Jan 22–28

Jan 22 — Sleep ok, wake 6:40 with people moving around. Rise 8:50 for last surf day in mulki. Regular café terrace, banana. Dock meet 9:10, all new people in boat. Warmup, photo guy said need to confirm payment before sending pics. Surf with new guy, Kabir not there. Pop‑up getting more consistent, not thinking too hard, more weight on back leg. 18/26 total popups successful. Slow boat ride back, shower and pack bag. Old busted Asics gone missing in front of hostel. Last hostel brunch chicken biryani solid, way better than yesterday. Got Daniel’s WA contact, said can use binary search to find shoes fast on security cam. Looked around hostel perimeter for old busted Asics trekking shoes with stitches gone. Leave Mambo Jambo 1:30, great experience. Walk to bus stop, cross NH66, walk back down to drop‑off area, catch local bus right away to Mangalore 40rs. Bit sleepy on bus. Reach Mangalore around 2:45. Walk to port area through steel shops away from main hotel area by train station. Find lodge with big room only 900rs no AC. Walk‑in port lodge smaller AC room wants 1500inr, used booking.com on phone, get price down to 750rs from 789inr on site for smaller AC room. Solid deal, easy check‑in, cheaper than Mambo AC dorm. Nice to alternate between dorm and private. Chill in room, use shelf as desk. Lodge staff came in twice to fix faucet. Walk toward Fiza Nexus mall, grab chicken roll at small local spot 90rs. Fiza Nexus mall find slick black Power shoes fit well and comfy 2500inr, says designed in Canada on sole. Find Asics store but cost 7200inr for right size. Bata shoe store buy black Power mesh shoes with closed laces for 2499rs, cost 38cad. KFC combo 313rs. Walk back, checkout two docks 10rs for ferry across. Chill in room, got surf photos, upload and send. RRSP transfer complete, iTrade to QT transfer basically complete, some residuals. Tried QT portal not working, tried to complain via chat not working. 8:30 walk toward central market for food, nothing, only veg place. Walk to City Center mall, get chicken egg roll outside 80rs, eat inside mall with wifi. Mangalore pretty chill with less traffic and AC malls. Mr DIY in India all junk, no hardware or snacks. Eat at mall BK regular 2 burgers 104rs. Finally a sense of completion and accomplishment. Hotel chat with Copilot. Clean up and vegetate in bed till 1.

Jan 23 — Slept better, recovery, quieter room with AC and fan off. Wake 9:20, rise 10:00. Pay another night 750rs, get guy to grab coffee 20rs, came in plastic bag with paper cup. Head out 11:35, walk to port super close, grab snack chicken sandwiches + egg thing 80rs. Take ferry to other side 10rs. Walk along secluded Bengre beach north 3km to Thanni beach. Walk back further south to Bengare pier, grab local thali spot mackerel + fried chicken thali 130rs. Take ferry back to first pier yesterday 10rs. Easy day so far, no waiting for super cheap ferries. Chill in room, snack. Shower, rest, almost napped. Strategic rest day after surf camp. 8:15 walk back towards City Center mall, cane juice 30rs again. Try shawarma spot right by mall only 50rs each, get with 2 free samosas. Walk around mall, nothing, snack 2‑for‑1 chips. Get 2 more shawarmas for takeout. Walk back through temple area, super dense throngs for some festival. Try weird juice drink for 40rs, no taste. Shower right away in lodge, rest a bit. 10:00 eat shawarmas with chips.

