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Drew's Kovalam Visit

See the full Kovalam photo album (59 photos)

Eager to escape the temporary insanity of holiday shopping, I opted instead to seek out a simpler existence in Kovalam, India. 

One of the reasons for choosing Kovalam as a travel destination was to study with Lino Miele and Tina Pizzimenti and check out the scene there.

(Stocking Up: – Dec. 5, 2004) Here’s the run-down of medicines that I’ll be toting in order to ensure minimum down-time from the effects of illness: iodine / bandages, sunscreen, plant-based OFF (insect repellent), acidophilus pills (gotta get that intestinal tract healthy and ready for the onslaught), grape-seed extract pills (supposedly offers protection after eating questionable foods?.), and sterilization lotion (which turned out to be one of the most useful items in my stash.)

On the lighter side (metaphorically speaking) I’m going to be taking my digital camera with a zoom (up to 200mm) as well as a wider-angle lens (17-40mm). I don’t want to look like the conspicuous shutter-geek, but then again, how often does one get to go to someplace like Kovalam?

(More preparations for the trip: Vaccination) I just received inoculations: hepatitis A (which seemed to be the most important one), typhoid, and polio booster. If I get the typhoid booster in 6months I’ll be set for life supposedly. Pills for malaria (supposedly new ones with no side effects) run $7 per pill and are to be taken every day I’m there and a week after returning; a bit pricey.

Tues, Dec 14 – I prepared for the long (14hours to HongKong) flight by only sleeping 3hours last night. Now at the airport 3hours to kill, as the flight departs at 12:05am. I’ve opted to take the malaria pills (malarone) after coaxing from several friends.  I'm traveling light, only bringing 2pairs of yoga shorts and a minimum of clothing.

Wed, Dec. 15 – finally, the plane lifts off the ground from SFO. The trip has officially begun! The world being the small place that it is, my seat ends up being next to Brian Tan and his wife (I recognized Brian from YIY.) They are heading off to Sri Lanka to participate in an organization called Light Up the World, which among other things works to provide lighting and electrical resources to 3rd world countries.

Singapore Airlines is nice. The cabin crew amazes me with their efficiency and focus. One of the stewardesses wrestles relentlessly with the on-demand movie viewing screen below my seat to ensure that it is completely below, patiently twisting it every which way to ensure that it eventually settles to its in-spec position. I filled out a survey and gave everyone highest marks. The caption, "Carelessness Hurts" on one of the cabinets in the serving pass-through draws amused nods.

Thurs, Dec. 16 – We’ve landed in Singapore airport. I headed straight to the transit hotel, took a shower, stowed my stuff in my 6hour room and headed off for food.

Succumbing to drowsiness I decided to lay down a bit. Before I knew it, the time was 6:40pm, 10minutes prior to my next flight boarding!  The desk supposedly called at the agreed-upon time of 5:45 but the phone in my room wasn’t working. Lucky for me there’s enough time to grab my stuff and meet the flight in plenty of time. (Note to self:  always provide own alarm clock.) I notice a group of yogis from SF and NewYork in the lobby waiting also. I wonder if they’re here for Lino. I had a nice visit with a couple from Melbourne who are on their way to Cochin (their second visit there.)

Landing in Trivandrum, we walked out onto the tarmac and took a bus to the terminal. The temperature was quite mild (~76deg F by my estimates).  The airport is small by any comparison.The driver from the hotel is waiting outside the airport doors.  Despite travel weariness I'm excited as we drive along to see the first glimpses of India through my taxi window, and to experience the excitement of Indian traffic at night.

The room’s somewhat Spartan by western standards, though it does have a private bathroom with shower (although no hot water.) 750 rupees a night (about $17) allows you to stay here in the peak season (now.) Although this is a bit high for the area, the convenience of being right next to the beach and not having to traipse through narrow alleyways to find the hotel from the road make it worth the few extra dollars. I was pleasantly surprised by frequent room guests.



Now I’m laying on my bed listening to the sea-breeze outside. A cat meows outside the window. A dog now is bellowing, more of a loud sob than a whine. Really nothing like anything I’ve heard before. It may be hard to know when the hand of charity should be extended and when it is best to keep a low profile.

Lights out. I’m hoping to be able to wake up and attend Lino’s led class tomorrow….

