Maharashtra: Feb 9 - 11

Mumbai (by sleeper-train)

The Limits of Adjustment

After nearly six weeks it can be tempting to think that India has lost the power to shock you.

After all, there is much you can grow used to.

There are the reactions along the way from people who are curious, cheerful and polite; while we might have been too worn to always offer them the response they deserved we still knew we were fortunate to be able to expect such genuine friendliness.

Goa: Feb 3 - 8

Palolem Beach - Calangute – Panaji - Madgao

The Vehicle-Spotter's Guide to India

By the time we left Goa we had cycled 2,000-odd kilometres, caught two trains, a few buses and enough rickshaws to build a real car. Here's what we learnt about the happy chaos of Indian transport in the process. 

Trains 

India Rail knows it keeps India running and will delay your service until you notice too. Each day almost as many people as live in Australia travel on trains that are cheap, more crowded than any bazaar and -- if the cautionary illustrations are to be believed -- rife with prancing villians who enjoy nothing more than injecting your unguarded food with drugs.

Karnataka: Jan 30 - Feb 2

Mangalore – Udupi - Gokarna (by train)

Indian Doppelganger

Here’s a fun game if you visit the subcontinent: Indian Doppelgänger.

It’s easy to play and easily adapted. The key aim is to spot someone who closely resembles someone else. Beyond that, the rules are yours. You can search for all doppelgangers or only those of certain categories: friends, family and acquaintances or celebrities; the living or the dead. A points system encourages group games but it’s still a good solitary pursuit.

Kerala: Jan 18 - 29

Thiruvananthapuram - Varkala Beach – Kollam – Allepy (by houseboat) - Kochi – Thrissur – Calicut - Kalpetta (by bus) – Kannur - Kasargord

The Keralan Panorama

Kerala’s is a conflicted identity.

The wealthiest state in India is simultaneously the site of the world’s first democratically-elected communist government and a tourism board that proclaims it “God’s own country".

Tamil Nadu: Jan 4 - 17

Chennai - Mahabalipuram - Pondicherry - Chidambaram - Tiruchirappalli - Dindigul – Madurai – Virudhunagar – Tirunelveli – Kanyakumari

A Sense of Things

Naivety dies a quick death in Tamil Nadu.

My conceit had been to imagine I had any idea of what was coming.

I had anticipated colour: the explosive red of drying chilies, the alabaster white of ancient temples, the rust-mottled carriages of skyblue trains in front of swollen green foliage.