Trip to Kerala

I had a nice short vacation in Kerala. A cousin was getting married. Everything went off well, and I had some nice South-Indian food. Salient points from the trip:

• The journey was by train and I enjoy trains. But even more than that I love the upper berth. It's like your own make-me-invisible-sunglass (a la Mr. India), from where you can see everyone and everything, but others can't see you. I was cosily reading a book on top, while at the same time eavesdropping on other people. Sipping on the convenient tea and coffee all the time.
  

• I stopped over at Palakkad to spend time with my grandfather. Apart from other things and lectures which I got to listen, he expected me to set right a malfunctioning Hit aerosol insect killer, because I'm an engineer. I couldn't.
  

• Kerala is HOT right now. You know the kind of hot wherein taking a bath is really of no use (that doesn't mean I didn't). Nights don't give any respite either.
  

• After Palakkad, my next stop was Cochin -- the place of old times, college times, good times, bad times (though mostly good). Cochin is a place which doesn't really change. It's a place where you can give someone directions just by saying "It's opposite Pizza Hut". In a place like Delhi or Bangalore there are like a gazillion Pizza Huts, but not in Cochin -- there's just one. Joints really don't open up and if they do, there are only one or two. The opening of CCD or Barista there was BREAKING NEWS. Us college students used to throng there. When Subway opened up shop there, I got to know of it all the way up in Bangalore through some juniors of mine -- it was a BIG deal there. Things close down at 9 PM -- you won't even get autos. Sundays is a holiday for all shops; even most restaurants close down. But it has its own nice quaint qualities.

• The wedding festivities were spread across three days. I got to meet a ton of relatives. I also ended up feeling old. There were so many cousins of mine who had ... well ... grown up. I found myself up saying "Oooh! Look ... you have grown up so much. When I last saw you, you were only this much". Then I would remember ... "What the heck am I saying? NO NO NO NOOOO".
  

• I wanted to visit all our old college hangouts. But I could only go to Cocoa Tree (it still has the post-it wall, but didn't have the ones which we had put) . Cocoa Tree is one of the old Cochin coffee shops. We used to like going there at late nights -- it's open till 2 AM. I sipped on a cold coffee while munching on a chocolate brownie (Side Note: Fitness Fervor people, no, I did not put on weight.).
  

• While on the trip and in the hotel where I was staying, I was reading: Beautiful Code, Behind Closed Doors, Zen and The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance. Only managed to finish one of the lot. All are enjoyable.

• While on the train back to Bangalore, I was all nostalgic.