SHAKE YOUR OOTY

Am recovering from my first Ayurvedic massage here in Ernakulum, the mainland portion of Kochi (Cochin). You know I love a good spa treatment - and quite frequently - but . . . I can safely say that this was not my cup of tea. It was all about the oil. Oil that started out smelling of cinnamon and being wonderfully rubbed into my scalp. Oil that quickly segued into stuff that smelled like pasta sauce and that was slathered with abandon all over my body. Oil that made me slide all over the bare wooden table. Oil that made me wonder who else had been on that table recently . . . and whether or not they had anything that I should be worrying about as there was only the thinnest of paper banana hammocks between me and it. Oil that cascaded over my forehead and hair for 30 minutes before I had to ask them to stop because it was so uncomfortable. Oil that does not wash off or shampoo out. Like at all. At ALL at all. Erg.

Arrived here yesterday after a long drive from Ooty. Ooty rocked. The drive to get to it was awesome - steep, twisty mountain roads through tea plantations and fields of flowers and grass so green it looked fake and cows with painted horns and piles of carrots being sold at the side of the road and adorable villages full of friendly, waving, head-wobbling people. (The further south we go, the more insane the head wobbling. What is the history behind the wobble?!? None of us knows and don't want to ask.)

We got to ride on top of the roof for the last part, which is just a blast as long as you're not going full speed into low-hanging wires or dangling tree branches. (Can you say "potential decapitation" and "lawsuit"?) Would ride up there all the time if it was allowed. Especially the front of the cab, even though it is still propped up by wooden blocks and will be until at least Chennai.

We stayed at Reflections Guest Home in Ooty, where we had a lake view from our terrace. SO NICE! It's the cutest little town and we crammed a ton in . . . ride on the toy train through the mountains, gorging on delicious homemade chocolates, riding GoKarts at the misleadingly named "Jolly World" amusement park (where, incidentally, I was bopped from behind by a giant scary clown in a huge inflatable Michelin Man-like get up), riding horses through town and around the lake (and experiencing the afterburn of an unpadded saddle) and enjoying Christmas Day dinner at a fancy hotel that was like an English manor house with multiple rooms and cozy fireplaces, tons of Christmas ornaments and lights, Christmas carols on the stereo and hot rum toddies on the menu. Would love to have stayed there a bit longer (Ooty, not necessarily the restaurant).

We're heading out to see a Kathakali performance tonight, which is a "dramatized presentation of a play" and in which each letter of the alphabet has its own elaborate physical representation. Have a backwater boat tour tomorrow, which visits spice markets and toddy tappers. (Whoo!!!!)

Life is good . . . except for ongoing Bar Management issues, the latest of which include people complaining that: A) The fridge doesn't keep things cold enough - anything or ever, B) I hadn't had time to restock the fridge with any Sprite - please note that it was available for less money in stores that were less than 3 yards from the truck, and C) My own personal favorite - "Stormi, the beer foamed over when I opened it and I think I should only have to pay half."

Cheers:-)