On our return to Thuravoor, we were greeted with hugs, smiles and kisses from baby Emma. It truly felt like we'd arrived home!
Unfortunately, this was the start of bite week! Almost every other day I was waing with a new random swelling. First my eye, then my finger and later, in Kanyakumari, my head!
I sulked, pouted and refuted to remove my sunglasses for the best part of 12 hours. This doesn't men I was in hiding, it was a very busy day and apart from a trip to the pharmacy, there was a cake to buy and a hairdressers to test out! The cake buying was simple, the hair dresses not so much! We stumbled upon the salon after canoeing to the village and when we saw the hairdressers chair and sink, both of us immediately booked in! A bit of pampering to cheer me up...or not!
Debs went first and was told to stand facing the sink, with her head tipped over the edge. She was ferociously scrubbed and shampooed, but not conditioned. The lady then attacked Debs' hair with the finest comb, leaving it tangled and knotty, before sticking in a handful of 90s style wet look gel. I'm almost certain Debs and I had the same aghast look on our faces! Her hair was then half blow dried flat to her head and she was sent on her way. I was next...
Using my eye as an excuse, I encouraged the hairdress to use the sink and chair properly, asking if I could go backwards. I wish I hadn't bothered, she pulled out a little stool and I had to assume a half crouch, half back-bend position and maintain it throughut the hair wash. From there, I was subject to the same treatment as Debs, until the power cut right before my blow-dry! It was restored within 10 minutes and I was transformed into a fluffy puppy!
With our hair freshly washed, my eye slowly deflating and a new bottle of rum, there was partying to do!
There was the usual birthday shennanigans - light show, "comedy-drama", songs from the children, drinks and lots of dancing - led by 4 year old Abel! One of my favourite moments of the night was popping back to the balcony to find Vickram, out boatman on the last visit and self proclaimed body guard this time, had drank maybe half a litre of Bacardi and was being tutted at by the ladies of the family! As he boated away, he slipped and fell in to the river! We were then told he'd be fine, until he got home at least as his wife wuld probably beat him with a stick, just because "that's what she's like."
We finished the rum and headed to bed.
We took a day for relaxation and then a day for exploration. We had to make sure we hadn't missed anything, so we set out on an afternoon boat trip to villages nar Thuravoor. Debs played volleyball with the children there, and I was inited to the house of a man with a hennaed red beard! I drank tea with him, his wife and their gorgeous daughter. Most f my time there was spent marvelling at their beautiful Singer sewing machine. It blows my mind that almost every household has one of these!
All of a sudden, Debs and I were whisked away by a man who wished to parade us around his family compound! Within 5 minutes, we'd met his sister, brother-in-law, cousins and newphews! As it was speeding towards lunch, we made our excuses and escaped as soon as possible.
By the next morning, Debs' ear was worsening again, so Mau too us to Ernakulum so she could get to a hospital and I could fix my "don't worry, my screen's really strong" cracked screen!
The hospital was modern, clean and pretty efficient. Being a foreigner, Debs was seen to straight away and had a long, antibiotic soaked wik threaded into her ear.
After replacing my screen and picking up Manu's laptop, we felt we deserved a beer! We headed to a top floor hotel bar with amazing views of the city and tiny rooftop which we snuck on to for a little while.
None of us were ready to head back just then, so we headed over to Fort Kochi for a few more beers and some food.
When we were ready to leave, it was far too late for buses or trains, so Sanjay, a friend of Manu's, kindly picked us up and drove us home.
On our final day and night with the family, we spent the morning with the kids before heading out for a sunset boat trip. Suku, the boat man, took us through paddy fields and up to the perfect sunset viewing spot. He even taught us how to make coir rope from coconut husks too!
As it was our last night, we got dressed up for an evening of beer and goodbyes. It was my evening to skips the queue at the beer cage, so Manu and I headed out on the scooter. When we got to the liquor shop, there was a sea of men either clutching bags or boxes, or waiting to be served.
I was ushered towards the exit and had to wait for the next few customers to be served before I could push my way through. The man serving quickly took my order and handed me a box bigger than the exit corridor! Thankfully, Manu was waiting to take the precious cargo and stow it in his bike.
We spent the evening on the balcony sharing beers and stories, and finally we said our goodbyes sometime after midnight. A couple of hours sleep and then we were ready for our 4:30am get up and the trip to Trivandrum!
