God's own country, Kerala

Munnar

Kerala montage

We finally made it to Kerala. Our flight out of Chennai was cancelled which meant an extra night there and luckily we managed to book onto a flight the following day instead. There was no sign of our driver to take us to the airport so we used the hotel banger instead. The driver got us there intact and it was only when we’d arrived at the airport that we realised that one of the back tyres was hanging off as we’d had a puncture.

We had a long wait in the airport, and with a 5 hour delay it meant a 1.30am arrival in Kerala. But there were plenty of people that had been in the airport since before the storm, so 2 or maybe even 3 days. They were in fairly high spirits though, which was crazy when you compare it to a similar situation in the UK. People would be going nuts. 

We arrived in Kerala which is fairly small for an international airport. No driver to pick us up again. This seemed to be becoming a ‘thing’ now…We took a local cab to our hotel and straight to bed. In the morning our driver appeared and told us that he had been at the airport and in fact he had seen us waiting, wandering around and wondering where he was – he even watched us get into another cab, but he didn’t have a name sign for us and he didn’t think to approach us. 

Munnar tea plantations

Anyway, we were there, and it was beautiful.  Munnar is so lush and green, and our hotel was in the middle of a forest, surrounded by waterfalls. We stopped off at a nature park where they grow all sorts of herbs and spices, for teas, food, medicines, fruit. It was actually pretty interesting and I managed to name quite a few of the spices much to the guide’s surprise.

We had a walk before dinner to get the lay of the land, but we were miles out of town (shocker). It was such a gorgeous spot, we didn’t really care. Instead I managed to reinstall MS Office (exciting I know) and we relaxed. 

Lake in Munnar

We went into Munnar proper the next day. We visited the Rose Garden which was full of local plants – not really our sort of thing but pleasant enough and then went to the nearby national park, Eravikulum, which was beautiful. We took a white knuckle ride on a bus to about 1.5km from the top where we spotted several endangered deer called Tahr. Later on we asked our driver to take us to a bottle shop to get some beer – which is rarer than the deer here. (There’s a song in there somewhere).

Thekaddy 

Deeper into Kerala we went and to a small village near Thekaddy called Kumily. The hotel was a nice chalet type with beautiful gardens. We walked round the village and found a bar near our hotel for a couple of drinks and dinner. 

Restaurant toilet somewhere en route to Kumily

The following day we were up at 5am for a boat ride. There is a national park in Kumily called Periyar, which is where we were going for a boat ride. After queuing for an hour as everyone there felt the need to push in (we were advised by someone pushing in to push back) we were on the boat. All of the boats were quite large – ours was a double decker and we were on the upper deck. Despite the railings, the size of the boats and the fact that there was no wind or current, we were all told to wear full size life jackets. Health and safety was seemingly vital on boats, but not so much in cars. We’ve been told it was because a lot of Indians can’t swim, but I can’t vouch for that as I didn’t see anyone fall in. A lot of Indians can’t drive either but that doesn’t seem to stop them.

We saw plenty of birds including storks and kingfishers (we knew what they were from the beer bottles), we saw wild boar, bison and a herd of elephant which really made our day. After that we didn’t do much apart from stroll around the village. It was nice to relax for a couple of days.

Alleppey 

We arrived in Alleppey for a night on a houseboat. With no idea what to expect, I did a search online to find out more. It didn’t look good…boring, dirty, smelly…we were a bit worried about sharing the boat to be honest. In fairness, not all reviews were bad, but of course the negative ones always stand out don’t they? So with some trepidation, we arrived. And wow, it was amazing. 

Houseboat

The houseboat was huge and we had it all to ourselves, along with 3 crew members who were cooking, driving (is that what you do with a boat?) and generally looking after us. We were greeted with a coconut each to drink and we had the day and the night to relax and be looked after. Fabulous.

Feast on our houseboat

We went out on a small canoe to go down the backwaters where we saw locals living along the water going about their day to day life. We stopped for an ice-cream and once we returned to the houseboat, the driver took the ice-cream pots from us and promptly chucked them in a bush! The attitude to litter here is awful, and it is almost like people can’t see the problem. Unfortunately it is so big it probably feels insurmountable which is a real shame. 

Canoe ride

Later on we took a tuk-tuk to see the sunset on the local beach. It was a bit of a rip-off as the price was extortionate and we missed the sunset, but we got to see the town and the kids out on the beach flying kites and expertly playing frisbee. 

