So it was said that the Russians celebrate the New Year in India recently . Tourist Mecca is considered a bezbashenny Goa . There they go by families, companies, with or without children, for a month or longer, mainly for entertainment . I chose the village Kovalam, . If you look at the map of Hindustan, the most south, 15 km from Trivandrum, the state capital Kerala . This was my first trip to the country that gave the world a great civilization, Ayurveda, figures, chess, badminton . And I, anticipating the events, gave myself at the mercy of India and its inhabitants who reverently worship the gods with the head of an elephant or monkeys, and with sincere friendliness meet tourists .

City

Kovalam - a small village on the shores of the Indian Ocean. At first, the town scares its shabby and garbage dumps. The fact is that garbage collection here, as elsewhere in India, is not being conducted. Perhaps, the word "urn", as such, does not exist. Therefore, local residents throw trash into ditches or store near the house, gradually burning. I must warn those who are going to India, looking forward to "Turkish service", "Egyptian comfort", "European quality". They do not go here for this!

In the mornings in Kerala, music from Hindu temples and cries of muezzins in mosques are heard almost everywhere. By the way, to come in February I recommend only to those who do not suffer from insomnia. At this time there are many holidays, or, as they call it, festivals. Calls to prayer and praise to the gods are audible from 4 in the morning, and continue with the chanting of mantras all day. The entire resort life is concentrated on Lighthouse Beach, along which there is an embankment with many souvenir shops and restaurants. The main attraction is the lighthouse, which is located at the southern end of the beach. A small climb up the steps and from the observation deck will open a view of Kovalam, drowning in coconut palms. There are a lot of crows, high waves, and everywhere there is a smell of incense, with which the nights smell. And, incomprehensible fast speech of local residents: singing, with aspiration and trembling. Welcome to Kovalam!

Cuisine

Very hot and fresh. You have to get used to it. Virtually all restaurants in the menu there are dishes of European cuisine. But before they do not come the turn, when around such a variety of seafood: crabs, lobsters, shrimps with elbow, fish of different names. Cost, for example, a kilogram of tiger shrimps of medium size - 1200 rupees (divide by 1, 8 and get the amount in rubles). A group or butterfly, baked in a clay oven, costs 300-350 rupees. Marlin steak or swordfish - 300 rupees (all prices are valid for January 2013)

Be sure to try the wheat flat cakes naan - this is local bread. Delicious with cheese, sprinkled with finely chopped garlic, with herbs.

Fans of sprinkling a feast with something hotter than tea masala, should remember that in local religions alcohol is prohibited. The only thing you can count on is beer, and even that, from under the floor. They will bring, most likely, a bottle of "Kingfisher" of local production, wrapped in a newspaper, and they will put large tea mugs under the drink. Beer will be poured into mugs, and the bottle will be put under the table.

Ayurveda

Kerala State is considered the birthplace of Ayurvedic medicine . And if you get out of here, I advise you to undergo a wellness course of ayurveda - massage, oil, herbal tablets . In many small ayurvedic rooms (they are in almost every hotel), the doctor should ask for all his sores . Therefore, try to remember in advance and translate your illness into English . The Ayurveda will not completely make you healthy, but in the treatment of head and muscle pains, pains in the joints, the consequences of stress - will help . Find the causes of illnesses to the doctor will be easier on your general blood test .

My procedures lasted 2 hours: an hour I was buttered with hot oil and massaged the whole body, beaten with pouches , rubbed with a viscous gruel from rice with milk . Another hour was spent on the breadth - this, perhaps, was one of the most unusual and pleasant moments in the treatment . Yes, it is when a trickle of warm oil pours on the forehead, to the point somewhere near the ajna-chakra . Secretly, if you tell the doctor that you are tormented by g headaches and stress, they will definitely appoint a broadband to him . With me I took a few bottles with a local shampoo (40 rubles per 100 ml) . The value is that it contains extracts of herbs, roots and fruits . AND as producers assure, there are no parabens and sulfates . Also, all are stockpiled and brought from India coconut oil for scalp massage and rubbing into the skin . They say that the hair after such manipulations grows strong, lush and shiny . I myself convinced that the Indians are walking with oily head . Indeed, many women have hair very beautiful, like in shampoo advertising .

What you need to know?

In my suitcase Moscow - Dubai Dubai - Trivandrum a separate place was given to the first aid kit . In addition, I was carrying a few packs of antibacterial napkins (read on the Internet horror stories about unsanitary conditions) . In Kovalam, the handkerchiefs did not come in handy . At first, before each meal I rubbed my hands, and then ... stopped paying attention to it, like garbage . In my opinion, it's enough to follow the usual rules of hygiene, well, in some cases, do not be lazy to wash your hands again . What else? Be sure to bargain! A white buyer for a Hindu is a welcome guest, in part because white can be sold at exorbitant prices . Therefore it is better if someone in the field tells about the order of prices for tuk-tuk (three-wheel motor scooter with awning), fruit, fish, souvenirs . Hindus of all whites consider the descendants of the colonizers . No, they do not get angry and do not look askance . And yet they think that the white must pay for historical injustice . Do not rely on the honesty of the sellers . Take for the habit - smiling, without departing from the ticket office, counting the change . When paying the money, let's go those with the right hand . The left is considered "dirty" . I once, forgetting about it, gave the owner of the store his goods, the book I changed my mind with my left hand, and that's what I saw: he took the book with both hands, and then began to make some magical actions and say words, apparently a prayer . Sensations are not pleasant, as if you are some kind of black magician or evil wizard .

Well, perhaps, what you need to know and what to be ready . On the beach in Kovalam you will be looked . Indians look for a long time, persistently and stubbornly . On bathing whites they are looking because ... they do not know how to swim themselves . The daredevils will approach the sunbathering tourists and ask to be photographed, while trying to touch . 200 schoolgirls "attacked" me on the beach . I had to take pictures and say a few dozen times "Hi ».It turned out that many Indians for years do not see "white", there are those who have never met representatives of the European race! And they want to touch, because there is such a belief - if you touch and touch goes unnoticed, in the next life you will be a "white" person .

Author - Julia Shchukina.