KanyeKumari
Monday, December 31st, 2007When it seems like you have all the time in the world and a budget that is a step or two above miserly you don’t mind waiting for trains. Sitting in the shade listening to my creative zen throw out tunes randomly was quite enjoyable. It took about four hours to travel down the bottom of the west coast from Varkala to KanyeKumari (Indias most southerly point). The scenery combined with the time of day made the journey a very pleasant one. I got myself the seat beside the emergency exit (just in case) but it also had the bonus of being the only window in the carriage without any metal bars on it so I had a full unobstructed view of the scenery which was a lovely mix of paddi fields interupped every now and again by some coconut plantations – this combined with the deep red sun setting over the arabian sea really was something special to behold. At several junctures you pass children playing away, men more often than not huddled in groups of ten or more discussing I’m guessing not alot and women who seemed to be either carrying several tonnage on their craniums or hammering clothes of rocks by muddy pools with the hope of cleaner clothes. It definitely gives you some idea of the rural indian family dynamic.
I arrived into KK after dark – its a bad time to arrive anywhere esp when you have no accomodation sorted. You know you are in india without opening your eyes. As I walked towards the station (indian trains are huge, it takes several minutes to walk the length of them) several women jumped out of the general carriages and ran up to the wall before crouching down and relieving themselves – this must be a common occurance here as the smell here was really bad. I wondered to myself why they just couldn’t go on the carriage where the toilets are well useable. It was less than 24 hours before I got a full and emphatic answer to that little question.
I needed a gaff so after a quick review of what the lonely planet had to offer I planned a route around the town which was quite small and easily done by foot. The first place listed was knocked down, the second was full and the third, well the third was a raging flea pit!! They had the cheek to ask for 600 rupees, I laughed in yer mans face – I’m not going to pay for a blood infection. So off I scarpered. I tried at least 5 more places, all were full and I was getting tired. Finally I got a place at the Tri Sea hotel which was waaaay over my budget but I didn’t care, I just wanted my room. And to be fair this room ranks second to the one I had in bangalore – big tv, clean bed, hot shower and a nice view. All for 20 euro. My max budget per day is about 25 euro for india so I knew I had to make up the difference elsewhere.
I went of searching for some food, KK is a small small town relative to the rest of the country. It is a major pilgrimage spot for hindus though so most places are hotels or lodge houses so this had the effect of making the streets there incredibly busy. I enjoyed walking around, looking at the stalls, getting down to the beach to stick my toe off the end of india etc. I stopped into a locals place for some masala dosa which is basically a massive pancake with some curried vegtables. There were no knifes nor forks so it was left hand under the bum time again. Washed that down with two cups of chai (which is my new second favourite drink after guinness ). The bill came to 26 rupees – which is about 45 cents. Now thats the dictionary definition of ‘making it up elsewhere’!!
I went back to bed and slept like a log.
Had wonderful intentions of getting up early to watch the sunrise over the indian ocean – but you know me – tis a bit like expecting cavan to win the all-ireland, nice thought but completely unrealistic. I walked down to the shore and had a look around. There is an island off the coast with a massively impressive statue of some local poet and also a rather large temple for hindu worshippers. I decided it was a bit safer to admire from afar – the boat was a rust bucket and the people were many many!!
After a wee while I headed off to collect my stuff and head for the train to madurai in search of some more temples and cheaper accomodation (more so the latter). When I arrived at the station there were just general tickets on sale – I thought whats the harm in getting one, its that or a bus. How bad could it be? I walked up to the general carriages and they were full – I don’t mean irish full I mean india full. The carriages looked like it was sweating people – it was horrible. I managed to squeeze into the tightest space but when I put my bag down my sunglasses much to the amusement of everyone else, fell off my head, out the door and in under the train. When I got out to retrieve them, two indian lads took my place. I was in there for about 30 seconds and the sweat was streaming off me. Can you imagine a 5 hour journey??? Imagine having to go to the loo in that, I guess that explains the old ladies dilemna. I then got the idea of asking the ticket master for an upgrade – thank god there was. I was ecstatic to take my seat in second class no AC beside the same emergency window for the 5 hour journey. To make matters even better I ended up sitting beside this loverly guy from Kanyekumari who pointed out places to see in Tamil Nadu and even gave me a packet of sweets from his local place – which were dried bananas in a hot powder. Strange at first but quite addictive.
Sin e
Phil Gill