It’s now day 69 of the lockdown in India. Lockdown 4.0 will come to an end tomorrow and will be replaced by Lockdown 5.0 which will continue for an additional two weeks. The lockdown restrictions will be further relaxed in those areas where there are few cases but will be tightened several major cities where 70 % of cases in India are located. The new guidelines will be announced later today but it looks as if restaurants and tourist accommodation will remain closed until at least the middle of June. Over the past week I’ve been out exploring the local area on the bike. The main tourists attractions are still…

It’s now day 61 of the national lockdown in India. The latest lockdown 4.0 permits a further relaxation of restrictions in green zones with local bus services allowed to resume. Interstate travel is still very limited and subject to local restrictions. Hostels and hotels are not allowed to open and tourist attractions remain closed. I expect it will be still be at least a couple of weeks until I will be able to start moving around again but I’m quite happy staying here until I know it is safe to travel again. This week began with storm. It started raining heavily on Monday which was accompanied by strong winds. Several…

It is now day 54 of the corona lockdown in India. Life around Madikeri is almost back to normal as there continues to be no corona cases in the district nor across Coorg. I ride my bike into Madikeri every 2 or 3 days to stock up on provisions. I took a time lapse video so that you can see the journey into town. This week I learnt some more south Indian recipes perfecting my dosas and cooking rice idilis from scratch as well as making a dal based sambar and pumpkin curry. I’ve also found some new walks around the hostel crossing neighbouring plantations and the surrounding tropical forest.…

It’s day 49 of the nationwide lockdown in India.  The lockdown has been extended for a further two weeks but the restrictions were relaxed on Monday.  The country has been divided into different green, orange and red zones depending on the number of recent corona cases. The Madikeri district (as well as most of Karnataka state) is a green zone with all shops allowed to reopen (apart from those in shopping malls) as long as people wore face coverings and respected social distancing. On Tuesday I ventured into Madikeri to stock up on some essentials. Although many shops had reopened there were very few people out and about and so…

It is now day 38 of the lockdown in India. It has just been announced that the lockdown will be extended for a further two weeks from 3rd May. The country has now been divided into green, orange and red zones depending on the number of cases which have been reported. The Madikeri district (where I am staying) is a green zone no cases have been reported over the past month. The district had already began relaxing the lockdown restrictions this week allowing all shops apart from shopping malls to open and the compulsory wearing of face coverings in public spaces. Motorbikes are now allowed into town but they are…