...then the rains came...

Well what can you expect when visiting and travelling in India during the monsoon !? Luckily the rains did come or I may have stayed on the beach in Goa for the whole month! I packed up my little sack and got a train to Mangalore, a 9 hour journey through fascinating fishing and farming scenery. The journey passed really quickly. I travelled normal class and met some really fantastic people two professors in fisheries from mangalore university, a lovely family and some great kids who were fascinated by my skin and eyes. We spent a few hours learning English and Hindi together which was lots of fun. It is amazing how a little community forms on those train journeys people start to care about each other sharing picnics and snacks, blankets and stories to pass the time...there is nothing quite like it. On arrival in Mangalore it was still raining...in the morning it was raining more than ever so I decided to don the pac a mac and go on a long wet walk. mangalore is karnataka state the culture is very different as is the language...i really struggled to order food in the local cafes and get around. I visited the government museum...this was so amazing it had to be seen to be believed. There was no electricity which meant you could see practically nothing what exhibits could be seen through the cracked glass cases had dust and flies on them they ranged from a rhinos foot made into an ash tray to a toy aeroplane from a kindersurprise egg !I was the only visitor that day. The next day having exhausted the delights of mangalore in torrential rain I booked a sleeper train to Cochin in Kerela a 11 hour overnight journey.