Curry for Christmas

To celebrate christmas at Sevelaya I did a craft afternoon with one of my secondary school classes 8B to make christmas decorations for the school hall. There were about 40 14year olds, and me so it was an exhausting 3 hours! 

We made snowflakes out of newspaper then attached them to string with baubles and tinsel (thank you Mum for the xmas package) to make streamers. 

We made a christmas tree out of everyones green handprints then decorated it with shiny wrapping paper. I dont think the other teachers let them make that much mess normlly - they loved it!

We had two weeks off work for christmas so Rosa, Rose and I met up with two other volunteers from Hyderabad and went backpacking round Kerela! We started from the very tip of India, Kanyakamuri (technically still in Tamil Nadu) and worked our way north. I took over 400 photos so just thought id add a few here..

Here i am as far away from Nottingham in India as you can get, it was very windy and dramatic at the end of the jetty i could barely stand up!

This is christmas in India; notice the virgin Mary and Jesus lit up by fluorescent coloured flashing lights on either side of the steeple. Perhaps this is why there are so many power cuts in Tamil Nadu. Looks kinda impressive though!

After a pitstop in Trivandarum, the capital of Kerela we went to Varkala, one of Indias very touristy beach towns. To me it did not feel like the real India i had experienced so far; more like a Caribbean island shoved into the west coast of India with lots Indians trying to sell you scarves, jewelry, Aladdin pants etc etc at tourist prices. We ate watermelon on the beach, learnt surfing from a frenchman, jumped over the waves and drank real coffee!

Overall had a very relaxing time, the cliche of paradise with a clifftop road of cocktail bars, palm trees, white sands, blue sea and gorgeous sun sets.

Next we went to Kottayam for a cruise round the backwaters, Couldnt quite afford a houseboat but a local guy gave us a tour round the little villages in his bamboo boat. Worked out quite conveniently that it was my birthday then too, a perfect way to turn 19. I have never seen so many palm trees.

He did let me have a go once but i lost balance and nearly capsized the boat.

 Quick pitstop for more watermelon!

We then headed up in the hills to Kumily for an ELEPHANT RIDE in Periyar Wildlife santcuary. The elephants name was Gopal, they are the most amazing creatures i have ever seen.

In the afternoon we hired bikes but as we were on a huge hill we could only go up or down. So of course we choose down!
After spectacular views and a great ride we remembered we had to go up. It was impossible to push the heavy ancient indian bikes up hill so we tried to hitch a lift.
Most people ignored us but them some local farmers with two cow in the back of the trucked very kindly stopped!

They strapped our bikes to the back with rope (unfortuneatly a cow relived itself on my arm while i was helping him) and all five of us squeezed into the two seats at the front! Problem solved :) The first bike ride i havnt had to peddle once!

The next day we went tiger trekking in the wildlife sanctuary. First in a jeep then on foot.

Unfortunately we didn't see any tigers but some spectacular views; Ruby and I on top of the world. 

In the evening we saw a traditional Kerelan dance performance of  Kathakali. At the end of the show they invited the audience on stage for a photo.

Still in the hills, were it is refreshingly cooler, we went to the tea gardens of Munnar. Here are some of the women picking tea, of course they still wear Saris.

A guy from a local tea plantation gave us a tour of some of the gardens then invited us to his house for some very fresh tea.

We took an auto to Top Station, the highest point in Munnar, it was 7.30am in the morning and the roads were empty so i asked if i could drive! 

Back down in Cochin it was Indias first Beinnale. It was very strange to see modern art in India but a lovely set up of installations along the coast line; here are a couple i liked best. Some (below) are still in the developing process, i think its an aeroplane they are soldering together?

There was also a hindu festival celebration in Cochin where men played traditional drums and they paraded elephants. Here they are from all angles. Elephants are definitely my favorite animal :)

To finish off the holiday we spent New Year back in Mamallapuram where there was an Indian dance festival. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from India!

The teacher in the nursery school class i volunteer in is getting married! I went along to her engagement party, as you can see her Sari is amazing. Unfortunately this means she wont be able to work at Sevelaya anymore as she will move in with her new husband... the atmosphere was a combination of sadness, happiness and nervousness..