Kanyakumari – 13 January, 2009

Arrived in Kanyakumari just at sunset for the most glorious shades of red and orange I’ve ever seen. This place is wild. It reminds me of the gauntlet we run on our way to the main ghat in Varanasi to watch the aarti, just bigger. It’s like a carnival.

I got a Reiki 1st Degree attunement the day before yesterday, so now I can practice. I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, since before I left Seattle and three days ago, a perfect opportunity presented itself. Yesterday, I felt restless and had a strong urge to leave Varkala, like my time there was done. I had an appointment for three root canals this afternoon, followed by three crowns in about a week, so I thought perhaps I was supposed to stay there for the rest of my trip. The dental work felt right at first and then I got a No this morning when I asked my body, so I canceled and packed my things. I’ve been wanting to come to Kanyakumari, so here I am.

I’ll watch the sunrise over the convergence of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, visit a temple or three, visit the Vivekananda ashram, eat a bite of breakfast (they have kitchadi on the menu! w00t!) and then hop a train for parts north.

I’m done waiting for the textbook. If it’s not there tomorrow, I’m off to Tiruvannamalai or Pondicherry or the Golden City with Jordi. It’s time to move.

Tonight, I’m in the filthiest room yet. I don’t think the sheets have ever been washed. I’m sleeping in my sleepsack on top of the bedspread. At least that looks fairly clean. I’ve got a shirt over the bedspread where the pillow is so I don’t have any skin touching it. The sink doesn’t look like it’s been washed in months. The air is pretty dead in here; dusty. It’s only for one night, so it’s not a big deal, and it’s cheap. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting up at 5:30am to wander around before sunrise. I think I’ll gladly leave :)

I can see a beautiful offshore stone memorial to Swami Vivekananda from the roof. I want to check it out in the morning. I also want to see the Devi Kumari temple and the Vivekananda Ashram. The train leaves at 10am. Hopefully when I phone the ashram on my way up the coast, my book will be there. If not, I’ll ask the university to resend it to my daughter’s in NY. Two weeks is more than enough time to wait. Class is in session, I need the book.