Tropical paradise!

My time at the ashram is over, and my best friend, Mathew, met me in Mumbai a few days ago so that we can travel together for two weeks. On my way to meet him in Mumbai, the taxi I was in got pulled over three times, and one of those times we were escorted to the police station! During my hour-long wait while the driver tried to work things out with the police, I was busy thinking of ideas for breaking out of prison, since things weren't looking too good. The walls of the police station seemed to be made of a mud/cement mix (sorta crumbly) and I had a spoon in my backpack, so I figured I could just dig my way out if necessary. The police seemed to be looking for a bribe from the driver, and eventually we were sent on our way.

Now Mathew and I are in the southern state of Kerala! It's gorgeous here, with palm tree forests, bright topical flowers, beaches and backwater canals. I've seen green oranges, orange coconuts, and red bananas - fruit here is amazing. We took an 8 hour ferry from one city to another one day, and yesterday we took a small canoe-like indian fishing boat on a tour of the backwaters. The backwaters are like canals that link many cities and lakes with each other. The waters are completely smooth and peaceful, and there are villages and tiny houses all along the banks. The villagers do everything in the water - playing, bathing, cleaning dishes and laundry, and working. In the evening we saw everyone head to the banks with sticks and string - to go fishing for dinner. Banana, mango, and coconut trees line the banks and hang over the water, and cows, goats, chickens, and bicycles all share the path along the water. The rice fields are below sea-level, and there are many places you can stand on the banks and see that the backwaters and rice fields next to each other are at different levels.

Something interesting about Kerala is that they have elected a communist government, and it truly seems to be working well for the people. The people here are also very religious (they are primarily Hindu, Christian, and Muslim). Since Russian and Chinese communists were primarily atheists, I always thought that communism and religion didn't mix, but apparently they do. They call it God's Country here in Kerala, so who knows, maybe that's their secret.

A few random things from this week:

-My life flashed before my eyes when a huge truck with 5000 watt, concert-grade loudspeakers on top came up behind me and suddenly BLASTED some music. Mathew thinks I jumped 6 feet.

-All the little children wave and say hi when we pass, they're so cute!

-We were served lunch on banana leaves and ate with our hands!

-The one time Matt went barefoot his feet got chewed up by killer bugs.

-Experienced our first monsoon rains (it was so warm and amazing feeling!).

-CRAZY monkeys tried to steal Matt's soda.

-Some tuk tuk drivers literally fought each other for our business.

-Some crazy guy gave us a personal, midnight tour of a hindu temple.

-I got some Indian clothes (but I still stick out from a mile away with my neon-white skin).

Here's a link to just a few of the pictures we took this week http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathewrose/sets/72157626473162176/

I have lots of funny things to write about, but no time because we're headed up to Kochi! This is all for now! Sending love from India!