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Published: March 12th 2012
Kerala
Tea plantationsWe arrived in Kerala after an overnight stopover in Mangalore for what was to be our final week and last destination in India. Kerala is one of India's most developed states, largely thanks to it's communist government, the first one to be freely elected in the world. Kerala is ranked as India's cleanest and also least corrupt state and has the highest literacy and life expectancy rates in the country, with people living on average for 10 years longer than elsewhere in India. Although we knew we were still in India, we noticed subtle differences, including the cleaner streets, a spotless train station and newer buses.
We spent our first night in Kannur, and on arrival teamed up with another traveler and headed out into the countryside in search of a theyyam ceremony, a traditional form of ritualistic worship that the area is famous for. This involves elaborately costumed and made up performers taking on the form of a god through dance and then blessing devotees from the village who come to witness the ceremony. These ceremonies can last anything from 12-24 hours continuing through the night into the next morning. However, we had an early bus to catch and
planned to only for go an hour so we would be in bed for a reasonable time. With written directions from a guide, we quickly found a rickshaw driver who assured us he knew where we wanted to go, and agreed to take us for a good price. However, after an hour of driving through the country lanes in the dark and asking countless locals for directions along the way, it became clear that the driver was not very familiar with our desired destination. At one point we thought we had arrived when we pulled up to a crowd of rickshaws and people disappearing off into a field. On following them we did not see the brightly coloured costumes of theyyam dancers, instead just a crowd of people shining torches and taking pictures of what appeared to be nothing but a tree. After a few minutes trying to fathom what was going on, we returned to our rickshaw to continue on our hunt. After another hour, and following two drunken locals on their motorbikes, we eventually found what we had been looking for. We arrived just in time to see the final touches being made to the main performers elaborate
make-up and to see one of the ritual dancers. After this it was almost 11pm and we were informed that the next dance was not until 2am so we decided to return to our hotel. On the way back, our driver received a phone call informing him that what we had seen at our first stop of the night, was apparently a ghost!
The next day we were introduced to the Keralan buses that over the following few days would take us all the way from the north of the state to Trivandrum in the very south inorder to catch our flight. The journey to Wayanad National Park was fine and very cheap, but did take the whole afternoon. The next day we went on a jeep safari to try to find some wild Indian elephants. After all the crowded and polluted Indian cities, we really appreciated being out in the lush green countryside, scrambling over rocks near a waterfall and driving amongst the paddy fields and tea plantations. Whilst in the national park grounds we were lucky enough to spot a lone tuskless male elephant (apparently more aggressive than tusked males). We didn't get the chance to see
Kerala
Rice paddies much else as we were only allowed 1 hour in the park. However, our guide knew a place on the roadside close by, where elephants often crossed on their way to or from a watering hole, and it was there we laid patiently in wait. After about 30 minutes we were rewarded when our guide made out a family of elephants in the distance trundling towards us. He urged us to feign interest in some nearby monkeys to avoid drawing a crowd of passing cars which would scare away the herd.
The following day has since been renamed "The Day of the Bus". Our destination was Fort Cochin, half way down the state and we had worked out that we would need to catch 3 buses to cover the 450kms to get there, expecting to arrive there early evening. However, following a 7am start, 6 buses and 16 hours of nonstop travelling, we finally arrived just after 11pm. With only breakfast and a few biscuits in our tums, we wanted to go straight out and get some food, but on arriving at our guesthouse, we were informed that they had been waiting up for us and as it was
Kerala
Someone's tasteful house past curfew they could not allow us out to find any food. The receptionist gave us some of his own water and we went to bed with hungry bellies.
With only a morning to see Cochin, we embarked on a whistle stop tour taking in the Chinese fishing nets, originating from the 15th century, the morning fish market, a couple of churches, a 400 year old synagogue and the unimpressive Dutch Palace, which we only visited to see the mural in the ladies chamber of a cheerful Krishna using his 6 hands and 2 feet to engage in foreplay with 8 very happy milkmaids. Unfortunately, this section was closed for renovations. After time for tea, a spot of shopping and dealing with the bureaucracy of the Indian postal service, which includes getting all parcels wrapped and sewn in linen and sealed with wax by a tailor, we were running late and were not in the mood to be messed around. Several rickshaw drivers trying to take advantage of a couple of tourists bore the brunt of our frustration and stress when they tried to club together and rip us off. Cel completely lost it which led to the rickshaw
Kerala
Keralan fish thali driver offering us a bunch of grapes to appease her!
Another long bus journey, half of which spent standing, crammed in tighter than sardines, in the aisle, took us further south to Kollam. We arrived too late for our guesthouse to prepare us any food so got something to eat at a local working mans cafe near the bus station. We were so hungry that we didn't care that all the staff stopped what they were doing and came to watch us shovel down our masala dosas.
Our tastefully decorated riverside room, complete with our own veranda and hammocks between the swaying palms, was a delight. As was our afternoon boat trip through the backwaters to see the local village life. Disappointed that we couldn't stay longer in our riverside haven, we caught our final bus, to our final destination for our final night in India. Arriving mid-afternoon in Trivandrum we had just enough time to visit the city's surprisingly impressive zoo with it's large ponds, habitats and vegetation. However, seeing the big cats behind bars was depressing especially after trying to see them in the wild. After leaving the zoo we stumbled upon a local fair to
Kerala
A lone tuskless male elephant which we were drawn by the sound of rumbling motorbike engines. Going in to take a closer look, we gasped at the rickety and towering wall of death arena. We paid 30 Rupees to see the next show and climbed the precarious stairs to the viewing platform at the top of the bowl. We were gobsmacked when two motorbikes and a car climbed the near-vertical walls and started circling the arena at high speed while the drivers rode with theirs hands in the air, cross legged and reaching out to grab tips offered at arms length by members of the audience. All this done with not a helmet or any safety equipment in sight... Check out the video we've uploaded for a taste of the action!
For our final meal in India we decided on a typically un-Indian greasy pizza which we ended up munching on, in the street, on the steps of a shop front, because we got there too late just as the restaurant was closing.
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john goes
non-member comment
looking forward for your vietnam /cambodia blogg after the thailand one Dad