i had an early supper in Bangalore before catching my train. i felt i should treat myself with something maybe more expensive. i don't know what i was thinking. i ate at a place called ruby tuesday. named after the rolling stones song.it was a franchise mimicking TGIF or something in that sort. they had sports paraphernalia hanging on the walls. the music they played was "western". through the ears of an indian. awful. just terrible. and at a volume intolerable. dance, techno, rap, country, rock, all mashed into one big clusterfuck of noise. they call it a song.
the prices were outrageous for india. i was actually going to pay western prices. 6-8$ for appetizers. 10-20$ for mains. i started walking out. the server, dressed in all black and shirt tucked in, yelled to wait. he told me a lunch special. make your own salad at the salad bar. a pint of beer. and selection from a small main course menu. for 5$. i agreed. i made the best salad. ate my deep fried chicken burger and fries. lady gaga came on. i gulped my beer and paid. never again ruby tuesday.

i set out to get a rickshaw to catch my train. it was 4pm. my train was at 5pm. there was no rickshaws in sight. shit. i walked to the main road and found one. i asked to go to the train station. he said no. what? a rickshaw driver said no? that's the first time i've experienced such a thing. it was absurd. i walked around more. why were there no rickshaw drivers? i marched through the crowds of westernized indians. passed the KFC. past the mcdonalds. past the pizza hut. ignored the man trying to sell knockoff rayban's. pushed away the man trying to sell me a watch. i was on a mission. i would not miss another fucking train and be caught in this chaotic city.

a man came upto me and asked if i wanted a rickshaw. he took me to his rickshaw. i asked why there was no rickshaws. it was because they are on strike. just my luck. so i was skeptical about this guy taking me somewhere. he said 20 rupees and he'll take my to station but first i have to go see his handcraft shop. i told him no, i'm late for my train. he then asked where i was going and what train i was taking. i told him. he told me it was cancelled. fuck off. i cursed at him and walked away. i walked. sweating. aching. looking for a damn way to the train station. it was 4:30pm. i decided to walk the 4 km in half an hour. but still i had no clue what direction i needed to go. i got stressed. stopped a random man on a scooter to give me a lift. he didn't say anything and drove off. i was swearing. melting in the sun. my bones were repositioning themselves underneath my backpack straps. fuck. an indian man saw my frustration. he was getting the same train. he said it was too late to catch the train at the Bangalore Junction terminal. he told me to follow him. i trusted him. i didn't care anymore. lead me. carry me. show me the way. we walked a bit and caught a bus. the bus drove 10 minutes and we got off. we walked a little more to Bangalore Cant terminal. it was 5:15pm. i looked at the board. there was my train! coming in 15 minutes! thank you indian man. we got on the train and i
never saw him again.

i found my berth on the train. it was shared with 4 Thai people. in their late 40's i presumed. they spoke english really well. i was exhausted. i went inbetween the train cars and opened the door and sat down. smoked a cigarette and watched the land zoom by. the wind blowing in my face. the sun setting.
i climbed to my top bunk as usual and passed out.

we arrived in Kochin at 4:30am. the Thai people woke me up when we got in.
i walked to the front of the train station and sat down drinking my coffee from a street vendor. i planned my next move. i took a rickshaw to Fort Kochin. it was dark. there were no other vehicles except for the odd the rickshaw. we crossed over two bridges. i told him a homestay to go to. it was full. he brought me to one he knew. i knocked on the door and a little indian man came to the door. short grey hair and a grey stubbly beard. he brought me to a vancant room and said 300. i agreed. i fell asleep.

i woke up at 8am. the room was standard. double bed. fan. attached bathroom with shower and "western toilet". decent.
i went for breakfast. had an omelet, toast, chai and a banana lassi. i went back to my room and sat on the balcony. Kerala is the state. Kochin is a town. the south of india is completely different from the north. each being on the ends of the spectrum.
north is more conservative and mainly Hindi. south is more liberal and a majority of Christianity. it's more civilized here or something.

an israeli girl joined me on the balcony. we talked about places we've been. places to check out. two of her friends came out. also israeli. both guys. we sat around and chatted. smoked a joint.

i took a shower. my body had a layer of dirt caked on it. refreshing.
walked around Fort Kochin a little. saw the Santa Cruz Basilica. saw St. Francis Xavier church. saw the dutch cemetery. walked along the waterfront on a boardwalk. watched the indian's use the chinese fishing nets. i ate some lunch. 2 samosas, 1 banana, peanuts, water and an icecream. all for 40 rupees. like 90 cents. have to love street vendors.

kochin is a strange place. it's beautiful. all the houses are like little villas. nice balconies and gardens. it's very resorty. a lot of old foreigners. it's kind of a romantic place. but spoiled with rich tourists. high class restaurants and hotels.
it's really hot.

i walked back to my homestay. watched two cats fight. i relaxed on the baclcony some more with karine. the israeli girl. she did her army training. now she needed to get away from her country.