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Published: February 19th 2009
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So from Wyanad to Ooty we had to endure 8 consecutive local buses in one day. Each one was more crowded than the last and the journey took over 13 hrs. Pam was great company and was in such good form that day, never complaining once while i only paused from my chirpy whistling to ask the man beside me to take his snoring, dribbling head off my fucking shoulder.....Please.
The idea was to get to a town called Mattapalyam five hours away from Ooty, our Goal. Then, to get up the next day at 5am to catch the Toy Train up the mountain to Ooty. In typical form and true to our character at this stage, we didn't realise the direction we were traveling from and therefore ended up driving through Ooty and then all the way down the mountain to Mettapallyam, where we had to catch the train the following morning. Whatever we thought, it'll all be worth it in the morning when we catch one of Indias most famous Toy trains (basically miniature train) back up the mountain from whence we came, taking in the stunning views through rolling hills and lush green tea plantations and into
Ooty hill station in time for Chai and cake.... Lovin the cake over here.
So after a well deserved sleep in Mettapallyam, we arrose at 5am and headed to catch the Toy Train back up to Ooty. "Will we sit in the front or the back, the left or the right", we pondered as we headed to the station. The roof would have done..... The train was full. And so we trundled, yes you guessed it, back up the little mountain on our favourite little bus, on the same little road we travelled so gayly on the night before. And then we arrived. And then we ate cake and drank chai.
We chilled in Ooty for a few days. Saw some temples and other touristy sights including a really strange fun park on a lake that was like Bray Amusements in the eighties. Strange in India at 2400 metres above sea level. Then we left Ooty and we finally got to travel on the illusive toy train down the mountain. It was SO worth it. The scenery was unreal and it took five hours, chugging its way under steam power down the mountain.
So then it was
off Fort Kochin, back on the coast. No hitches and we arrived unscathed. We got a ferry over to the Fort area just as the sun was setting and it was a beautiful way to be introduced to Kochin's laid back streets and modern caffes. The first day we were there we went down to the fish markets, haggled a good price and bought 1Kg of fresh Tiger Prawns. At first we thought this may be slightly over ambitous but we surprised ourselves aswell as several onlookers and finished them off. This was the first non indian food we had eaten since Goa 1 month before and we bought it all fresh and then this guy just cooked it right there for us. It was so good to eat fresh sea food again.
We were just relaxing here for a few days when we met this great Dutch couple Mark and Marielle . They were going to do a Backwater trip from here and said they got a great deal. We had planned on heading to a bit of a tourist trap called Alleppy to do it but they got what seemed like such a good deal we thought
we would book the same trip. We did and thanks Dutchie's, it was perfect. The Backwaters are Kerala's canals and waterways originally used for transporting rice and other stuff around the area. Today tourism has claimed them and you can pay an absolute fortune for some floating palace to take you through its palm fringed waterways. Our boat was slightly more moddest but was just as relaxing and we spent two nights and days being spoiled by a great keralan family on the waters. It was a great way to see the area and there were virtually no other tourists or boats around so it was such a great escape from the relative craziness of the rest of India. The feast on board was the best Keralan home cooked food we had tasted and when we weren't eating we were just sitting back reading and listening to the sounds of the backwaters flow past.
Alas now its back to some of that madness again and we just arrived in Varkalla, a pretty touristy spot on the southern west coast of India. Its nice to be on a beach again and there seems to be some great fresh seafood on
offer here too, so i think we may chill here for the next few days.... Thats it for now. Cheers for all the great messages, means alot to get em all from yas when we're so far away. Hope your all well and take care, Stu and Pam.
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