Gokarna - life sucks ;)

Among some friends we have the running gag of stating "life sucks", when ever we live moments of sheer happiness stunned by the impressions invading our wits. Gokarna is definitely a place where one would like to stay for some time, in fact almost all the people I met there stayed way longer than they had planned to ;)
Back from Kumily I tried my luck to catch a fully overbooked night train with 3 hours delay and the whole Indian Railway reservation system out of order and succeeded!!! The TT (don´t know what that means, he is kind of the chief-ticket controller of the train) accepted my appliance ticket (this ticket gives you the opportunity to ask the TT for admission in the train if there is space). Having arrived at a train-station some 30 kilometers form Gokarna I wanted to find a way to get there without having to rely on very business oriented rickshaw drivers. Luckily a nice man observed me negotiating and offered to take me in his car almost the whole way. He turned out to be a hard working physician who built up his own clinic and has become very wealthy dedicating all his efforts to his business and family. I felt a bit strange sitting next to a men, who maybe takes half a day off per week and only occasionally takes some time off in order to visit his two grow up children at the towns where they study, while I have been traveling for 4 and a half months now, spending only a few days working and a few weeks doing courses. I guess it is impossible to determine, which way of living is better, I guess this depends entirely on the dreams, wishes, possibilities and priorities of each person.
How ever it seemed that it was my job to keep the conversation flowing while the doctor did the driving ;)

The first photos you seen actually show the bus stop, where the man dropped me. I had to smile about the Indian way once more, improvising and keeping things simple. How needs signs, as long as the people and the bus-driver know where to stop?

A rickshaw ride later and 24 hours of traveling I landed at Om-beach, a nice spot with only a few restaurants and palm leaf huts. The hut I rented did not have a floor, so the beach-feeling started right after getting out of bed ;)
So every mooring I got up like a champion to do my Yoga practice and go for a swim, spending the rest of the day reading, writing and exploring other beaches in walking- or at least hiking distance. Had it not been for a nice and (maybe a bit hyper-) active biologist from Alaska, I would have taken things a lot easier, but like this I discovered Gokarna-town and 3 more beaches… According to her the dog is the only species which co-evolves with humans and thus always wants to be near us. Indian street dogs are not very considered by the locals, but they don´t get mistreated either, so these dogs are much more relaxed and friendly than most of the over-breded dogs in Europe.

Kumily - between tea plantages and the rain forrest

A little sentimental I left behind Alleppey and took the morning bus to Kumily, a 5 hour ride over pumpy roads winding up into the hills, with branches occasionally reaching into the bus without window-screens slapping faces of inattentive or sleeping passengers. Having reached Kumily I found the place my Tirolean friends had recommended, a modest house with a few rooms for rental just next to the forrest. Luckily the owner warned me about the monkeys climbing around the balcony, playing with what ever they can find and even entering rooms in search of food or interesting items to play with.
As I got the initial impression that this village was pretty much focused on tourism only with not much else to do or see than tea-plantations, spice gardens and the national reserve, I decided to jump right into it in order to move on after 2 days. By ricksha I went to see a tea plantation, where a guide repeated his every-day sermon to a small group of travelers, trying to practice his French and English rather than actually giving useful information and actually showing the processes involved in the fabrication of tea. How ever, I learned that all the different types of black tea in the world apparently developed from only two species and I know now how to make Chai ;)
After a short stop at a spice garden where another guide pressed the play-button on his forehead in order to reproduce his mental tape about spices. Reminded of my job as a fundraiser some years ago I tried my best to get the poor man off his track by asking him things which didn't have anything to do with spices. In the evening I visited a Kalari-show -- martial art -- longing to got off the tourist path again and experience some more authentic India.
The next day at the "Periyar Tiger Reserve" I past with mixed feelings as well. In my romantic dreams I had expected tense rain forest, as far as my eye could see, many different kinds of animals crossing my way and an experience adjusted to the wishes and needs of the small group doing the safari. When the 5 of us entered the reserve we could see wide deserted hills where one day must have been a rain forest. I guess that most of the animals were not very keen on seeing us noisy, civilized and maybe degenerated humans and the reserve guide did not seem to care much about his job either, wearing a shiny red t-shirt and talking on the mobile phone in the middle of the jungle. In the end we saw a black giant squirrel, a few black macacs (monkeys) and some bisons from far fleeing into the shelter of the woods. I imagine that the only way to actually see and observe wild animals is far off the tourist-paths, with a zoologist or alone with a very good tele-objective waiting for the wild creatures to show up at a water place or crossing a lightning in the forest.
After concluding the 6 hour trek on small paths over hills and valleys I was wondering in what a bad condition our planet must be, when even in nature reserves the human imprint is omnipresent. Overpopulation, illegal hunting and corruption are stronger than the attempts of several programs to actually safe endangered species and their habitat, for instance there exist some tiger-reserves in India where not a single tiger has been spotted in many years…
Sorry if I sound a bit dark today, but I was not able to find a funny twist this time ;) Big hug to all of you.

