Kumarakom

We left Varkala with some trepidation and caught the train to Kottayam about 100km to the north. The journey was slow but we had lovely people in our carriage and the conversation turned quite philosophical. We took yet another auto-rickshaw to Kumarakom on the banks of Lake Vemabad ( my spelling may not be great) and settled in to our heritage homestay...We have struck gold. We are the guests of Soni and Crispin who are possibly the nicest people we have ever met in our lives. The house is a traditional Syrian-Christian, Keralan house and it is airy and spacious. We are surrounded by rubber trees and coconut trees and the small little channels of water that make up the backwaters. The food is all home cooked and as expected, delicious.

Soni is an English teacher at a girl's catholic school in Kottayam and on Saturday morning we went to school with her and gave some impromptu English lessons. What a reception we were given...lots of smiling, fresh faces all desperate to talk to us and ask questions- not quite the same as my experience in England. In the afternoon we were the only guests on the homestay's houseboat and we spent 4 hours on the lake and some of the smaller canals, we swam, lazed, ate more delicious food and took in the beautiful scenery..think palm trees, green paddy fields, and lots of water.

Today I got up early and went to the local bird sanctuary and was paddled around by a friendly guide on another part of the lake. I saw various kingfishers, open billed stork, pond and purple heron, moorhens...it was magical..there was still a mist rising off the lake and it was quiet and still. After breakfast we attempted a swim at a local hotel but were thwarted, by cost and in one case by the sheer rudeness with which our request was greeted. This has been the only blot on the otherwise lovely landscape. After lunch we set off on a mission to find the town and the house featured in Arundati Roy's novel 'The God of small things'. This was a mission indeed but Raji our rickshaw driver was like a dog with a bone, we saw the river, what we assume is/was the pickle factory and finally after much stopping and asking of passers by, the house itself. It was a lovely thing to do, I'm rereading the book at the moment and to be a stone's throw away from where she set the story is quite a special thing and has brought everything to life. It also makes me appreciate just how powerful her descriptions of the place are, the colours, the heat, the smells. I'm really glad we made the effort and if you haven't read the book and want a real sense of what it's like here then get it quick!

I have taken loads of photos but unfortunately can't upload any here- there's no wifi so I'm using the homestay's old computer, which doesn't appear to have any jack points ( not sure if this is the right terminology).

We move on tomorrow to Kottanad elephant sanctuary, where Liz is hoping to wash a baby elephant. 

Gurus and Backwaters

We have had a busy few days and are in the process of packing to leave for Kumarakom tomorrow. The cricket watching did not go well as the cafe could not get a signal but we were kept informed of the score .

Yesterday we wanted to visit the temple of Sri Narayana Guru, who was a local philosopher and social reformer. The temple itself was quite plain but the whole atmosphere surrounding the place was really peaceful  and the whole idea of the guru's ideas on equality for all, as well as his ideas about all religion being open to everyone and in fact being less important than doing good were echoed everywhere. He was a big hero of the current Dalai  Lama who visited the ashram in November this year. We were advised to arrive at the temple in time for lunch, which consisted of various small portions of curry, pickles and rice served on a banana leaf.We were waited on by residents of the ashram in a huge dining hall full of local people and worshippers - a fantastic experience and the best  way to eat traditional Keralan food.

Today we headed out bright and early for a backwaters tour-something that Kerala is famous for. We started our tour near to Chenganassery and travelled on a punted canoe through lots of narrow canals. Our guide and 'punter ' also saw how hungry we were before the trip started so invited us for a home cooked breakfast at his family home, a great way to start the day. We saw comorants, herons and kingfishers along the way, local people going about theirr daily lives and generally just soaked up the amazing scenery and slow lapping of the water. Liz had a go at punting herself which was a success, despite hurting her knee, she also bravely swam in one of the lagoons which was impressive. I sat and relaxed.

