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Published: April 23rd 2009
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Lazy boatride
Floating along the Kerala Backwaters Namaste,
Thanks so much for the birthday wishes, I enjoyed all the messages and comments. It was fun waking up on the river on the boat in the Kerala backwaters with a group of people from the ashram. The water was calm and the scenery was lush and tropical. We did a short canoe ride through the narrow canals known as India's Venice and saw cows, goats, ducks and a few sea snakes.
After the boat trip, we spent one night in Kollam then headed for Fort Kochin. This little town is on an island and has a quaint colonial feel to it from Dutch and Portugese influences a few centuries ago. We got a great deal at a hotel (with hot water!) and stayed two nights. We decided our next destination should be a wildlife santuary and with the help of our hotel manager, we got connected with his friend's place close to the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
The trip over consisted of an entertaining bus ride where two of us huddled on our luggage, squeezed up against the front window. Hey, at least we had a good view! And it was beautiful scenery as we climbed into
Punt boat
The punt boat we toured the water canals in Kerala the hills with ample opportunity to see the surrounding lands. Along the way, we spotted monkeys lounging on the side of the road and playing in the trees, though sadly my camera was out of reach.
The place we stayed at for the next three days was absolutely amazing. It was a group of cottages just a short ride from the sanctuary run by a sweet family that treated us like royalty. We got an incredible deal on the rooms because of the low season and on the condition we would tell all our friends and family to visit. On Sunday morning, we took a safari jeep ride into the sanctuary and saw elephants, peacocks, spotted deer, huge termite temples, and massive honeycombs. We got really excited when the guide stopped the jeep and pointed to a large tiger footprint, but no sign of the animal. We stopped by a lake where three states come together: Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. In the afternoon, we took a ride to Edakkal Caves and hiked up the side of a mountain to the peak, overlooking the three Southern states and marvelled at the landscape all around. As we climbed down, the
Birthday Dinner
South Indian meal of Chai and Masala Dosa, delish! rain began and we ducked into one of the caves for cover for half an hour as the clouds opened up above us.
To continue our adventurous day, Biju (the cottage owner) took us on a night safari ride along the highway and man, it was intense! We were so tired from the day's activities that we considered not going but decided not to miss the opportunity for a dark jungle ride. Well, its important to note that this is wild India, the animals are not like those in the zoo and all along the road are signs stipulating absolutely no stopping. That being said, we slowly drove along with the windows rolled down and Nick in the front seat shining a flashlight out into the trees for the reflection of eyes looking back at us.
After driving some time in silence and anticipation, we encountered a lone elephant just a hundred yards from the road side. It was apparent very quickly that he did not appreciate our light on him and he slowly backed up into the trees. Then with great noise and ears flared, he charged straight for our car! Biju quickly pressed on the gas
The heart of the Jungle
Elephants in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and we drove off in a hurry, squealing with fright and excitement and then laughter. That image of the elephant charging will forever be etched in my mind, what a thrill! We decided we should continue on a little while longer and soon came accross a number of yellow eyes, again not far off from the road. It was a group of about three tigers! The little light from the flashlight was not enough to see them entirely, but their movement was so graceful and poised. They didn't appear to be perturbed by our presence, though we moved on after a few moments. A short distance away, we saw a larger group of green eyes peering back at us, this time a group of deer the tigers were undoubtedly stalking. Quite the jungle trip we didn't anticipate! The next day was much more relaxed as we took a ride to an island for some swimming and a walk through the trees and bamboo along the river.
Yesterday, the five of us arrived in Mysore in the rain again but still with high spirits. I'm so grateful to be travelling with such cool people even though the group is slowly
Termite Castle
These were dotted all over the place in the Sanctuary getting smaller as people depart. Today, I visited the Mysore Palace and it was really fantastic seeing the turn of the century architechture with high columns and round spheres and intricate detail of wooden carvings and mosaic tiles. It looks like we're headed to Bangalore tomorrow to check out the Art of Living Ashram and the IT center of India.
Truely an amazing country, if I haven't said it enough already. I'd come back for the chai and masala dosas alone! Not too many places you can travel and have a full meal for 50 cents. Alright, I'll let you get back to whatever you are procrastinating from. I'm thinking about you everyday and have many more stories to share!
Lots of Love!!
Laura
xoxoxoxo
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Margarite
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yoga goddess
wow, you look like the definition of serenity in that Kerala boat ride picture, like you'd be floating even if you weren't on a boat! Happy belated birthday, what a fantastic way to mark another year. I wonder where you'll be next birthday...