Today I woke up for the first time w/o nausea / headache. I think my sinuses were having a hard time adjusting. Today's a day off from yoga (Sat) but I was up at 6'30 sharp -- slept very well, thanks to earplugs -- and puttered about my tiny room (I had a chance to switch to a bigger one but chose not to, thus saving over $1/day) before going for a walk along the beach. The fishermen were there, pulliing in their nets. It looks like a tug of war, with a row of men in colorful lungis (kind of like a billowy diaper; think Gandhi) and oxford shirts and white mini-turbans (towels, actually) facing the sea yanking on a rope; the guy at the very end coils it into a perfect circle. Also seen on the beach: A western woman in bikini w/ her small daughter, walking into the surf (much less rough today); a woman in tights and jogbra lying on her back in savasana, nothing between her and the sand; and nearby a thin, way-too-tan western man w/ a mohawk that ended in a grey dreadlocked ponytail, folded into into a pretty good rendition of pascimattasana (sitting forward bend). Also the supermangy dog that curled up at my feet on the beach yesterday. I also spotted the owner of the mysterious sparkling ballerina slippers Y and I keep seeing outside the shala; I think it's the really pretty blonde German woman who was so nice to Bob and I two years ago....she was deep in reverie, looking into the water, so I left her alone... Was not asked to buy something til the late hour of 8AM. Then did my laundry and had another longwinded breakfast w/ Bindi, X and V-the-firecracker at the German Bakery.

Bindi is better and we are going to a Hindi movie in Thrivandrum today. We are taking her friend's auto-rickshaw for a few hundred rupees; It'll be nice to meet her friend/see the view from the mini-UPS truck.. (Two years ago Bob and I went into the city many times on the bus, which is totally chaotic and interesting and Rs 5. It's the #111 if I'm not mistaken. Next week if I feel good/have the courage / can find a co-conspirator I'm going to try the bus again. Not a good idea to do alone, though -- even in Indian dress [no one will harm you, it's just taxing to be stared at like that and have no one to elbow in the ribs and complain to]).

OK, I will try to hit the beach now -- W and The Firecracker have a primo regular spot w/ umbrella, which I hid under yesterday -- before hitting the town.