Kochi to Mysore...more photo and stories

From Kollam, we made our way up the coast towards Kochi...finally a journey that didn't take all day. Kochi turned out to be something of a tale of two cities - touristy, unsettling, infuriating Fort Cochin and bustling, friendly, spirited mainland Ernakulam.

This chap invited Christian over for a friendly chat as we wandered around near the Chinese fishing nets at Fort Cochin. Slightly inebriated, he asked for his photo to be taken, and as soon as the deed had been perfomed, he demanded a small sum of money from Chris! He may not catch many fish, but I imagine a fair few unsuspecting tourists have fallen foul of his net!

One of Astrid's many beautiful photos. Dolls for sale at a market stall on the waterfront.

Another Astrid shot...colourful lanterns at another stall.

And another of Astrid's photos - the cantilevered fishing nets that dot the water's edge at Fort Cochin

After leaving Kochi, we made our way towards Kalpetta for our Indian wildlife adventure. Arriving at the tourist information office at the stated opening time, we waited for half an hour to see someone and then spent another two hours trying to work out how we could possibly get into the park, with the added dilemma of our car permit being about to expire. In the end, we had our adventure, despite the bungling beauracracy!

We passed through some lovely areas on the way to Bandipur, that really made us feel like we were at last in the real India - the rural villages where life goes on at the most casual of paces!

The vehicle we toured the park in was rather noisy, but luckily the animals seemed pretty used to it!

A familiar roadside sight almost everywhere in India

The very large and impressive Maharaja's Palace in Mysore. We spent an afternoon here and were really taken with the sheer size and beauty of the place on the interior. Everywhere we looked we saw ornately carved wooden doors, beautiful paintings and sculptures (no photos allowed of course!)

On our last night with Rajendren, we treated him to a meal out and bought him a large box of sweets to take home to his family...needless to say, we were very sad to bid him farewell, but glad that he would be able to make it back to his family in time for Christmas!

We spent a fun day wandering the markets in Mysore on our last day. Here, Astrid & Shanks are hearing all about the process used to make the famed sandalwood oil of Mysore.

Bangles anyone?

Many children still work in the market stalls every day, with no thought given to their education. These children would have been primary-school aged. Seeing these children made us reflect on the vast inequalities that still persist between the developing and the developed worlds.

Another lovely child at his stall selling limes, red onions and potatoes.

This boy was eager to share with us the tricks and techniques of incense making, and chased us down a few times until we came to his stall! It is certainly a struggle to survive for many families and there are no options but for the entire family to work all day doing anything possible to make that extra few rupees.

Another young lad selling marigolds, used to make garlands and for offerings at holy temples

Astrid having a design applied to her hand using the coloured tikka powders, seen in the background. No charge this time, just the usual hard sell!

One night as we were walking back to our hotel, we came across a group of kids playing cricket in a dusty alleyway. Shanks and Christian were quick to replace the rock that they were using for a cricket ball with a couple of tennis balls. Astrid and I sat and chatted with the younger children, while Shanks and Christian took another caning at the hands of the youngsters!

Maybe the current Indian selectors need to scout around Mysore to inject some new blood into an ailing side! I think Australia can stick with McGrath and Lee though!

More photos from Kodai to Kollam

OK, we're back on the road again! After leaving Trichy fairly early in the morning, we prepared ourselves for another day in the car as we headed towards the hill station of Kodaikanal. After a peaceful 3 days in Kodaikanal, we were back in the car once more for what ended up almost becoming the roadtrip from hell! You may remember our earlier blog about this adventure...we ended up having to stay overnight in Kovalam, as the 300 kilometre trip turned into a never-ending journey of mammoth proportions. Just a few more photos from Kodai and Kollam now...

A brief stop on the way up to Kodaikanal provided an opportunity to feed the monkeys...

And one even managed to jump in the car with us for the rest of the journey!

Kodaikanal was very cold and we stopped at our favourite eating spot for a ginger chai and bhajias (potato & onion mix deep fried in a spicy batter) at least twice a day!

Check out the size of these cooking pots! A small village we passed on our two-hour walk to Pillar Rocks.

The bike that rode itself!

At this restaurant in Kodai we were invited into the kitchen to learn about the different methods of making the traditional Indian breads - roti, chapati and naan.

We got into the habit of packing up any leftover food we had and buying extra rotis to give to any beggars that approached us. One night we still had some food left over so we put it outside in the cold (no fridges in the hotel of course!). The following morning we were wryly amused to see what had become of our well-intentioned offering!

The Indian method of cooling down a boiling hot glass of chai!

Another very satisfied customer. Shanks regularly consumed a couple of these massive dosas in one sitting!

No wonder the restaurant staff were so happy!

A view of Kodaikanal from our breakfast spot at our hotel.

Scenery on the drive from Kodai to Kollam

All smiles aboard our canal experience of Kollam

At roughly 3km an hour, our leisurely cruise through the winding canals was one of the most relaxing experiences we had during our travels

Onlookers!

