Live Notes from Kannur, Kerala

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• There were hawkers selling pre-paid SIM cards outside the airport in Kozikhode.
• My first Indian wedding lived up to all my expectations. It was a huge ceremony with loud music and a fantastic buffet afterwards.
• The wedding itself only lasted about 45 minutes, but there are three full days of ceremony surrounding it. For example, after the wedding, everybody drove with the bride to drop her off at the groom's parent's house. This symbolized the bride leaving her old family and joining her new family. This is where people cried. The bride had her feet washed by her new family, she was fed some sort of sweets, she went through a prayer ceremony, etc.
• The rickshaws here are decorated very nicely. I have seen nice flowers and colorful stars on the ceilings.
• Surprisingly, I have seen a handful of Communist flags around town.
• Thus far, Kerala feels the most like a jungle than anywhere else I have been on Earth. The palm trees and foilage are thick and the roads are even more terrible than Bombay. Houses are deep in the forest off questionable muddy roads. I like it.
• The neighborhood houses in Kannur have large 5- to 10-foot walls that border the road. The three houses I have been in are sturdy and spacious, entirely made of brick and concrete.
• One house had a 35-foot well for drinking water. Someone told me that most houses here are self-sustainable; if the power goes out, life can go on for a while without a problem.