The treatment is now over.
I lost 5 kilos in 2 weeks and I must say that that was quite a challenge as I started eating a bit too much of their very yummy food.
Feeling fit and fabulous
My bp has stayed at 120/80 and I no longer have my gingivitis which I had for 2 months prior to leaving. There are also many other positive benefits such as a pain which regularly strikes me in my left hip at about 5am has now disappeared. Also a horrid stretching pain inside my neck has disappeared as has a pain on the inside of my right foot between the big toe and the heel. All these pains have been with me for at least 2 years.
I feel much better than I have in ages.
Baby and Rani -plantation owners
Last night we stayed at a home in a rubber plantation and spice farm. I will write more fully about that later as the owner is a true environmentalist who is using organic farming methods and alternating his rubber trees with other plants as a true subsistance farmer does.
He says that although many farmers tend to maximize profit by planting only rubber trees, he likes to plant a variety of trees such as banana, jackfruit, betel nut and teak trees amongst the rubber trees as that way pests are minimized. They grow coffee and cocoa beans and every conceivable spice too. They use a lot for personal consumption but sell the vanilla, coffee, black pepper, jackfruit and the rubber. He supplements his income with house stay guests.
Today we are staying at Periyar which appears to be the hub of the spice industry in Kerala. Across the road from the hotel is a bamboo forest full of macaque monkeys and fruit bats. I looked over the wall into the forest and saw that it was absolutely covered with plastic bags and debris which was clogging the little river which runs through. This is the big problem with Kerala from what I can see.
Try moving rice or sand this way
There doesn't seem to be a very satisfactory system of waste disposal and the roadside can tend to have quite a few plastic water bottles and other flotsam and jettsam scattered everywhere.
Cheeky monkeys
Anyway, back to the hotel and the monkeys are having a super time jumping around the hotel grounds. I was told that yesterday one got through the window of one of the guests and stole her camera. The hotel staff had to chase it through the hotel grounds and into the next hotel where it dropped the camera from a tree. Luckily it landed on some grass!!!
I've already had 2 bad experiences with monkeys in a pet shop in Paris and on Phi Phi Island in Thailand where on both occasions monkeys stole my necklace and there was some drama so I'm going out neckless-less so to speak. Less is better when it comes to wearing jewellery around monkeys!!!
Houseboat bliss - truly
The day before yesterday I also spent an afternoon and the night on a houseboat on the water ways of Kerala. We had a wonderful night with a really super Kerala style cook and I can say my BP must surely still be very low after that experience.
As I promised, a full report will be on your desk on my return. I've filled quite a few dozen pages with full details of treatments and the pummelling we received.
Mumsy really knows how to relax
By the way, yesterday was my mum's 80th birthday and she received 3 cakes!!! One was given to her on the house boat, the next by the plantation owner (curiously named Baby!), and the last by our kind driver who is the dead set spitting image of Eddie Murphy.
It's Eddie Murphy - isn't it!
Except our driver is better looking! But possibly not as talented though he is an excellent driver which is no mean feat on Indian roads. I for one would freeze if I was behind the wheel.
Interestingly there are no female drivers and the women ride side saddle on bikes while their husbands drive. Apparently some die when their saris get caught in the wheels of the bikes! Reminds me of Isadora and her scarf!
Four on a bike - now that is scary!
The wages as you can guess are very low. A nurse in a hospital only earns 3000 rupees a month. There are currently 39 rupees to the Aust. dollar. Of course it's fallen because I'm on holidays!
Well I'll be in touch very soon.
Love
Roslyn
