14 March - Bekal Fort to Mangalore

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Woke up at 8 rather tired after bad night. Walked to Bekal Fort for a wander round. Entry10RS for Indians, 100RS foreigners. It was very impressive. There were only 2 other Indian men there and me and so it was like I had found it and exploring this treasure. The views along the beaches either side were great. Inside the fort there were some lovely gardens and flowers. It was a beautiful sunny morning and really quiet as it was so early. It took a couple of hours to wander round yes massive fort and have some breakfast at a local stall. It was a stark contrast to last night and put me in a great mood again. I am not letting one bad experience in India put me down about the rest :)

I felt uncomfortable leaving the hotel and the hotel manger tried to say that it was my imagination and the sound of traffic I was hearing last night! Amazing how the traffic can talk, shake the Windows and doors and turn off the electricity to my room.... I decided to go to the police station and make sure it was taken seriously.

I biked 5km up the road to the police station and gave both verbal and written statements to the inspector, who spoke very good English. He took it very seriously and had lovely big mustache. It's against the law in kerala to be a policeman and not have a mustache apparently...

The inspector asked if I could show him which hotel it was. I said yes thinking me and him would pop back and I would just point at it. Instead 6 policemen and me all climbed into a police truck and we speed back to the scene of the crime.... The more junior policeman's driving was crazy! Police vehicles are very much given priority here even if not on an emergency call. It was an experience in itself.... When we arrived at the hotel they then all climbed out and the 6 policemen all went to interrogate the hotel manager in front of me.... He was sweating profusely. I found it quite strange that they would do it in front of me.

When we got back to the Police station the inspector offered me lunch with the rest of the team. It was really interesting to see the inside of the station and watch the policemen at work in India. The lunch was very tasty too. Fish curry and loads of rice and masala.

I headed off about 2ish. I had to go about half of the way to Mangalore on the busy highway. I choose to take the longer route along the coast on single track roads - beautiful but hard going as the road conditions were terrible.

I passed over the Kerala state boundary into Karnatica!

I got to Mangalore just as it was getting dark. Mangalore is a really big city. Fortunately I found a lovely lodge just on the edge of the city and did not have to bike in the dark through the city to find somewhere to stay.

I felt very safe at this hotel and the manager made me feel very welcome. I went out for a lovely veg Biryani for dinner and then spent some time on the internet. I borrowed a monitor to plug into my laptop so that I could transfer my photos from the SD cards as I was running out of space and my laptop screen is broken.

I was pretty tired as I did not get much sleep last night so tried to have an early night but ended up chatting on the phone to my new Indian friends.

Emily Jefferson's location@10:44,3/15