We left Crete and spent 1night at Tina’s apartments only 15minutes from Athens airport. They have a very convenient free shuttle service from Athens Airport. We flew to Mumbai on Etihad via AbuDhabi. We stayed at the airport hotel in Mumbai also for 1night. It is very conveniently situated right next to the airport within easy walking distance. It was easy to get an Indian Sim card for 1month for Aud6 which we could then recharge for the same amount each month. Unfortunately there is no ATM inside the airport (only outside) so we make sure we keep some tip money with us till we arrive in India.
The 2hour something flight from Mumbai took us to Trivandrum airport in Kerala and it was then a 45 minute drive from there to the Advanced Healing Centre of Ayurmana Dharma where we stayed for 1month. Maurice is like a new person when he leaves as they know how to treat his Rheumatoid Arthritis after many years of attending the centre. He has the same therapists.
I had two lovely female therapists who came from Meghalaya in north eastern India.
With two treatments a day and the doctors checking blood pressure and blood sugars we felt very looked after. The senior doctor Maya came every second day to discuss treatments and progress. It was good to have three weeks treatment and then a week to recuperate.
I had another MRI there for my fractured vertebra which seems to be somewhat healed. The compressed herniated discs are more of a problem with sciatic pain which mostly only bothers me at night thank goodness. Patients are encouraged to stay within the centre and all our meals are served to our rooms as the doctors want patients to concentrate on their health and not social gatherings with other patients. You do meet people walking up and down the path
Within the centre and while waiting for treatments in the communal area which is fine. Yoga is at 630am every day and evening meditation is also available most days.
We did leave only once to Trivandrum on my birthday – one to have my suitcase fixed which had been damaged at the airport and two as it was my birthday we went with a driver to the Lulu Hypermarket – the
Largest mall in Southern India. It was like other malls around the world with even a little motorised train running around the mall for children. The food court was impressive with foods from all over India and we opted for a Masala Dosa (a large type of pancake with a spiced potato filling) We didn’t do much damage to our Ayurvedic diets with just that and each a juice.
We both left feeling much refreshed.
We arrived in chennai after a two hour flight and spent the night at the well appointed Raintree hotel on Mary Road and met up with our lovely friend Shoba, who was born in New Zealand of South Indian parents and who has lived in India for ten years. It was great to catch up and have a meal with her.
Our next stop was to Kariappa house in Tamil Nadu to look after the property for the owners.
Kakoli went to Delhi to look after her sick mother. The main job is to see what needs doing in and around the property and to keep the staff on their toes which is sometimes a job in itself.
I prepare the fruit for breakfast otherwise some guests are there at 830am which is the start of breakfast time and not everything is ready. I check the rooms and find walls that need repairing
And switches and mats that may not be clean and need changing. It is a constant reinforcing of normal household practices. Most staff are pleasant and do their jobs but some are not so willing to work. They have a lot of rest times when the guesthouse with it’s 15rooms isn’t busy.
Weekends and holidays have been very busy with sometimes 26people staying and who are able to also order meals in advance. Breakfast of fruit, toast, croissants, jam, peanut paste, eggs of every kind and an Indian dish is always served from 830-1000am.
I find the maintenance issues that need doing and implement them.
There have been several temple festivals, one temple being right next to the property and they are extremely loud affairs with severe drumming and Sarajevo type fireworks and crackers seemingly shaking some rooms. Large bamboo structures are erected with lights in various patterns and a large float heavily decorated with branches and flowers and priests on board and followers who parade it around the streets. Thank goodness the last one ended yesterday.
There have been several maintenance issues resolved but with any older style building or even newer there are always issues with paintwork, woodwork, plumbing and electrical to name a few.
We also look after the two lovely cats at Kariappa house while Kakoli is away and two dogs all of them rescue pets.
Rara has one eye. The other lost to infection before she was rescued. Didi is his sister but he tends to bully her. The dogs Jazzy the labrador and Cassie the very cute bitzer tend to chase the cats so there is a schedule for the cats being out and then the dogs and then the cats again.
I have been doing a lot of food preparation as one long term guest was writing his Phd and didn’t really want carbs for lunch and Vanaja the cook usually cooked something with rice. I made a lot of protein plant based food which he enjoyed. I wrote a lot of the recipes out so that Vanaja could replicate them for Kakoli when she came back.
We went out with our friends a couple of times and to the very good Coromandel restaurant and Cafe Veloute otherwise we ate healthily at the guesthouse. We did go to Kamatchi Veedu for my favourite Egg Biryani and then to the Kulfi shop for my favourite guava kulfi dusted with chilli powder.
Kariappa house have an electric bike here which Maurice made good use of going to Grindes a shop selling all sorts of European foods and to pick up or drop things off for me. My back didn’t allow me to ride a bike so I either walked a few kilometres or took an auto rickshaw to where I was going which was mainly into the so called “white town” to one of the several cafes there.
We have only had a couple of nights of heavy rain otherwise it has been very hot and humid.
Thank goodness for the 20mtr pool. I have been using it to walk back and forth for my back. It is thankfully a lap pool so the same depth about a metre and a half deep for the entire pool.
We caught up with all our Pondicherry friends on various days. Some we had seen last year and some not for the last five years. Iffat Nawas had published her first novel in 2022 and we were very happy to receive her first paperback edition when we saw her.
Viviya another friend had won a prestigious construction business award and an old guest had also published a book in French that she wants me to read.
After six weeks here we were ready for our stay to come to an end and move on to Chennai on the 30th August for the night before flying to Bali for a couple of months. One month in total in Penestanan and one month in Candi Dasa by the sea.