Crazy Cochin

     So the day train was the worst train ride yet and it was half the time of previous trains. I have found out that I much prefer night trains to day trains. The train from Coimbatore to Cochin was packed. Each compartment has seats for eight people yet by the end of my trip there were 16 people in my compartment. Just another experience that I can look back on and laugh but at the time I was more just tired and sweaty. The train station was not located in Cochin (Kochi) so we had a bus take us to our hotel. The hotel is very nice with free wifi (albeit slow wifi) and was located in the centre of the town. The town was quite touristy but was a nice contrast to Coimbatore which didn't have much to see. The six guys went out for fish and chips when we got there. We were all very hungry because we had not eaten in a while. The rest of the day was spent hanging around the area. That night we ate at a terrible rooftop restaurant that had a great location but terrible service. After two hours we had only received 1 of 10 meals. After the third hour we had another two. We had told the server to just bring out whatever they had because we had to go. There was nothing else yet on the grill. We left and went across the road where we were served drinks, food, and the bill in an hour.
     The next day we got up early to do a backwater tour of Kerala. It was very cool and a nice chill way to spend the morning. We got back around 2:30pm and didn't have much time till we went back out to watch a traditional dance performance. Overall it was a great day. Today we are leaving around 6pm to get on the last overnight train of the trip in Southern India. I believe we have another eight to go in the North. We leave this city to go to Turtle Bay. I am told it is quite remote but very relaxing. There will most likely be no internet in Turtle Bay or at the rain-forest retreat that we go to after Turtle Bay. After these two areas we go to Mysore which is where we start classes. We stay in Mysore for around three and a half weeks.
     That is all for now. Wish me luck on this next train as it is 12 hours. Hope all is well back home and I will talk to you again in about nine days.

The Southern Most Tip - Kanyakumari and Coimbatore

After leaving the lovely restaurant with free wifi the group that I was with left to go back to the hotel. We wanted to hit up a market, bank, and a restaurant before we actually went back to the hotel. At the time this seemed like a manageable undertaking seeing as we were not leaving the hotel until 7pm to go to the train station. After leaving the restaurant to go back to the hotel, which was very close, we learned that we were wrong. Since we had been out all day we were never informed that the departure time had moved up to 5:30! Thankfully we headed back around 5:45pm to get ready and so were able to get on the bus. Unfortunately that meant that I was unable to pack my own luggage or have a shower before we left to go on the overnight train. The train didn't leave until about 8:30pm but it took a while to get to the station and get where we needed to be. The train was an experience in and of itself. This particular train was very full and there were actually more people than there were seats. There were 8 people to a compartment and when people were ready to sleep they converted their seats into beds. This was definetly not my favourite part of the trip up to this point, but it was an experience I would want to have before I left India. Unfortunately I will have it 11 more times but I am sure I will adapt and it will become better. 

We arrived around 7am in Kanyakumari which is a city that attracts many tourists and is located at the southern most tip of India. The rooms were not ready for us but we were able to grab breakfast and then head out and explore the city. It was beautiful! Our hotel was located right off the water and had beautiful views. This city was unlike Chennai and Pondicherry in that it was less of a bustling city and more of a coastal laid back town (in India's standards). We all walked along the coast and took pictures. Us guys were going to be placed in a "suite" so we had to wait longer than the girls for our room. Once we got it we found out that it was simply conjoined rooms located on the top floor. On the plus side it had three balconies that looked out to the water and the front of the hotel. Kanyakumari was quite laid back and we had quite a bit of free time to spend as we liked. During the two day stay we visited the Gandhi shrine that holds his ashes, went to the southern most tip of India, and walked around most of the city. On the second day, around the same time, we headed out to again catch an overnight train. 

The second overnight train was better than the first. Although it was longer it was less crowded, therefore more enjoyable. I was also placed in a compartment with only people from Guelph so it made me feel comfortable. That morning we arrived in Coimbatore. This was an addition to the trip and our professor had not been here before. The reason we were in this city was because we were to visit an agricultural university that works with CIDA and the University of Guelph. It is highly respected and multiple professors from Guelph studied at this particular university. The tour was a bit boring and the town has little to offer tourists. The second day was much better than the first. Today we drove to a research site located at the top of a mountain. It took two and a half hours to drive up the side of the mountain to our destination. The views were amazing but the driving was mad. The roads were hard to be on, especially when you get motion sick. A few people had trouble with them, including myself. It was so worth it in the end. We visited the research site as well as a rose garden and a botanical garden. We also had lunch in the area at a very posh restaurant. We felt so out of place. It was a long drive home but we are finally here. I am headed to bed as we have to get up and be ready to get on a bus for 4:15am. We will be taking another train but this one is only 5 hours and will bring us into the west coastal town of Cochin. 

That is all for now, talk to you soon :)