IMPORTANT: The following journal is intended for the use and viewing of approved persons only and may contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs. Any dissemination, distribution or copying of this work is not authorised (either explicitly or implicitly) and constitutes an irritating social faux pas. Unless the word ‘absquatulation’ has been used in its correct context somewhere other than in this warning, it does not have any legal or grammatical use and may be ignored. No animals were harmed in the creation of this journal and a minimum of Microsoft software was used. Those of you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown will be gratified to learn that there is no hidden message revealed by reading this warning backwards.

Year View| Summary| Highlights| Month View| Friday 8 December 2000 (Day View)

Mon 4 Dec | Tue 5 Dec | Wed 6 Dec | Thu 7 Dec |   Fri 8 Dec   Sat 9 Dec | Sun 10 Dec | Mon 11 Dec | Tue 12 Dec |

08.12.2000 – Friday 8 December – Kanyakumari

7:30am

• I left the hotel and caught a bus to TIRUNELVELI via TUTICORIN, then another bus to NAGERCOIL, then another short bus to KANYAKUMARI (Cape Cormorin) – a total of ten hours travelling time. What actually happened was that I missed the bus I was meant to catch, and not wanting to bother waiting, I hopped on the next bus at random – something you can do when in what must be the best bus-serviced state in the world.

Surreal

• I ended up in places that I suspect Europeans have either never been – or not in living memory. The people would peep out from behind buildings, run, and get their kids to show them the strange white man, then if I looked their way they’d pull back behind a building and hide – a strange experience. Some of the braver brought their kids out for me to see. Then, after passing through this strange time-warped area that the world seems to have forgotten I chanced upon what you’d expect to find in a place like this, an immense rocket liquid propulsion facility, and then shortly after, an enormous wind power farm, which seemed to go for miles. The only way to describe this entire experience is “strange”. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me to find I’d been stuck in some sort of time warp effect – the two contrasts are just too much, but it was amazing. Then, to top it all off – on my last bus trip, having been through areas where no one seemed to have ever seen a white man before, let alone could speak English, I had an in-depth political conversation with an Indian professor and was invited to sample his hospitality – and daughters.

9pm

• I went to bed at the 50-rupee dorm I’d found at the “Youth Hostel”. I am the only person in the entire hostel, which is attached to the posh “Hotel Tamil Nadu”. They had to open the hostel especially for me. This whole day has a strange surrealism about it. I also found and bought some expensive Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, which were very nice.