Twenty-four and so much more

I spent my 24 birthday in paradise. Or, I guess I should say on Paradise Beach. Just like every other year, it was better than the last. But this year, the days leading up to Jan 1st were more than a little different. This is just a quick tour of how we made our way from Mumbai to Kochi.



Mumbai is the most cosmopolitan city in India. I've been told it's a good place for travellers to start because it's so "Western" and not nearly as mad as Delhi. But, still it's a big city in India and it's pure crazy. There was no way I could capture the spirit of the city or the desperation of the slums in a single photograph, especially when I spent all of four hours there.



On our way south from Mumbai, Emily and I took one plane, a taxi, three buses and another taxi before we finally got to our first destination, Gokarna. Along the way it was stinkin' hot and we stopped for a refreshment in Magaon. Can you guess what Emily wanted?



After 13 hours of travel, we finally made it to Om Beach in Gokarna. Emily had been told that this was the place to be for New Year's Eve. It seemed, a lot of people had the same idea and there was nowhere to stay. Lucky for us, India people are extremely helpful and would never turn someone away. We ended up spending the next two nights on the patio of one of the restaurants on the beach.



And thank Ganesh, we had the hospitality of the restaurant owner. This could have been us.
Yes, that's a cow. They're everywhere here and they do whatever they damn well please because they're so holy. Some even wear necklaces.



Two months here and Emily already looks the part. We're looking for an India husband for her.



We took a boat to Paradise Beach, just 5 minutes north of Om Beach, on the 31st hoping we'd find a room to stay for the big night. But, of course there was no room at the inn. And, of course, we relied on the hospitality of another restaurant owner who let us sleep on the floor of his candy shop. The evening was nothing like the song suggests it would be, but it was still a great place to stay.



The sun was hot, the water was cool, there was music in the air and Emily was making a new friend.



Paradise Beach really was paradise. I don't even like beaches but I could see myself staying here for a long time. There were a number of people we talked to thatt had been on the beach for weeks or even months.



New Year's Eve festivities consisted of an intimate group of 30 and a ton of Indian Rum. We made some good friends that night. Emily and Natasha (from Austria) made sure I had a candle in a chocolate bar for my birthday. Everyone sang and hugged and I even got a midnight kiss from my best friend.



We left the beach and headed to Kochi, a big city in the southern state of Kerala. During the 12-hour train ride, some young men asked to take my picture. In the more rural parts of India young kids love taking pictures of foreigners and asking their "good name". I told these two they could have a picture of me if I could take one of them.



There are stray cats, dogs and cows everywhere in India. It was way too hot in Kochi for this cat.



I'm not exactly sure what these men are doing, but that's ginger they're sweeping. We were invited into a ginger plant to take photos while we walking around Kochi. It was free to look around and take photos the only catch was visiting the gift shop after. Emily has Catholic Guilt so she bought some ginger tea.