Advertisement
Published: August 8th 2007
40 min was all it took to hop over from Colombo to Trivandrum, capital of Kerala on a leisurely midday flight. We pratically had the whole plane to ourselves as there were only another 20 or so passengers aboard the SriLankan Airlines A340. This will be the last of our flights until the end of June as we make our way from Nepal to China. With all the news now of how much a flight chugs out carbon into the atmosphere. we can't help but feel a little guilty with our current carbon footprint. Not as much as when we were jet-setting for work and staying in 24 hours fully air-conditioned pads but still pretty significant. So we will bear the travel advice from our trusty travel guide companies and fly less but stay longer! For more info on your
travel carbon footprint.
On touch down, the blast of heat through the open plane door was not strickly from a furnace but the temperature was definitely a few notches higher than Colombo earlier and a good 5 degrees hotter than our Malaysian reference point. Plus in Malaysia, our spoilt little bums hardly feel the heat with all the airconditioning pumping through the
office, shops, cars and homes.
We decided not to stay in
Trivandrum but to jump on the train straight to
Varkala beach about 40kms to the north where we could get our bearings and feet wet for a few days. Our plan was slightly circumvented by there being no ATM machine in the International airport and we 'fought' our way through the bodies of taxi/ rickshaw drivers asking whether we needed a ride to the domestic terminal where there happened to be an ATM. It just so happened that this ATM did not accept international cards. We then jumped into a rickshaw that was hovering illegally (but he assured us he had good contacts with the airport security) to get to the station and then find an ATM en route. Said, the driver, further circumvented our train plans by suggesting that we use him to take us direct to Varkala. 'about one hour away only. With train, need waiting!' We figured that the 500Rs he was prepared to do the trip for was close to the cost of a rikshaw either end plus our train tickets. Although, the hour turned out to be nearly 2, it was spent leisurely
viewing Indian town and village life including one where mahouts were taking an afternoon siesta and their huge charge chewing leisurely on its tea. We had the additional free of charge pleasure to see how a wheel is changed on a 3-wheeler after our weight caused the corroded hub of the rear-left to give way and start wobbling violently.
To say that there is something in the air in India can be translated literally to 'there is a lot of suspended dirt in the air in India'. By the time we arrived in Varkala, we were covered in a mixture of dust and sweat (this mixture of grey and yellow has yet to become a colour to feature on any catwalk in the world!). Adding to the first taste of what the country had to offer, Said started pleading for more money, foreign currency accepted. With glassy smiles plastered on our faces, we repeated like a broken record that the price we had agreed was the price we were going to pay. All this discussion continued even though a new passenger had hopped into his tuk-tuk. With the same fixed expressions, we walked off to find a nice, clean
room for a princely sum of 125Rs (<3USD!) - Check out the recently constructed Rainbow if you happen to be in the area. It's set back from the cliff edge but still with plenty of breeze at the 1st floor amongst the coconut palms.
We spent the time there formulating a rough plan for the next 7 weeks with help from the colossel Lonely Planet India, trying out the famed Ayrevedic massages (so much oil is used that you finish off feeling like a battered deep fried fish from the chip shop), eating well, internet blogging and topping up on some supplies.
The morning of departure was a frantic blur of activity - the first reminder that India works slowly.... the Internet place we were at had no change as we were the first customers, no one was at the guest house to take our payment, no rikshaw around but somehow true to nature, it all came together in the end and we made it on time to the station, 30 mins before departure. Karen and Uis, fellow travellers we had met the night before, happened to be also at the station and were also heading towards
Alleppey - famous for being the hub of houseboat cruises of the Keralan backwaters. There, we were introduced to this vast yet intricate network of freshwater canals which threads through a tapestry of rice paddies, villages, churches and temples.
Alleppy town, also known as Alapuzha, is a bustling place laid out on a grid system determined by the old waterways. We tried one or two places (Johnsons Nest and Goverment Guest House) before settling on a Hertiage place called
Gowri Residence and with Richy's glib tongue, we got a room at a 1000Rs for 3 days deal. Whilst this place was somewhat rundown, it had charm, lots of mossies and a hippy-cool feel to it. The days that we were there, the team running the place would break into impromptu jam sessions, set up court for their daily badminton session (a real fat buster - forget the diets and machines, nothing beats a good sweat from friendly competition) in the courtyard and plan their next outing with anyone who is interested to join in.
