Friday 17th August, 2007
After much planning , long discussions over the phone and excited anticipation, the day finally came. I was heading for a 10days tour to Kerala- God's own country. My companions in this tour are Bidisha, Rahul and their parents, and Biplab – our ubiquitous inspirer and spearhead of the full journey.
We met at the N.S.C.Bose International Airport, where from we took a flight for Bangalore. Biplab joined us at Bangalore directly from Delhi. We were greeted at Bangalore by Bidisha's friends Farukh and Sanjukta, who had arranged for a hotel for us for the night stay. We moved to the hotel, had dinner and jumped to bed thinking ahead of the next day's journey.
Saturday 18th August, 2007 – Reach Orchid Resort, Sultanbathery, Wayanad
We headed for the Majestic Bus stand around 8:30 in the morning. Our bus, the Rajhamsa, was scheduled to start at 9 a.m., but finally started around 9:30 a.m. The bus sped through the winding Bangalore-Mysore Highway towards Wayanad , our first halt. We got the opportunity to get a glimpse of the famed Mysore Palace on our way.
We had our hurried lunch at a roadside dhaba at Gundulpet around 2 p.m., after which the bus continued its journey again. The landscape on either side was changing gradually- from townships and hamlets to wide spread fields of marigold, with distant hills in the far background, finally making way for the jungles. The last one hour of the journey was through the wildlife sanctuaries, where we managed to see a few deers and wild boars.
We got down at Sultanbathery [original name Sultan's Battery – Tipu Sultan was supposed to have a fort here] around 4p.m. Two auto rickshaws took us through the winding roads of Bathery to the Orchid Resort, our hub for the next two days.
For hardcore city dwellers like us, the resort, among the quiet of the jungle, is a stark relief. Sitting amidst a Vanilla Plantation, the resort has a couple of tribal huts,cottages and regular rooms to choose from, along with a small swimming pool. A small river , Noolpuzha, with red water flows by the side of the resort. A constant orchestra of jungle insects will greet you in the evening as well as wake you up in the early morning.
We had two tribal huts booked for us. The mud and bamboo huts are fully functional with all modern amenities [you won't be needing a fan or an A.C -rather blankets in the night!! How I wish Kolkata was like Wayanad...]
TheTribal Hut at the Resort
We had an early dinner, and prepared for the next days day-long tour.
Sunday 19th August, 2007
We wake up at 5:45 a.m and get ready for a day long tour through tribal villages, prehistoric caves and wildlife sanctuaries.
After exploring the surroundings of the resort in the misty morning for a while, we start around 7:30 a.m in a jeep. Our driver Girish took us first to a couple of tribal villages. While the first of the villages, inhabited mostly by lower caste tribals, was a bit unorganised, sprawling along the slopes of a hilly terrain, the second one, dwelt in by higher caste tribals was a feast for the eyes.
I had never imagined a village could be so neat, clean and picture perfect, as if straight out of the drawing books of childhood. Set on the slopes of the hills, surrounded by pepper jungles, we were greeted by smiling faces. We were lucky as it was a Sunday, and most of the inhabitants were at home. We found the village women gathered in the community hall, in a meeting of their self help group. We also saw one building, a mud hut, which has been kept exactly like it used to be earlier, which has been maintained as a memorabilia. The village has electricity and even mobile phones are being used. The inhabitants are mainly plantation workers, working in the nearby coffee , rubber and pepper plantations.
At the Tribal Village
Through winding roads amidst coffee and rubber plantations, we headed towards our next destination, Phantom's rock – a hill that has gained the name due to its shape that resembles a skull. On the way, we gorged down local savories to satiate our hunger,as we had skipped breakfast. We even stopped to visit a rubber plantation on the way, and see a rubber plant closely. The owners of the plantation were happy with out visits, and even showed us rubber sheets they have produced from the rubber collected from their plantation.
Once on the top of Phantom's Rock , one gets to see a breathtaking view of the valleys below, and high hill ranges in the distance. I got my fist taste of hill climbing at Phantom's Rock.
Phantom's Rock, Wayanad
Our next visit was to the Edakkal caves. Edakkal means “a rock hanging between two rocks” It is a cave where prehistoric [almost 6000 years old ]rock etchings can be seen.
The cave is located on a high hill,the peak of which can be seen from quite a distance, the route of which is winding and steep, so there is provision of jeeps to carry visitors [6 at a time],up the hill to the main opening of the cave. One has to purchase a ticket for ten rupees [ Rs 25, if with camera],and enter the caves.
