Kerala - Kochi Backwaters and Beaches

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Arriving into Kochin

Overnight from Bombay by train to Kochin with a lovely young Bombayite couple, Amit and Renu, we arrived into the Keralan state refreshed and covered in Mehndi patterns (henna).

Fort Kochin is on an island and is best accessed by a local ferry - a great way to arrive anywhere. We spent a few days hanging around at the beach and watching the local fishermen coming in with some impressive catches. The Chinese fishing nets here are beautiful at sunset but are now a dying tradition. Most fishermen were only 'catching tourists' by asking a few rupees or a rum for the experience of pulling up the heavy nets. Kochi is also a great place to enjoy coffee, cake and culture - the first good press coffee we had in India - the Keralans certainly know how to enjoy the finer things in life.

Fort Kochin was also a good place to experience the famous Kathakali Dance. You can watch the artists putting on their makeup too though this process takes a couple of hours and involves lots of coconut oil with added natural colourings. Before the performance the artists demonstrated their various and acrobatic facial and body movements, explaining their meaning. This is important as no speech is used in a live perfomance and meaning is garnered through a flick of an eye or the movement of a finger in some symbolic way. Another great cultural experience was the Kalarippayattu martial arts performance. Here the performers demonstrated fighting with fists, bamboo sticks, swords and metal whips. This martial art is believed to be even older than those originating in the Far East.

The Sleepy Backwaters

The best part about being in Kerala is enjoying the slow pace of life on the Backwaters. We enjoyed a few tours - some more relaxing than others! Our first ferry took us from Kollam to Alleppey. It was completely packed with tourists and rucksacks, but we had marvellous sunset views. One tour took us through small canals around Kollam where we got to see local villages. Here we learned how to climb palm trees, dry coconut flesh in the sun, make coir rope from coconut husk, and build boats Keralan style!

Beach Life

The end of our time in Kerala was spent on lovely (read increasingly popular with more affluent western tourists) Varkala beach. Still, we found our own little nook away from the hubbub on the cliff-top and managed to squeeze in some yoga and meditation on the beach at sunrise before the throngs descended.

Varkala beach is certainly the most beautiful beach we have been on but is not for the faint-hearted! The surf here is impressive with occasionally huge waves rolling in and slamming the hard sand. These have the potential to throw a strong swimmer around with ease and Warren fell prey to them on several occasions. The current can also be very strong, dragging even strong swimmers along the shore. It should be said that there are several lifeguards on hand if trouble occurs and thankfully we didn't see them called into action during our time there.

Farewell to God's Own Country

After a short time in Kerala and no time spent in the hill stations or the bigger towns of Trivandrum and Mangalore, we are heading into Tamil Nadu with it's temples and ancient Dravidian history.

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Comments

[Sandrine]

Wouawwww!
Hey! What a nice blog, guies! You're doing it super well. I love your pictures... Have fun on your trip. I am now in Varanasi and love it... not knowing exactly what's gonna come next, Nepal or Thailand...Let's see Be Happy! Cheers, Sandrine

[Kieran]

hello
looking good there folks. Stunning pics. Am jealous.

[fergal]

oh wow oh wow
the more i read, the more i slobber, what a journey..metaphorical and real....my hat goes out to you...my mouse is the only thing that travels as a desk bound wage slave. free the world.

[Roger]

Bhuj Nature cure
Hi folks, nice blog. I am trying to find contact info for the Bhuj nature cure center. Thought they had a website but cant find any solid connection. Only references such as yours, to them. Can you help? Thanks, [e-mail]