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Published: March 6th 2007
I have been waiting for days to write about the "Family Vehicle" of the South. In fact, I am not sure if it is only of the South, or the entire country...but apparently at some point India bgan marketing the motorcycle as the new "family vehicle" of the future...and it caught storm! Down here in Kochin, they take this very much to heart...sometimes operating a bike at maximum capacity with Mom, Dad and up to three children tottering recklessly on a bike moving at somewhat top speed (for a coastal town with no stoplights or time deadlines). Now, rumor has it that this marketing scheme may have taken root in the fact that there are apparently many Indian motorcycle companies...or some other fabulously inappropriate reason to perch several people atop a bike with a motor...but either way...it pretty much has this American bred with the safety standards of a General Motors Cadicallic gasping for breath ever time one goes by...
On to a review of the past couple of days...
After arriving at Kochin...and being dropped at the wrong location...I set about on foot to find the ferry that my friend had mentioned existed to get to the island where we were staying. After enduring the delightful stares of the natives...I came to a dead end...and ran into the only other foreigner within sight. Ironically, after spending the past 24 hours speaking in Hebrew with the Israelis in Mumbai, my first words came out in Hebrew...and he (who looked most decidely NOT Israeli)...responded in Hebrew. A very sweet South Africaner traveling to India for a yoga course...many of his friends had since made aliyah. Apparently with time on his hands, he escorted another 20 minutes round the barrier...and I was on my way to Fort Cochin where I found my travel buddy Manor (thanks to my friend Shirley who put us in touch a few weeks back).
The next day had us off to the Backwaters where we did a boat tour of the rivers and lakes of the South of India. It was so beautiful and tranquil as we moved along...and was the definite rest I needed after several days in the heat and combustion of Mumbai. I have never seen so much washing done in my life. It dawned on me that if the sound we probably hear being most productive in the USA right now is a keyboard clicking, then the sound they would assocociate most with being productive is the clapping sound made by wet clothes as it is slapped into a stone to rid itself of the dirt. For hours this, and the motor of the boat, were the only sounds to be heard on our 20 hour journey.
Once back in Kochin, we explored the town...going to the old synagogue...and tasting my first Lassie made with pineapple(a yogurt drink). The heat of the day, not to mention my first bus trip piled into a bus that would have made the crosstown 86 during rush hour seem like paradise...left us wiped out...and we thought a nice way to end the day would be to experience an Areyuvidic massage. And perhaps had it not been for the ants crawling across my toes, the mosquitos muzzing in my ear...and the occasional spider that creeped across the walls...it might have been a lovely tranquil experience as they literally slathered oil all over me. Let's just chalk it up to an interesting experience I am leaving behind. :-)
Anyhow, must be on my way to make plans for my next few days...
Until then...to be continued...
Much love,
Marni
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Shana
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Bugs... During a massage... oy. Glad you're having fun! Thanks for keeping us informed!