Sunday, January 13th

How do I survive this day...?

Yesterday, after dinner, I had to wait for 2 hours and then take the magic potion. The oily liquid (ghee and herbs) went down in one gulp. Then pour 3 cups of hot water. For me, as a drinker, not a problem. So not a drinker in the negative sense, but in terms of quantity. So pouring more was not a problem for me. After that, I continued reading my book and kept drinking a cup of hot, delicious, pure water.....

I got tired and tried to sleep. My stomach slowly started rumbling. But that was definitely because of the amount of fluids I had in me! A few minutes later, the rumbling turned into mild cramps and boom, it happened. Throughout the night, I woke up and went to the bathroom, back to bed, and woke up again.... But all in all, it was about 5 hours of sleep. Phew, this is going to be an extremely lazy day! Fortunately, I rescheduled the massage for 12 o'clock. So I could leisurely get hot water from the restaurant, then have breakfast (rice soup with lots of salt which I had to add myself) and go back to my room. Luckily, nothing more! Because that was already quite a distance I had to cover! I am so exhausted and tired.... Help!

At 11:45 a.m., the consultation happened. So far, everything is okay. But since last night, my nose has been congested and I can hardly breathe. So today, as part of the recovery program (oiling, letting warm herbal water flow over the whole body, a papaya face mask), there's an extra: inhalation over the glass-ceramic hotplate. Because this hotplate is a very important tool in every treatment room. The therapist puts a small metal pan on it and heats the oil for the massages in it. So it keeps beeping whenever she adjusts something or activates it again. Otherwise, there are no electrical appliances in these rooms. Only lots of metal dishes in all sizes and various containers with secret mixtures (herbs, etc.). However, the centerpiece of every therapy room is the massive reddish-colored massage table with the indentations. These are intended so that, during a wet massage, for example, like the one I had today, the fluids flow sideways into a depression and then trickle into a catch basin through a carved funnel-shaped pattern at the foot end. The dangerous thing about this table-monster, however, is that if you have been oiled before and then lie on it, it feels like being a fish in water. You slide dangerously back and forth with every movement. And that is definitely not sexy, because you constantly have to turn on your side, then onto your stomach, then onto your side again, and then onto your back in the final position!

Today, as I walked to the reception, a small brook came towards me on the way. I already wondered if the gardeners had just left a hose lying around. But no, the culprits were not dressed in green, but in orange. They were the diligent cleaning fairies. But what are they actually doing? Shortly after, I got the answer: they were cleaning the entire area in front of the reception and the way to it! Although it was not dirty at all. At most a bit dusty, but such a cleaning army! With lots of water and their small rice brooms, they swept the area, which is about the size of... um... um... well, what exactly?! Like our parking lot in front of the house in Sempach or in front of the house in Kriens perhaps. Yes, that's pretty accurate. Smile

By the way, the waves are not so fierce and turbulent anymore today. They told me it's because of the moon. The ocean follows the moon (nothing new actually = ebb/flow!). But I didn't expect the differences to be so significant. On Sundays, there would always be many locals and a lively atmosphere down at the beach. But since today I didn't have the desire, energy, and especially permission from the doctor to go there and see it, I'll try again in a week. Oh! Right! Today marks one week since I arrived in India. Time flies and guests come and go. Daily. So do the few planes that fly over our hotel during the night. There's no nighttime flight ban here! Last night, I heard the plane from Abu Dhabi, with which I arrived a week ago.

Yawn... I'm tired. I purposely didn't sleep during the day, otherwise I'll be lying awake at 2am! So now I'm going to eat. After that, there will be a cultural evening show on stage in front of the restaurant and right in front of my bungalow (though without a clear view). I'll tell you about that tomorrow. Only if I don't miss it and already be in bed.