After seeing several boats from privateers we ended up going with a company introduced by the goverment run DTPM. Main reason for this was their ability
to provide a 4-stroke engine as opposed to the 2-strokes still widely used by the privateers yet recently outlawed in an attempt to reduce pollution (everyone still bathes, washes their clothes, hair, pots and buffalo in these waters at their doorstep). LP recommends for people to go the full punting way but somehow lounging around and relaxing as others sweat and strain for 6-7 hours a day for our pleasure, at the same pay for themselves, somehow didn't sit right with us. The middle path is the preferred route.
After meeting the 3 man crew, the captain, John the cook and Morgan the engine operator, we set chugging at a leisurely 3-4km/hr pace through the various canals on a 3 day round trip. We waved and smiled to those washing and punting their way about their daily life on the canals - a real case of whos watching who or who's in the zoo? We had a great experience of teaching some kids games that San used to play as kid using nothing but string and pebbles. Other times, we entertained them with the camera and the screams of delight cannot be copied anywhere else. When on the move,
we just sat back to let the landscape wash over us, the shades of green dotted with the mutl-coloured saris and dotis that people wore. The last evening, Richy even dove for freshwater shellfish for dinner which John made cooked up specially for us in great Keralan oomph. Coupled with the great taste, he couldn't but help to jot down the recipes in the impromptu cooking class on board. With so many things going on, it felt as if, the stops we made for 'sightseeing' where just peripherals to the real experience of mixing and learning from the people we encountered.... nothing is more fun for both sides then when something is shared or given.
Three days of this and although we were super relaxed we were ready for a new place and some different action.
On arrival we mounted the customary rickshaw and got him to dump us at the
Ernakulum ferry terminal and caught the next ferry across the busy industrialised waterway to
Fort Cochin. While walking our way to one of the Lonely Planet suggestions we were coerced into a quite posh looking homestay - after a bit of hard negotiation
we were sorted with a nice, new and clean if not somewhat dark fan room for 200Rs for the next 3 nights.
The one place that is a real institution is
Ramathula's. This restaurant with old food reviews and pics plastered on the wall lives up fully to its reputation of one of the best Biriyani's in the WORLD! Rice that borders between melt in your mouth and firm, combined with mutton that has been cooked to perfection where every bite feels like the good times should never ever stop. Such a combination - unbeatable! LP has the wrong road name and a really bad map of the area but ask around and EVERYONE knows the place.
After all that searching for the old famed Synagogue in Jew town, Richy was not allowed in because he was donning shorts showing off his sexy knees. He didn't miss much but antique italian chandeliers, old hand painted chinese ceramic tiles and the reputation a place gains through age.
The highlight of this little tour around the area was the ginger packing factory. It is located on Bazaar Road between the customs Jetty and Jew Town. Tucked away in one
the little inconspicuos alleyways with just a little blackboard announcing (albeit in a small voice) 'Ginger Tea is sold here', it opend up into a whole courtyard the size of a basketball court fronting dark rooms where hidden activity was going on. GINGER shouts out at you the moment you walk into any one of these rooms where weighing, preserving, painting of the boxes and then packing is carried out. Earning very little, some of the ladies could not help but to ask for a little something after their photos were taken. The rooms up a crickety oldstep house a women's cooperative that made pickles, soap and tea mixes for sale. Worth a look and browse.
A definite must is a Kathakali performance. Traditionally, one can go one for 3 nights but in the interest of catering to tourists (with the benefit of preserving the art albeit bastardising it somewhat), one can catch these fascinating eye-catching, auditory capturing 2 hour shows every evening in teaters dotted around. Starting with the painstaking putting on of make-up which we are invited to view, musicians then take their place and the MC explains the meanings of some of the thousands of hand-signs
and eye movements that is all part of the story telling. Without which, one can get very lost also still be enraptured with the intricacity of the performance. Not everyone's cup of tea as it can leave one feeling 'wow, but why I feel so blur now?', we did enjoyed it abd felt that we should have gone for a full show rather than a performance combined with other art forms. Well, maybe next time....
All in all, Fort Cochin turned out to be a real pleasant surprise with lots to do and see. The place is a photographer's dream with oldie worldie spice trading warehouses and wholesalers, grand buildings, photogenic people and streets. A worthwhile detour on our route northwards.... onward to Karnataka state!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.306s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 29; qc: 113; dbt: 0.1412s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
Yvonne Yeoh
non-member comment
Hi San and Richie, Good to hear from you, babe! Enjoying the travel journal that you are blogging down. Keep well and looking good.