Still in Varkala

Yes we are still here and despite being told off for closing doors too noisily and being given instructions on how to move sun loungers, we are well settled planning to stay longer. For the last 2 days we have started at 7 with yoga on the roof while it is still cool. Yesterday we walked to Temple Junction for breakfast overlooking the temple tank, which was atmospheric and a real reminder of the life that goes on outside of the tourist resort. Today we are having breakfast in the Ayurvedic hotel next door, sitting in the garden on the top of the cliff overlooking the sea in which we swam earlier. We have been befriended by the umbrella man on the beach, the owner of a local cafe and the postgraduate student who drives a rickshaw in the holidays. Some of these friendships are more simple and uncomplicated than others.
We have discovered, not unsurprisingly that the further away we are from the seafront then the better the food and the other well known but often forgotten fact that the dingier the facade the tastier the food. We have also discovered that it really is too hot to go the beach after about 11 in the morning and that walking anywhere in the heat makes us grumpy.
To counter this we plan to laze in the shade during the day and if we need to venture into town we have the number of  Hataf our part time driver. There is another temple near by with an interesting story attached which we plan to visit and this afternoon we shall be watching the cricket in the local cafe.

We are so lazy that we might even let Mr Grumpy from the guesthouse organise a backwaters tour for us instead of getting the train, finding a boat etc etc. At this point I'm not sure Liz will have the energy to get herself to the airport to fly back.....life is good

Liz has also turned into Miranda on this trip, a much slimmer and prettier Miranda it has to be said but Miranda nevertheless. There have been several food related clumsy moments, a couple of bikini malfunctions, some bizarre head-dress incidents as well as the ritual misplacing of any essential item prior to leaving the room. Her finest moment came yesterday at the local tailor's when as well as getting a new dress made she also got a free ride on the back of a motor bike- photo follows.

what a difference a day makes

We have discovered Varkala's South Cliff and we are smiling. The only fly in the ointment is the owner of our guest house, described in the guide book as kind and efficient, we have found him more controlling, fussy and quite grumpy but the room is clean and the garden is gorgeous and goes straight down to the beach.  I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Varkala

We left Cochin yesterday and experience our first Indian train journey. Not as scary as it could have been-buying a ticket was simple, upgrading from general class to an a/c very comfortable carriage simple too and in fact the journey was more comfortable than the whole plane journey here.

Varkala was rather more touristy then we had imagined...that whole expectations and reality thing again.Our room felt bare and hot, the restaurants and shops, of which there are many, felt tacky and geared only to Westerners,.he hoards of fellow tourists made our adventure feel much less unique.Disappointment would be too strong a word to use but arriving here has certainly made me think about where else I go during the rest of my time here.

Saying that...this morning we were on our verandah at 7 doing yoga, followed by a dip in a warm, clear sea, watching local fishermen pull in nets and now we are sitting at a cliff top cafe overlooking the beach waiting for breakfast.....life is not bad :)

Fort Cochin

We awoke much rested this morning, feasted on the traditional breakfast buffet and then headed off to catch the local ferry to Fort Cochin, unfortunately a strike meant that all the ferries were cancelled. We took this in good spirits, despite having walked around in the heat for about 1/2 an hour and instead jumped into a rickshaw. this proved to be a great move, our driver Muni really looked after us and took us to the Chinese Fishing Nets, Matancherry and Jewtown, he waited for us, got us coconuts to drink and took us to a great bakery where 6 samosas cost 36 rupees.

We then collapsed by the pool and sorted out our movements for the next few days. So far so good but we're still tired.

Hello Kerala

Stage 2 of Ali's world adventure started yesterday morning. I left Solihull for Heathrow at 9am, met my new travelling companion Liz at 10.30, checked in at 11 and despite Liz's attempts to create a security scare with her undeclared Nivea cream, we flew on time at 2.15. A short stopover in Doha and then a 4 hour flight to Cochin. We arrived at 8.05 local time but with the 5 and 1/2 hour time difference we felt decidedly jaded.

The expected culture shock was not as great as I was expecting. Yes it is very hot and humid, yes there were lots of people at the airport, yes the drive from the airport to the hotel was hair raising but maybe Africa had prepared me for for some of these things. Cochin is a sprawling city, fully of lorries, motor bikes and all sorts of vehicles in all sorts of conditions...It was quite overcast when we landed so we haven't seen it in its full glory yet but it is very green, there are lots of palm trees and lots of canals and islands.

We had to crash out for a few hours when we got to the hotel and it was strange waking up in a strange room 3 hours later. I have been exploring, despite the heat and humidity and have already sampled some local food at a restaurant near by....Dosa and curry for 50 rupees- bargain.

The hotel has free wifi and a pool and is probably the poshest place we will stay in while we're here, but after the journey it was a welcome oasis. Hoping to explore a bit more tonight and then may be explore by boat tomorrow....we have plotting to do by the pool in a minute..