After Bangalore, the excitement of my journey seemed to have passed an apex. What's left was more independent traveling and touristy sightseeing. Kerala turned that into a good thing.
I arrived in Ernakulam late morning after a restful overnight train ride from Bangalore. I came to Kerala to see one thing, the beautiful backwaters, so I went straight to the tour office as suggested by lonely planet to book the excursion. The day long group tour included lunch and a ride on a houseboat and canoe. Right after booking, I had some of the best parathas and coffees in India at the Indian Coffee House. Really cheap too. On the ferry ride to Fort Cochin, as I witnessed a tornado form near the opposite bank, I was overwhelmed by a whirlwind of questions of where I'm from and how I like India by local adolescents. These sudden bursts of attention usually culminate with my photo being taken with their cellphones and my camera.
Landing in Fort Cochin, a tuk tuk driver offered to take me around the different places of interest in town in exchange for taking me to gift shops where they can earn commission. I agreed as it would be a quick way to cover ground cheaply. One famous place, one "famous" shop. Cochin used to be a Dutch, Portuguese and Jewish settlement, and it was interesting seeing how the local culture is still influenced by them. That night, I went to see a Kathakali and kalarippayat performance. Kathakali takes facial expression exaggeration to the next level, where artistes tell epic stories using just their face and hands, no voice. Kalarippayat, however claims to be the predecessor of Shaolin Kung Fu having similar flowery yet lethal fighting moves.
The next morning, I joined the company of a jolly bunch from all over the world, lured to these parts by attractive photographs and the powerful word of mouth. Cruising the backwaters was a serene experience. The balmy weather, coconut tree, and laid back way of life is very alluring. Again, i'll let my pictures do the talking. Along the way, we were treated to a delicious serving of mussels cooked traditionally using spices wrapped in a banana leaf. The shells are then used to produce osteoporosis pills among other things by firing them into powder in a furnace. Because fishing is more lucrative, it is currently inactive. Production can be switched on rather easily, making it a great alternate source of income for the villagers.
The next morning, I decided that I had enough of Fort Cochin, so I hopped on a southbound "superfast" train to Varkala, only after another pit stop at Indian Coffee House. The train was so fast, it didn't bother to stop at Varkala and just flew on by. I had to backtrack a little, getting to the beach after sunset. Starving, I surveyed the cliffside restaurants. Most of them have a fresh marlin displayed like a trophy together with other lesser fishes such as kingfish, butterfish, barracuda, red and white snapper, Garupa, and tuna. I went with the restaurant with the freshest looking Tuna, which was when I met Kiran, Raj, and Hillary. If I hadn't turned around to ask if Hillary was from America, we wouldn't have become instant friends, and over cooked tuna wouldn't have been as bearable. Meeting awesome people was well worth the risk of embarrassment, and besides, there's always something to talk about with fellow travelers.
The nice thing about arriving at night is that waking up in the morning, you'll be presented with everything that place has to offer. Varkala beach sits at the bottom of a beautiful cliff, accessible by a few flights of stairs. Perched on top of the cliffs are all the familiar eating and sleeping establishments. In the morning, you can see dolphin pods surfacing for air from the cliffs, a sight to behold. The fine sands and powerful waves turned me into a beach bum for the next two days, boogie boarding and getting sunburnt. While waiting for the next big wave, I turned around and asked Patton if he was from Japan. Another instant friend, although I guessed wrong and made a fool out of myself. With these folks, I ushered in the year of the rabbit.
As much as I would live to follow them back to the backwaters and eventually Goa, I had to head to Tamil Nadu, the last item of my visit.
Next stop: Mahabalipuram and Chennai
I arrived in Ernakulam late morning after a restful overnight train ride from Bangalore. I came to Kerala to see one thing, the beautiful backwaters, so I went straight to the tour office as suggested by lonely planet to book the excursion. The day long group tour included lunch and a ride on a houseboat and canoe. Right after booking, I had some of the best parathas and coffees in India at the Indian Coffee House. Really cheap too. On the ferry ride to Fort Cochin, as I witnessed a tornado form near the opposite bank, I was overwhelmed by a whirlwind of questions of where I'm from and how I like India by local adolescents. These sudden bursts of attention usually culminate with my photo being taken with their cellphones and my camera.
Landing in Fort Cochin, a tuk tuk driver offered to take me around the different places of interest in town in exchange for taking me to gift shops where they can earn commission. I agreed as it would be a quick way to cover ground cheaply. One famous place, one "famous" shop. Cochin used to be a Dutch, Portuguese and Jewish settlement, and it was interesting seeing how the local culture is still influenced by them. That night, I went to see a Kathakali and kalarippayat performance. Kathakali takes facial expression exaggeration to the next level, where artistes tell epic stories using just their face and hands, no voice. Kalarippayat, however claims to be the predecessor of Shaolin Kung Fu having similar flowery yet lethal fighting moves.
The next morning, I joined the company of a jolly bunch from all over the world, lured to these parts by attractive photographs and the powerful word of mouth. Cruising the backwaters was a serene experience. The balmy weather, coconut tree, and laid back way of life is very alluring. Again, i'll let my pictures do the talking. Along the way, we were treated to a delicious serving of mussels cooked traditionally using spices wrapped in a banana leaf. The shells are then used to produce osteoporosis pills among other things by firing them into powder in a furnace. Because fishing is more lucrative, it is currently inactive. Production can be switched on rather easily, making it a great alternate source of income for the villagers.
The next morning, I decided that I had enough of Fort Cochin, so I hopped on a southbound "superfast" train to Varkala, only after another pit stop at Indian Coffee House. The train was so fast, it didn't bother to stop at Varkala and just flew on by. I had to backtrack a little, getting to the beach after sunset. Starving, I surveyed the cliffside restaurants. Most of them have a fresh marlin displayed like a trophy together with other lesser fishes such as kingfish, butterfish, barracuda, red and white snapper, Garupa, and tuna. I went with the restaurant with the freshest looking Tuna, which was when I met Kiran, Raj, and Hillary. If I hadn't turned around to ask if Hillary was from America, we wouldn't have become instant friends, and over cooked tuna wouldn't have been as bearable. Meeting awesome people was well worth the risk of embarrassment, and besides, there's always something to talk about with fellow travelers.
The nice thing about arriving at night is that waking up in the morning, you'll be presented with everything that place has to offer. Varkala beach sits at the bottom of a beautiful cliff, accessible by a few flights of stairs. Perched on top of the cliffs are all the familiar eating and sleeping establishments. In the morning, you can see dolphin pods surfacing for air from the cliffs, a sight to behold. The fine sands and powerful waves turned me into a beach bum for the next two days, boogie boarding and getting sunburnt. While waiting for the next big wave, I turned around and asked Patton if he was from Japan. Another instant friend, although I guessed wrong and made a fool out of myself. With these folks, I ushered in the year of the rabbit.
As much as I would live to follow them back to the backwaters and eventually Goa, I had to head to Tamil Nadu, the last item of my visit.
Next stop: Mahabalipuram and Chennai
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