South India, uncompleted elective

here are some photos I took while I was in South India (Trivandrum)......

some famous temple along MG road


<--had to take the Indian Rail....












Sunrise at kanyakumarin (cape comorin)...

fishing boats. Kanyakumari at dawn.some temple off the coast of Kanyakumari

<-- Sunset at Kollam Beach

probably the highlight of South India....the canoe boat trips that take you through the meandering streams of Lake Ashtamudi....perfect opportunity to see the real villagers at work....coconut husking, fishing for mussels, swimming etc....

Apparently I looked ''constipated" while I was trying my luck at punting. Looking at the photos, I couldnt agree more... -->


















































our tour guide took a stop at some remote island and taught us how to pluck a coconut from the tree.....
much to say, we werent successful....coz no sarong lah!
Hacking the coconut open with his blade. The end result....not too sweet but as fresh as you can get!We stayed at a rented bungalow, which was a luxurious concession, contrary to what I expected.











Chow time!



The Basics: Curry and Rice!

Fish curry....yellower than your average red curry. Think the keralan folk go heavy on the tumeric powder here

<-- Fish grilled with curry spices, wrapped in a banana leaf. Absolutely divine. Unfortunately your worst nightmare Roo

Heres Andrew, another fellow crazy dentist from Newcastle -->


<-- Poori...some kind of fried inflated roti bread the folks have for breakfast.....tastes like the sesame butterfly-shaped pastry you get from the wet markets.









gastronomic delight. marinated tiger prawns, skewered and spiced --->


and so its pretty obvious that we splurged our ruppees on lavish meals.....


Kovalam's unique beach. Not exactly the warm golden sand and clear blue water kind of beach you'd expect. The coastal waves were quite strong and the sea water looked fairly murky......
There wasnt much to do at Kovalam, other than shopping at over-priced touristy shops ad lounging at seafood based restaurants.........Sunset, was beautiful though


Some of the Silk Saris sold at the shops were really over-priced...take the above white floral patterned one for example....4000 ruppees!
Heres a tip for any potential tourists out there, if you really want to bag a good bargain, dont be afraid to haggle ruthlessly. Just because you're a tourist, that doesnt give the sneaky locals the right to rip you off with a ridiculous far-fetched price.


Quite the rambunctious lot. 5 dentists and 4 medics. We hung out with the bisexual and gay crew. To celebrate our impromptu and hasty departure, we met up for a farewell dinner on Thursday night..........*BURP*...

Maybe not the best experience for a medical elective....but definetely a had super relaxing time! :D