Kerala Day 5

Thursday 21 February

“Morning transfer to houseboat.”

We were picked up from the backwater resort on time, but their card reader wasn’t working when we check out, so had to use cash .. further deleting our cash supply. The driver took us to a nearby ATM, and SF was able to use one of her cards as for some reasons neither of my cards worked. We stopped in a nearby Bakery Shop (ubiquitous in Kerala) and had a cup of coffee and some snacks, then were taken to board the houseboat.  This boat was nice but not overly fancy .. two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen in the back, and an open sitting/dining area in the front. Two men ran the boat, taking turns steering us across Vembanad Lake and through some narrower backwater passages.  There were lots of other houseboats out – some small and some quite large and elegant; and we saw a half-dozen species of water birds (which we still need to identify and name). One of the men did the cooking and served us huge and tasty meals that included a lot if fish, coconut, and bananas. It was very relaxing just to sit and watch the scenery.  They tied up for the night near Alleppy, in an area with lots of other houseboats, and we went to bed around 9 pm.

Kerala Day 4

20 February

"Day at Leisure at Resort"

Spent most of day sitting on balcony watching the waterway ..

 Load of rice straw.

 "Taxi boat" that drives back and forth a number of times per day

 Water lillies

Early morning view

Kerala Day 3

“Morning visit spice plantation. Later drive to Kumarakom.  On arrival check into hotel X”

The drive from Kumily to Kumarakom took us through some of the same route we had taken yesterday, but headed off a bit south and towards the coast.  We really appreciated the skill of our driver on the mountain roads, today with heavier traffic.   

The spice plantation was very interesting.  It is one that grows spices and herbs for Auryavedic medicines – we saw cardamom plants; pepper vines; cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg trees along with a lot of other local medicinal plants. 

Cardamom plants

Pepper vine

Cardamom in flower

Fig tree

Our driver encouraged us to stop at a small bird sanctuary near to our hotel – and we did but only for a bit as it was hot and mid-afternoon, not a good time for birdwatching.  Did hear about 5 or 6 different bird songs. Checked into our hotel which has ‘resort’ in the name – but it is rather disappointing as it has no amenities besides a small odd restaurant (we were hoping for a cold beer and some good South Indian food), but we are facing a ‘backwater’ area and can watch boats and birds, get caught up on rest, hydration and laundry as we will be here a second night. 

Kerala Day 2

Monday 18 February   

                                                                                     

“Morning leave by surface for Periyar. On arrival check into hotel X.

Proceed on a boat-ride on Lake Periyar to view wild-life. The man-made lake adds to the natural beauty of the wester ghats and is located in the heart of a 300-sq. miles wild life sanctuary… “

The drive from Kochi to the town of Kumily took about 5 hours and took us over several ranges of the Western Ghats. Along the way we saw lots of nice family houses built in a distinctly South Indian style, rubber plantations, banana and coconut groves, fields of cassava and pineapple. There was some sort of general strike on so stores were closed and few people were out, except for small small political rallies in some of the towns. 

Again, we got to our hotel later than planned, and had to eat a hurried lunch (fortunately this place and the previous place had buffets set out for lunch, so it was possible to be quick). Then we were taken close by to take buses into the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, where we got on boats for an hour ride on the reservoir – saw elephants, gaur, sambar, otters (I didn’t know these existed in India), white-necked ibis, and other birds. 

After our return from the game park we went to a demonstration of Kalaripayattu, the South Indian martial arts. The 5 young men who participated were very skilled and it was quite impressive. That was followed by a program introducing Kathakali dance. By then it was 8 pm .. so we just had granola bars in our room and then actually slept almost a full night!

Kerala Day 1

Sunday 17 February

From itinerary:

“On time transfer to airport to connect flight for Kochi

Meeting and assistance on arrival and check into hotel X

Afternoon half day city sightseeing tour of Kochi visiting the Dutch Palace, Jewish Synagogue, Chinese fishing nets, St. Francis church and Santa Cruz church.”

We had to get up early (not a problem as neither of us slept much), left our bigger bags in storage at the Y, and were taken to the airport again for an early morning flight to Kochi, Kerala (delayed  by fog after we got on the plane). We hadn’t realized that this was not a direct flight – the plane touched down in Hyderabad first –  so a zig and a zag across the subcontinent!  We were met in Kochi by a very nice young man who took us to our hotel.  We checked in and then had about 15 minutes for a very hurried lunch as it was nearly 3 pm for our 1 pm tour.  

 The Jewish synagogue was particularly interesting, and learning that there are only 5 members left of that community. 

Also pleasant (though hot!) was a walk along the waterfront to see the ports, local families out enjoying a Sunday afternoon stroll, fish markets, music and art.  An arts Biennialle is held in Kochi and our visit was just at the tail end of it –we got to see a wonderful herd of elephants made of rattan on metal frames still on exhibit. Dinner that evening was a Kingfisher beer and a ‘small bites’ spicy stuffed fish.

Return to India 2019

Saturday 16 February

Our plane landed in Delhi at about 1 am.  By the time we made it through immigration, collected our baggage, were met by Deepak (2017 travelers – same fellow that shepherded us around on that trip) and made it to the YWCA guest house, it was after 3 am.  We crashed into bed and maybe got 2 hours sleep.  After breakfast we walked down to the Jantar Mantar, which SF had not seen on her previous visit. The weather was cool (in 60sF) , there were few crowds out, so  it was nice for walking. Then we came back to the Y, rested (could not sleep), and organized our bags for the next leg of the trip.  The restaurant at the Y is closed (temporarily?) so we walked down to Kwalities and had a late lunch/early dinner.