Jan 24 — Slept ok, weird dream about luxury penthouse condo. Wake 9:20, rise 9:40. Make cold café using bottled water. Checkout Port Inn 11:00, good deal but no hot shower or water dispenser. Walk to Mangalore central station, buy ticket to Kannur easy, no line, 80rs at 1:55pm as planned. Walk back to central mall, eat at bigger spot just before mall, chicken thali 142rs solid with fish too. Chill in mall food court, read Clarey. Walk back to station at 1:30, packed. 2nd class cars overflowing. Grab seat in AC car, not too busy. Train left on time. Got checked for ticket after 1 stop, said to move to front 2nd class. Move to first class, door shut, sit awhile, ignore guys. Eventually guy with bodycam asked me to move to front, wait for train to stop, got off at Kasaragod station, 2nd class overflowing. Decide to take next train. Grab food across station, beef biryani 150rs solid portion of beef. Station catch next train at 3:15pm, sit in open sleeper car, ticket checked again but didn’t move. Crappy train stopped at almost every station, move around couple times, car packed. Reach Kannur 5:05pm, another higher friction train day. Walk west of stop toward coast, find room for 900inr no AC. Check‑in Carefour Inn, pay 500rs cash, negotiate from 600inr. Fan room big, shoddy but wifi works with water dispenser, desk and outlets, but no towels. Walk west towards beach, nice pull‑up bars in park by beach, do max pull‑ups 1 set only 16 reps, poor performance, CNS tired from train and no warmup. Walk 2km north along beach, longer than on OSM again. Walk back, try small pavilion chicken sandwich and banana tart 45rs. Walk back north along boardwalk with streetbook, try protein stall fish 20rs for 2pcs, quail egg 40rs for 5pcs, gringoed for 10rs. Vanilla ice cream cone 20rs. Walk back to lodge, get Turkish shawarma 130rs solid. Guy at hostel said good for 24hrs checkout tmr at 5pm. Room hotter than outside for some reason, leave door open but lots of mosquitos, get incense from reception. Use shirt as towel. Wifi went out at 11:10 reception closing time.

Jan 25 — Actually slept good till 9:20, quiet room but can hear train horn. Rise 9:50. Make coffee using plastic cup downstairs, wifi not working on phone but somehow works on computer. Pay another night 500rs cash. Walk around for food, bit stressed, places too slow, got packed, dumb woman taking photo of me in restaurant. Try busy chicken biryani spot 180rs, not cheap. Use Asus hotspot for phone wifi, worked thanks to Copilot. Snack on dark chocolate. Walk to beach at 2:00pm for speed workout. Find quieter spot by rocks, jog 3.5min, 8 drills — pogo, marching A, crossover, jumping A, backward jog, side bound, broad jump up sand bank 2x3 about 10' incline. 4x 10–12s sprints for max speed exposure. Not best conditions, high tide and sunny and humid. Dip in Arabian Sea, light stretch on sand bank — reverse nordic, pancake, half lotus. Eat at small pavilion again, 2 sandwiches + pineapple juice, real good 120rs. Walk back to guesthouse, shower, rest, music. 6:00 easy 2 set handstand hold outside room, try shifting and lowering. Back neck bridge on bed 3x30. Grab water and incense from downstairs. 7:30 chat with son for 55min, seems to like remote control truck, not interested in my surfing, told him coming back in 2 months. Likes Lambo over Ferrari, favorite car is Genesis GV8. Call bit laggy from using Asus hotspot. 8:30 walk out for food, reception out of water. Try busy shawarma spot beside Schwarman 137rs plate shawarma, similar to Canacona. Walk back to beach area, get Sunshine Fast Food third time, chicken sandwich with egg pastry 60rs. Walk north along beach again over 3km, remember guesthouse said locks at 11, speed walk back starting at 11:20, reach guesthouse at 11:05, tell guy not to turn off wifi. Shower - Wifi turned off again at 11:40.

Jan 26 — Slept ok, wake 9:40, rise 10:00. Make regular café. 11:40 walk to same corner as yesterday for breakfast, new spot chicken fried rice 160rs. Short walk to station, buy ticket to Calicut 65rs. Walk back to guesthouse, clean and pack up. Walk back to station 1:00pm, train a bit packed, squeeze into AC seat. TTE inspected right away, move to other AC car. passenger claimed AC seat at next stop, move 1 seat over to open car. 2nd stop squeezed again, move back to original AC car. Arrive Kozhikode 2:20pm, walk toward beach, find decent fan room 900inr. Keep walking, find AC dorms on beach for 300inr but either flimsy lockers or no lockers. Walk back across tracks, find really sketchy dorm for 200inr. Eventually check in Tokyo Hostel with AC and drinking water, pay 400rs cash for AC capsule room, easy check‑in around 4:00pm. Walk out to market area, grab shawarma plate 120rs, solid portion but right by busy street. Walk through pedestrian street packed throngs to park with pond and small amphitheater. Walk back to hostel, not much around. Chill a bit at hostel bar, Japan style. 6:20 walk to beach for sunset, just missed it. Walk north to fishing harbor, walk over rocks, 2 cops asked for ID then called hostel to get passport copy — stupid useless pigs. Walk back along beach, back to pedestrian area, try another nicer shawarma spot, plate + mango shake 220rs, solid. Chill a bit at hostel bar, bed at 11:30.