The main entrance of the cave is so narrow, and clogged with stones of various shapes and sizes, that there is always a traffic jam of visitors going in and coming out. Once you are in, you will have to go up and up , sometimes, using stone /natural stairs, sometimes man made iron staircases,until your legs start hurting badly , because you have already scaled some height !! [websites say it is 1200 meters above sea level]
The main cave has etchings on both its walls, and a huge rock hangs between the two walls of the cave , giving the cave its name. The cave is naturally lighted by the sunlight coming from behind the hanging rock. The guide helped me to recognize a man, a woman and an elephant's figure from the mosaic of geometric shapes and patterns, mainly straight lines, circles and triangles. To think that men in the long lost past had traversed that way up and used the cave for such artistic purposes, is to realise the strength and will of mankind once again.
Bidisha, Rahul and Biplab took the opportunity to climb up almost to the peak of the hill while I was happy to come down the whole way accompanying aunty and uncle, panting heavily, with aching legs and still amazed at the work of art I just got the opportunity to view.
Exhausted , we came back to the resort, to have a quick lunch and head for the Muthunga Wildlife Sanctuary for an evening safari. It rained quite heavily for sometimes on the way. While entering the forest,we were accompanied by a forest guard. We weren't lucky enough and managed to see only a handful of deers, a lone peacock and a peahen and a malabar langoor. We traversed quite an extent of the jungle, and then our driver decided to take the jeep towards the adjoining national forest Bandipur, which is part of the state of Karnataka. This time we were lucky enough, and found one lone elephant a few metres away from the highway, grazing all by itself. The elephant seemed to be well acquainted with photo sessions, and calmly posed for all enthusiastic visitors and passers by.
We came back contented, being able to see at least one elephant, cleaned ourselves up, had a quick dinner and jumped to bed.
Monday, 20th August 2007 – start for Kozhikode
Early morning, we went to explore the surroundings of the resort, and discovered a quaint little tribal hamlet among coffee plantations and bamboo jungles. There was a small school, and prim huts with neat gardens. Little children were playing in front of their homes, workers going to work at the plantation – once again a complete picture perfect scenario...
We came back quite hungry for breakfast, and were highly pleased to have a delicious meal of Appams and Vegetable stew – one of the best meals I had in Kerala. Though I must mention one thing ere- the tea and coffee served were too sweet for our taste buds, including the cuisine served, most probably because of the usage of coconut oil.
After breakfast my teammates had a session of swimming in the pool , while I cozied myself up under the blanket and continued my story book [I had no better option, as I don't know how to swim].
We had a lunch of a proper Kerala Meal – Kerala Rice, with Thoran, Avial, Sambar, Chutney, Papad, Rasam and Payasam – along with chicken cooked in Kerala style -and tell you, the cooking was perfect!!!
Girish came with his jeep at 3p.m to drive us to Kozhikode, an approximately 5 hours journey, taking the winding highway through the Western Ghats.
On the way, we were so amazed to see ripe bananas being fried like pakoras, that we immediately bought them to taste – to be honest, they didn't come anywhere near our very own Begunis, but weren't too bad also :).
Just before we entered Ghat Road, we gave a short visit to Pookoote Lake, lying in a valley, surrounded by forests and hills. Boating facilities are provided for visitors and ticket is ten rupees each, and ten rupees for camera.
The Western Ghats
We got a stunning view of the Western Ghats just as we entered the Ghat Road, and the thrill continued as we travelled the route full of hairpin bends, monkeys, rubber plantations, coconut trees,quaint bus stops and beautiful houses emerging out of nowhere.
We reached Kozhikode station around 8 p.m. We were supposed to catch the Malabar Express around 11p.m. , which would take us to Verkala the next day.
I have never seen such a clean Railway waiting room ever before!!! It was so neat and clean, it looked like part of some big hotel. If cleanliness is next to Godliness, then Kerala is truly Gods' own country – I could have never imagined that any state can be so clean throughout its length and breadth!!
We had a dinner of kababs and rotis on the platform itself, and waited for the train to come. The train was a little bit late than the scheduled time, but finally we were all set in, luggage and all, and slid under our blankets to pass off the night peacefully.
