Top Ten India Faux Paus

Did I spell that right? Well here I am in India at an Internet cafe at the lodge I'm staying at (Omkar lodge). I lasted ten days at the ashram; it was definitely a worthwhile experience, but I got tired of the vegetarian food and getting up a 5:00 a.m. to meditate for two hours, and then two hours of yoga in the morning and the afternoon. All that said, I feel that I finally learned how to do yoga the "right" way and I plan to continue doing yoga every day when I return home. Plus, I met people from all over the world: Israel, Iran, Poland, Ireland, Germany. The scenery at Neyyar Dam where the ashram is located is beautiful. I would recommend the ashram experience to anyone who is looking to recharge their batteries and get a fresh perspective on their life.

So I left without having a room booked and the place I was able to find a room on short notice was here at this hostel. The rooms are spartan and as described in one of the guide books, "cramped but clean with noisy traffice from the street," but having Internet and phone access at reasonable rates makes up for the lack of other amenities.

So what was the topic of this blog again? Top then faux paus...using the ATM across the street and getting trapped in it until I figured out that I needed to press a switch to open the door (an auto rickshaw driver was gesturing at me to see if I needed a lift and a policeman thought he was harassing me and approached him). Over tipping and getting strange looks from the guy who brings the bug night light at night and the coffee in the a.m.; finding out that not much is open on Monday; going to the beach at Kovalum and not realizing that I had to pay to use the beach chair; wearing my blue indian blouse with sweats (I got some weird looks from Indian men and women on the street, but I was trying to adhere to the more conservative dress code), taking a picture of the intricate ceiling at the museum in Trivandrum and not noticing the signs forbidding photos in the museum; they nearly took my film away. That's only six; I have to come up with four more...

Well that's enough for now. I leave Wed. for New Delhi.