It was a beautiful New Year's Eve! The next morning we blearily headed out for our trip to Mysore and Kerala, in our hired bus/van, along with our driver Raju, and Nag's cousin Somu. Tumkur is of course on the way, as is Tumkur's awesome enormous Monkey God gate.
Indians decorate everything. Especially the buses.
Our first stop on the 5-day trip south was the gorgeous city of Mysore, in southern Karnataka.
In Mysore we went to visit the spectacular Sri Chanundeshwari Temple.
Sri Chanundeshwari is atop a mountain, as most Hindu temples are. The general rule was, look in the distance to the mountains, and most likely there's a temple on the top of the highest one. It makes sense - that's where I'd put them.
The (hazy) view of Mysore from atop the mountain.
Outside the temple, worshippers arranged offerings, for those who couldn't wait to stand in that line.
Care for some refreshing coconut water while you wait?
The cows enjoy what's leftover. Cows (and oxen) are everywhere, of course. When no longer productive, they are simply let go, and they become street animals. They just wander around, and everyone just lets them be. Even when wandering in, say, the middle of a highway, one just, y'know, drives around them. No big deal.
It was actually a holiday that day, so the place was packed, and the line to get into the temple for blessings was hours long.
No shoes allowed in the temple. Think of this scene the next time you go bowling.
We headed back down into Mysore for lunch, at Lalit Mahal Palace, a former colonial palace from the days of pith helmets, now a hotel. Merry Christmas! Why settle for one Santa, when you can have 5?
That hotel is spectacular, in a colonial-rule kind of way, of course.
More sight-seeing that afternoon, when we toured the Mysore Maharaja's palace. No pictures allowed inside, so you'll just have to trust me: It's extremely excessive. Here's the gang outside in the courtyard. For future photo identification, that's (left to right) Vilan, Somu, me, Nag, Allen, Kenny, and Francy.
There were elephants marching around there, for reasons I never quite grasped. Nag next to an elephant is funny, and photo-worthy.
Vilan thought so, too.
When we stayed in areas where mosquitos were an issue, we used a nifty net we brought with us. In the morning, I struggle with disassembling it.
We begin our long journey west and south to Kerala. Our first target is the Wayanad District, in the plateau/mountains on the Karnataka/Kerala border.
Along the way, we stop at the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. We were of course willing to pay 10 times more than Indian Nationals...
...But circumstances conspired to keep us from getting in that day. Petrol was needed, we couldn't bring the van all the way into the refuge, etc. We pressed on, and saved that area for our trip back north up to Bangalore when we passed that way again. Still, there were monkeys. There were always monkeys.
Traveling by the roads in India is an adventure unto itself. The roads are, generally, awful (I wish there was another word, but that's actually pretty generous), and the bureaucratic tangle of moving from state to state is often infuriating. (We'll talk about the driving practices there later.) While stopped to negotiate our permit on the Kerala border, Kenny and Francy made friends, as they always do.
One of the reasons Somu joined us was to help translate in Kerala, where they speak Malayalam. Somu doesn't speak Malayalam, but he does speak Tamil, which is similar. So he would speak Tamil, and Keralans would speak Malayalam back. That's India, man.
So we made our way up to the resort that Prof. Shivanna's student (and Kerala native) Sinu booked for us, nestled in tea-plantation country. Along the way, we stopped in a typical village (there are a billion people there, there's a sizable village about every five miles, no matter how much in the middle of nowhere you are). Liss took advantage of the stop to shop for fabrics.
Scenes from this typical Kerala/Karnateka border town.
They were very helpful at the shop!
The owner's wife (daughter?) was shy with the camera, though.
Finally, we make it to the resort's area, where the tea plantations are just breathtaking. Here, the workers (all women!) harvest the tea.
Raincountry Resorts, where we spent the night, is spectacularly beautiful. After a harrowing drive up the mountain to the resort (what happens if a car needs to come down this one-lane dirt road on the edge of a cliff while we're going up? Eh, we'll figure it out when it happens...) Unbelievably, we made it. We checked into our rooms, which sported a gorgeous (outdoor!) bathroom.
Good morning, Kenny!
I took very few pictures of food on this trip (sorry John!). This was one attempt, though. A lovely Keralan lunch we had at the resort, after Nag had tucked into it a bit.
That afternoon we went exploring in and around the plantations.
At one point, we kind of trespassed into a private plantation. We got to see them hauling away the leaves for processing.
And Nag fulfills his lifelong ambition of harvesting tea.
Coffee beans, too!
It was extremely picturesque there.
But that night, disaster struck. Liss got ill. Really really sick. It happens, no matter how careful you are, and we were really really careful. Because of her pregnancy, we took it very seriously, and after being up all night talking with doctors in The States on the phone, we decide the best thing to do is press on, where we would be closer to hospitals, should her illness take a turn for the worse. We were headed to Cherai Beach, on the Kerala coast, and it was a long 6-hour drive away, down the plateaus on harrowing mountain passes into the flatland of the coast. It was foggy that morning in the mountains, and this kind of sums up the general mood...
No one was happy on that drive. It was spectacularly awful. Melissa was miserable, everyone else was miserable because of the harrowing long, hot drive, we got lost for a time, the roads and the traffic were terrible - it just was quite the scene. Needless to say, no photos happened that day.
Finally, we make it to Cherai Beach, just a bit north of Cochin...
...and to our resort on the Arabian Sea.
We made it!
Again, the mood was one of exhausted relief.
That's a Kingfisher Nag's got there, by the way. Kingfisher, in India (not the swill they brew in Jersey), is like nectar. I've never had better beer. Ever.
Then we chilled on the beach for the rest of the day (while Melissa continued to recuperate). Slowly, we started to relax, and play in the ocean.
