Destroyed by Madness, Starving, Hysterical

... nah, we're just fine. We are, however, as in the title of the Jack Kerouac novel from which this phrase is taken (or was it Ginsberg?), On The Road. And in a very literal sense, too. We left Pondi Tuesday the 13th (making the train by a margin of 11 minutes after an excruciatingly slow bus ride and a hazardously fast rickshaw sprint), and spent 3 out of the first 4 nights on various buses and trains, doing a total of fifty of so hours of traveling. We've been skipping effortlessly between roads more and less traveled by, and had great fun. We have now slowed down a bit, resting and putting the finishing touch on our exams.

The ambitious start of our journey took us, first, to Kochin. Fort Kochin is a nice little city in Kerala, very idyllic and (more or less) known for its tranquil backwaters (on which we did a one-day boat trip, which was very peaceful and charming), its chinese-style fishing nets and for housing the remains of Vasco Da Gama until they were moved to Portugal 14 years after his death. Fascinating, huh? We hung out with Oda and Eva, saw the sights and tried some great Keralan food, including some seafood we bought from the local fishmongers and had a nearby restaurant prepare for us.

After Kochin, we took the night bus to Mysore, which is a small city in the mountains of South India. We spent a day there, visited some temples, a zoo and a palace (we bribed a police man to let us in through the wrong entrance, thereby avoiding to pay the entrance fee. Not bad for two guys who recently wrote a dissertation arguing that police corruption is, indeed, an obstacle to positive peace. Sorry to give away the ending folks, I know most of you were probably planning to read it). The zoo was fun, we got to see some huge tigers and other beasts. Tigers are cool. We then spent a couple of hours waiting for our train, killing time by playing cards (current scores in the disciplines Texas Hold'em, Scrabble, The Idiot and Gin Rummy will be posted now and again). We then managed to get on the wrong train. Luckily, the train was headed in the right direction, and after spending an hour or so at the desolate train station of Hassan (not a place frequently visited by tourists, I imagine), we were back on track.

This train ride brought us to Goa, a tiny state on the west coast, more specifically to Anjuna beach. We have met up with Kjersti, Helle, Kristin and - for a brief but beautiful moment - Lars, and are having a terrific time here. We've even been to an Indian rave, which was strangely amusing, and had numerous meals at the local german bakery (where they serve, among other curiosities, Israeli food).

That's about it for now, I think. We'll be back with photos and more tales of our travels. Go well, ladies and gentlemen, see you soon.


Sigurd B

“In India, I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth, but not adhering to it, inhabiting cities, but not being fixed to them, possessing everything, but possessed by nothing”
- Apollonius Tyanaeus