Alleppey - the right spot to do a freelance experiment

Before meeting my Austrian friends in Kochi I already had stayed at a great place in Alleppey, so when Marlene and Wolfgang decided to check out the back waters as well I just brought them back here. Run by some young Indian Bob Marley imitations this Traveler´s home consist in 6 small double houses with verandas and something which with some fantasy reminds on a front garden.
As my friend Peter and his friend still were here I felt a bit like at home, having my friends as next door neighbors ;) We all had a great time together having Chai on the veranda, going to town to try out legendary places like "The Indian Coffee House" and doing a boat trip through the smaller channels of the back waters. In the morning Marlene and I did Yoga together, so I even had the chance to practice my teaching skills with my first student.
I already had started to get used to this sweet way of living, when all my friends left the same morning, which confronted me with being all by myself for the first time in the past two months. All of a sudden I had to create my own structure again and decide how to move on. As I have been feeling very comfortable at this place and as they have free WIFI here, I decided to stay and work on a freelance project a good friend of mine passed me on. This gives me the opportunity to find out how well I can do a job sitting on a veranda in India… For now I can tell you that it is not so easy to sit down and work while all the people around you are enjoying their holidays, but of course I prefer to work like this than sitting in an office ;))) So I try to get up early every day and start the day with Yoga and meditation before I work for some time on the computer.
A few days ago I met 2 young Tirolean couples, which makes this place feel a bit more like home again. We went to a beach near by and enjoyed incredibly tasty pineapples and other fruits on plates we had woven out of palm leaves ;)

My dear friends and family, I miss you all...

Kochi - between relaxation and asfixiation

As my dear friends Marlene and Wolfgang were traveling through Kerala we decided to catch up at Fortkochi, the old and more relaxed part of Kerala´s biggest city. Happy to feel our connection grown over many years on the other side of the world made my sensations oscillate between happiness, sentimentality, lightness, thoughts of home (this includes Madrid, Vienna, Tirol and in more enlightened moments the whole planet ;) old memories and the nearer future…
Together with an Austrian friend of Marlene we explored the district, walked along the sea shore and did a small self organized sight seeing tour by auto rickshah.
For dinner we had excellent fish once at a rather authentic local restaurant and the next time at a beautiful but heavily overpriced garden of some British colonial villa. When we were nipping of our white wine we somehow had the feeling of not being in India any more…
Little by little I am getting used to the frenetic live on the streets again, trying to gain/maintain the necessary discipline to keep doing a bit of yoga every day, eating not too heavy food and working on some of my personal projects.
Tired from the rickshah city tour the day before and as Wolfgang got a bit sick we decided to stay a third day in Fortkochi and relax, have tea at the famous "T-pot" cafe, read, relax and talk. After all this day turned out to be more inspiring and beautiful than a day packed with sights and impressions. Little by little we started to build up a connection with this place and found out about the spots to have an authentic south Indian dinner, watch (end even help) the fishermen pulling out the old traditional fisher nets and walk around calm neighborhoods. Somehow a street dog chose me as his new friend and playing partner, he came to salute me like an old friend, so I had no choice than playing with him. The challenge consisted in catching up with my friends again, as the dog playfully bit me into my trousers to make me stop walking and continue playing with him...

