Sorted

It's pretty quiet round here. There aren't many foreigners around yet. Thus finding a nice apartment has been easy and the general vibe is very laid back.

Checked out of my hotel in town and got a rickshaw out to Gokulam, cool, leafy and where the shalas are, early this morning. The apartment is large, airy and on the top floor of 2 storeys, and it also happens to be 2 minutes walk across a small palm fringed park to the new shala where Sharath does his classes and where I will be attending, along with towel for buckets of sweat, scabby rubber mat and helpless expectation, as of tomorrow. The owners showed me their 'guest book' with names and addresses of all who have lived there and I was a little suprised to see the name of a yoga teacher who lives round the corner from my mother in Norwich. I knew she had been here as her blog was on ashtangi.net while she was here (I can't find it now). After living in NZ for 4 years I shouldn't be surprised by the small world factor. But I am. Other than Norwich yoga teacher there were many americans, a few aussies and brits and zero kiwis. No frenchies either....

Anyway, unpacked which took about 48 seconds, then did some yoga. Next I went looking for breakfast but got talking to S. Ganapathy, my landlord, who is a retired Ministry of Defence functionary. His unemployed, but highly qualified, son listened in while the lady of the house performed an unknown puja elsewhere in the house.