Hannah’s Weblog

It seems that the heavens have decided to open over southern India, and remain that way all day everyday……..

Kim and I planned on staying a week or so in Varkala, but due to the cloudy skies and heavy rain we decided to move on. Varkala was beautiful however, the long sandy beaches and cliff top cafes, bars and hotels were still charming despite the miserable weather. We were lucky enough to have one full day on the beach and enjoy the mishievous wave but it was just not long enough…..We met some lovely people, did some early morning exercise and rooftop yoga, it would have been nice to stay longer. Sue a lovely lady we sat with one afternoon from brighton had just come from a Ayurvedic centre and raved about her time there. Kim and I decided some massage treatment would be a good idea so we called them and booked in for the following day….

We sadly waved goodbye to the beach and moved north up through Kerala. A lovely state, where the people, language and food are all different and incredibly pleasant. A train, a bus and a rickshaw ride later we pulled up outside Matt India centre. Years ago this place was a working hospital, so is huge and has that clinical empty, wide corridor ambience. Now people can and still do go there for treatments, so it was an experience Kim and I will never forget. We were immeadiately welcomed with opened arms and huge smiles (smiles I suspect that never fade) and shown to our room. A large room, with a bathroom and a mosquito net covering the bed. We dumped our bags and were told to get ready for our massage………it turned out that we were very lucky to recieve a treatment at this time, as the ladies usually finish before lunch, so we waited. Four girls showed up 5 minutes later, smiling ‘yes madame follow me’……Kim went one way I went the other. So now Ayuveda is an ancient science of Indian herbal medicine and holistic healing, focusing on treating the whole organism instead of just the illness, using herbal treatments, massage and other therapies. The special dark oil is a vital element in the massage, and they sure did use plenty of it!! i had to strip, and the massage (by two girls) lasted 45 minutes. The treatment includes a series of symetrical rhythmic massages, heavy pressure and lots of oil. Apparently very good for circulation, and general well being.

After our massage they bought us a bucket of hot water and we showered. Dinner was to be served at 7.30. We washed and dressed then wandered down to the dining room. So, this was an old hospital, so there were many old empty rooms, a little eery. Kim and I teased eachother by imagining that we were in some kind of horror movie, where the pink drink that they served us ( incidently a very healthy rose water) was some kind of drug, and that we were going to be used for strange experiments….. Luckily we were wrong! HA! Dinner was also Ayurvedic, a garlicy soup, dal and roti and a banana for desert. Simple but delicious.

The following morning we met the other guests. There were four other foreign people staying there while we were there. Sir Yannick (as he liked to be known) a lively, comedical chap staying for 6 weeks for treatment for an illness, Colette from Holland, an art and art history teacher taking a sabatical, in India hoping to learn the wonders of yoga. Martha, a fantastically lively bubbly lady from Colombia, always smiling, laughing…so so wonderful, and Sabine, a very glam lady women from Belgium who left shortly after we arrived. A great family of people who welcomed us into their tight nit society. A fantastic community of people that pass through, look after eachother and enjoy fantastic conversations over breakfast, lunch and dinner….

We were fortuate enough to take a trip along the famous Kerala back waters whilst staying there. Martha, Collette, Kim and and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon crusing these magical waters. These waters are actually on the ‘top things to do before you die’ list and are so beautiful. (I’ll upload photos soon)

The wonderful hospitality we recieved from everyone at the centre was like nothing else I have experienced. I was really sad to move on, I hope that I will be able to visit all the people I met in their home countries. We left Thursday morning, Sheridan one of the lovely guys that work there gave us a lift to Kochi, where we are now….