Varkala, 25 september

Mysore

Mysore

Chamundi Hill, Mysore

Julia at our Varkala Beach

Seafood sizzler!

Jelle's best friend in Kovalam; he says hi!

SISP in Kovalam

Another palace, Mysore

Captured in Mysore

Market, Mysore

Love this pic!

Breakfast at the Mysore market

Incense galore

Gotta love these plates!

Chamundi Hill, Mysore

Chamundi Temple

We stayed at the Cliff House in Varkala

Flying a kite in the sunset

Benjamin, Saki, Dani, Julia, Sarah and Jonas

Visited SISP is Kovalam. I was very impressed!

Light house, Kovalam

Sarah tough cookie

Spiritual Sarah

Hot stuff in action


Dear readers!

I'm stuck in paradise!
I'm dealing with the toughest comfort zone so far... great company (another adorable Italian, but I know better than to go for it and get burnt once more... GF in Italy and obviously not interested in me whatsoever... Peter Pan bright eyes boyish dead cute the exact cup of tea I usually fall for... I stay away cuz I know I'm a goner... I get quite self conscious around him and WON'T show him what's on my mind cuz i'm A/ chicken shit B/ a smart girl who has her shit together, probably more of the first, so yeah good lesson once again in NOT getting into trouble :) If I would be ten years younger, ok, but I'm 32 and age might just be a number, it does give me an entirely different perspective on certain things. I'm ready for a man, done with boys.)
So I was saying... good company, great surroundings... it's the best, I am as relaxed as it gets! Om shanti om!! Life is a miracle and I am tripping here without illegal substances :)

I could give you elaborate descriptions of the wonderful people i'm surrounded by here, but that's for when we have coffee together sometime. Let's just say I am grateful to have met them (Julia, Sarah, Dani, Jonas, Adriana, Maya, Max and Marcus, Benjamin and Saki... seriously. You made all the difference in the world. Thank you for good times shared!!!  Ahoo)

So check the pics, and try to imagine the chill and the bliss in this town. I could live here forever but obviously there is this moment where you just have to let go and move on to the next adventure; Adriana and I are going to check out the Amma Ashram tomorrow, and go to Alleppey from there for the house boat experience. After that it's Kochi and zzhhhooooff to Varanasi. And who knows I see the crew back in Varanasi or Nepal.

Ok so far for today, I have some basking in the sun and playing in the waves to do.

Greets and godspeed! Sending you much love, light, joy and peace!!!

Tinie xox

Hampi, 13 september

Crossing the river the morning after the 'Full Moon Party' with Stefan, Lisa and Elena

Laxmi, resident at the temple, gets her daily bath in the river

,                                     

View on Hampi from across the river

Biggest temple in Hampi, still used today for worshipping

On the road to nowhere...

Lotus Mahal, Hampi

Detail in Vitala temple, Hampi

View from the Mango Tree restaurant, Hampi

My non-smelly, clean and spacious room in Hampi

Hey dear readers,

This time live and direct from pretty pretty Hampi. Arrived with the train from Margao, Goa on Sunday. It’s as beautiful as everybody has been telling me. Monday (yesterday) I rented a bike and made ‘the tour’, checking out the temples and the awesome scenery. The rock formations are really something, it makes this place as special as it is. The river running through it and the mango-and banana groves just add to the flavor. I gladly sweated my ass off, cycling up and down the idyllic hills.

When I got back there was a bunch of travelers about to cross the river to go to a ‘full moon party’ at some rich guys’ resort, and there was gonna be free booze and we could spend the night there for free as well, so I decided to join them cuz it sounded like the kind of opportunity you just can’t afford to not take. It was an amazing place, with straw-rooftop houses scattered around a huge property along the riverside… not the kind of hangout I can afford, so it was fun to have the chance to stay there. We jammed, drank the little booze there was (we were still as grateful as anything, the hospitality and generosity of Bobby and Robert is undisputable) and passed many peace pipes J, so yeah it was not the wildest party but sweet none the less. The next day we got breakfast and took the boat back to the other side. I met some nice girls and a sweet guy I probably will be in touch with, we had some good talks (mostly me trying to get the word out… have to be careful not the exaggerate, the cards warned me to stay modest at all times) and they seemed to actually get what I was talking about! 

About Goa. Palolem was cool. Beautiful beach, not too many tourists. I had a good room for a good price, really near the beach. And I met Kate and Tom, the British friends that got stuck in Palolem cuz they are virtually penniless. We were at the same bar to play pool, I read their Tarot, we talked and got along. We ended up hanging out every day, for three or four days. The kind of people you hope to be in touch with when you’re back home, because there’s this feeling of mutual understanding.

A side note maybe, slightly more personal: I have trust issues. Even when I’m having a good time with people and they are obviously free to spend or not spend time with me, I will still catch myself thinking that they don’t really like me after all and it’s all just a polite charade. Or, when it concerns men, I wouldn’t believe they’re serious because they obviously have only one thing on their mind. (And of course they actually DO have it on their mind… it just doesn’t automatically exclude the possibility of them actually liking you) Seriously, how off is that. I have such a disproportionate need for affirmation! And at the same time I’m on top of the world and I couldn’t care less about other people’s judgment. The thing is I sometimes just don’t know how they really feel about me, and that’s what makes me insecure. Or is it the other way around? The struggle continues.