Yolanda’s bit
We arrive in Trivandrum in midday killing heat. The city seems very busy and it's hard to find a room. After a tour in town we know we want to stay here as little as possible. We're only half hour by bus to the beach, all we need is get little Vaio. Couple of days maybe. Should arrive tomorrow.

There's a cinema showing a really old and awful movie with Burt Reynolds getting old. It's fun.

It's sooooooooo Jot. People walk around under black umbrellas. I buy a fluorescent green one with black dots. We're all day covered in sweat no matter how slow we move or how little we do.

The smoking taboo. It's illegal to smoke in any public place. Even in the street is rare, it's really badly seen especially in front of women.

Vaio is being held in Bombay. Next day Vaio is being held in Bombay. Clearance delay. They need from us some documents showing the specifications of the machine, and basically, its price. We supply those but they don't fax them, they have to travel by land. We go to visit Kovalam beach for the day to check it out.

Oh, oh, oooooooooh, paradise! Yes, yes, we want to come as soon as possible, spend here a week, maybe a bit more but not much, in the end it's a really touristy place, 2 weeks holiday package, sanitized Indian experience.
We book an oh my God so beautiful room on the beach, only a few meters from the sea, we bargain a really good price. We might as well wait for Vaio on the beach.

Miles’s bit