Thiruvananthapuram

There are no hostels in Thiruvananthapuram. I go by the lonely planet recomendation and head to the YMCA. It's very central and quite cheap. There's a special wing for international "guests" aside from the huge dorm's for local underprivileged youths. It's a single room, very clean, YMCA branded bedsheets and soap, TV, en-suite. All lovely, but not a dorm. this is going to be another me, myself and I.

I head out into the city, excited to be in real India again. Triv. is prettier than other Indian cities i've been to. it feels cleaner and I can't see or smell open sewers. It's quite easy to find all tourist attractions, there's the stunning sripadmanbha swami temple in the south with the Palayam Juma Masjid mosque, christchurch, the stunning library, two stadiums and the zoological gardens in the north: all on the MG road. The zoological gardens also have an art gallery. The gardens themselves are lovely. Such an shady oasis under the trees away from the tooting traffic and baking sunshine. A quiet place to sit on the grass is an extremely rare thing. I miss those lush green parks of summer England!

There's a fantastic array or food everywhere, but most of the places that serve it are quite daunting. Full of locals ripping and scooping food with their right hands. Eveyone stares at you when you walk in. The waiters seem shy about coming over but bring you some tap water (which you'll never drink) and a menu. The menu's are very familiar to any English person worth their tumeric. Madras, naan, chappathi, dosa, biryani etc. But what to have for breakfast? I ask what someone else was eating and end up with a tasty veg. masala and chappathi with some tea.

Communist Russia is alive here! The hammer and sickle is everywhere on flags, walls and buildings. There is a very close relationship between Russia and India, there's even a "communist party of India". There are huge numbers of Russian tourists that come here every week and filter out to places like Kerala and Goa. There's also various music and art schools from Russia here, all fully occupied. Quite bizarre on first sight.