We arrived in Badanidiyoor village (near Malpe) after a few days in Delhi and Bangalore. Chandan – my on-site manager – had done a brilliant job and unpacked the furniture, clothes, paintings and necessary equipment in the house that we are renting while Villa Malpe is under construction. So we could move in without any bother from the minute we arrived. There were even cold beers in the fridge on arrival. The 2 storey house has separate flats, so we’ve got the upstairs flat and Chandan’s family is downstairs
It’s a short walk from the house to the building site – 5 minutes to the beach and then another 15 southwards along the beach. The warm sea is too tempting to resist and invites you to walk barefoot in the water all the way.
Chandan and his family miss the mountains they come from, so we took them for a drive in the Western Ghats – a mere 40 kms from our site. The Ghat mountains aren’t anywhere as high as the Himalayas, but Chandan was satisfied that he can get on his scooter and feel the mountain breeze when he starts missing the mountains too much.
May-Kristin (who’s still in India) told me that she’s planted 5 coconut trees and 7 areca (beetlenut) trees on the site – so we hope they’ll take root despite the sandy soil.