Southern India
Hello again from toasty India. We’ve had a fantastic last week or so touring the area. From Alleppey we got our boat booked for the backwaters cruise. We ended up doing 2 nights (the norm is 1) and are glad we did. With the extra day we had time to go further afield and weren’t surrounded so closely by the hundreds of other tourists out boating!
Our boat, the penquin, had 1 bedroom/ bathroom, some comfy chairs and a table in front and side benches that were padded to recline on. We had a crew of 2, the captain and the chef and they were both very nice. The chef was a great cook and made us WAY too much food for each meal. However, he & the captain ate after us and if there were leftovers they shared with some of the local villagers. The backwaters are absolutely gorgeous, serene waterways stretching for over 900km and lined by small villages and palm & coconut trees. There were loads of beautiful birds to watch and little else to do except soak in the scenery, read and talk.
The boat turned out to be great except for one problem. Both nights at around 3am the battery died and the fan in our room started going on and off along with the beeping to indicate low battery. So, the crew would get up, start the generator to charge the battery and all is well. But, this was pretty crappy in the middle of the night! And, even worse, the second night they were both sleeping so soundly we had to LITERALLY shake them awake to go start the generator. This didn’t make for the most restfull sleep! But, other than that…it was an amazing experience and I am glad to report actually lived up to everything we’d heard about it.
Once we arrived back in Alleppey we caught a 2 1/2 hr boat ferry to the town of Kottayam. On the way some young Indian boys on holiday asked to have their photos taken with us, which always cracks us up a bit. We forget they’re as interested in us as we are in them.
We had intended to stay at the Ambassador Hotel but once Jim checked it out we realized it was total crap. Our rickshaw driver suggested we stay at his house at their “homestay” and we decided to check it out. He & his family (wife and daughter) are quite poor and live in a tiny, bright pink, home. It was very clean & they’re a delightful family so we decided to stay with them. Since he doesn’t make enough as a driver to pay for his daughters school they made one room available for tourists. Their home included 4 rooms, the kitchen, their bedroom, bathroom, and our room…which looks like it used to be their tv or living room. It was certainly cozy but they made us a fantastic dinner and seemed quite interested in hearing all about our lives. It was our cheapest night to date. $8.50 for the room and another $8.50 for dinner & beer. A true bargain, especially when you consider the really great time we had meeting the family.
We caught the express bus the next day heading to Kumily near Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. It was meant to be 3 hr 45min but our driver was nuts and we arrived in 3hrs 10min. In between thinking he was Mario Andretti he appeared to be drifting off to sleep, a very scary thing as we twisted and turned up the mountains with easily a 300ft drop off of one side and the typical crazy traffic passing and coming towards us. Luckily, we made it in one piece and took a rickshaw to Coffee Inn. They don’t take reservations but, again, we lucked out and got a room.
After a series of really uncomfortable beds we were thrilled to have a very comfortable bed with a bathroom with hot water and a balcony looking out over the edge of the sanctuary. At $23/night it seemed a bargain. We spent 4 days exploring the town, getting some things booked, etc. and did take a one day trip into the sanctuary. That was a bit of a disappointment in that we only saw 2 water buffalo and some wild boars. But, the scenery was beautiful.
The best part of Kumily is, at 2500ft elevation, it’s a nearly perfect climate. Cool in the morning and evenings and around 80 or so during the day. This area is the tea and coffe plantation region of Kerala and the hills are surrounded by hundreds of acres of fields. We took a tour that explored some of the areas, saw how tea is processed and went to a spice garden. I love to cook with a lot of different spices and it was especially fascinating for me to see how the plants look in their original form.
After quite a few problems we got our flight booked to Egypt for 20March. We had really not wanted to spend the night in Mumbai but, due to schedules there was no way around it. So, on 19Mar we fly from Goa to Mumbai for 1 night and then on 20Mar from Mumbai to Cairo where we’ll meet my companys 12day Egypt tour. We’re very much looking forward to that as it’s 2 nights Cairo, 7 nights on a cruise on the Nile, and 2 more nights in Cairo, all sightseeing and most food included and best of all…. I don’t have to plan anything!!!!
After 4 nights in Kumily we decided that 6hrs on the bus back to Kochi was not what we wanted to do. So, we hired a taxi. It was about $50 but worth it for the 4hr (safe) drive especially since it was in the mid-90’s . We’re here in Kochi for 2 nights so we can send yet another DHL package home and lighten our loads once again and then start heading north. We have 2 hotels already confirmed on 2 different beaches in Goa. It’s a very busy season and we were afraid we’d be out of luck otherwise.
Our hotel here, the Yuvarni Residency, is actually a HOTEL….the whole bit, room service, maid service, an elevator, and …best of all..CNN. We have been without any real type of news for almost 2 weeks and really missing knowing what is going on in the world.
Well, dear friends & family. It’s 10:30pm and we’re off to dinner . Hope everyone is well at home. Cheers from India. Love to you all, Jim & Rhonda
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