At this point I'm sure you're all familiar with our train journeys which include a delayed train, draughty, grotty carriage awoken by numerous locals at an unreasonable hour (well one of us at least) before arriving at our desired location.
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| Chinese Fishing Nets |
And here we are, Kerala! (God's Own Country, if the locals are to be believed) I was hoping for a little more, but being underwhelmed seems to be the theme. Much like Goa this part of India seems to have a touch more of a European feel to it while the mid forty degree temperatures are quick to remind you that it is still very much Indian. Initially we planned to spend much longer here but thanks to the beach in Palolem we could only manage a few days, although I think it was all that was needed.
On our first day we took a brief walk around Fort Cochin, (brief as the heat was intense) to the shore to see the Chinese fishing nets that Kerala is famous for. While taking photos one of the fishermen called us out onto the fishing rig and gave us some information on them (apparently they're Portuguese) and allowed us to help raise the nets and get some photos before charging us for the privilege, nice chap! Other than that we took in some of the local shops and ate some fresh seafood before our excursion the following day.
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| Heave, Ho..... |
The bus will be here at 8:30am! Imagine our surprise as we sat down to breakfast we were informed at 8am that the bus was here for us but not to worry as it will wait. Now imagine our further surprise when 20mins later we exit the guesthouse to find a bus full of people waiting for us with unimpressed expressions..... Good start I thought!
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| Kids having a swim in the backwaters |
Today we are heading out to see the backwaters, a network of waterways that are integral to the Kerala economy, we also heard they were quite pretty so off we went to check them out. These peaceful channels were busy with local rafts paddling about while people worked the lakes that had formed and the coconut groves that lined its banks. How cool is it to find out that coconuts are used as not only a food and drink source but it's husk makes rope and it's inner shell is used for coconut oil production? Not very I know but what about coconut trees producing an alcoholic drink that does not need fermenting on a daily basis? Very and it's called toddy, that fact alone made the whole trip worth while. But on a serious note we were impressed with the work done around the backwaters where everything produced is used locally and nothing goes to waste. Tourism too is a big draw, so seeing such a green environment being kept as such will benefit them long into the future. A breath of fresh air in comparison to the "tomorrow never comes" attitude of much of India
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| Backwater Taxi Service |
After some lazy days in Kerala we had to make tracks to Trivanthirum down south to catch our flight to Colombo. The train journey was short, only 5 or 6 hours that were filled by chasing a cockroach away from behind my tray onto the seat in front only for him to consistently reappear from another direction (how we have changed - 7 months ago I would have asked to change train). We had no idea what to expect of TRV but we didn't expect a lot and that was what it delivered! We had 2 nights here to help break up the train and flight times so we booked into the first place we found in our Lonely Planet guide which also happened to be the cheapest, that should have been enough warning.
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| Welcome to Hell |
If you picture the place from the movie Hostel and think of the most brutal character in it, even they wouldn't have stayed in this place. From a swarm of mosquitoes to crawling bed sheets to graffiti on the wall saying "it's not too late to check out now" we shut our eyes and prayed that morning would arrive soon. Once it did we got the hell out of there and booked into a rather plush hotel and enjoyed our comfort until our flight.
Patrick (9th of March 2011)
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