A typical village dwelling on the embankment of the canals

Fishing on the river

A quick tour of some gardens with spice plants and tropical fruits and our three hour tour was over.

Reflections on the canals

More gaps to fill in...this time from our peaceful and reflective time in Kollam.

Kollam street scene

We departed Kovalam at around 9:30am for the remaining two-hour journey to Kollam where we were looking forward to our eagerly-anticipated cruise through the backwaters. Kollam is a typical bustling city, nothing remarkable in its own right, but for the increasing tourist market built up around the backwater canal experience. This is the main reason why we were there and so in the afternoon of the following day we hopped on a bus for what we were told would be a half-hour trip to the village where we would start the cruise. The half hour turned into one hour as the run-down state-owned tourist bus rattled down tiny laneways filled with potholes and the expected assortment of late-afternoon traffic. In India, apart from the standard cars, rickshaws, scooters, motorcycles, buses, trucks and pedestrians, the roads also accomodate dogs, cats, chickens, goats, cows, pigs, elephants, donkeys, water buffalo, monkeys, and ponies! Shanks still often smiles in amusement whenever we pass a cow on a busy city street!

Would all the heavy passengers kindly move to the right-hand side?

We have written before about traffic in India. Let me tell you some more...in India, road markings and signs are taken as mere suggestions, speed limits are universally understood to indicate minimum rather than maximum travelling speeds, and driving on the left hand side of the road may occur momentarily as drivers weave to either side in their attempt to find the clearest path forward. We are going to consider Australian traffic tame after this trip (let's just hope that none of us come back with bad habits picked up here)!

Many trucks are decorated and painted quite garishly like this one!

Anyway, back to Kollam. We arrived shortly after 3pm in a small village where we hopped aboard a boat made from wooden planks sown together with coconut fibre (coir). Along with the four of us was a couple from Bhopal - the man was a commander in the Indian Army so Astrid had to be on her best behaviour for the entire journey (needless to say, she wasn't)!

Aaaahhh life...

Our guide steered us through the maze of canals with a long wooden pole at the ambling pace of about 2km an hour. This was the perfect speed for us to observe village life. Although we felt voyeuristic at times (some of the thatched homes that we passed would have been just metres away from the edge of the canal), we hoped that there would be some positive flow-on effects from our tourism to the villagers whose lives are intruded on in this way. However, it is still not something that sits very comfortably with any of us, especially when we realised how little our guide was being paid for his efforts.

Children from the village

Along the way we stopped to see how the boats that travel the canals are constructed and we also got a quick tour of a spice garden at one of the homes in the village. The backwater tour was certainly a highlight for all of us due to the seclusion and quietude that it provided but it again made us reflect on ourselves as tourists and what we are prepared to do in the name of sightseeing. Just as we despised being seen as commodities in Fort Cochin, I don't imagine that the villagers whose neighbourhood is continually beseiged by tourists particularly appreciate being seen as tourist attractions. This is a dilemma that we have often discussed together and it is something that we are ever mindful of. We are hoping that our behaviour - simple politeness, appreciation and respect - makes our presence a little bit more tolerable!

The villagers from the house where we stopped for our coconut break

Kodai to Mysore photojournal

Lorraine:
Here are some more photos from Kodaikanal right through to our arrival in Mysore a couple of days ago. Enjoy!

Scene from the gardens at our hotel in Kodaikanal...

...where we started each day with a leisurely breakfast and steaming hot chai!

Astrid & Christian cooling off with coconut water

during a break on one of our long car journeys!


What if the one you want is at the bottom?
Fruit & vegetable markets at Kollam.


Men at work making pappadums at the markets in Kollam.
They were very pleased to have their photo taken!


In Kollam, we went on a beautiful boat tour through the backwaters that meander through some villages. These boys were after pens and scored three from Astrid!


Enjoying the ride!


Lush tropical scenery on either side

The backwaters are predominantly used for trade, transportation and fishing

Midway through the journey we stopped for a quick drink and bite to eat...

Now that's what I really call "fast food"...and healthy too!

Our wonderful guide who steered us through the backwaters. In one of the many examples of the people who do the really hard work getting the least money, we were shocked to find out that he was being paid Rs 125 a day (equivalent to about $AU 3.65) for up to three 3-hour cruises he takes tourists on each day. Our group of 6 paid the government-run tourist department a sum of Rs 1800 ($AU 53) for the cruise. Needless to say we gave him a big tip.

More market action at Ernakulam

...and more

Arriving in Kalpetta (a town close to Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary) late one night, we were suprised and excited to see a sign saying "Baha'i Centre". We were able to meet with a beautiful couple the next day and the warmth and hospitality that we were greeted with was a powerful reminder of one of the underpinning Baha'i principles that the earth is one country and we are all one family.

Beautiful pheasants at an aviary in Mysore

White peacock at the aviary

Very happy campers!

Enjoying the peace and quiet at Karinji Lake in Mysore