Up in the hills, listening to the sounds of the river gushing by, giddy with happiness, laughing at the joke I used to think was life.

THIS is it.

I'm in Wayanad, North Kerala. And I finally agree with the copywriter that came up with the line "God's Own Country". It's just too beautiful to describe in words.

I open my door in the morning and all I can see is green and blue, pink and purple, sometimes grey. But it's the beautiful grey of rain clouds passing by; sometimes teasing and threatening to stay and drench you, sometimes delicately gliding by.

I have breakfast on a balcony overlooking the river. Sometimes I go and sit on one of the wooden benches that are strategically placed at viewing points. I watch the local men and women wash their clothes and bathe in the river. The women carry the washloads up in buckets, making three to four trips up and down. But they are always smiling.

I eat my meals and share stories with people from Australia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Holland and Saudi Arabia. I'm the only Indian here and they're all surprised to see me. Did I mention I was in Kerala? :-)

I haven't taken out my Ipod, laptop or even my camera! The digital pictures can wait. For now, my mind is hungrily soaking it all in.

I still can't believe I'm here. Thank the Gods of Google!

I was supposed to go to Goa for my holiday and even though that would have been awesome, this is just what I need at this point.

I'm using the public computer here to post and the internet connection is pretty slow. So I'm not sure how often I will be able to update. The pictures will definitely have to wait till I get back. Once I do click them, that is ;-)

Peace!