Am in the big smoke again today - Bangalore- after an 18hour train ride from Varkala yesterday. Another fab journey - 2nd class sleeper train journeys are just the best. You book your ticket - get upper berth its the best and rock on with snacks galore (cashews, dates, apricots, bananas the fruit options are endless) and sit admiring the view til bedtime. Then you climb up to your bed and sleep like a baby before arriving as fresh as a daisy (slight exaggeration) at your destination. Beats Virgin anyday.
So we just have a few hours to kill here in Bangalore which doesn't have much to offer on the sightseeing front. Have managed to kill morning hours in a wicked outdoor coffee bar which was playing Sunday morning radio station music - Beatles, Eagles, Madonna, Lou Reed (who could ask for more!). Proper sing into your spoon music! and have just had lunch in Pizza Hut (had to do it for the novelty factor - can't imagine we'll be seeing many more of those here in India)
This place is very cosmopolitan and many of the Banglaoreans look like they've stepped out of the pages of Vogue! Denim wearing, big shade wearing Indians everywhere! Also alot of people covered in brightly coloured powder from a huge festival held yesterday here - shame we couldn't have been here it sounded amazing (people drenched in colurs and helicopters dropping confetti on people!) They sure do know how to party here in India.
Our last night in Varkala was great and highly mysterious!! A girl Ashling from Annies ashram had spoke to a man earlier about a film he said she just had to watch so we headed down to the Coconut Grove to check it out. Meet his wife first who tells us it won't be possible to watch the movie this evening as the kids are just off to bed but that we can take away a copy of the movie to watch another time and that we MUST watch it! So intrigued . . . . she speaks about the 15th April and a place in Scotland and another place in Queensland, Oz. Also speaks of a negative cycle coming to an end soon . . . .sounds ominous!
Chill there for a bit and watch a bit of Indian dancing and have a go on a swing strung between two palm trees - idylic!
Wander along cliff top and bump into crew from night before - Dave, Ashley, Gareth and some fun loving girls from New Zealand and Ireland so sit down for a cocktail or two with them. Turns out Gareth has spent the whole day with Coconut Grove guy and his wife - has watched film and asked many questions. He appears to beveryfrazled but I question him anyway - so from what I can gather it goes something like this: some weird code, a secret which Coconut Grove knows, he choses to pass this secret on to 4 people Princess Di, Mother Theresa, Jill Dando and David Kelly (u see the pattern - brown bread, brown bread, brown bread . . .), think Martians are involved (might of just made this up myself), Governments will be sent a warning - 15th APril - explosion Scotland or Oz - asteroids hitting the earth - the end of the world - oh and time travel! Might be letting you in on a big secret here but if u want to escape death by asteroid head to Kodaikanal (although death by asteroid maybe the better option) where a time travel portal will open up to you and u will be safe. Let you in on a little tip - start your journey there now the buses are a nightmare getting up that big hill and take some thermals its bloody freezing up there! What a crazy story but so intrigued and want to know more but had to leave Varkala without seeing movie or chatting more to Coconut Grove dude : ( And me and Annie felt like we didn't want to know too much or we too may end up meeting some untimely death (although MTs death wasn't so untimely!)
Breakfast next day - yummy Kerala speciality Poota (wheat, coconut, honey, milk and bananas!!) with Annie and her ashram buddies who it turns out have met a couple of aliens themselves which kind of makes last night story sound tame. Aliens names were Bob and Tony and came from the constellation Pliades (me and Annie know that one!) and Venus. Last time they saw Tony he was on a mission to talk some whales in the Pacific . . . .I want to meet an alien!! If there's any out there please get in touch x
Also bump into Steve who we met at Ammas ashram - he stood out because when we saw him at the ashram he was sitting alone reading a book absolutely wetting himself with laughter - little nutter! Love the way we are bumping into people all the time - Dave, Tim, Steve, Christian, Caroline - India is a small place when you are on the tourist trail!
Our plane to Delhi leaves tonight at 2am then we must take a 10-12hr bus ride into the mountains. Just can't wait - am hoping Dharmasala will be place I can hang out for for a while. Am defintely gonna get at least a whole week of trekking in up there too. Will write soon - love and hugs (of all sizes) Soph
PS How can i forget to mention we have also caught a really naff movie today (pretty sure it's been a turkey back home) - Ghostrider - went with it cos it was in English hooray, starred Nicholas Cage riding a cruiser and had scary looking baddies in it! Had all the right ingredients but it was pure comic book, boys stuff and I don't think Johnny Blaze could really get the better of the devil even if he does a skeleton head made of fire! Also in the toilets of the cinema we discovered we are actually Eddie and Patsy from Ab Fab - the resemblance is uncanny! Will upload piccies soon but Annies pshcyedelic headband, curly hair and yoga hippy dippy ways defintely make her Eddie and my attitude of 'bollocks, lets crack open a bottle of bubbly (Kingfisher that is!) darling' and blonde locks make me Patsy!
