Sunday 21 September 2008

Flora, signage and mystic madness...

First of all some of my favourite signs this week...
The only pub I've seen so far where it's acceptable for women to be seen (although we were asked to sit in the men, women +/- children section!).Brilliant!The wisdom was much better than the service! We had two over-keen waiters who were highly miffed when we refused their persistent offers of 'grub'.Christ on a rickshaw?!!
I think you can hire a fellow to hit people you don't like at this road-side stall!
And now for some of the local flora:
A jasmine tree- these are growing all over the place. Most of them are very high and impossible to photograph. The huge flowers lie all over the ground and are used for hair decorations and temple offerings, sold on every street corner. You can smell their perfume as you walk by.


The Tulip Tree- there are loads of these everywhere.
Morning Glory climbing all over the trees next to the lake at my newly discovered peaceful place.

Koehne Barberry (maybe- sound good anyway).

Three in a row- not sure what the others are but the first is bougainvillea.

Chill out zone at the Mystic School. This is where we sit after meditation (or raising our Kundalini?!- (google it- I can't go into it now)).
Diana chilling...
The seven chakras that I've been attempting to balance this week. They represent seven energy centres in the body that are linked to different areas of life and the cosmos. I've been frantically trying to find some anatomical, scientific basis for this so that my family don't dis-own me! (No luck thus far).
This is where the inner-leg gonging happens. Behind this door. Not sure if I'm brave enough yet.
And here are some pictures of the lake a Swedish Lady called Monica very kindly took me to. It's right on the edge of the outer ring road- a road of utter madness and near death experiences, yet there is noone there but a few fishermen and courting couples (it is that old-fashioned I think).

Traditional fishing coracles.
Wild bamboo.
Beautiful green water.
A pelican.
A cormorant. And I've seen two types of kingfisher, an pair of eagles, and a heron colony.
Wild flowers.
This is a little video of some Ganesh Festival high jinks that I happened to pass on the way to the charity kirtan (or chanting) evening that Diana and I were roped into last full moon day.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

try to keep pictures on the right hand side while loading as it will give better appearance

Anonymous said...

Hi Clare! I hope you are well!

Glad to see you are having a good time and the yoga lessons arent too easy! heh!

Missing you lots here! The flat is so odd without you. Lots of love xxx