Fri, Dec 17 After waking repeatedly in the night, I headed off to the first Lino lead class which starts at 7am. After navigating the narrow passages through tight-spaces (Kovalam gives the term "high-density real-estate" a new meaning) and asking for directions often, I find the Peacock hotel, where I arrive with other students. We climb three flights of stairs and unroll our mats to do some pranayama breathing before practice commences. Lino comes over to talk, and says he wasn’t expecting me until Sunday. I tell him that I’m ready to practice if that’s okay. He asks when I arrived…Yesterday, I say. He laughs and says okay. I’m glad it’s not full-vinyasa today. I’m also glad to be able to practice after sitting for so long in planes. The classroom holds about 45 students in all; after class Lino instructs us to move our mats 1floor tile apart to ensure that everyone can fit together…otherwise we’ll have to do Fridays Mysore-style.

I took a rickshaw into town. Traffic in India is unlike anywhere else in the world. Many people, especially couples ride motorbikes and Vespas, and it was interesting for me to see women riding "side-saddle".

The other thing about traffic here is that pedestrians apparently don’t flinch at the near-misses of approaching vehicles; rather they make their own way across the road in their own time. Staying in one's own lane is optional, even if it’s just a two lane road (one lane both directions.)

Sat, Dec 18 – After an early breakfast I went into town (Trivandrum) by rickshaw. On the way was a stop for coconut milk. Kerala seems to be the coconut capital of the world, as there are coconut trees everywhere.  I sought to avail myself of this healthy drink as often as possible.

I first saw the Purthe Maliga palace museum (also known as the horse palace) which was where the Rama-Varma family lived during their rule of Trivancore for 400 years. The building has about 200 rooms altogether. My favorite detail is the life-sized collection of Kathikali figures (unfortunately, no picture-taking was allowed so I can’t show you).

Afterwards Next I went to see Padmanabhaswamy temple. I noticed many people were waiting outside and then learned that lunch is served to over 230 indigent people daily.

I tried to get some interesting views of an evening soccer game as well as other features. (You can guess why this area is called Lighthouse Beach.)

Contrasted with a daytime shot of the lighthouse:

I found out that Kovalam is prioritized in terms of maintaining steady electricity flow. Despite the almost daily blackouts, the power was rarely off for more than a few hours.

Sun, Dec 19 – Head-off-to-class- Take 1
After tossing and turning I look at my watch with glow-in-the-dark hands and "notice" it’s 6am. I cleanup and get ready to head out the door. A few minutes before 6:30, enough time to get there. Because I don’t know what the schedule is, I expect to check the schedule and return. I open the door and notice nobody outside. It’s pitch black. I scratch my head and look at the watch again (in the light). I notice that it’s not 6:30 but 1am (my watch was upside-down). Jet-lag plays strange tricks.
Take 2:
Mysore practice: There are four adjusters besides Lino in class. I practice besides Elena, whose fluidity and efficiency are inspiring. Despite the breeze, I’m dripping by the time it’s over. I’m glad to be using an extra mat. After class I consulted with an Ayurvedic doctor at the hotel next door, who explained that due to jet-lag I have an excess of kapha and vata and a slight deficit of pitta (left as an exercise for the reader to interpret). He recommends a short regimen of treatment (massage and uh, cleansing) to correct the imbalance. At the clinic I spoke at length with Jeffrey who studies computer science and has recently been recommended to a position in a small firm in Technology Park (Trivandrum). Jeffrey’s main dream project, however is to oversee development of a large Ayurvedic treatment center and amusement park in a wooded area near Trivandrum. He’s been involved in Ayurvedic studies for 5years and administers many the massages and treatments.  Here's a pic of Jeffrey (2nd left) and other members of the clinic staff.

Mon, Dec 20 – Yoga was good. I’m looking forward to the morning practices more and more to get my mental bearings. After breakfast I visited Jeffrey and the Ayurvedic doctor for a massage and shirodhara.  These treatments are two of the five known collectively as panchakarma. The massage was like a vigorous Swedish massage with oil covering the whole body. Shirodhara (or shiodhara) involves dripping warm ayurvedic oil (smelling a bit like molasses but much lighter) on the forehead as you lay face up with cloth covering your eyes.  The pot in the foreground is used to direct dripping oil to the forehead.

The whole procedure took 3hours! I agree to undertake nasuya (oil into the nose to cleanse the nostrils) but decline to undergo the oil enema and blood-letting procedures. After the treatment, I’m advised not to get the hair wet in order to keep the oil and a brown powder (looks like cayenne pepper which is scrubbed into the scalp) in the hair.