Tuesday, 21st August 2007 – Varkala Beach
We reached Varkala around 9:30 a.m. In the morning. Our destination was the Bamboo Hut and Village Resort. Here, we faced the first and only bad experience of the entire journey. We had been promised two bamboo huts over verbal communication earlier, and the manager had categorically denied any advance payment for the same; but when we reached the place, we found they were ready to provide us only one bamboo hut, along with a regular hotel room. They said they couldn't provide with another bamboo hut because one of the occupants have suddenly decided to extend his stay.
Biplab, Bidisha, Rahul, Uncle, and even later I, gave them pieces of our minds for about an extended duration of approximately 2 hours, after which we decided to quit the fight,let go the villains, accept the situation and rather spend the time with some positive activities, like taking a bath in the sea :) and enjoy the beauty of Varkala.
Varkala is just about a couple of hours distance from Thiruvananthapuram; it used to be a regular small town even a few years back. The beauty of the place is that the hotels are all situated on a cliff by the side of the ocean, and there is a paved path all along the length of the cliff, so that you can get almost an aerial view of the ocean, with the waves lashing beneath you on the rocks, amidst coconut trees.
Varkala
Thronging with foreign tourists, open air hotels with chairs facing the sea and bearers who imitate Michael Jackson :) [almost all of them look straight out of MTV], and craftsmen from varied states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa , Kashmir,and Sikkim selling their wares, Varkala has a spirit of her own – she is India and not at the same time!!
We had a breakfast of vegetable chapathy and fruit juice in one of the open air restaurants, and went for our bath to a small beach beneath the cliff. The sea had come closer to the beach due to the monsoon, and the current was quite strong.
After bathing, we had lunch,at a different hotel. The meal of rice and prawn curry was cooked well, but we invited our own Fate [ read doom ] asking them for chococate/ rice puddings as desserts. We had no idea that they didnt have the items ready. They made us wait for sometimes and ended up bringing what could be defined as a thick, piping hot batter of chocolate and cornflour!!! This was the first and last time I left back something on the plate half eaten.
We went out to stroll again the whole length of the cliff till we reached the larger beach named Papanasham beach. It will take you about an hour to cross the full stretch. We watched some families performing some religious rites by the sea side [Onam was on while we visited Kerala]
One interesting thing was to see the array of sea-fishes on sale in front of the hotels in the evening, including swordfish,skuids, kalamari, crabs and even a young shark. One just has to choose the fish of his or her choice, and the restaurateurs will be happy to cook it for the buyer.
Fishes for sale in the evening
We did a little bit of shopping in the evening, and headed for dinner. While Bidisha, Rahul and Biplab were adventurous enough to taste the shark and some other fishes, the rest of us were happy with coconut rice and malabar chicken.
Wednesday, 22nd August 2007 – Houseboat on the backwaters
As the day before was cloudy, we didn't get any chance to see the sunset on the Arabian sea. But the next morning was a clear day. The sun shone brightly over the sea, and we saw something that I would remember for ever. The sunlight reflecting on the greenish gray water,a perfect semi circular horizon in the background, and dozens of colourful fishing boats darting across the sea from one direction to another – the scene has left a permanent impression on my mind.
Our next experience was to be in a houseboat for 22 hours on the famed Backwaters. So we got into a Chevrolet Tavera and headed for Alumkadavu, near Kollam, where Viji was waiting with his team of three and houseboat for us.
The houseboat is a rare experience. The big boat, the outer walls of which is decorated with palm and bamboo leaves, had a living -cum-dining space, two bed rooms with attached bathrooms, a kitchen and even a balcony on the top. We were to travel down to Alapuzza [Aleppy] .
A Houseboat
The backwaters and its surroundings are the most interesting landscapes of Kerala. Small canals giving way to larger canals and lakes, and again back to a smaller canal, they form a web of water bodies, where you see “water, water everywhere...” For ages, humanity has survived in this surrounding, and have adapted to it. So the main transport of the area is of course a boat – boats big and small, rowed by men ,women and children, criss crossed the water bodies. Picturesque villages lined up the borders of the water, and little children waved us from the banks. Coconut trees bent over the water to greet us, and kingfishers swished down to catch their prey. Women washed clothes in the banks of the water bodies in front of their homes, and ducks waddled along with us. Huge fishing boats, thronging with fishermen in bright turbans passed us.
The Backwaters
Our journey started at around 12 noon. We were served lunch in the boat- an assortment of vegetarian items along with sea fish. Here I must mention, the houseboat was the only place where we had no complaints about food as such – the cooking was so good.