Unfortunately, this was the start of bite week! Almost every other day I was waing with a new random swelling. First my eye, then my finger and later, in Kanyakumari, my head!
I sulked, pouted and refuted to remove my sunglasses for the best part of 12 hours. This doesn't men I was in hiding, it was a very busy day and apart from a trip to the pharmacy, there was a cake to buy and a hairdressers to test out! The cake buying was simple, the hair dresses not so much! We stumbled upon the salon after canoeing to the village and when we saw the hairdressers chair and sink, both of us immediately booked in! A bit of pampering to cheer me up...or not!
Debs went first and was told to stand facing the sink, with her head tipped over the edge. She was ferociously scrubbed and shampooed, but not conditioned. The lady then attacked Debs' hair with the finest comb, leaving it tangled and knotty, before sticking in a handful of 90s style wet look gel. I'm almost certain Debs and I had the same aghast look on our faces! Her hair was then half blow dried flat to her head and she was sent on her way. I was next...
Using my eye as an excuse, I encouraged the hairdress to use the sink and chair properly, asking if I could go backwards. I wish I hadn't bothered, she pulled out a little stool and I had to assume a half crouch, half back-bend position and maintain it throughut the hair wash. From there, I was subject to the same treatment as Debs, until the power cut right before my blow-dry! It was restored within 10 minutes and I was transformed into a fluffy puppy!
With our hair freshly washed, my eye slowly deflating and a new bottle of rum, there was partying to do!
There was the usual birthday shennanigans - light show, "comedy-drama", songs from the children, drinks and lots of dancing - led by 4 year old Abel! One of my favourite moments of the night was popping back to the balcony to find Vickram, out boatman on the last visit and self proclaimed body guard this time, had drank maybe half a litre of Bacardi and was being tutted at by the ladies of the family! As he boated away, he slipped and fell in to the river! We were then told he'd be fine, until he got home at least as his wife wuld probably beat him with a stick, just because "that's what she's like."
We finished the rum and headed to bed.
We took a day for relaxation and then a day for exploration. We had to make sure we hadn't missed anything, so we set out on an afternoon boat trip to villages nar Thuravoor. Debs played volleyball with the children there, and I was inited to the house of a man with a hennaed red beard! I drank tea with him, his wife and their gorgeous daughter. Most f my time there was spent marvelling at their beautiful Singer sewing machine. It blows my mind that almost every household has one of these!
All of a sudden, Debs and I were whisked away by a man who wished to parade us around his family compound! Within 5 minutes, we'd met his sister, brother-in-law, cousins and newphews! As it was speeding towards lunch, we made our excuses and escaped as soon as possible.By the next morning, Debs' ear was worsening again, so Mau too us to Ernakulum so she could get to a hospital and I could fix my "don't worry, my screen's really strong" cracked screen!
The hospital was modern, clean and pretty efficient. Being a foreigner, Debs was seen to straight away and had a long, antibiotic soaked wik threaded into her ear.
After replacing my screen and picking up Manu's laptop, we felt we deserved a beer! We headed to a top floor hotel bar with amazing views of the city and tiny rooftop which we snuck on to for a little while.
None of us were ready to head back just then, so we headed over to Fort Kochi for a few more beers and some food.
When we were ready to leave, it was far too late for buses or trains, so Sanjay, a friend of Manu's, kindly picked us up and drove us home.
On our final day and night with the family, we spent the morning with the kids before heading out for a sunset boat trip. Suku, the boat man, took us through paddy fields and up to the perfect sunset viewing spot. He even taught us how to make coir rope from coconut husks too!As it was our last night, we got dressed up for an evening of beer and goodbyes. It was my evening to skips the queue at the beer cage, so Manu and I headed out on the scooter. When we got to the liquor shop, there was a sea of men either clutching bags or boxes, or waiting to be served.
I was ushered towards the exit and had to wait for the next few customers to be served before I could push my way through. The man serving quickly took my order and handed me a box bigger than the exit corridor! Thankfully, Manu was waiting to take the precious cargo and stow it in his bike.
We spent the evening on the balcony sharing beers and stories, and finally we said our goodbyes sometime after midnight. A couple of hours sleep and then we were ready for our 4:30am get up and the trip to Trivandrum!
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