Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, and Malaria?

I didn't think I would sleep on the train but I had to. Even though the train was hot, the lights were on, and my "seat" was the wooden bench of unreserved second class, my body made me sleep. An old man tried to claim some space on the bench between me and another guy. In a past life I would've given him the space and left myself uncomfortable. Not now.

The old man kept sliding back so I had to put up my elbow. It was pressing into his kidney area. It was already warm on the train and physical contact with him made it warmer, but I wsn't about to give up a space I had claimed fairly. After half an hour or so, he got the picture. Good, cause I was starting to nod off.

Around two or three in the morning the train emptied significantly. I moved to an empty bench and laid down and slept until I was woken up at the next stop, by someone shaking me by my ankle. It was quite reminiscent of the train to Poland, where I snapped awake, bewildered, only to have to prove I paid for the train. The conductor was cool and told me we had a few more hours and should get some sleep.

The next time I opened my eyes the sun was just beginning to come out over the mountains. I'm really surprised by how many mountain ranges I've seen. They would be nice to hike if it wasn't in the 90s.

At Kanyakumari I left the train station and had to deal with the drivers who wanted to take me wherever I was going. I knew I wasn't far and I told them all I would walk. It's amazing how taking a few steps can lower the cost of a ride down to five rupees.

I settled into a place with a sixth floor terrace where I could watch the sunrise at the southern most point in India. Three bodies of water - Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian sea - meet here. I checked out some temples, another Gandhi memorial where his ashes were stored before they were tossed into the sea, and learned about a monk named Vivekanada, who wandered around India on a pilgrimage. This is when I realized I've been following a similar path to his and have been on a personal pilgrimage. I took a ferry out to the islands where it is said Vivekanada swam to and had a moment of enlightenment. The there's a temple and memorial on one island and a huge statue of Vivekanada on the other.

While queueing for the ticket to the memorial I felt someone behind me trying to edge his way in front of me. It's a bit more difficult to do so in this queue because there are are parallel metal bars directing people to the ticket window, and I had my elbows sticking out behind me which he ket running into. The guy in front of me got done paying and asshole behind me reaches over me to hand money to the ticket window. What would Viet do? I had to push him arm back to where it came from and claim my spot.

People here will walk all over you here if you let them. I was talking to my sister the other night and told her one thing India has done for me is it's made me a bit more scrappy. I'm actually quite glad for this. Thank you people of India.

I met a nice Indian family who are living in Orange County. I ran into them a few days later on the beach in Rameswaram. After leaving the very south of India I headed to the island of Rameswaram. The nine hour trip took closer to twelve on the most horrible pot holed roads imaginable. I'm surprised we didn't break an axel.

As we crossed the bridge onto the island the bus finally died. No! We were only 20 minutes away. After about fifteen minutes of work they were able to get the bus started again, and I checked into my room at around nine. There wasn't much to do on the island until I found the beach.

When I first saw the blue water crashing on the beach, I started shed some tears I was so happy. I felt the way DiCaprio felt in The Beach (movie) when they finally found what they were looking for (the book is still much better). The city bus dropped us off at a little village and I walked for an hour along the beach before turning back for fear of walking in the dark. I just wanted to get a little feel of how far it was to the eastern tip of the island.

When I got back to the bus stand the cops from the police check point there came out to say hi. I told them they had a tough job sitting on a beach all day and watching the waves roll in. I wondered why no one swam and they told me the currents there were too dangerous. Damn. The perfect beach was spoiled.

The next day I went back to the beach after breakfast. I was determined to get to the eastern tip of the island. I could've paid some guys at the village to take me there, but their asking price was too steep. I had four liters of water and some biscuits for lunch and set off.

An hour into the walk and I was back at the same place as the previous day. This was the beginnings of ruined buildings from a cyclone that hit Rameswaram in 1964. There was a smell of rotting flesh and I saw a colorless porpoise or dolphin washed up on the beach. It was surprising that the crows or other animals hadn't picked at the carcass yet.

I walked near some small villages where some of the locals kids came out to say hi and ask for a pen. LP says not to encourage this behavior and I tend to agree with them. I spoke to them all for a short time and set off again.

I thought it would only take me an hour and a half to walk to the eastern tip, but the sand was slowing me down and I started to get blisters on the balls of both big toes. I had to press on I knew I was close. Fifteen minutes later I passed a Navy checkpoint and a local family walking the other way. Another fifteen minutes and all I saw was a solitary figure looking for sea shells. I avoided hinm cause I didn't want to talk and could see the eastern tip.

At this point it was a short walk to the north side of the island. I was shocked by how calm and shallow the water was on the north side. It's perfectly safe to swim over here with a nice lagoon. I kept walking and reached the eastern tip a little over two hours after I started walking. I was alone and loved it.

I could see Adam's bridge which is series of reefs, islets, and sandbanks that almost connect Rameswaram to Sri Lanka. I took a dip in the safe side of the island where the water temperature was perfect. I wished I could stay in that spot for a few days, but I had to walk back.

The walk back was uneventful after having experienced a few moments in paradise. I got another blister, this one on the side of my big toe during the walk back, but it was worth it.

Quickly what happened today. I'm feeling sick. I was worried it might be malaria, because of the slight fever, and I've been eaten alive by mossies the last few days. I went to a hospital here and paid less that a dollar for seeing a doctor and less than two dollars for medicine. And the nurse there was the first person here to say I looked Filipino instead of Japanese. Still wrong, but I know where she's coming from.