~~>
Somu is a riot. He brought along his favorite shirt, just for us.
At sunset, we frolicked in the Arabian Sea.
That's me waving.
The next morning, the light was incredible.
And we hopped in the van to head to Cochin. We needed to take a ferry, so we made our way to the terminal, which didn't disappoint with even more beautiful views.
Our ferry arrives.
And people get off. Lots and lots and lots of people.
Have I mentioned there are a lot of people in India?
On the ferry itself, most of the gang accidently gets stuck in the van. Hah!
And we arrive in Cochin (or Kochi), which is, honestly, a most beautiful and fascinating place.
Cochin is the capital of Kerala, in southwest India, on the coast of the Arabian Sea. Kochi has an Old Town, which is, I think sort of famously, Jewish. It's unbelievable, and it was one of the more fascinating places we visited.
European traders came on ships hundreds of years ago, and stayed. It's also the reason that Kerala is mostly Catholic - missionaries were on the ships, too.
Malayalam, the Kerala language. Old Cochin was actually called "Jew-town", yup.
and not just that, but...
Craziness! This is India! There are reportedly 3 Jewish families left in Kochi. Remember this fact for later on the page...
Puppy. The dogs in South India were on the whole, bizarrely beautiful. Street animals for the most part, you'd think they'd be ugly mutts, but strangely, they were almost always really cute.
This is the main attraction - Paradesi Synagogue, complete with 16th century Dutch clock tower.
We couldn't go inside that day, but I snuck a peek in at one point when the door was ajar - there was a sign inside that said "Please remove your shoes before entering the sanctuary." Now that's what I call multi-cultural.
Like I said, randomly, we couldn't go in that day. I'm still not quite over this.
More from the synagogue...
These are not swastikas. It's an ancient Sanskrit symbol, appropriated by the Aryans, who conquered North India somewhere around 5000 years ago. It represents "purity", so you can understand why it was brought back into service later on (albeit reversed). You see this symbol everywhere, but it's particularly surreal in the context of Cochin.
OK, remember when I said that I heard there were still Jewish families there? These gentlemen, who look like they just walked out of the Early Bird Special in Boca, were speaking Malayalam. I kid you not.
And this woman is likely related to them. She is not a tourist. She lives there. Melissa pretended to take a picture of me so she could capture this bizarreness on film. A bit in the distance was another woman who was clearly this lady's daughter (you can actually see her a little if you squint). She was wearing traditional Indian clothing.
Crazy, right?
Scenes of beautiful Cochin...
I call this one "India, Land of Contrasts".
After leaving Cochin (with an armload of shopping) we began traveling to get to the next leg, a private house-boat tour on the Keralan backwaters. This was another adventure that Prof. Shivanna's student booked for us, and it's one of those not-to-be-missed things to do in Kerala. We stopped for lunch on the way. I thought I might document what it looked like when coffee and chapatis are made for Americans in a typical roadside dive.
Walking to the houseboat, we ran into some eager greeters.
All aboard!
We were pretty much giddy with excitement, and immediately started settling in.
It didn't take long for us to start to relax.
This was common. The backwaters are very convenient for bathing. Just, y'know, don't drink it.
Some more of our eager greeters came to chat.
Vilan makes friends
Thanks to the missionaries, Kerala is quite Catholic. Jesus kept an eye out for us on the boat, of course.
The backwaters are the lifeblood of this area. You can wash your clothes...
...and haul your goods. Even if your goods are bricks, I guess.
And away we go! It was, simply put, wonderful. We were beginning to relax, like Nag and Vilan here...
...and taking in the spectacular view. There were other houseboats on the water, too. It's a popular activity, with good reason.
Our fearless captain, and my relaxed feet.
Bird-watching was an excellent way to pass the time, especially for Melissa and Vilan. These guys with their awesome beaks were everywhere, and quite picturesque.
New York? Where's New York?
The crew on the boat were amazing. Here's a good example of Indian ingenuity. The plug wasn't sitting in the outlet right - it needed to be taped to the wall. But scotch tape isn't so common on Keralan houseboats, so they went with a counterweight. Sure, why not a potato. This right here, is a photo of India, in one snapshot.
Happy New Year Cheer!
More clothes-washing. Slapping the clothes on the rocks like they did - their clothing must be made of iron. Our wimpy threads would never be able to handle the beating they give these things.
Here's a good view of our boat (and Kenny), when we docked briefly so the crew could fix some issue with the motor.
Our new favorite bird again...
Our room on the houseboat, with Pregnant Melissa still-life.
This was fascinating. Duck-herding.
For what reason would one herd ducks? Why to sell them so we could eat them of course! Silly. Still, it's an odd image.
And when you plow through the duck herd with your houseboat...
...they make funny noises and paddle really really hard!
Lots of people said hi as we passed by.
Dusk falls the Keralan backwaters
And sunset. Just stunningly beautiful stuff.
That evening we docked because a bunch of us had booked Ayurvedic massages. This right here is the massage parlor. No road, of course. Only accessible by boat. Ayurvedic medicine and massage are thousands of years old, but it only takes one massage to understand how foreign the techniques are. It was, um, really, really weird. Nag and Allen had their massages first, and they came back to the boat looking like they had just seen a ghost, shaking their heads and acting really uncomfortable and mumbling to each other things like "But what was that smell?". It did not instill confidence. I went in after Kenny, who emerged from the room pale as a sheet. Yeah, I won't be expounding on that experience anytime soon, either.
Moon over Kerala
Good morning! The morning bus. Keralans going to work in the surrounding rice fields.
Sunrise - views just don't get any better than this.
Here's something you don't see every day. A train of boats, getting pulled along by a friendly tug.
I think I'll call these "Four Backwater Portraits":