We lazed about and took loads of photographs, while the afternoon gave way to a golden evening. We were served tea, and the boat was stopped for a while for some fish shopping from the local market, because my companions were all very interested in tasting Karimeen fish.
The Backwaters in Twilight
As darkness set in, the houseboat was halted at a nearby bank, as movement was not allowed in the night, because fishermen start fishing and put down their nets for the night.
The boat had electricity powered by batteries, so the lights were quite low, but I managed to continue my story book, while others chatted, and uncle remained the sole viewer of a shaking [ courtsey the picture tube of the tv set] show of Shahrukh Khan's “Don”.
We were served a candle light dinner – the electric lights had to be switched off, else, insects would have become part of the served menu !!
Thursday, 23rd August 2007 – from Aleppey to Periyar
The next morning, we started for Aleppey around 9 a.m. In the morning. After having a lip-smacking breakfast of Idiappams [ dumplings made of rice noodles and coconut ] and vegetable curry, we took turns in steering the boat for a while.
Getting down at Alapuzza [Aleppey ],we took a pre-arranged car, and started for our journey towards the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Thekkady. On the way, we stopped for a while at the Aleppey Railway Station to cancel some further reservations and book a new one [ We had changed plan to visit Cochin instead of Yaurcaud.]
The reservation and cancellations done, we headed straight for Periyar, once again through the winding roads on the Western Ghats- once more innumerable hairpin bends, forests and breathtaking views of the valleys below!!
We had lunch around three at a roadside picture perfect restaurant named Farm Fest, but all the ordered items were so bad, it is better not to dwell over them for long.
While we were quite high up on the hills, rain started. And then came the clouds – filling up everything in view – we could see nothing in front except , to some extent,the lane dividing white lines on the road. It was a rare experience for me.
The rain stopped finally, the forests gave way to neat tea and pineapple gardens on either sides of the road. There were some ayurvedic plantations also, advertising herbal remedies.
We reached Periyar around 5:30 in the evening. We had bookings at the Periyar House, the Government Guest House.
Though we were late in reaching Periyar, Biplab and Bidisha managed to arrange for four tickets for the daylong bamboo rafting and jungle trekking program for the next day. The tickets cost Rs 1000/- per head.
For dinner, we had a buffet of veg/non-veg dishes to choose from . We had our dinner by 9:30 and got ready for the next day's day long programme.
Friday, 24th August 2007 – Bamboo Rafting and Jungle Trekking
We reached the starting point in front of the information office at 8 a.m. Sharp; we finally started around 9 a.m. Our companions were two students from USA, Ned and Michael, and a spanish couple, Luigi and Imma, along with their adopted 6 year old son Bhola. We were accompanied by 4 guides and an armed forest guard.
Some of the guides who accompanied us used to be poachers a few years back. But thanks to the efforts of the Government they have now become the protectors of the jungle, and conduct the tours and treks.
The guides gave us knee length socks made of khaki cloths to be worn. They also amply sprinkled tobacco powder so that we are not attacked by leeches and snakes – YES!! the jungle, especially in monsoon, is full of leeches – an idea that didn't strike us until then :) but there was no returning back then...
We had to cross the narrow stretch of the lake standing on a bamboo raft, made of eight to ten bamboos, and held on either end by a long rope. One had to pull the ropes to and fro to reach either sides of the lake.
We started walking in a single line -two guides at the front, two at the back and the armed guard in the middle of the row. We entered deep jungles very soon. The guides showed us various rare plants and trees like wild cinnamon, wild turmeric, rosewood, teak and many types of mushrooms.
Inside the jungle
We saw camouflaging frogs, their skin color resembling exactly that of a dried leaf, so that when they are sitting amidst dried leaves, you can barely recognise them; wild fowls, and monkeys; and a small but venomous snake.
We walked continuously for two hours through deciduous forests, marshlands and grass lands and crossed a couple of rivulets. I even fell down once trying to cross a stream over a slippery log, but i didn't hurt myself as i fell off on soft mud !! From then on, the guides became extra careful about me :), lest i fall down or slip off again.
After two hours, crossing a dense patch of forest full of cobwebs, we finally reached the bank of lake Periyar – what a relief to come out in the open and feel the cool breeze lashing over our faces....