Jan 27 — Something beeping constantly around pod room area, couldn’t sleep, complained but beeping persisted. Eventually moved to dorms, quiet with under‑bed key locker. A group of fat old guys checked in around 3–4, talking loud. Rough night, intermittent sleep, Indian guys kept talking, told them to shut up but talking persisted. Wake 10:20, another guy talking. Pay 350rs for another night, reception said capsule usable till 4:10pm, 24hrs. Used Nescafe coffee machine, made 5 coffees. 11:30 walk toward Canara Bank, withdraw 2x10,000rs, cost 313cad, best rate so far. Walk to pedestrian area, try 130rs shawarma spot, bit salty. Organize stuff and set up workspot on 1st floor outside dorms. Push workout in corridor hallway — crawls 3x3 hallway lengths. Handstand holds, got 4 holds relatively easy, tried press and weight shift, tough. Indian kid asked “full time workout?” 1‑arm pushups 2xx10, tough. Wrestler sprawls 3x10 easy. Feet‑elevated diamond pushups 3x20. Bird bath, shoulder mobility series. 7/10 effort. Chat with Indian guys, told me about chocolate sesame idea. 3:00 go out for food, try fish spot on same street, 250rs, 3 types of fish with thali. Walk back through pedestrian street to park with pond again. Hostel, 2 guys want to chat. Shower, short power nap. Chat with GPT and Copilot about travel. 6:30 walk back to beach, boardwalk area street food almost like Thailand, ran into 2 guys again. Try Paragon restaurant on beach, claims “5th most famous restaurant in the world.” Pina juice and chicken biryani full, only 416rs, higher level service and atmosphere, nicest spot eaten in India. Walk south along beach, lots of rock breaks. Walk back to walking street, more scooters now. Get another mango shake at shawarma spot, 70rs, sweet. Chill at hallway desk.

Jan 28 — Slept intermittent again, Indian guys kept talking, not as bad as last night. Rise 9:30. Make café downstairs using Nescafe machine. 11:00 walk to Calicut train station, buy ticket across tracks to Thrissur 60rs, said leaving in 10min, ignore ambiguous noise. Walk to market street, get orange juice 50rs, shawarma plate 130rs. Chill more in hostel. Checkout of Tokyo dorm hostel 12:20, decent hostel but flimsy lockers, no soap dispensers. Walk to station, get on train right away AC recline chair car. Train left on time 1:45pm, inspector checked ticket, said need to book this train ahead but left me alone. Another passenger claimed my AC seat at first stop Tirur, moved to open car with chair seats. Arrive Thrissur 4:00pm. Walk into a few hotels, all full. Walk‑in Seafort has fan room for 1000inr with no wifi, 2000inr AC with wifi, keep moving. Catch local bus to bus stand. Grab chicken roll and chicken sandwich 70rs, solid. Find really shoddy room for 1900inr, nicer hotel next door wants 3000inr, dislike this town. Walk around more, find Raj Mahal for 1700inr double AC room, best option yet. Decide to walk back to Seafort to use wifi outside room. Walk through main temple area, local douche said foreigner can’t go in. Seafort reception moron says can’t give wifi password before check‑in, called for password, was going to pay but moron kept making phone calls, got annoyed, another guy said no room because I was pissed. Walk out, tell reception moron with mask to delete ID. Walk back to Raj Mahal, check‑in to top floor room 1700rs cash + 300rs deposit, 24hr room till 6:50pm tomorrow. Reception woman quite nice but wanted to charge 100inr for c‑form, flat refused. Overpriced and mediocre quality, ~3x Pokhara price for worse city. Another high friction train day due to shit city Thrissur. Sit in room, decent desk, find trains to Kochi for tomorrow, book room near Fort Kochi on booking. 7:50 walk to bus stop area, eat chicken curry at busy street spot, spicy curry with roti and paratha 180rs. Chill in room, more relaxed. TFSA transfer completed. 9:20 walk back out again, main temple park area all dust, nothing around, total shit town. Wonky shower, no hot water despite almost 30cad room. Lots of mosquitos. Try to sleep, tell reception guy to turn off stupid Bluetooth ring.