I dont want to leave India

Leaving Hampi to the unknown Southern Karnataka and Tamil Nadu didn't work out the best.. 

22/2 Mysore
23/2 Bangalore
24/2 Tiruvanamalai
25/2 Auroville
26/2 Aurobeach Pondicherry

Each day was a new surprise and just couldn't just stay to a single place... We were in a mood for playing music and we couldn't find any connection to all the above places.

Mysore is a big city and the only reason to go there (except visiting some fancy palaces) is to do yoga... But only yoga and nothing else. And not just drop in, 1-2 months is ok... If you don't feel like it, don't go to Mysore.

Bangalore is a big and modern city. All IT companies are here including my former employer company who has a branch here too. Nothing to see except westernised lifestyle... Every single meal/snack we had there though was delicious.

Killing an briyani, Andhra pradesh style

Tiruvanamalai was the first Tamil Nadu experience... Everybody says that Tamil Nadu people are special (not in a good way). We got out of the bus at the famous Ashram and tried to find the cultural center. We ve heard about many musicians but we didn't see any. We were then looking for a place and the situation got crazy. I stopped talking and took my mandolin in my hands... Eli was doing the talking but he got angry and tired and he exploded saying "Yianni, tonight you stay for free... We go to the best hotel in town".
And so it happened. Away from the ashram and just in front of the beautiful and big temple of Tiruvanamalai we had our moment of luxury and next day we paid a long visit to the temple... 

Impressive temple in Tiruvanamalai

Auroville is a new city built near Pondicherry. There is a vision for this community but to my humble opinion this spirit just doesn't exist anymore. We arrived there at 21:00 seeking for a place to sleep and we only received arrogance and ignorance. The only person that helped us at the end was a Nepali guard.
Next morning we went to see their famous construction "Matrimandir" (check Auroville in google maps with satellite view to see what i mean) and left to Pondicherry.

Matrimandir, Auroville

Aurobeach was the next stop after 15 minutes in Pondicherry. We just didn't like cities. The last 5 days we ve used more than 10 rickshaws and i had enough. After staying one night there Eli decided the next morning (27/2) to buy a flight to Goa and head back to Gokarna. At least, the last night together, we met a nice Belgian couple that were happy to hear us play so we managed to have one last music sharing. 

Eli got in his taxi at 13:00 and left. I was also ready to pack and go until i saw in front of me Vasilis and Marianna (they were supposed to be in Kerala), just 5 minutes after Eli was gone. 

Vasilis and Marianna at "the only place" guest house

I decided then to stay one more night and go by the rainbow gathering that was happening in Auroville as the Belgians informed me. Looking at the rainbow forum the previous night we realised its not an ordinary gathering but i ll explain later. We went out with the Belgians to hitchhike and try to find the gathering in Auroville (20 square km). A moto stopped and i told he couple to go first.... The driver though was insisting to take all 4 of us and so it happened. 

Hitchhiking Indian style

At some point i saw a small rainbow flag hanging on a tree and the guy took us all the way in the dirt road to the rainbow gathering. We were really lucky to find so quickly.

Two nights passed without Eli (but with the amazing company of the Belgian and Greek couple plus a Belgian lady called Eli too) and i packed my things next morning to go to Pondicherry to visit a bus inspector,who had invited me to visit his house, and then head souther. That "last" night was also the 35th anniversary of Auroville but nothing was going on at night and we went by the rainbow... Nothing much was going on there either so after 30-40 minutes we went to sleep.

The beach at Aurobeach is quite polluted by plastic but the water is ok. In contrary, if you walk 100m to the right where the fishermen leave their boats, you will find the most amazing shells. I was thinking that even an ugly beach can give amazing gifts in india. I gathered 2kg of then and Vanilla (next paragraph) gave me some more and i had to make a parcel to Greece.

After 20 minutes walk. Jacques i told last summer i saw a starfish with 7 legs at Agiofaraggo. It exists indeed.

The place we were eating breakfast and dinner everyday is called Divya and its just on the main street.

Vanilla and Divya on the back 

A lady called Vanilla with her daughter Divya run this place. Vanilla raised Divya alone since she was a baby and she never had another husband. They are both very beautiful and i was telling Vanilla to come to Greece to find her a husband. I think its piece of cake for a woman like her... She was replying to me though to find a nice man for her 20 years old daughter Divya. That morning the ladies wouldn't want me to leave so they insisted to leave my luggage to their house and go to Pondicherry to visit my friend Venkatassamy and come back for the night. So it happened...

I went to Pondi market which is an amazing market and spent some hours before my friend picked me up and went to his place. He has a young and beautiful daughter who speaks fluent English. We had dinner almost together and after some time i headed back to Aurobeach.