The boat experience was fantastic and I would really recommend it to anyone visiting Kerala. This was all part of our package but I would say it was about £120 for the pair of us including food. The food was really good and there was plenty of it. Unfortunately Baby D was sick – completely unrelated to the food, and spent the night either shivering in bed or in the loo. I was boiling alive because I couldn’t turn the air conditioning on, as Baby D was cold and poorly, so neither of us slept that night.

Kochi

After Alleppey we went back to Kochi for the night but to a different hotel from the one we’d stayed in when we arrived in Kerala. This hotel had a snotty receptionist who kept us waiting for no apparent reason for about 45 minutes. Not good when you’re sick or tired, or both. 

Eventually we grabbed the key and our bags and left her tutting at us, to go to our room, which was filthy. We took one look at it and asked to be moved. The next room was just as bad and the third room was not much better but we asked for clean bedding and we stayed put. We didn’t see the huge cockroach until the next morning! As we had booked another night in case our night train to Goa was delayed, we were moved again. Thankfully the train wasn’t delayed because the new room (an upgrade don’tcha know) was full of newly hatched mosquitoes in the bathroom. This is making me itch as I type…I would rather be with the cockroach. 

Chinese fishing nets

Perfume and incense shop in Fort Kochi

Before we left Kochi, we went exploring on foot and ended up taking a ferry to Fort Kochi. We saw the old Chinese fishing nets which have been in use for hundreds of years, when the Chinese used to fish there funnily enough. They are still used but only 11 were in operation. We had a go, and caught 3 tiny fish and loads of rubbish. Everything is operated manually and they use heavy weights to counter the nets in the water. We walked around the town which is quite touristy in an unobtrusive way, and wandered down to Jew Town to see the synagogue, which was closed!

Next up, Goa for Christmas and New Year.

#kerala #munnar #thekaddy #alleppey #kochi #eravikulum #periyar

Eye of the storm, Chennai

Chennai 

So we’ve spent a night in Chennai now and what an absolute palaver. The hotel was miles from the city (an hour and a half drive). I called the agent who’d arranged it for us and told him off, asking to be moved but it was too late to cancel. Instead he arranged for a driver for us for the day for free, and it was a good job he did, as it would have cost us a fortune in taxis, being so far out. The hotel itself was pretty decent; the area was called Kelambakkam, near Kovalam Beach.

 

Kovalam Beach

We got a tuk-tuk down to the beach last night and regardless of what they say, it is not a touristy area, although it wasn’t without its charm with locals sitting along the road, selling fish, sweets and bracelets. Although it was busy, there was not another tourist in sight. The beach seemed more of a fishing area than a holiday resort.

The driver picked us up on the following day in an old banger and needless to say we broke down on the highway on our way into Chennai. We eventually made it to the outskirts of the city where we were collected by another driver. He had no idea where any of the main landmarks were and his English was non-existent. Luckily I had my Indian sim with plenty of data so we managed fairly well, finding out where to go and how to get there, apart from not being able to get into certain places such as the fort, because of the money situation. The money shortage means that the banks are giving out these new 2000rs notes, which is about £25. No one is able to change them because they’ve taken away so many of the smaller notes, and a lot of people just don't have that sort of money on them to change.

Next, we visited Kapaleeswarar Temple which dates from 700AD and is a lovely colourful Hindu complex.

Kapaleeswarar Temple

We went to Sri Ramakrishna Temple too, which was different from many of the brightly coloured temples we’d seen in South India which feature hundreds of the Gods. Sri Ramakrishna was a pale pink colour, with several domes, almost like a palace.

Sri Ramakrishna Temple

We stopped for lunch on the famous Marina Beach, a 6km stretch of beach that runs alongside the city, before heading to Mamallapuram which hosts several ancient sites and temples including the Shore temple, Five Rathas and the Tiger Cave, dating from around 600 AD. These were amazingly detailed carvings and monoliths which were really well preserved. This was well worth a visit and we wished we’d had longer there.

Shore Temple

Tiger Cave

We were supposed to fly to Kerala the next morning, but with a cyclone storm raging, all flights were cancelled and we were stuck in the hotel for the foreseeable. The weather was mental, with hurricane winds and the rain was unreal. I don’t think there was one shop sign that stayed intact. We sat watching the big sign opposite our hotel room all day and recording its slow demise.

Day after the storm

We were obviously not able to get out during the storm so I managed to get some work done before Microsoft Office decided to stop working on the tablet, leaving me with no office programmes and internet conked out too! Early night for us!

