Tamil Nadu 2006 |
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Week 7March 23, 24, 25 & 26 2006 |
I took the night off and went to the Taj Fisherman's Cove Hotel in Kovallam, which is about 25 km south on the coast from here. I caught the bus from quite close by, and I still can't get used to how cheap they are. 25km for 6.5 rupees, about 8p. it stopped and let me off at the top of the lane to the hotel. There are no stops out in the countryside, you just flag a bus down. I arrived just as an English lady arrived in a chauffeur driven car with a guide. She was welcomed with drinks and a garland. I was looked at askance and asked politely what I was doing there. I said I had booked a room for the night and they were immediately all over me with garlands and drinks. I don't think they had ever had a guest arrive by bus before! (This is a very posh hotel).
I was surprised by how many Europeans on crutches there were around the lobby. I thought there might have been a coach accident or something. Then someone told me. They were health tourists, here to have their hips and knees replaced. They spend a week in a posh hospital in Chennai (and there are some very fancy ones) and then a week recuperating at the Fisherman's Cove before they are air freighted back to Europe and America. I presume everyone benefits from it, but I feel slightly uneasy about the whole thing. At the back of every newspaper there are several "Appeals". Usually a young child with a heart or limb problem, whose parents can't afford the cost of an operation and they are appealing for charitable donations to help them do it. Maybe the limping Europeans help to fund what health service there is, but it doesn't seem to extend very far down the social ladder, and that is a very long ladder in this country.
The hotel is very comfortable, but I do get bored in country "spa" resorts. There is nothing there BUT the hotel. All sorts of lavish treatments laid on, but I think their main purpose is to help pass the time. I went for a swim in the sea and a beach hawker came up and chatted and then tried to sell me some carved seashells. I told him I really didn't want any, at which point he nearly burst into tears and said "Sir, this is my business, it is the only way I can make a living for my family." I felt an absolute heel because I am sure this was true. I gave him 100 rupees but said I really didn't want a carved shell.
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My "room". Quite a basic hotel really, they drove me to the room in a golf buggy! The facilities must have been quite limited because most guests choose to have meals delivered to their rooms by three servants. On silver salvers. Under the moonlight, whilst the waves lap the shore etc. etc. Really quite rustic. |
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The plunge pool from the bar. OK, its a really very nice hotel, but I only had one night. I could only afford one night. |
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A fresh water lagoon near the Fisherman's Cove, choked with the dreaded water hyacinth. This is a beautiful plant which was introduced to Asia and Africa as an ornament and now infests fresh water in both continents. It floats and clogs the lakes and canals. The backwaters of Kerala are full of it and all attempts to control it have been very limited, although they are using biological controls in Africa which are having some success. Part of the problem is that it is of no worth for fodder, fibre, papermaking or fertilising. It is just a weed. |
After I got back to Adyar at lunch time, I walked back to MSSRF, a walk I do just about every evening. It's not the same at midday. The sun is now nearly directly overhead, and those who describe the tropical sun as beating down like a hammer on an anvil know what they are talking about. What is a pleasant stroll in the evening is quite dreadful in the noon day sun. The air temperature is 35°C but it is the power of the sun that is the killer. There were no mad dogs around, they were far too sensible. By my calculation, as we are 12° North of the equator, the sun should be directly overhead around the beginning of May. All of the locals have told me not to be here from mid April to June, it is just unbearable. I have never been in south India later than February before, so I haven't experienced the full power of the sun until now. The Mediterranean heat is one thing, but it isn't up to the sheer malevolence of this.
I did some work this morning, but in the afternoon went down to George town, the rabbit warren like old town full of bazaars. I am trying to get a long, thin sail bag made for my boat, with little success. Each "stitcher" I have shown a sketch to has just rolled his eyes and shaken his head. I figured that I must be able to find a canvas dealer in George Town, and once I had got the material, I would have better luck. I found a dealer eventually. The whole area is split into different trades, so once I had found a cloth dealer I had found hundreds. Then I took my sketch and cloth to my favourite shirt maker "Gayman" and he is going to run up the bag for me. I hope he puts his label on it.
The increasing heat makes the middle of the day an increasingly lethargic time...
One thing that amazes me is who is reading this site. I have been hearing from old friends from school days who are looking at it, who I haven't heard from for years. Really quite wonderful.
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Self indulgence today. First I skipped breakfast, which means I enjoy dinner
more. I only need two meals a day here really. Then I did that thing you
rarely get a chance to do, I sat down and read a book right through in one
sitting. It's worth doing every now and then, it makes you appreciate the
writing more than you can do any other way. In the afternoon I set out to
satisfy another personal foible. Much to Pam's annoyance, I love to draw
where I've been on maps, even though it spoils the map. I've been filling in
everywhere I've walked here in bright orange, but there was a gap. I've been
all over the south of the city and all over the north, but there's a gap in
the middle, so I set out to fill it. I only meant to walk about 2
kilometres, but ended up walking for about four hours and must have done 12.
I stopped in one temple I hadn't seen before, a big modern one set in a
garden and dedicated to a guru. Very calm and quiet inside, so I sat and
enjoyed the peace. Then after an hour I was by the Hare Krishna temple that
I went into a couple of weeks ago and went in and listened to the monks
singing and drumming for about an hour. Finally I reached Mount Road and
reckoned I had earned a beer and dinner at the Connemara. I've actually got
sores between my toes from my chapals for the first time, so I must have
walked a long way. <-- My joined up map. MSSRF is roughly in the middle of the southern mesh of orange lines. |