Hello everyone! Hope everyone is OK, and yes we know it has been a while, so here comes our monster end of India round up!
First things first!!!!! Wales, wales glorious wales! I cant describe how thrilled I am that Wales saw off Ireland in the rugby, and how gutted I am that I probably wont get to see the France game either! Not many places will be showing it in Sri Lanka! I cant believe we are in with a shout of the grand slam again in so many years, well done boyos!!!!!!!!!!
Again before we start happy birthday Carina, will be calling you later today hopefully but forgot to bring your number so trying to get hold of it :-). Also happy birthday to Grant for today and also a belated one to Simon for the third! Clares is coming up too but Sar is going to try and ring before then. To many
birthdays, damned pisces! Ahwell at least were not around to buy pressies!
As far as Im aware we havent updated you all since we arrived in Kerala so here goes...
From the brief and sickly stopover at the Mascot Beach place in Kannur we headed out of town to a homestay called the Kannur Beach House (next door to and better than Costa Malabari Lonely Planet addicts!). The owners sent a auto to pick us up from the Mascot place as they said it was a bit out of the way, and boy were we glad! Took about 45min of winding through villages and progessively smaller roads until we appeared at the end of a stunning beach with a building at the end which was clearly the place. To say the setting was beautiful would be an incredible understatement. The main house itself was positioned under the palm trees by the backwaters over a little bridge about 50m behind the sand! And the best thing was that the house was full so we had to stay in the annexe building which was bigger and better and literally just behind the sand. We had a lovely double room with
a huge veranda and great view for about 15 pounds each a night full board, a bit over our usual budget but not too bad! See pic of the house and views!
The owners (again see pic) were the some of the friendliest people weve met in India and the food which they served us all around their family table was amazing and plentiful. Sar was thrilled as it wasnt vegeterian as Palace Estate as we ate oodles of gorgeously fresh and tasty Keralan seafood everyday! We mostly spent the first few days playing in the sea (wavy again so I was more than happy!) and sunbathing on the beach. Then out of the blue Grant & Tamsin turned up after also drifting down from Palace Estate. So again a few beery evenings were had, with us all looking distinctly pink most night (Sar & Tamsin were true lobsters on the first night).
On the second day came one of the funnyest moments since leaving home. Picture them three on the beach and me playing in the sea about 25m out waving to Sar on the beach, when unknown to me she sees a fin swim by about
10 feet behind me. Im laughing about and Sars face just drops and shes like "Sh-sh-sh-sh" and "Deaaaan get out the sea right now!" cue Jaws theme music so eventually I did and as I re-assured her up it popped again a mother dolphin with a baby. Immeadiately she went from terror to over the moon, wild dolphins and only about 30m or so offshore, needles to say she was thrilled! Im sure you can imagine I havent let her forget it 😊
By night we were lucky enough to be taken to a local tribal/religious ceremony called a Theyyam. It was amazing. Hundreds of people surround this small shrine in the palms and then drummers coerce this lead idol into a trance, it was very geuine and also very absorbing. See pic.
Anyway we predictably ended up getting stuck in paradise for about a week as we just couldnt bear to leave it was that nice, on the last morning on our way to the train station we went to another Theyyam much more remote and much smaller. It was even better! We hung around and eventually saw about an hour of the most amazing dances and
ceremony, loads of pics and totally unforgettable and again not a single tourist there, amazing experience! See pics!!!
From Kannur we headed on the slow hot train down to Kochin. We had to cut our time short in Kochin as we kept getting stuck in all the lovely places en-route so we stayed only on the Ernakulmn side of the water rather than Fort Cochi, was a darned sight cheaper too. We stayed at the Maple Residency which was pleasant enough for 300-400 a night, that is after we moved from the super hot room above the kiotchen late on our first night!
Kochi is split over numerous islands and peninsulas around a big bay which is crossed by ferry, now these ferries are THE BEST BARGAIN IN INDIA! A crossing from one side to other takes aboput 20min and is only 2.5 rupees each, yes thats about 3 pence! Pretty and cooler than a taxi!
Now the main 'tourist attraction' in Kochi is the big old chinese fishing nets along the day. To be honest neithere of us werre that impressed by them, I think we were expecting too much as the area was generally hot
and grotty and full of touts and their tourist prey! Though the spin off all those fishing nets? FISH! We had a whole fresh BBQ'd tuna fish for lunch. It was great, god knows how much it would have cost in Britain so we felt quite spoilt after that. We really need to stop eating so much fish & seafood but it tastes so good!
The other long overdue task we had been avoiding over the last 2 and a bit months (yes it has been that long!) was a haircut for me. To be honest I was starting to look like robinson crusoe so I asked the hotel manager to reccomend the best and most expensive salon in town (it was still dirt cheap) so I had a lovely hour long tony and guy quality haircut for 140 rupees which is less than 2 pounds! See before and after pictures!
After a few busy days we set of for the backwaters to do the cliche houseboat tour. Now you can access the backwaters proper through Allepey or Kollam. Kollam being the quietest (by far) we opted for that so we jumped off the train at Kollam to
be greeted by shock horro RAIN! AND HEAVY RAIN AT THAT! Needless to say we were completly unprepared in shorts n teeshirt and rather amazed tio see some rain for the first time! Anyhow we rickshawed over to the boat jetty accross town and hoppd on to a ferry boat heading to our hotel which was on an island/peninsula some 20min boat ride away. Now we though the setting for Kannur Beach house was pretty, this one trumped that with backwater views on three sides and a room to die for!