While on the beach later I watched a guy carrying a pepsi vending machine on his head through the sand, making it look like a piece of cake. It looks like some of the guts of the machine have been removed, but still it’s no small feat.

I walked along the board walk and met a drum man (probably in his late teens.) He insisted that I take a 5minute lesson to see how cool they (the drums) are. Of course I agreed. We went around a corner and proceeded. The resonance and ability to change tones is similar to tablas. We talked about a big one, his price starting out at 1600 Rps. I bargained him down to 800. When he placed the drums in my lap and gave a dramatic upward staring sigh, I knew I was being taken. I backed out just as the tourism police came by to give him a scolding. Later I found out from the hotel manager that the drums are worth 75 Rps(!!) and the kid was selling without a vendor’s license.  My first lesson in judging fair price.

Tues, Dec 21 – Day 4 of practice and feeling fairly comfortable. No assisted drop-backs (although I didn’t queue up for it.) After yoga, another massage (getting to be a daily routine… life is rough in Kovalam) and nostril treatment.  Lunch is "karai" (which is a curry with vegetables inside of a cabbage bowl, cooked and served in a stone pot.)  It was impressive enough to become a regular dish. Dinner was a thali. For the first time here I’m compelled to eat with my hands, breaking every rule I’ve learned about table manners.

Later in the evening I risked my life on the back of a vespa. The hotel manager graciously offered to shuttle me along the road halfway towards town (about 5 miles) to buy an IDEA (cell-phone) card. This of course was in the pitch-black dark of night without a helmet. Lucky for me he noticed all of the bumps and holes in the road and was able to spot the multiple pedestrians we encountered along the way.

Wed, Dec 22 – Todays’ Lino quote: "Drew, what are you doing?? It’s-not Prasarita" (laughingly commenting on padangusthasana and motioning for me to get my feet closer together). I was able to "score" a drop back though so things are not as bleak as they might seem. Again I visited the Ayurvedic doc and held firm on total price and pay-as-you-go scheme (no advanced payment as I want to keep my schedule open). We finally reached a consensus on the total cost. I talked with Jeffrey who offered to go with me into the city later to buy a "voltage-stabilizer" (to protect my laptop from voltage surges) as well as some other necessities. I talked a bit on the beach with Tom Green-Eyes (I never figured out if it was his real name or a stage name) who is a 25-year-old shop owner and also an avid cricket star. Tom plays with the Kerala cricket team and has met several times with players on the India International team (the team that plays Singapore and other country teams). His ambition is to be able to play with that team but acknowledges that it’s a long-shot to get accepted to play. One insightful piece of wisdom he offers is that it’s not important whether you win; what is important is to be able to handle winning or losing.

After dinner, Jeffrey, Manu (the taxi driver) and I went into town, visiting several computer shops and a camera store. Afterwards we sat down to dinner at the restaurant within the Padmanabha Hotel, which is close to Padmanabhaswamy temple. We each had two dosas and orange juice. All was delicious. The total bill came out to be 170 Rps (about $4.)

Thurs Dec 23 – Today for the first time I hit the water. It's warm. I’m able to see small fish and shells. The ocean is mostly clear (free of trash.) The waves can be big and it’s important to avoid getting slammed by body-surfers. Although I tell myself I’m only going out for 30 minutes, I stayed longer and almost missed the 5:15 pranayama class. It’s easy to imagine spending most of a day in the ocean.

Pranayama with Lino involves a cycle of breathing exercises and holding the breath (kumbhaka) on either the inhalation or exhalation. Newcomers learn the beginning breathing cycle. More experienced pranayamans learn advanced techniques, such as breathing through alternating nostrils. Lino gives a very convincing (advanced) demonstration of evacuation of the belly (for post-exhalation kumbhaka) but instructs us not to launch into this or over-emphasize pulling up on udhiyana but just feel some upward movement of moola and udhiyana. (The ego should not try to accomplish advanced practice with impatience – from the Bihar Yoga book on pranayama) The important thing is to keep the breath smooth and the sound coming from the throat (ujjayi). Lino explains that it’s possible to over-exert oneself to the point of danger (exhaustion?) and hence Guruji (Pattabhi Jois) has described it as being "dangerous". Lino explains that by not trying to overdo it but rather practicing 10 minutes everyday, the breath will become fuller and less strained. After practice I spend some extensive time online reading about my camera to try to cope with some of the back-lighting issues I’ve been having. (I should have brought the manual).

