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An overnight train journey from the energy of Madurai saw me enter the much anticipated destination of Kerala. However, my visit commenced in a rather unfortunate fashion. Asking the train staff when would we arrive at Alappuzha (my destination), they replied confidently "the next one". Twenty minutes later we pulled into a typical Indian station, and I was the only person to stride onto the platform in the most silent passage of the night. It wasn't until the train has slowly chugged away that I discovered my disembarkation was in Ambalappuzha instead. Those first three extra letters may not seem like much of a change - but to a weary traveller at 3am they made a very significant difference indeed.
The platform was deserted and the thought of sleeping on a bench was not too appealing. Suddenly from a doorway, an alert station master walked towards me, and to my great relief spoke enough English to understand my predicament. He informed me that another Australian bound for Alappuzha has also arrived here during the previous month. Perhaps I had been subjected to the whims of certain train staff who endeavour to cause the most Australian tourists to alight at Ambalappuzha
instead of Alappuzha in a 12 month period. The station master kindly organised transport for me and so I arrived safely at my destination.
Someone remarked to me "Kerala is not India" - most appropriate considering that the language, culture and pace of life are quite unique to the sub-continent. Here is the home of Kathakali dance, where distinctive face-paint and dance style merge into a form of entertainment with much noise and colour (typically of every Indian activity actually). The local people are far more relaxed in conversing with you, I spent four hours at a psychiatrist's home who I befriended on a ferry; and I was often besieged by children with large dark eyes and contagious smiles.
The highlight of this area though is undoubtedly the food - and after travelling through 30 countries I have finally found a genuine culinary nirvana. Food is so much part of this culture - and a very welcome part at that. In Cochin (for the historically minded - Vasco da Gama died here on Christmas Eve, 1524), dim warehouses of spice sellers line the streets where business transactions of dried ginger are made; factories make garlic, ginger or mango
into delicious pickles and you can watch the whole process unfold; and one can even purchase seafood off the tiny fishing boats that ply the waterways and take the food to a nearby stall for cooking. A full array of spices and herbs are exquisitely blended to great effect. I've even purchased two Keralan cooking books and their pages are filled with mouth-watering recipes of delight.
The greatest eating experience occurred on the genteel 24 hour houseboat cruise around the backwaters and canals of Kerala. The large finishing boat was attended to by a crew of three people, the captain, the deckhand and the person who was soon to be my greatest friend - the cook, Wasu. I was the only passenger so it was really a most indulgent outing. We languidly journeyed along the palm-tree lined waterways speckled with a flotsam of water plants and fallen banana leaves, and it afforded passing sequences of vignettes into daily life: men repairing cars, playing cards, cutting bananas from trees, fetching coconuts and one man even teaching his son to fish with a home-made crossbow. The children would run alongside the boat in very narrow parts of the waterways shouting "One
pen! One pen!" or others would just wave "Hello!" The women seemed to be confined to bathing and washing the clothes.
My first food treat was the lunch - and it involved two different fish meals (fried and curried) and a handful of vegetable meals. How Wasu managed to concoct such a banquet with only two gas burners was beyond my comprehension or talent. Eating lunch, I heartily consumed everything whilst the sun reflecting on the water caused light patterns to dance across the ceiling of the canopy. Before me lay a great inland lake - the wind rushed through the tall palms and across the lake's surface. Somehow, breezes always seem more soothing after they have travelled across a body of water. What a magical setting to enjoy a meal.
I had barely recovered from my gluttonous behaviour at lunch, when dinner was readied. One of the ship's crew dove for shellfish which was ably prepared by the talented Wasu - and I carefully noted all the ingredients he used in his cooking so that I could attempt to replicate his attempts at home. Finally dinner arrived, and it involved yet another two fish meals, the fresh
shellfish dish, five vegetable plates, plus rice and bread - and as you have guessed, I had trouble eating even half of it.
Feeling far too bloated to be comfortable, I lay on the benighted deck as a storm broke across the blackened sky. Flashes of lightning exposed the silhouettes of the palm trees and the sound of falling rain on the river was hypnotic. Finally, the storm subsided, and the stars resumed their position in the sky as I rolled into my private quarters for a long night's sleep.
In the morning, the stillness of the water caused a mirror-like reflection of the surrounding palm-trees and shanties, which was finally broken when an old man in a canoe paddled passed. After another satisfying meal at breakfast, we commenced our return journey - I witnessed children walking to school, small boats loaded with goods travelling across the water, and workers diving for shellfish. These activities played out in front of me as I recalled yesterday's feasts and the tranquillity of my time spent lazily meandering through the Keralan backwaters - life doesn't get much better than this.
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Midori Tomiyama-Hall
non-member comment
Am I reading National Geographic Journalist's story?
Shane, Your expression and words are so amasing that I could really image very vivid image of your travel for each location you have been visiting. Your camera skill is also so great! I have really enjoyed all of your pictures, pictures that showed me real shots of local India! Good luck on rest of the trip!!