, so the town was hopping with well-off Indian families on vacation. We got asked to pose for pictures a lot - one girl even knocked on our hotel room one morning to get a "snap" before she checked out. Man, India is good for your self-esteem! We feel like celebrities!

Looking back, we wish we had visited more hill stations other than just Darjeeling and Kodaikanal. The weather up here is wonderful, the air is clean, and the people are so genuine.

We have only one week left in India before we fly to Malaysia. Our final three stops are planned (Trichy, Pondicherry, and Chennai). It's going to be difficult to say good-bye to such a colourful, bustling country as India.