iINDIA 2014-15 six months trip to Pukhet,Thailand-India and Malaysia revisited by heart after 8 years

I had already been in India in mid 80s visiting Rajasthan, the capital New Delhi, Agra, Kajuraho, Benares, Bombay and Goa and I liked it a lot so I decided to go back to see the rest and there is so much since India is a vast continent with 1.4 billion people Chennai or Madras was founded by the British like Bombay, Mumbai and Calcutta, Kolkata and the capital New Delhi as well it is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, not particularly interesting even if I made various excursions to see a distant temple, another dedicated to Gandhi, a very long beach with a zoo and a crocodile farm more distant and interesting excursions were those that took me to visit Pondicherry which was a French colony and can be seen from the buildings and the consumption of the baguette Pondicherry which is one of the smallest Indian states hosts an ashram of a famous Indian guru Aurobindo in Aurobindoville with a glass sphere in the middle of green fields and then the old palace in the city which was the guru's first retreat, I bought a book in the library of the ashram and read the interesting philosophy of the guru I also visited the Madurai city temple with its 14 towers, about 50 meters high and walls all around to form a closed citadel for pilgrims and visitors who come here for praying or admire the beauty of the temple, considered one in 30 wonders of the earth. then there was the turn of two ancient and spectacular temples, that of Mahabalipuram dedicated to Khrishna carved into the rock, decorated with excellently crafted bas-reliefs around a monolith rock and the Shore Temple built on the beach and dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, declared by the Unesco world heritage, then at about 130 km Kanchipuram on an island reachable by a long bridge, one of the seven sacred cities of India, large sculpted towers and a large artificial basin inside the walls, the city is specialized in the sale of fabrics made of silk. Then it was the turn of Cape Comorin or Kanyakumari, the southernmost point of India with a very important temple where visitors are honored each by a balloon of water pulled up from a well (I managed to avoid it by demonstrating my Catholic religion!). Five hundred meters from the mainland there are two small islands that house two important monuments the Vivekananda Memorial Rock that attracts a large number of tourists and was built in memory of the great Vivekananda (famous Indian philosopher and late 19th century wandering monk). It is a building that exhibits materials and writings of him. Vivekanada Exhibition erected in the same place where Vivekananda spent some of his time in meditation before becoming one of the most important Indian exponents of religious thought. The huge statue on the island, however, is not of Vivekananda, but of a Tamil poet and is also considered the "Indian statue of liberty". I then entered the state of Kerala, one of the greenest, richest and most interesting in India. It produces a lot of rice and other foods, rich in waters, the famous Backwaters, canals parallel to the coast that can be crossed with the typical boats sometimes transformed into real floating luxury hotels. I took the much cheaper postal. I stopped in two important places where I stayed for three weeks: Kovalam Beach, a famous beach resort where I practiced for two weeks the Ayurvedic cure made up of four-handed oil massages given to me by a couple, then a garlic and lemon-based sauna, yoga and vegetarian food that alltogether made me lose at least five kg. I was struck by a violent cough which my masseur tried to remedy by supplying me with various Ayurvedic medicines but without remedy. I went to a large western hospital in the capital Trivandrum for a total check up, they made various hypotheses and gave me western medicines but the cough remained, I even tried homeopathic medicine. The cough only ceased on the slopes of the Himalayas when I coughed up tons of mucus from my nose, perhaps badly treated bronchitis or allergies brought on by the Kerala spring. In Kovalam I stayed in a nice hotel with a swimming pool and palm trees (dangerous for the nuts that fell down and could hit the guests' heads!), I met an Italian guy who lived in London and a Milanese lady, a group of Russians and an old lady from Pretoria, South Africa. I spent Christmas and New Year Day in their company, in local restaurants and even a disco. From the sea hundreds of Indian males arrived by boat all looking for women and there were only a few female tourists who were besieged and protected by their men. This denotes the profound division of the sexes of which India is the victim and the many raped women are at the expense of it. I took long walks north and south of Kovalam along the beautiful coast and beaches and then moved to Varkala, another seaside resort with a long beach and surrounding hills on which are situated scenic hotels, restaurants and cafes. I stayed for a week of absolute relaxation. Then I went to Kochi, an ancient Portuguese colonial city with beautiful Catholic churches, I saw an ancient Jewish synagogue, a museum where an Indian expo was celebrated and I went around by bicycle. I took a flight to Orissa with landing in the capital Bubaneshwar, a very clean and tidy city with smooth traffic and beautiful roads, many ancient but simple red brick temples but the beauty was to come in the next stop in Puri, a seaside city with great beach very popular with Indian tourists who bathe fully dressed while camels turn on the shoreline. The city is very popular due to the presence of a famous temple with a large surrounding square, unfortunately access is forbidden to foreigners. Then it was the turn of the splendid Cart of the Sun God temple at Konark with huge finely carved wheels in an atmospheric lawn setting. It has 24 -3 meters high diameter- wheels, 12 at each side that represent the day's hours or the year months and it is pulled by seven horses that represent the seven days week. The cart transports the god of sun to the sky and was built in the XIII century a.D. and is a UNESCO heritage. I had to visit the ethnic tribes of Orissa but the authorities did not grant permission so as not to contaminate them, so I took the train and reached the beautiful and interesting metropolis of Calcutta. It was the capital of India before New Delhi and that can be seen in the grandeur of its large colonial-style buildings, a tower block and statue dedicated to Queen Victoria, lawns and stadiums where Indians play their national sport, cricket. Large and crowded markets, Hindu and Jain temples, Catholic churches and Muslim mosques. I met an Italian couple with whom I visited an interesting district of sculptor craftsmen and a beautiful white marble Jain temple. I visited Mother Teresa's tomb arriving there after a long three hour walk as the Indians always tell you, it's near here, go ahead, but you never get there! From Calcutta I took a train to arrive in a large city in West Bengal from which I took the jeep that climbed the hairpin bends of the Himalayas and arrived in the splendid Darjeeling, famous for its tea plantations, the cool climate, even freezing cold, its splendid Buddhist temples at the top and on the other side of the valley, also the beautiful experience of the Toy Train that descends towards the valley and stops near beautiful Hindu temples. I then went down to the valley again and climbed again to arrive to the southern side of Sikkim one of the smallest state of India, independent until India occupied it some decades ago to ensure safe borders with China. I visited the beautiful capital Gangtok where I could see some temples and gardens and ate the tasty dumplings. There are two more regions with their capitals and many temples, buddhist monasteries and giant recent statues of Hindu gods. Back in Calcutta I took a train to Bakkali on the Ganges delta where I spent a week relaxing along its beach but the deep water is a long way off. I rented a bicycle and went around the countryside meeting peasants, shouting children, rivers with stranded boats, cultivated fields, domestic animals, pools of water and I made friends with a very cultured tailor who enjoyed drawing as well as creating excellent shirts and trousers. I went to see him almost every day, he took me to visit an elementary school and introduced me to a postmaster friend of his and together we went to dinner in a local restaurant. I returned to Calcutta on the crowded train and took the plane to Kuala Lumpur in a very modern and beautiful airport recently inaugurated. India is a country that should be enjoyed in all its aspects and stays with you forever for its people, its colors, its temples, its spicy but tasty cuisine.