Our guides arranged for our breakfast at this point. Tea was made on a a makeshift oven made of stones, using twigs and dry leaves. A plastic sheet was spread on the ground, and they served us breads, jam, bananas, biscuits and tea.
Breakfast in the jungle
Then started the second phase of the trek – rafting on bamboo rafts on lake Periyar!!!
The rafts are made of 8-10 thick, long bamboos , which looked more like water pipes than bamboos:) . Three parallel seats are made on the raft using bamboos again, to accommodate six people. Two of the guides take the responsibility of rowing the raft, and we were allowed to try our hands at rowing too...
The Bamboo Rafts
Our raft was a little bit older than the other raft, and therefore was little bit tapered lengthwise centrally, which made our feet go down under the water !! what a relief was that after the two hours walk – the cool water ,moving continuously under the feet, relaxed my tired legs quite to some extent. We opened our shoes and socks , stored them in the makeshift bamboo racks behind our seats, dipped our legs in the clear, cool water of Periyar and enjoyed the scenic beauty all around, as the view changed as we turned every corner.
Lake Periyar is the watershed of the hills and jungles around it, and earlier, a valley used to be there. Trunks of dead trees stood up from the bosom of the water, creating a strange view, perhaps reminding one of the passage of Time.
After around one and a half hour, we landed at a different end of the lake, and while a couple of the guides waited there, we entered the jungle again, and this time, expecting to really see some animals, headed for an elephant trail. After walking through the dense forest for a while,we were told that there is a chance of seeing elephants, as there were signs [smashed and thumped plants and bushes] of elephants being crossing that area just about half an hour earlier. So we started walking fast and silent, over all sorts of vegetations and even elephant and bison droppings, forgetting the leeches.
We traversed very fast for almost an hour, but alas, there was no sign of a single elephant!! We had to remain happy with only the running around, and came back to the place where our lunch was awaiting us- a light but filling lunch of idiappams once again, along with chana masala.
After lunch, we started back on our rafts once more for the point wherefrom we had started. The sun shone brightly and burnt us to its utmost intent, though later, the skies got cloudy and it even rained pitter patter for a while. Our guides, while rowing, sang songs of the lake and songs about fishing – their earthly tunes filling up the air and adding up to the ambiance we all were enjoying so much.
After reaching back to the starting point, we were given an apple each, and again started our two hours journey back home. This time, we took a different route, mainly by the banks of the lake, at times entering the jungle, but not going in too deep. Midway, it started raining; We all were provided raincoats, and this was the time we saw the one and only elephant – quite far away, grazing lazily in the forest. At that point, we all were very happy, at least to be able to see one specimen of the “wild”.Later we were shown some hornbills which were flying back home as dusk was setting in.
Our walk back took about almost two hours through dry lands and wet lands – at times we had to plod through full marshlands. I had badly aching legs, and was the slowest of them all, walking almost at a snail's pace – at one point of time, I could see none of my companions ahead of me, and only a lone guard was following me faithfully :) It was at this time that i noticed the first of the three leeches that had attacked me – on my left wrist. As predicted, I screamed out and Biplab came to my rescue.
Finally we reached back to the point where from we had started in the morning, took back the bamboo raft to the other side, and reached the information office, where i found the second leech sticking to my waist. We gave back the raincoats, gave our reviews in their guest book, waived our guides goodbye, and started back for Periyar house. We managed to get an autorickshaw that was passing by, to give us a lift till the rest house.
Reaching our room,I was shocked to see myself in the mirror !!! Any part of my skin that was not covered – my face, hands and neck, were all tanned to a deep reddish maroon color – anyone would say I was having some skin disease :) While freshening up, I found the third leech- it somehow managed to penetrate through my cotton salwar, and was sitting firmly just below my left knee, all swollen after sucking in ample amount of blood. This time, aunty came to my rescue, and pulled it off from my skin.
We were all dog tired after the hectic yet enjoyable day. Uncle and aunty had gone for a short three hour Nature walk in another part of the jungle,and as aunty had been wearing a saree [ as it never struck any of us, that she should go wearing a salwar kameez set]- she was attacked by an ample number of leeches too.
We had chicken cutlet, chips and tea after freshening up and rested for a while before going for dinner. After dinner, we all hit bed by 10:30 – we were too too tired to keep our eyes open.