#chennai #kovalambeach #kapaleeswarartemple #sriramakrishnatemple #marinabeach #mamallapuram #fiverathas #tigercave #shoretemple

24 hours in Kolkata

Kolkata

Fifteen hour train delay. Yup, you read that right. We finally got on to the night train which would take us from Varanasi to Kolkata at 5pm, rather than 2am as planned, which meant we lost a day in Kolkata. When we eventually worked out which platform our train was departing from, we found our beds which had been taken over by 3 Indian guys. We got them to move and settled down for the evening. It was pretty noisy; Indians tend not to do anything quietly – ever. Apart from the constant phone calls, farting, people popping in at all hours for a chat and neverending food service, it was fine although I didn’t sleep much. Especially with all eyes on the western woman. Baby D snored most of the way to Kolkata…well, for an hour maybe. We didn’t actually realise we had arrived as we thought it was a 12 hour journey but it was in fact only 8. We got to the hotel at 3am and bed.

We only had 1 day in Kolkata so we needed to squeeze in as much as possible. Our first impression from the taxi when we arrived (admittedly in the pitch black) was that it was very clean in comparison with Delhi or Varanasi, more cosmopolitan, fewer cows and it had actual pavements! All of this took us a bit by surprise as we had been told by a few people that it was rough, dirty and dangerous. We found it in daylight to be very pleasant, fairly clean and a lot less frantic compared with Delhi. Green, lots of trees, more ‘proper’ shops, slower paced, more parks and open spaces.

A roundabout!

Making kathi

We wandered around New Market and Vardaan Market, and then through the park, stopping to sample the local cuisine, kati or kathi, which is a flat bread with egg or veg or meat. Sounds quite uninspired but it was delicious.

We headed over to the Birla Mandir which is an awesome Hindu temple. As usual though, no photos allowed, which was a pity. The architecture and detailed workmanship were amazing.

Birla Mandir

 

We stopped off at a Christian church called St John’s where we met John. Not the Saint, but a dreadlocked Indian who played the organ for us. We had a bit of the Romeo and Juliet film theme, then some Pink Floyd. John was a bit of a character and kept us talking for ages about politics, religion etc.

St Johns Church

Next we paid a visit to Mother Theresa’s missionary, the Mother House. This was quite a serene place where people make pilgrimage to pray or just visit. There are many nuns living there, continuing Mother Theresa’s work. We saw her room which was more like a cell, and her tomb.  

Mother House

We went for a couple of beers then dinner in a local place that served Bengali fish or veg cuisine. I am not a big fish eater but the 3 different dishes we chose were probably the best food we’d had in India to date. Well, apart from the wasabi tasting fish, that was just weird in a curry. 

Back to the hotel which was our best so far, aside from its location which was an hour out of town, and we struggled to find a cab to take us back. When we finally found a driver he got lost and when we decided to get out (knowing that we were only 50m from our hotel) he refused to accept payment because he’d got lost! We were gobsmacked because so far almost everyone has wanted money from us and we've had nothing for free. We paid him of course – he drove over 20km and got lost for all of 2 minutes. Apart from stopping for a wee, he was most courteous! 

Goodbye Kolkata, it was short but sweet. Onto Chennai.

#kolkata #calcutta #birlamandir #kathi #stjohnschurchkolkata #mothertheresa

Varanasi fog

Varanasi

 

We arrived in the evening on the 5^th December and drove for about an hour to our hotel. We were advised to take a boat ride along the Ganges in the morning to watch the sunrise, so we headed out for a walk and to get some food. Varanasi was a bit eerie, smoky and very muddy from what we could see in the evening. 

Setting the alarm for 5 o’clock the next morning was not something I really wanted to do and dragging ourselves out of bed after 5 hours sleep was not fun either. But how cool to see sunrise on the Ganges!? As we closed our hotel door behind us, one of the hotel staff appeared to tell us that the boat-ride was cancelled due to fog. No idea why he waited 45 minutes to tell us that – we had heard him get up at the same time as us and his room was next to ours so he must have heard us up and about. This was maybe the first hint at the seeming lack of common sense in some Indian people. 

Ghat in Varanasi

We took ourselves off for a walk along the river, and what a pea-souper it was. 

The walk was eye-opening. We saw (through the fog) people doing yoga, praying, washing themselves and their clothes in the river. Along the ‘ghats’ (a ghat is a sectioned set of steps which leads down to the river) we came across a body of a young girl being burned which was a shock to the senses.

After a 5 mile walk we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and our driver appeared to take us out to see some sights of Varanasi.

