Kerala, Part I – October 1

Vacation at last! After five weeks of school, it was time for a week off, so we planned to leave the bustle of Chennai behind for a trip to Kerala, a state on the southwest coast of India, known as “God’s own country,” due to its natural beauty. We left our apartment on Sunday the 27th, the second to last day of the nine-day Navaratri festivities. As we drove to the train station, we saw evidence of the festive season in the rows of auto-rickshaws lined up along the side of the street, decorated with flower garlands and palm branches. Even the luggage carts in the train station had palm branches tied to them!

For the first leg of our journey to Kerala, we took the night train to Cochin – a twelve-hour trip. We opted to go via Second Class 2-Tier AC, a fairly comfortable way to travel (though not as posh as First Class). In 2-Tier, each compartment has two upper and two lower bunks, enclosed by a set of curtains. The bunks were actually quite comfortable, and we were given clean sheets, blankets, and pillows by a train attendant. By 10 p.m., the carriage was dark, as everyone around us attempted to sleep, lulled by the rocking of the train. At times the train would stop briefly and I wondered who might be getting off or on in the middle of the night. We awoke the following morning to see the lush landscape of Kerala – huge groves of coconut trees, rice paddies, so much greenery.

We got off the train in Cochin, a popular tourist spot on the coast, known for its historic district, Fort Cochin, which is full of Dutch and Portugese colonial buildings. Our hotel, the Poovah, was one such building – a beautiful Dutch colonial mansion with gorgeous hardwood floors and amazing views of the Arabian Sea. I am not exaggerating when I say that the hotel was one of the nicest places I have ever stayed – in India or anywhere else! The seawalk just outside the hotel was full of people out strolling, as well as the usual ice cream vendors and trinket sellers. The waves here were not as powerful as the Bay of Bengal, although the huge clumps of scary-looking seaweed deterred us from putting our feet in the water. At one end of the seawalk were huge wooden fishing nets, operated by a system of weights, that originated in the 14^th century, brought to India from China. After six weeks in Chennai, we found it a nice change to be in a smaller, more tourist-oriented city. I think we saw more Westerners in Cochin during our one night there than we have seen during our entire stay in Chennai!

As hard as it was to leave the comfort of the Hotel Poovah (especially after breakfast on the terrace with the Arabian Sea in the background!), we were en route the next morning to the hill station of Munnar. At a height of 5,920 feet, Munnar is part of the High Ranges, a very lush, cool area, known for its tea plantations. The contrast between this area and the tropical environs of Cochin was quite striking. The higher we climbed, the cooler the air became. It is hard to describe the beauty of the area, with its waterfalls, green hills and rock cliffs – it simply felt like another world, so different from the India we had seen so far. At one point, when we stopped at a waterfall to take pictures and buy snacks, we saw a group of monkeys, sneaking down the side of the hill to forage among the discarded pineapple leaves and coconut shells. Taz was entranced with the adorably cute monkeys, especially the babies.

Our hotel in Munnar, the Deshadan, billed itself as the “highest resort in Kerala” and we did feel like we were above the clouds, with views of green hills that stretched for miles. The morning after we arrived, we visited a tea museum, where batches of tea leaves were dried and then ground in varying degrees of fineness, to make various types of tea. Even in this world of mechanization, the tea leaves are still picked by hand by the workers. From there, we went on to an “elephant park,” where we could finally indulge in an activity from our Indian wish list – an elephant back ride. As we waited for our turn, we watched one of the drivers give an elephant a bath with huge buckets of water, concluding with a soaping-down of the tusks. The elephant ride was not all that comfortable, since each time the elephant went uphill or down, we swayed precariously, holding on for dear life, trying not to fall off. At the end, we bought big pieces of cut-up pineapple (leaves and all) to feed our elephant. It was fun, although I don’t think any of us are cut our for a serious jungle trek! Our day concluded with a ride around Maupetty Lake in a speedboat. I think James enjoyed it the most, even though he didn't actually get to "drive" the boat.

So far, we have enjoyed our trip to Kerala. We still have more to see, but that will be covered in the next blog! Stay tuned . .