Incredible India - A week in 'God's Own Country'

A much needed escape began late St. Stephen's night with the start of a week adventure to Kerala in South West India. Having spent 2 weeks travelling across North India with Amy in 2006, I had always wanted to return and explore other parts. Indians call Kerala 'God's Own Country' and given the volume of water and how green and fertile the land is one can certainly see why. Held up by so many around the world as an example of how socialism can work in a developing country at the state government level, Kerala has unfortunately in the past 15 years succumb to the India problem of over-population. But, my dear blog reader, this entry is not to address or analyse the social situation in Kerala, but rather to give an account of what a wonderful time I had.
Arrival in Trivandrum early in the morning was certainly a shock to the system and everywhere I turned I was remind of my time living in Dhaka: the smells, the noise, the stares, the colors and the sheer volume of people! Religious fears has unfortunately meant that Hindu temples in Kerala (a state with an even distribution of Hindus, Christians and Muslims) are only open to Hindus. However, the temple was incredible to gaze upon from outside and the hustle and bustle of the worshippers outside was a show to watch.



The facade of the temple












A wander through one of the markets led to my first Thali of the week in a very local restaurant all for about a euro! The evening brought more wandering and the witnessing of a student protest in support of the Delhi victim of rape and murder. The next morning began with coffee in a traditional spiral Indian Coffee House (the social centre of any Indian city) and the train on up the coast to Varkala.

Indian Coffee House in Trivandrum

















My first Indian train in over 6 years and all memories came rushing back - what ever I or anyone else may say about India its trains are amazing. Amazing because they are so punctual, amazing because they cover every inch of the country and amazing because they are such a hub of life. This journey only lasted 35 minutes though and soon we were on a rickshaw out to the cliffs and beach of Varkala.
What a wonderful location with the sheer cliffs of Varkala and the beach and Arabian Sea below.

The beautiful Varkala cliffs and beach

Hanging out with the local performers of traditional Khakhali dance

The days flew by with yoga every morning, Ayurvedic massages, reflexology, local theatre shows, amazing food, no internet or phone access, lots of handicraft shops and lots of reading - pure bliss. One of my favourite activities was shopping the jewelry store of the very sweet man from Kashmir who know each one of his items of jewelry as if they were a personal friend of his! My mum and I spent New Years Eve sitting in a restaurant overlooking the sea digging into divine tandoori baked local fish and sipping on delicious Indian red wine (full bodied, well structured oaky Goan wine). Although alcohol is readily available and consumed in Kerala not all places have a licence to sell and so we were asked to keep the bottle under the table! I breathed a heavy sigh of relief as 2012 turned into 2013 and reflected on a year that had been a whirlwind of events and emotions; a year that had begun in California and ended in Kerala - I certainly do not lead a dull life!

The last sunset of 2012 over the Arabian Sea

The last sunset of 2012 over the Arabian Sea

New Years day began in the 'Coffee Temple' on the cliff top, literally a shack run by an older English man and which served the most divine coffee. His staff were made up of people who had drifted into Varkala for what ever reason and were working there to pass the time till they figured out their next move - there was even a really nice guy from Galway who was training to be a yoga teacher. After morning coffee we returned to Varkala train station to head to Kollom and the boat on the backwaters. The 8 hour trip on a boat through the lush green waters of Kerala was something I had read about often and was so very much looking forward to the experience. It may seem mad to spend 8 hours on a boat sitting in the same spot but as the gentle motor of the boat meandered through the backwaters the hours drifted by in a flash. I read, I wrote and I pondered - I had the overwhelming sense of being given the gift of physical space and time. It was by no means a utopia life I observed on the sides of the water, indeed often it was a simple but harsh reality. Basic houses where women washed clothes on the river bank and children running home from school full of the anticipation of the afternoon ahead. The colours were so vivid and the sounds so clear out on the water away from the hustle and bustle that the majority of India is.

Playing volleyball by the waters edge

But the stark reminder was there with the evidence of poverty and the rubbish that littered sections along the journey northwards.

The vastness of the backwaters

These sad signs were vivid upon our arrival in Allepey - deemed the Venice of the East due to the canals that flow through the entire town, you can certainly see its potential but the poverty and dirt is so overwhelming. A realisation that booking.com cannot always be trusted awaited us in Allepey as the place I had booked turned out to be miles outside the town and was not even completely built! Negotiations with the two young men who were the only people there, led us back into town to a local middle class Indian hotel but there was AC, clean sheets and a restaurant downstairs. The stay in the Venice of the East with all its untapped possibilities was brief as another train beckoned the following morning to Cochin our final destination. A short taxi ride from the train station in Cochin brought us to Fort Kochi the wonderful former Portuguese port.

The first Catholic church in india built by the Portuguese in the 1400s

I was amazed at how much of the architecture reminded me of Portugal especially the little fishing village of Cascais that I had visited in May. But it was still very much India with the garbage littering the beach which could have been so idilic. These things are all relative though as one learns during their travels. Once again the food and the wandering were amazing and the day ended with a wonderful Sitar and Tabla traditional music concert. The following day began with a visit to the old Jewish synagogue and surrounding area which today is a street full of shops selling Kerala spices.

The variety of spices

I ended my visit to Fort Kochi with the purchase of a Kerala cook book which I plan to test at the first dinner party of the year in a few weeks. Fort Kochi is definitely a place I would come back and sit in for a few days. The public bus to the airport took 2 hours but gave a great tour of the immensity of Cochin and then it was back to Dubai.
India has its many issues and we are all painfully aware of the sadness of some of these today in the media, but India is also a land of adventure and the unexpected. I safely say that I don't think i could ever live in India but there many other corners of the country I look forward to exploring in the future.
I have almost 300 pictures so send me an email if you would like the link to the album on Picasso photos to enjoy the visual wonders of Kerala.