Fri, Dec 24 - Today was a Friday lead class. There are over 50 people in the room and the space is tight, though not as tight as I’m hearing it is in Mysore (from Anne). Lino likes to hold the shoulder stand series for a long time (slow count of 20). Back-bends however are only 2 quick sets of 5-count. It’s nice to hear the now-familiar intonation during shavasana ("relax Yooour eyes…").

An attempt to capture the excitement of a fishing haul that morning:

Some pictures of a tradional Keralan dance:

Sat, Dec 25 – Christmas in Kovalam! No class today. That morning I went to the top of lighthouse cliff and checked out the next beach over (to the South.) Fishermen were busily pulling in the nets for this morning’s catch.

I also checked out the mosque and took some photos of a large Catholic church a few towns over.

Today is a holiday for most of the locals, and the beach is full of people who are very happy to be there:

Colorful boats were brought out to match the festivity of the occasion.

This group of volleyballers stayed out playing for hours. I sharpened my action photo skills.

Sun, Dec 26 – I went to Neyyar Dam in the morning.  It's about 1.5 hours from Kovalam taking backroads.

Within the complex is a crocodile farm.  Here are some of the residents:

Later that afternoon I went to Poa for back-water trip (afternoon.)

Early this morning an earthquake erupted at around 6:30am off the coast of Indonesia causing tsunami-generated damage as far away as Chennai and even the Seychelles (close to Africa).  Waves arrived at the Indian coast around 9:30am (while I was still in Lino's class).  First of all, Kovalam is slightly on the western side of the continent whereas the direct line of impact was alont the eastern coast.  However there were areas on the western side north of Kovalam that sustained heavy damage, such as Kollam. Kovalam was spared damage by virtue of the seawall close to the coast that dampened the wave impact. I suspect that the rock wall helped lessen the wave force. I only learned about the tragedy that afternoon.  I later realized how lucky I am that the tsunami didn’t impact Kovalam.

Mon, Dec 27 – I'm feeling that I should get back in order to be able to make a smoother transition to California time before getting back to work. After breakfast I talked with Antony at the Visit India office. He echoed the concern I’ve heard several times about the lack of early warning systems for earthquakes and tsunamis. I recall reading about the elaborate communication system setup by Santa Clara county for inter-agency coordination during earthquakes and other natural disasters. With 3 hours between the initial quake and the later impact on Chennai and other locations in India, most of the loss of life should have been avoided. We talked about seeing the coast guard helicopters flying overhead over the last couple of days and the fact that the police aren’t allowing anyone in the water (even though the surf seems fairly calm). To me the extra caution is more a display of respect for the many people who’ve already lost their lives than a real concern about the immediate danger of waves in Kovalam. Antony also explains that this is usually the height of tourist season and, even though most tourists who are already in Kerala will stay put, many tourists who had planned to come later are canceling plans out of concern for the tsunami. I went into town to print out some photos to give to various friends, quite an easy task if you’re armed as I am with a lap-top that can write CDs. Because of this technology savvy I am immediately awarded hero status by the rickshaw driver. That evening at midnight there’s a knock on the door. The owner and manager are both telling me it’s time to evacuat…to a 2nd floor room. I spend about 10minutes stuffing things into bags haphazardly. The surf doesn’t appear to be especially disturbed but I oblige (the 2nd floor rooms are larger and nicer anyway). I spend the next 30 minutes talking to my travel agent in the US about getting an early flight back. The only flights out of Trivandrum are Tuesday and Thursday. I opt for Tuesday (as she advises there may be more of a chance to leave Tuesday than Thursday). During this time I get 3 sets of text messages from the Kerala police…I discovered later that foreigners are the few people who received these messages. I recall that I gave my passport number to the retailer when I purchased the phone.

Tues, Dec 28 – My last day in India. I apologized to Lino about leaving early. That evening I had dinner with a woman from class, Maria, who is celebrating her birthday. Besides her interest in Ashtanga she’s a working journalist and is covering the tsunami story for a paper in Italy. She tells me "Unlike a lot of people, I work for a living and therefore can’t afford to spend two months lavishing in Kovalam on vacation." I know how she feels. I left for airport at 8:30pm.

Drew Plant, December 2004

You can email Drew here.

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