After a day of wicker chair relaxing we managed to ascertain the following. Being the somewhat hippie/green types we are becoming we wanted an engine free houseboat powered by punting as they are a) much more relaxing and b) way better for the environment. To our dismay we couldnt get one in Kollam as the water there is too deep so the next day we had to arrange for a driver to take us back up to Allepey for our 9am start from there! So travellers beware, if you want a punting boat you cabnt get one in Kollam full stop!
arrived at 9am to be greeted by a very friendly crew of three guys (2 punters and 1 chef/captain) and a very pleasant boat. The boat was lovely, a romantic seating area complete with dinning table and sun trap with a bedroom and bathroom inside. The bathroom wasnt the best (well I wont say what sar called it but it certainly did whiff a bit!) buit to be hobnest some people pay a fortune and we had managed to get one for less than 100 quid for the full 2 nights / 3 days.
God I am rambling Im trying to keep it short honest!....
Put simply yes it is touristy (que hundreds of huge boats that looked like floating hotels) and a bit dear, but especially with a punting boat you get to experience what must be some of the most beautiful areas in India and maybe even the world. The food was traditional and sublime and we really got to know 'the guys' as we came to call them over the few days. They even let me drive the boat one morning until lunch time and called me captain I was well chuffed, Sar found it
highly amusing as I stood there with a towel on my head for shade looking like a cross between Ali Baba and Captain Birdseye! We will both never forget it and the pictures speak for themselves, especially the one Sar took for Carina of the mini spongebob island we saw one night. We were very sad to disembark on our last day 😞
From Allepey we needed to head down to the deep south of Kerala to Varkala to our last real destination in India. We were meant to take the train but it was horrendously delayed so after about 15min of banter with the auto rickshaw drivers outside the station we thought it would be an amusing experience to take one ALL THE WAY TO VARKALA. It took us a shade over 3 hours in the heat of the day (ask anyone whose been in one and they will be amused!) and we didnt stop or breakdown once and only cost about 12 pounds and he even brought us a drink. Every other driver just looked at us/him and laughed, saying you crazy nutters!
In Varkala we stayed at the super friendly MK Gardens guesthouse off the
main drag in a quiet area in some palm trees. The host Salim was ultra friendly and even cooked us up some home made tomato pasta which was pretty darn tasty! Varkala was an odd place and a real mixed bag. On one hand it is very Goan in that it is VERY touristy and a bit grubby from that. But after the initial "I hate this place" day it does start to grow on you as there are literally hundreds of restaurants along the clifftop, where you guessed it you found us pigging out as usual!!!!
Our time at Varkala flew by as we knew that it and our time in India was nearly over. As a leaving treat the week before we had reserved the uber top super first class private class on the overnight train from there up to madras to get our flight (where we are now). It was true luxury, ultra comfy beds, attentive staff and a private cabin all to ourselves. The only way to travel!
So here we are now in hot and sweaty Chennai/Madras. Now to re-asure family, yes we know there are some considerable civil problems in Sri Lanka
at the moment and so we have completely re-arranged our itinerary to avoid the problems in the north and east and have also cut colombo out of itinerary completely to be on the ultra safe side side so you have nothing to worry about. Only our bank balance needs to worry as we will probably end up having a private driver a lot of the time. We have got loads planned walking, white water rafting, snorkelling etc so we dont really mind that we cant visit the areas we initially planned to.
So thats it, India is over! I cant speak entirely for Sar as she is still racking up a considerable phone bill accross the road calling home 😊 but it has been a truly awe inspiring visit.
Its difficult to describe just how alien it is here, the noise, heat, smells and general feel of the place are something that initially shock you to the point of (and early on beyond) despair. But once we began to adjust and look beyond the initially blinding poverty and distress there is a country so rich in hospitality and honesty that its hard to believe. Without a shadow of
a doubt some of the most honest and welcoming people eitrher of us have ever met have been in here in India. Of course there are the bad apples, the carpet shop touts and our taxi driver in Mumbai and the constant male staring Sar has had to endure. But on the whole it is almost eerie how friendly, helpfull abnd again honest most people are in the face of such poverty and our comparable wealth. I would whole heartedly reccomend anyone that enjoys a challange and is willing to let go of their pre-conceptions visit this place, it truly is incredible india.
Anyway, thats enough rambling enjoy the pics (there are shamlessly millions of them attatched) and look after yourselves people. We will update you all in a weeks time from the magical highlands of Sri Lanka!
All our love and best wishes,
Dean & Sar.
xxxx
(Dean - Come on Wales show the froggies how its done!!!)
Yay, after both wanting to travel the world for as long as we can remember we are finally off!
A year working, living with mom :-) and general penny pinching and we've managed to save up enough to get rid of our post Uni finances - now up to that magical figure zero! With graduate loans in hand we are planning to travel for the next 9/10 months across Asia.
Fingers crossed route will be London > Dubai > India > Sri Lanka > Vietnam > Cambodia > Laos > Thailand > Malaysia > Indonesia > Singapore > London
We will update the blog with pictures and stories for you all as often as possible,... full info
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. Aryan tribes from the northwest invaded about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. Arab in...more history
thomsoncafe2008@ymail.com Hi there, I read through your blogs and like to drink rum and have fun and frolic in India as we travel South India. I am looking for some friends who share the same passion..
Thanks
Thomas
Indian Citizen
Kerala India
Debbie H
non-member comment
Great Pics
Thanks for the update, really interesting and great pics too. (ps nice haircut)