Down to Kerala and Back in Goa Getting Ready for Christmas

We made a trip down to Kerala, in southern India. It was a very long trip and we probably should have just stayed in Goa and skipped Kerala. We were on the train for 16 painful hours. We arrived in Cochi which was o.k., but not my favorite. We did explore the old Fort Cochin which was cool, but not that great. We got attacked for 2 nights in our mosquito infested room. We did get a small care package from home. It contained 4 sticks of deodorant (that my parents desperately needed) and a carton of Chips Ahoy cookies from home. I was as gratetful for the delicious treat from home as I was that my parents did not stink any more. We got the heck out of Cochi and started heading back up north to Goa.

We made pitstops in Mangalore which is kind of a dumpy overcrowded city. My dad got sick and threw up from eating somthing bad. We stayed in a nice hotel room and got to watch movies on HBO (that was the only good thing about Mangalore). Our next stop was at a beach town called Kannur. We had a great time in Kannur, and we splurged and stayed at a fancy hotel right on the ocean. We went swimming in the ocean 2-3 times a day and got to check out a fort built back in the 1500's. From there we made our way back to Goa.

Once back in Goa we headed to a beach town called Palolem. We were not sure what to expect. We were happy to find a place right on the beach. It was a shack that was put together in less than a month, and you could tell it was put together poorly. Our beach shack was 2 feet from the sand and about 40 feet from the crashing waves. The beach was covered in coconut trees, the ocean temperature was perfect and there was an island right off the coast that my dad and I swam out to explore. We had a great time living like beach bums and going in the ocean all day long. We were sad to leave, but after a few days we returned to Benaluim Beach 20 kms north.

We are staying nearly the entire month of December at a house in a beach town called Varca, here in southern Goa. We got to unpack our backpacks for the first time in 6 months. We have a very hard life here. Our days include: going to the beach a couple times a day, kicking back, watching movies, reading books, eating fish and other great food, cruising around everywhere on a motorbike, playing cards, doing some school work, and having a great time. We feel very lucky to have a free place to stay in paradise.

Yesterday I got the chance to volunteer at an AIDS orphanage. While my parents were busy wearing rubber gloves and scrubbing, I got to help a kid named Mahesh. I got to help 7-year-old Mahesh (who has no parents and has AIDS) for two hours with his school lessons. He could not go to school that day because he had an infection and sores all over his body. I felt sad that he has no parents to love him and that he has AIDS. However, Mahesh was very friendly and a happy kid. It was a great experience. We are going to go back again tonight to meet the other 8 kids that live there and bring them small gifts that I brought from home. We are going to be volunteering there every other day while we are in Goa. They don't normally get presents on Christmas, so we are going to see what we can do to make this Christmas special for them. I have a lot to be grateful for as a kid growing up in SLO.

Send me an email at Kylearoundtheworld@gmail.com. Miss you all and I am now half way home and look forward to seeing you all in June.