We were in a small hotel away from the big city (Trivandrum, or, unabbreviated "Thiruvananthapuram") in the state of Kerala. The beach was only 100 meters away. At night we could hear the waves break: the sound of a thunder or a passing train. Early morning the fishermen were out pulling the nets in.
We went to an elephant rehabilitation center, the Elephant Sanctuary. Elephants are being used everywhere here, in construction, agriculture, anywhere they can be used for their strength. Some elephants get severely abused and beaten. We've seen a lot of them, some are transported on trucks along the major roads. Some are chained up and are being beaten when they don't behave well. At the Sanctuary we helped wash them, scrub their back, watch them being fed and we even went for a ride. Take a closer look at the sign: foreigners have to pay more to get in!
Kerala is a state in the country of India. It is in the southwest part of India, they call it 'God's own country'.One of the nice things we did there was to go to the 'back waters'. These waters are inland, a combination of lakes and ponds, connected by canals.
We went for an overnight. Some people do this for several days or weeks. Even though it is very quiet and peaceful, that might get a little too boring for us.
We saw people living by the water doing their laundry in the water, taken their baths, doing their dishes, washing themselves and swimming in it!
Last picture below shows some local boats all tied together bringing some goods into town using the waterways.
We also spent some time at the beautiful beaches. Above are some pictures from Varkala beach. Varkala is on a cliff overlooking the ocean. There are lots of cute little shops up there. The beach is accessible by a long stairway. The waves are pretty wild. Lifeguards are overlooking the beach all the time.
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