Though we weren't too excited about another day in Delhi we made the most of it. Tired from Mondays travels we intended to have a nice long sleep but were abruptly woken at 5am by some drumming and chanting from what we think was an inconspicuous Hindu temple just down the street. It wasn't so bad except that even with earplugs the drumming beat into our heads and made it impossible to stay asleep. Nevermind. We lay in bed watching TV for a while and then made a start to the day which began at a little restaurant that we'd had dinner at the night before. Full of toast an caffiene we went on a mission to change our flight from Mumbai to Ho Chi Minh city from the 28th to the 22nd. After reviewing our flights we thought that we had not given ourselves enough time in SE Asia and maybe a bit too long in India. Off to the travel agent. A very helpful chap was able to make the change for us but wanted 40 pounds each for the service. Not sure that it was the best deal we set off by foot to the Singapore airlines office which was not too far away and were able to get them changed for free. Brilliant! 
Not far from their offices, again by foot, we went to a site called a Jantar Mantar, shown on the right. This was the first of it's kind though now in disrepair and is a site with 6 geometric measuring tools that, when working correctly, can tell time to the 1/2 second, the current zodiac sign and the phase of the moon. It was sad that it wasn't better taken care of though the grounds were nice and made for a good mid-city park. That evening, with our perceived 80 pound savings, we went back to the restaurant we were in our first two nights and again didn't disappoint though as usual I over ate :( Tucked into bed with our alarm set for 6 to be ready for our flight to the south we were kindly woken again at 5 by the temple and it's drumming. Arrrgh! Grumpily we made our way to the airport, with excited thought of beaches in our heads, to hurry up and wait for our flight. Though I'd heard less than stellar reviews about Indian Airways we had simple but good service and all was well as we landed near the southern tip in Trivandrum. Disembarking from the plane we could immediately tell we were in another world. Hot and sticky replaced hot and dusty with coconut palms wherever you looked. 
Tuc-Tuc and taxi drivers offered their services without being pushy and people smiled friendly instead of staring in wonder. I was going to like this much better than the north! We made our way by Tuc-Tuc, train and taxi to the beachside village that we are in and, after a bit of indecesion over which room to take, found ourselves in a lovely place. We'll be happily staying here for 3 nights during which will be a big celebration. Tomorrow is Deepvali (say Devali) which is like Christmas to Hindus and therefore the day before, today, and the day after are also celebration days. Not sure what to expect but sure it will be good. That's all for now but may try for more pics tomorrow or Saturday.
Not far from their offices, again by foot, we went to a site called a Jantar Mantar, shown on the right. This was the first of it's kind though now in disrepair and is a site with 6 geometric measuring tools that, when working correctly, can tell time to the 1/2 second, the current zodiac sign and the phase of the moon. It was sad that it wasn't better taken care of though the grounds were nice and made for a good mid-city park. That evening, with our perceived 80 pound savings, we went back to the restaurant we were in our first two nights and again didn't disappoint though as usual I over ate :( Tucked into bed with our alarm set for 6 to be ready for our flight to the south we were kindly woken again at 5 by the temple and it's drumming. Arrrgh! Grumpily we made our way to the airport, with excited thought of beaches in our heads, to hurry up and wait for our flight. Though I'd heard less than stellar reviews about Indian Airways we had simple but good service and all was well as we landed near the southern tip in Trivandrum. Disembarking from the plane we could immediately tell we were in another world. Hot and sticky replaced hot and dusty with coconut palms wherever you looked. 
Tuc-Tuc and taxi drivers offered their services without being pushy and people smiled friendly instead of staring in wonder. I was going to like this much better than the north! We made our way by Tuc-Tuc, train and taxi to the beachside village that we are in and, after a bit of indecesion over which room to take, found ourselves in a lovely place. We'll be happily staying here for 3 nights during which will be a big celebration. Tomorrow is Deepvali (say Devali) which is like Christmas to Hindus and therefore the day before, today, and the day after are also celebration days. Not sure what to expect but sure it will be good. That's all for now but may try for more pics tomorrow or Saturday.
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