Saturday, 25th August 2007 – Boat trip and Traffic Jam
We woke up early in the morning once again, to catch up with the 7 a.m. Boat trip on Lake Periyar. It was a two hour trip , which covered the whole length and breadth of the lake, and there were chances of seeing some wild life. There were lots of tourists, and many of them clad themselves in sweaters and shawls – though a cool breeze was blowing, no way was it required to wear a sweater or a jacket- but some how it is the general trend of the people down south, to clad them in winter wears in the month of August!! [We found people donning jackets, sweaters and scarfs even in Bangalore.]
We were not lucky even this day, and had to remain satisfied with a few wild boars, some birds, one deer with long antlers standing straight up on a hill, and a few nilgiri gaurs on the top of another hill far away, so far that they looked nothing more than black patches on the hill.
Lake Periyar
We however enjoyed the boat trip, and came back to the rest house around 9:30 a.m. I got the glimpse of a deer prancing across the road in front of the rest house
After breakfast we started packing for our journey again. Utterly shocked, I found another leech inside the cotton shoe that I wore the previous day- the shoe was totally wet and soggy, and the leech had comfortably spent the night there!!- Aunty helped me get rid of it, and then came the second problem – Biplab suddenly realised he couldn't find the railway reservation ticket booked from Cochin to Bangalore!! I had been keeping all the tickets, but this was one ticket they booked at Aleppey and they didnt give it to me. Everybody searched their bags frantically, Biplab unpacked everything and packed again, I called up an acquaintance in the Railways in Kolkata for probable solutions – and we were losing spirits, when it was discovered from a pocket of uncle's bag – he had also searched everyplace except that !!!
Relieved, we finally started our journey in a car towards Fort Kochi [ Cochin ], and a couple of spotted deers came to bid us goodbye while we were leaving the premises of Periyar house.
We stopped at Kumily, the town in the outskirts of the reserve forest, which is one of the big spice markets of Kerala, to buy some spices back home. Tea, coffee, spices and essential oils were bought and we started back again our journey down to Cochin.
As we hadn't have lunch before leaving,around 3p.m we all were feeling hungry. Our driver took us to a small roadside bakery shop -cum-hotel. This tiny place had a small hanging balcony behind the shop, with sitting arrangements , overlooking the valley below and one gets a wide view of the hills in the background with sparking white fountains gurgling down in between the never ending green walls.
We gorged up delicious parothas and egg curry, and bought some home made chocolates too from the shop. This was the cheapest yet one of the best lunch we had in Kerala.
We reached Cochin around 7:30p.m in the evening, and then faced something we had least expected – a long traffic jam!!We were stuck for about almost two hours on the highway before we could enter Fort Kochi.
It was already 10 p.m when we finally managed to enter Fort Kochi, and we had to search for some place to stay. Our driver suggested us to check out the Home Stays available around the Vasco Da Gama Square. We went to a couple of such home stays, but none could provide us with two rooms. Finally we found a comparatively new entrant in the business, who provided up with a flat with three bedrooms, and no other occupants. We decided to lodge in there. Though the rooms were not very well maintained, we were happy to find a good night's sleep at the least.
Here I must mention, our driver was of great help to us. He took us to homestays he knew about, and waited patiently without complaining till we found the lodging.
We had dinner bought from a local restaurant around 12a.m and hit bed.
Sunday, 26th August 2007 – Chinese Fishing Nets and Kathakali
The Sunday morning began with heavy showers. After quite some days, we all slept a little more than usual [read 7:30a.m ], and I was woken up by Biplab for tea. They had bought in Tea and Dal Vadas, which were extremely good to eat. Also, after many many days, we got to drink some good tea, which smelt and tasted like tea and not the hot syrup we had been served usually all through our tour by everyone we asked for some !!!
The sky cleared up by around 9 a.m and we started out for a stroll.
We headed for a Vasco Da Gama square, a large cobblestoned square by the seaside, lined up with Rain trees. The morning fish market by the seaside was meanwhile throbbing with fish sellers, spreading out their wares of sea fishes. Chinese fishing nets hung on bamboo frames by the seaside.We strolled by the paved path along the shore for a while, then decided we should also buy some fresh prawns for breakfast !! We bought some tiger prawns and a couple of Karimeen fish, and handed them over to a local restaurant, who said the can make them ready not before lunch.
So we went searching for something else for breakfast, and found a notice board about homemade cakes and freshly ground coffee, which lured us enough to find the place. It is a small cafe built in the courtyard of an old Kerala House, and its name is Kashi Art Cafe. Kashi has quaint round tables curved out of coconut wood, paintings hung on the walls, and a light music added up to create the perfect ambiance of prim leisure and homely atmosphere at the same time.