Around 21:00 (1st March) i got down from the bus, i looked at Vanilla's restaurant and i couldn't believe my eyes. Two beloved friends, that i didn't know that they knew each other, were having dinner at Vanillas. It was Merdan and Tzlil.

Merdan

Tzlil

What happened the next four days is difficult to put it to words and i ll try to write a separate post about it. I shared so much love and emotions i m still trying to digest it.

3 people in a 50cc moped is something normal for india. I wish the moped was feeling the same.

I love you guys.

During these days i saw some beautiful projects going on in Auroville but still it couldn't win me. 

For the full moon we went again to rainbow because we heard there would be music... We made the music at the end and at 23:00 a German Aurovillian came to make the music stop as every single day. 
The major things that make this rainbow not a rainbow are:
Duration (last 5 months)
Location (not isolated, facilities)
Not free (Auroville asks 3 euro for each day)
No music after 23:00

That's why i said i ll wait for a real rainbow...

The 5th March i took my stuff, found a 16hour bus and next morning i was in  Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
The railway station was in front of me so i hoped in the train and headed to Varkala beach which i ve heard from my dear Eli.

Varkala, south cliff

I got down the train and i meet an Ukrainian couple, Jay and Liza that we said hi one time in Auroville rainbow.

Liza and Jay

They said, if you meet someone once its normal but if you meet twice in a random place it means something. Long story short, we shared a room in Varkala and we had some beautiful times together. They were wonderful company.
We experienced also a very short version of Holi (the colorful festival) and the morning of 8th March i left Varkala to check the backwaters of Varkala near Kottayam. I took a bus from the there to the town near the water called Kumarakom. It was getting dark and this area was full of resorts  (quite expensive).

Backwaters Kerala

I decided i ll sleep outside near the water tonight. It reminded me one night in Morocco that i slept in the middle of nowhere so i was very excited. Crazy ideas were crossing me mind... "Maybe i sleep outside for the rest of my trip"... but they didn't last long.

I managed to find a passage to the waters and a nice spot to sleep. I put down my yoga mat, my sleeping bag and i fix my mosquito net with a rope on a palm tree leaf. Soon i see torches pointing at me and go and more and more coming. I just wanted to fall naked in the waters and fall asleep but no peace... 15 minutes later a group of 15 locals came to me and there were telling me i cant sleep there and wanted to see my passport. They were actually scared of me. They told me they ll call police and i told them its ok. Soon i won their hearts with some music and pictures of my family and they told me i could sleep and they left. My peace lasted 2 minutes and just before i go in the waters 2 guys came and asked me to play more music for them. I started play a rebetiko song and one of the guys started beatboxing. Beatbox and rebetiko doesn't sound good to my ear but i have to admit that the guy was good. Before i finish the song the police arrives and behind them all the locals. After few minutes of documents inspection and funny talking they asked me to go with them because there are dangerous snakes there (i m sure though they wanted to calm the locals). We drive to a resort, probably the most expensive one and they bring me the manager to talk. He tells me that the room start from 200 euros/night and i tell again to the police that i could even paid the 13 euros they asked me in other places. They get back in the car and drive and that's when they ask me to sleep at the police station. "Suuuure" I say, "I don't mind sleeping in a cage either" thinking i shouldn't miss the chance but they said i can use a room.
And that's how i got another free night in India.

Next day i decided to go to Kochi and spent my last night there before i fly to Malaysia. On the train station I found again Christina, a super Greek we met in Gokarna and an Italian girl, Ambra from Ancona.

Christina in the train

 There were heading to Pushkar, where else. What a nice surprise. They will meet my other friends....

Back in Pishkar, Virginia, Imano and Gabriella. This photo made me really happy

I found a 6 bed dormitory in Kochi (1st time in all trip) and an Indian boy from Goa checked in after me. The neighborhood is called Fort Kochi and it is quite ok.

Amazing huge trees in Kochi

Liza wanted so much to see an famous dance of Kerala called Kathakali and there were two shows next to me. In good memory of the Ukrainian couple, I decided to go see the show even if it was out of my budget. I don't know if it worths the money as it was very short but for the real long thing i would pay even more.

Kathakali show

 I went for a night walk thinking i could busk somewhere but i couldn't find a place so i took out my mandolin and started playing while walking.  Soon some guys invited me to play at their restaurants with food as exchange and i went... My Indian roommate Srijan was there eating already so we sat together. He is a brilliant painter and while i was taking out my guts singing he painted me.

No, i didn't become skinny as y brother asked me

 My last day in India arrived and i m waiting in Kochi airport for my night flight to Malaysia.

Goodbye India. I know I will miss you a lot.