Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Recovering from the shock of having an elephant wang it's trunk on my head, I carry on to Periyar, another national park supposedly home to tigers and leopards, but with my track record of animal spotting, I'm not holding out much hope. It's another hair raising local bus ride, but apart from taking out an ox cart on the way down, the journey was pretty uneventful - maybe I've just acclimatised to the mayhem now.
When we arrive, I'm told there is Ayuverdic massage on offer - well I don't have to be told twice....5 minutes later I'm lying on the slab, completely naked, but for a pair of paper thong knickers that I've been comandeered into wearing. I've never had an ayuverdic massage before, and it's pretty amazing; they really do the whole body, and I really mean the whole body - boobs and all, I have to bite down on my stiff british reserve, trying not to feel too uncomfortable. Then I get hussled into this box, where I'm steamed like a cabbage for 10 minutes. With only my head free sticking out of the box, I feel like I'm in the stocks, about to be pelted with eggs at any minute. I come out hot and tomato faced, but the indian head massage soon calms me down, 80 minutes of total relaxation, for the ridiculous price of 8.50 sterling (sorry don't know where the pound sign is on this computer).
After the massage we go to 'Abraham's Spice Garden'. Abraham is in high spirits, because he has just been entered in the Lonely Planet guide, and the BBC have just finished filming a documentary there. It's a very interesting place, a huge tropical garden growing such things as: turmeric, ginger, peppercorns, chillies, pineapples, bananas, and papaya, ant that's just the tip of the floratastic ice-berg.
After burning the lining of my mouth out with an innocuous looking chilli, the size of a fingernail, he tricked us into tasting, we get to go to his own home for a 'homestay' dinner cooked by his wife. Our plates are literally a palm leaf, and there is no cutlery, so we have to eat in the traditional indian way, with only our right hand - which is a it of a struggle when you're trying to mop up curry with a bit of flims Dosa, and rice. Needless to say I was a mess, with curry running right the way down to my elbows.
Dessert was a banana mash-tastic affair, only the catch was, we had to make the mash ourselves. Literally you have to mash the banana with your hands, then mix it with the rice, and add yoghurt to taste - by the way this is still on the palm leaf plate - well everyone else's was, mine was pretty much all over the table as well! I looked like a kid who's been let loose with jelly and ice cream, and no adults to supervise.
- comments