We had a wonderful breakfast of huge chunks of real good homemade carrot cake and chocolate cake along with freshly ground coffee.
After breakfast, we strolled down the quaint lanes around Vasco Da Gama square. The place has a old world charm with narrow lanes lined up by tiled roof houses, and architecture reminiscent of the Portuguese influence. A couple of churches, and a Dutch cemetery complete the picture. The occasional grocer's shop ,handicraft shops and multi storied buildings looked such odd entrants in the otherwise perfect scene , I wished they were not there!!
The laid back attitude of Fort Kochi caught up with us too, and we strolled lazily down the alleys and lanes. We even witnessed a marriage ceremony at one of the churches.
A Lane in Fort Kochi
Here I must write a couple of lines about the Rain trees. I am not sure if the tree is known as Rain tree in other places also, or what its botanical name is. It is a huge tree, which bears different types of leaves in different parts !! - yes, I am confirming it again – a Raintree has a wide trunk, and it bears leaves resembling that of ferns, mango, palm, and jamun for example, side by side, in connecting branches. It has got the name because it hides you from the rains- if you stand below a Rain tree while it is raining, you won't get wet.
We came back for lunch and a little rest around 2.pm . The prawn curry was ready by them along with coconut rice, and after lunch, we headed for a steamer boat ride to Vaipeen, a small island opposite to Fort Kochi. We were told that there was chance of seeing some traditional festivities of Onam celebration. The ride was for 5 minutes, and cost Rs 2/- each [the least fare we paid anywhere]. But at Vaipeen, nobody could help us. People seemed to be least informed about any such local celebration.
So we came back to Fort Kochi again by the next boat, and headed straight for a Kathakali performance, conducted by the Kerala Kathakali Centre. It was a rare experience,and the programme included the makeup sessions and demonstrations of the whys and hows of the dance form. The play performed was KichakaVadham, from the Mahabharata.
After the show, we went to have tea at another cafe we had noticed earlier in the morning. It started raining for a while before we found and reached the place. The place is called Teapot – it serves tea of all kinds, along with our delicacies. We had some real good tea there. But more that the tea, we were awestruck by the decor of the cafe- they have a huge collection of teapots of various shapes, sizes and materials, from miniature tea sets to big Chinese teapots. The tables are made of tea cartons, and even the clock said “T” instead of numbers.
We came back after a light dinner, and sat down for our final packing. The next day was going to be a hectic one, because we were to travel from Cochin to Bangalore.
Monday, 27th August 2007 – 12 hours journey
We reached the Ernakulam station around 8 a.m in the morning, and had breakfast at a restaurant on the platform. Our train, Bangalore Express was scheduled to start at 9:15 p.m. It was a long journey of 12 hours to Bangalore, and being inside an AC compartment is always boring [unless it is Rajdhani Express], because you can see nothing through the opaque yellow windows. So we took resort to the best possible thing we could do then – lie down in our respective bunks and get some sleep.
In the evening, to get some respite from the boring claustrophobic environment of the compartment, we took resort for a while in the adjoining general compartment, and got some last view of the mighty Western Ghats. A sparkling full moon rose in the eastern sky, even while the west was still being painted pink.
We reached Bangalore around 9:15 in the evening, and found a hotel for the nights stay. The hotel bearer was kind enough to arrange for our dinner, after which we tried to get some sleep.
Tuesday, 28th August 2007 – Back home
We woke up at 4 a.m in the morning, as our flight was scheduled at 7:30 a.m in the morning.
I decided to get rid of my damp and rotting pair of shoes,because they were already emitting horrible smell. Ruefully, I bid them goodbye before we left the hotel.
We reached the airport in time, boarded the flight in time, and landed at Kolkata around 12 noon. Biplab took back a flight straight back to Delhi, while Rahul came back by an afternoon flight.
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Here are some links of sites which gives more information about the places we visited/ events we took part :
http://www.nivalink.com/orchidresort/index.html
http://www.nivalink.com/jungle/kerala.html
http://www.beach-india.com/kerala_beaches/varkala.html
http://www.periyartigerreserve.org/
http://www.karmakerala.com/houseboats/?gclid=CK69xPmApY4CFRs-TAodX0kGoA