I am at Lighthouse Beach in Kovalam, remembering very clearly why I did not wish to come here. The good news is that I don't have any kind of commitment (!) and can leave in a week if it still sucks. Suffice to say there was no welcome wagon. It's hot, the beach is a freak-show (nearly naked western man walking in waves reading a book, fully dressed Indian family gingerly sticking a toe in the water, silent homeless dogs lying in the sand, lounging topless European women, poor local people in yo' face selling everything you can imagine), everything here is marked up five times what it's worth, X is out, Y is sleeping and Z (me) wants attention. We're on the same floor; my room would be the one that most resembles a cell. Right now I'm just a few yards from the surf, which is rough. (I don't like that, either; the undertoe scares this Midwesterner) . I remember from last year you can't walk on the rocks because you may step on a turd ( people defecate up there). I am having a relatively mild "Why am I here?" moment, probably the first of many....