Kovalam - Paradise #3

I am currently wasting time in the Dubai International Airport while waiting for my flight to Frankfurt. I was supposed to be on one right after I got off the one from Trivandurum, but they wouldn't let me on even though I was an hour early. This is the most modern place I have been in the past few weeks. It's kind of strange. Anyway, I wanted to take some time to jot down some notes about our time in Kovalam. (Oh, by the way, I am listening to the Slumdog Millionare soundtrack because that's the only Indian music I have on this computer at the moment. And yes, you needed to know that.)

Scott and I had the opportunity to see a lot of beautiful sites. Each time we arrived at a new location we would say, "THIS is paradise!" Each one is a paradise in it's own right. The last stop on our trip was to the beach town of Kovalam. It was the most touristy of all of the places I had been in India, but I didn't mind that much because when we opened the door from our hotel room, we could walk about 100 feet to the Arabian Sea. That beach was the best beach I had ever been on. Sand was soft and sans rocks. It wasn't too crowded and the view was simply amazing. We could have stared at it for hours. In fact, at times we did. There was a restaurant upstairs that we would go sit and eat, read and write and watch the waves. If we wanted to sit there all day we could. The sand was so smooth that you could see a reflection in the sand after a wave pushed ashore and retreated back into the sea. At times it was simply breathtaking.

Scott and I took some time to go out in the waves. They weren't too nice to me, so I stayed back - the undertow on some of those waves was wicked. Scott ventured out further then me. It was fun to watch him battle the wave and then wait for it to reach me. We both enjoyed our time in the sea so much that we went back later in the day. As a result, we both have skin with various shades of red and tan. While it hurts sometimes (more for Scott then me) it was all worth it.

We were in Kovallam for 2 full days. It was just enough time to enjoy what the area had to offer. The first part of our time there was taking in Lighthouse Beach, where our hotel was. There were shops to explore, food to eat, and waves to ride. We spent the morning of the 19th at the tip of India watching the sunrise along with a whole bunch of other people. While waking up at 2 am to take a 2 hour cab ride to get there and then have to wait an hour or so with the masses before the sun came up might not have been the most fun we had on the trip, but I am glad that we went and did this. It was interesting to me because we - along with everyone else - took time to watch an event that happens everyday and we take for granted. The sun was hiding behind some clouds but once someone spotted it, the crowd cheered. It was the pinkest sun I had ever seen. It came up over the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Afterwards devout Hindus bathed in the waters. It was something to see, that's for sure.

The 19th was also my birthday. It was simply the best one I ever had. We saw the sun rise, had a lazy day around the beach, took a nap, and then went out to dinner - oh and I wore shorts and got to get dressed up. It was nice. Oh yeah, and yesterday we ran into a couple that was staying at the same place we were in Wayanad. For such a huge country, it was funny that we ran into the same people on our trip! They were and older British couple (and Dad, they don't like Top Gear) who were very interested in our traveling throughout Kerala and Scott's perspective of being all throughout the country.

We woke up early again to today to make our ways to the airport. Scott is back in Dehli for a day and as you know I am currently in Dubai waiting to go to my next destination on this trip. It is strange because while I am sitting in one of the most modern buildings I've even been in with technology all around, all I can think about is Kerala. It will be interesting to see how my perspective on things changes due to this awesome trip I am on. We shall see. . .

In other news, I urge you to be considerate of those sitting behind you when on an airplane. Tall people have knees too.

Ok, I'm cold. I'm going to see if I can pick up some obnoxiously touristy sweatshirt here in the airport. Oh, there's a Cosi here, guys. Like Cosi sandwiches. In Dubai. It's next to a Burger King. So strange to see. Ok, writing must cease. Seriously.