we have arrived AND there is food!!!!

We began our journey at Varanasi, having had a huge pasta dish and steamed vegetables, which is really two meals but I knew I had to 'stock up'. We arrived at the station, huge, full of people (and cows), many platforms with many people keen to rip you off. We established the appropriate platform and struggled up the many steps to walk several yards and then down many steps with huge baggage which seems to multiply every time we move on.
We had of course purchased many items of food that were available on the streets, this amounted to crisps, bananas, apples, one pomegranate and some nutty/coconut type sweets.
Looking up at the platform display sign and allowing my eyes to wander from left to right the headings were as follows:- Train number......destination.......train name.....scheduled time.....late
LATE ....already printed on the sign, well that is a very good insight into the general level of efficiency in India. In our case the figure was 1.30, meaning the train is already running one and a half hours late and still a couple of hours before the scheduled arrival time!
So that was the beginning of our arduous journey. The first night was impossible to sleep as the driver was leaning on the horn all night long! The second not too bad, probably due to us being pretty comatosed by then and the third again impossible as this engine clearly had a fault with the clutch, so every time he dropped down or moved up through the gears the whole train lurched and jolted throwing all personal pocessions flying. With the increasingly unbearable stench of urine wafting from the said 'toilets' and the persistent cries of "biriyani' every ten minutes or so, as the 'boys' from the kitchen were of course on commission, the advantages of travelling this way were quickly forgotten.
Arriving at Trivandrum was more a case of falling off than alighting with style! I can't begin to explain how dirty we were, it was when we began to have coins offered to us that we realised just how we mimicked street people! No only joking. Anyhow we were of course immediately surrounded by Tuk Tuk drivers, taxi drivers and the like but quickly realised this was a city and a big one at that. We really had had enough of the city life so took a tuk tuk straight to Kovalam, booked into a hotel, got a good deal for 500 per night (after we changed rooms cos the first had no hot water, they always try it on) and had a shower.........well it was the best shower of my life, boy does this travelling make you appreciate what you have at home!
Next stop....you guessed it food! We had eaten so very little I should have lost loads of weight but sadly not. Think it may have something to do with the beer as there is no choice of alcohol.
Then I opened my eyes and realised we were in the most idyllic bay, the waves crashing in and every restaurant displaying the catch of the day for my indulgence.....and boy am I!
The sunset here is amazing and looks like we will be here for a couple more days....Oh the agony of it!
I do miss you all..really. I am off to dinner now. Speak soon xxx