Morning fog

Several temples later, some beautiful and interesting, others less so, we were taken to the Moghul market to see silk products being made. We were then collared into looking in our guide’s shop and he became very pushy about us buying something. We ended up being quite rude to him to get out, even though I would have bought half the shop if I could carry it. 

Temple

We asked our driver to drop us off along the Ganges again so we could see the ghat (Manikarnika) where bodies were ceremoniously cremated. We got chatting to a guy that worked with local hospices who gave us lots of information about the cremations. Turned out that this is a well-known money scam and we fell straight into the trap. (Second of the day after Baby D shook a guy’s hand in the market and he ended up getting a hand and arm massage!) 

Anyway, the guy at the cremation ghat told us that they burn around 300 bodies a day and exactly where they are cremated depends on the caste of the person. There are 4 or 5 levels of the ghat and the highest level is where the most important or the richest people are burned. Men are wrapped in white and women in red. The fires never go out and people are employed to be there all the time to make sure of that. Bodies are burned within 24 hours of death and families are encouraged not to cry during the cremation because then the soul would still be attached to this world and wouldn’t reach heaven. To ensure that the families don’t cry, women are discouraged from attending and the only females there are usually tourists. 

Pregnant women, unmarried people, children and certain others were not cremated but either sent off down the river in banana leaves, or sunk with stones in the river. We could see the bodies burning; we both noticed that the leg of one of the recently deceased had fallen out of his shroud and I don’t think I will ever forget that scene. People come from hundreds of miles to be cremated here and there is a hospice for the sick and the elderly which overlooks the ghat and the cremations.

Once the bodies had been burned, the ashes are put in a sectioned off part of the Ganges where people sift the ashes through the water to recover jewellery. The family doesn’t remove the jewellery as they want their loved ones to look their best in heaven. The recovered jewellery goes to the owner of the ghat and is not returned to the family. Nice little earner for him eh? The whole experience was sad and shocking, but the people were comfortable with this practice and to them death is a normal and natural part of life, and the deceased are celebrated for having reached paradise. 

Sifting ashes for gold

The boat trip scheduled for the following morning was cancelled again due to the persistent fog so we decided to venture to the cash machine as funds were running low and nowhere accepted card payments. 

After an hour and a half queuing in the bank we were informed by the officious jobsworth cashier that our cards wouldn’t work. We traipsed the streets of Varanasi searching for an ATM that actually had cash in it, growing more and more fractious by the minute. 

After another hour we gave up and headed back to the hotel. We were just about back at the bank we’d started at when we noticed a queue to the ATM! Oh what joy to see a massive queue, how very British of us. A queue meant there was money available. No queue = no money. All that effort and we’re back at the start again. We had seriously been discussing leaving India because of the money problems as it seemed to be getting  desperate for everyone. Hopefully it will improve especially once we get to Kerala/Goa especially if we can use GB pounds or US dollars instead.

The whole money situation came about because the Indian Prime Minister, Modi, decided that he wanted to put a stop to corruption and get rid of all the ‘black’ money floating about, mainly in the larger denominations. Black money meaning counterfeit notes. Anyone that had a large amount of money or any of these notes was going to be in a bit of a pickle when changing them as they would need to justify it, or they wouldn’t be able to change it, thus losing some of their wealth. I can see why he did it, and it’s admirable, but he had no provision in place for people to withdraw money, or to pay using card or other cashless technology. We would struggle if this happened in the UK and we use card and online payments so much more because we have the education, technology and infrastructure to do it. They don’t have that here. Plus, I don’t really see what’s to stop more black money appearing when the new 2000 rs and 500 rs notes fall into more general circulation. 

This was all brought in overnight; a huge change just at the start of the tourist season. We were definitely put off from entering certain monuments, museums and sites because tourists tend to pay about 10 times the entry fee of locals, and we just didn’t have enough cash on us to do this. 

Clothes washing in the river

We headed back to the hotel to find our boatman waiting to take us on this elusive boat ride up the river. Expectations were high after 2 cancellations and off we went in our private rowing boat up the Ganges and back. It was a lovely ride and we got some fantastic photos from a different perspective, including a man cleaning his teeth with his finger in the river. I honestly don’t know how they do it without being violently sick. 

'Cleaning' his teeth

Back to the hotel and our laundry had finally appeared. Smelled a bit riverish….

We are now waiting to leave Varanasi for Kolkata on the night train. Bit apprehensive about the train, plus we’ve not heard great things about Kolkata…all part of the adventure!

#varanasi #ganges #manikarnikaghat