Holiday pictures from Kerala and Pondicherry

This post is just a random collection of pictures I took on recent travels.  Since that's what the entire blog is about I make no apologies:

Tea garden.  I loved the way the light and textures changed from moment to moment.  I could have spent hours in just one spot.

Kathakali performer.  I couldn't go to Kerala without taking one of these pictures.  The more interesting ones might have been of the makeup and dressing process but alas, I arrived too late for that.

 Jackfruit,  I love jackfruit but I had no idea just how delicious it could be until I ate it in the South. 

 

Smart bird taking advantage of the bait I laid so I could snap a picture.

And this, continuing my interest in terrifying beauty parlours.

 Scary.

 

Beautifying options

Not the best quality picture I've ever taken.  It was snapped from a moving car on a camera phone in the rain but I couldn't miss the opportunity of capturing the fabulous range of services available in this saloon.

Fish

I recently took a trip to Kerala to enjoy the Monsoon.  I like the rains anywhere but it's true, they are more beautiful in Kerala.  Also, the fish is excellent.  So here, fish in the rain;



More to come as I sort through my holiday pictures and maybe another holiday to come too but that's another story involving painters and tradesmen and a flat move.

Warking

In the spirit of never regretting missing a picture I dragged myself out on one of the hottest days of the year so far.  I dodged ricks and trucks and massive potholes to snap a road sign that I loved.  I've always regretted not causing a traffic jam in order to get a picture of one on a construction site on the outskirts of Jaipur which read "Better late than newer".

What really delighted me about this was that it wasn't a one off mistake.  There was another identical one at the other end of the hole in the road.

Sign Language

I love bad brand names, silly notices and puzzling labels and I have another blog, really just for my own amusement, where I usually post stuff like this but in the spirit of sharing have a few labels, names and signs which have caught my eye recently:

For only the most twisted of birthdays.

...this must have been done enough times for the gas company to post a warning on every envelope that goes out.  Clothes lines, I get, swings?!?

This serves as an example of the overly honest signage which is prevalent in India; Standard Silk, OK Air Conditioners, Acceptable Movers and here "most" of your needs.  To be honest, it did serve as it said on the tin. 

Desperation Juice

Now if I opened a booze shop I'd probably call it City's Liquors, or Good Libations or Hit and Rum or any terrible punning name I could come up with. However I would not call it St. Jude. Especially if I lived in Goa where a large portion of the population being Christian would get the reference.

St Jude is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. Mind you, I'm not adverse to a drop of the desperation juice myself and they did have a good selection.

What I did on my summer holidays

First stop on the summer holidays was in Malacca, Malaysia. It's a pretty town, lots of shop houses and a lovely river walk. there are hotels and guest houses to suit all tastes and pockets.

It has a big Chinese and Indian community so good food is pretty much guaranteed and these two cuisines fight manfully with the more local Nonya cookery. Nonya food is delicious. It seems to be a mixture between Javanese and Indian cookery with the techniques of Java and the spices of India but I'm sure an expert could set me right on that.

There is a lot of history in Malacca and plenty to do and see but I've been before so didn't do much with the camera except take picturess of shops and things in shops on an afternoon stroll. So here, for your delectation are pictures of shops and things found in shops - exciting eh?

Shop sign, they sell motor oil and have been doing for some time by the look of things


Ikan Bilis, salty, dried anchovies, you can smell them before you see them but they are delicious in a salty, fishy, smelly sort of a way and an important part of many dishes.


In the Chinese area of town you can find shops which specialise in paper goods. These are made to be burned so the ancestors can have a comfortable afterlife. I've seen all sorts, the new iPad and DSLR cameras are popular as are fancy cars and designer clothing but I've never seen racy red underwear before, I wonder what kind of ancestor would appreciate these.


Fake goods are all over the place, these shoes are for surfing.


Another nice shop sign, a place where you can trade all your Fatt Tatt.


And here's someone whose been shopping.

Shop sign, Malacca

I went to Malaysia and saw this:

I don't know what they sell but it's bound to be Fok Sing Long.

Architectural Signage Puzzle

Perhaps someone out there can help me with this. I've seen signage like this since I arrived and have never been able to work out what it means or meant. Any ideas?

Do Not

Do not tell me that the coffee cup represents the letter "U". This is a donut shop called "Do Not".

If you want to take them up on their buy five get one free offer they're situated on Tran Hung Dao.