Coconutty politics

You'll be relieved to know that I survived India and four days in Malaysia, and am now in the Philippines. Whereas it was raining much of the time in India and Malaysia, here it is, uh, also raining. It seems I arrived just in time for Tropical Depression "Chedong", which is pronounced "Cheding", of course. This reminds me of the 9-ball billiard tournament I was forced to watch the other day with one of the brothers. The winner of the tournament was a certain Ching, who hailed from Taiwan, I think. There was also a Chang and a Chung in the tournament. I wondered whether Ching would become Chang then Chung as he became older? But I digress....

Although I am in the Philippines, I must tell you one last story about India. I spent a day in the so-called "High Ranges" of Kerala, where there are three dams that provide hydroelectric power and irrigation water for the state. My brother guide told me that a local politician, a member of the opposition, decided he could make the dams into an election issue. When stumping among the local farmers, who were mostly poorly educated, he claimed that the government was giving them useless water. After all, they removed all the electricity from it before giving it to the farmers!