On the back waters to Alleppey

After meeting my friend Peter from the Sivananda Ashram on the beach of Varkala we decided not to get too much involved in the lethargic atmosphere of this place -- eating, drinking, sun bathing, shopping -- but keep moving. We toke a boat heading north on the famous backwaters of Kerala. I had no idea, that traveling by boat on the still waters would be so relaxing and comfortable. After a 3 hours ride we reached "Amma´s" Ashram, a place which hosts so many people that it reminded me more of a city rather than en Ashram. Mata Amritanandamayi is famous for her commitment to humanitarian aid projects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Amritanandamayi) and spreading unconditional love by giving a hug to everyone who would come near her. We knew that we would miss her by one day, as she just had started a trip around India together with a big group of people following her, but we preferred to visit this place and get some idea of it while it was less crowded and agitated. It was very impressive to see how much of a difference one person can make among the community around her…
Please don´t start worrying about me, I have not become a devoted follower of what ever ideology, but I am quite interested in how organizations like this work and what draws people towards them.
The next day we moved on by boat to Alleppey, the main gate to the Kerala´s backwaters, happy that we already had experienced the great atmosphere of moving smoothly through a landscape of mangroves and small fisher villages.

Kanyakumari - leaving the safe harbour towards new adventures

Finally, after 5 weeks of Ashram live with it´s well structured program and rules I have decided to hit the road again. Despite the healthy environment I needed to get out and digest the impressions and received teachings and find my own rhythm again, trying to integrate Yoga and meditation in my daily routine.
Two days before I left I went on a trip to the south tip of India, where the 3 oceans meet (Arabic sea, Indian ocean and one more, …I will look it up). On the way we visited several temples and jumped into the sea at a little fisher village, while the local people were pulling out huge nets just by the force of there arms. As good Yogis we did some Yoga postures on the beach as well and had great fun, inventing new postures like the head-under-water-stand.
After visiting the "Vivekananda Rock", a small island with a temple and a memorial we went to see the sunset together with hundreds of Indian locals. It was the first time in my life I actually had to pay in order to see the sun, as the whole area was protected by high walls and dry thorn bushes guarded by some security guys blowing their whistles like fanatic fans at a football match. My rather limited tolerance towards imposed authority made me jump over a wall and cause some kind of small revolution, as many people followed my example and just ignored the artificial barriers in order to watch the sunset at the sea shore.
The day trip ended with a visit at an impressing Siva temple planed according to the shape of the human body. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures. The art works, columns and stone figures showed the very sophisticated and advanced know how of their creators many centuries ago. What was even more stunning was the atmosphere inside. Time seemed to have past in a much slower pace there, the devotees celebrated their Poojas (offerings) and rituals and played instruments which made my mind wander back in time…
The photos you can see were partially taken by a Nepali girl named Sasha, I was lucky enough to have the chance to copy her pictures, as they were taken with a far more professional camera and Sasha was far more motivated taking pictures ;) Big hug to all of you and thank you for your lovely comments. Like this I get an idea,´till which extent my attempts to share my impressions with you are successful…

TTC absolved!!!

Hi dear friends and family, I know it has been a bit silent here during the past month, while I was busy with the TTC. This education was very demanding and intense, so in the rather short periods of free time I tried to stay focused, relax and avoid the internet, as it tends to consume rather much time and energy. 2 days ago I absolved the final exam and can call myself a Sivananda Yoga teacher now ;) …which is not really what I was aiming for, I just wanted to gain a good foundation of Yoga for my every day life and maybe start teaching little by little one day next to graphic design- , web- and music-projects. I am happy I absolved this education and persisted during the not so easy periods. Many things started moving, old thoughts, emotions and feelings form rather profound layers started to come to the surface in order to be attended and dissolved. During this month I have become more sensitive towards my intuition and different kinds of influences and energies.
Imagine how many things change, when you do healthy physical exercise together with organic and vegetarian diet for your body, meditation and concentration training for your mind, and more subtle training on the soul-level. It was beautiful to observe how people around me transformed and started to shine during the past weeks.
Unfortunately my camera is dying (the zoom does not work any more and the flash screws up the pictures) and it would have been very difficult anyways to show the beauty of some magical moments… how ever, I uploaded some more pictures on the album of the past entry, I hope you like the pictures...