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Published: March 16th 2012
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Spotted Deer
This is a protected area. This Spotted Deer just ignored us. I wasn’t looking forward to two days of heavy bus travel—but it was another great adventure. Our journey took us through Bandipur National Park. Animals are protected here. We saw Spotted Deer and Langur Monkeys. The wine coloured Malibar Giant Squirrels chased each other from tree limb to tree limb. We saw farmers spreading grain across the road so that our bus would roll over it. It breaks up the grain for the farmers and brings us good bus karma. We climbed until reaching 2300 feet above sea level. We stopped at a plantation for lunch and a tour. The region has the right conditions for coffee, pepper, tea, cardamom, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, tumerac, rice, bananas, rubber, and betel nut. The biggest threat? Elephants. They roam wild in this region, although we didn’t see any. It is hard to outsmart an elephant. The plantation owners put up electric fencing, but the elephants just knock a branch over the fence and walk on through.
We boarded jeeps to take us along a bumpy road for an overnight stay at a resort high in the mountains—so much cooler here. They warned us to keep our doors and windows locked because
Marlibar Giant Squirrel
Largest squirrel in the world. Measures one metre from tip of nose to tip of tail. the monkeys would break in and get into our stuff. I had visions of one of them wearing my pjs. To get anywhere, we had to cross a swing bridge that was a challenge, especially after dark. We fell asleep to sound of the stream and the chirping of crickets—really loud crickets. The next day was more bus travel, but we finally reached an area close to the Arabian Sea. We boarded houseboats and started on a two-day trek along the Backwaters of Kerala. Most of these houseboats were originally barges that transported spices along the waterways to harbours on the Arabian Sea. The new ones are built to spec, but they do not use blueprints or even measuring tools. The whole thing comes together through verbal instruction. Most are held together with wooden nails and coil rope. No two are alike. It is a major tourist attraction now. The homes that line the waterways were part of the property that the feudal lords were forced to turn over to the farmers in 1956. They call this area the Venice of the East, because of the many canals. It is a pleasant way to end our adventure, but
Langur Monkeys
They break into rooms and steal stuff. We learned later that they are aggressive and territorial. Glad I didn't have to convince one of them that the laptop is mine and not his. it is soooo hot and humid—we are only 10 degrees from the equator!
A little about the coastal state of Kerala. It is called the Land of Spices, but could also be called the Land of Prosperity. The main source of income is agriculture. Kerala doesn’t have the richest Indians, but there is a strong middle class. Why? Because of the Communist Party. You see hammer and sickle posters all over the place. Although the Communist Party has never been in power, they are influential. Their leanings are more socialist than communist: homes and businesses are privately owned. The caste system only pertains to marriage, not to jobs. They have strong trade unions. In 1956, with the Communist Party’s influence, the feudal lords were forced to turn over ownership of parcels of land to the poor farmers who had worked the land for generations. The education system is strong with medical and engineering schools that attract wealthy students from all over. In fact, the literacy rate in Kerala is 94%, compared to less than 70% in many other states. The Communist Party forced the National Literacy programme. They made cheap books available to the masses. You do
Swing Bridge
This bridge was several feet above a stream--not that I looked down! not see beggars here.
Here is the downside: the consumer culture. Traditionally, these folks spend every cent—no emergency fund. They build fine homes, wear good clothes—status is important. When they make investments, they aren’t very smart about it, “literate but dumb,” as our guide said. The stress levels here are higher than other parts of India, and as a result the suicide levels are also high.
The morning that we left the mountain retreat, in the jeeps, we saw a monkey version of West Side Story. Three big males were trying to invade a neighbouring colony and the seven males from the other side were having none of it. They took over the road and ignored the jeep’s horn—we just had to wait it out. The three would push and gain a few feet, but the others would push them back. Teeth were bared and it was pretty noisy—and that was just our driver! No, really this was serious. It reminded me of world events…
Namaste,
Donna
PS. Here are some interesting agricultural facts:
· Coconut water, the liquid inside the coconut, has everything in that you get in Gatorade!
· Bamboo is
Homes in Kerala
Nice homes in the prosperious area. actually a grass—the largest and tallest.
· Coffee is the second largest traded commodity on earth, second only to oil.
· When creating a new grove, they plant rubber trees and pineapple together. They harvest pineapple for 7-10 years, until the rubber tree is ready to produce.
· A high-paying job is betel nut gathering. A man climbs to the top of this forty foot skinny tree to collect the nuts, but then just swings the tree until is sways close enough to another tree to just jump over—forty feet above the ground!
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Kathy
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Thanks for sharing!
I'd love to hear how you arranged this trip... was it through a company with a group?