I woke with a feeling of slight angst, our first day of DIY travelling, wondering about the new railway timetables, and would our once week train arrive!
Instead of heading to meet out street kid friends @ the internet cafe, we went into the little temple opposite the hotel. More nightmares for me even crossing over the road, Charlie just dodges across without batting an eyelid, but I got tangled up in amongst a bunch of bikes, punctured by the odd pedestrian and oncoming buses!
In the tiny temple a puja was in process, for a family just about to set off on a pilgrimage ( by 4x4) to Kerala.
A coconut was filled with holy water, sealed with oil, cloth and various coloured powders, then put in a black sack with the kids adding a sprinkling of rice, and a few coins. The father walked round the temple three times with the sack on his head, then smashed a cocnut on the threshold and the family set off.
We piled our rucksacks into a rickshaw and headed for the station.
