Kerala, the green emerald of India! Lush forests and beautiful beaches and a totally laid back vibe. A place to chill out, relax and enjoy, which is exactly what we have been doing. We arrived in Kovalem at night so it was dark and we had to find the hotel we had chosen to stay at somewhere behind the beach, which was not easy as we had no bearings and were carrying all of our stuff, and as usual the rickshaw driver was of no help whatsoever. We eventually found it, only to find out the owner was not around as he had gone away for a family funeral, and it had no hot water anyway which we had decided we wanted at this place. What to do now? As luck would have it a lady called Indira, who helped us find it, had a room free at her house, and said we could stay there for 300 rupees a night (less than £5) and it had hot water!!! We agreed and headed there to find a beautiful room, comfortable bed and a fridge, with a massive onsuite bathroom!!! Wow luxury for us. We could not believe our luck this should have been over double what we paid, and we were happy to be there. She arranged for all our laundry to be done and joined us for dinner. I think she was enjoying having some new company too as the season has not yet really kicked in here and won't until November. We ended up staying for 3 nights in the end, Indira also organised a hotel for us at Varkala, our next port of call, which is also very nice and a bargain price of 400 rupees, and a pick up to and from the train station. The rest of the time there we just went for morning walks, lazed on the beach and ate. The most energetic thing we did was go up to the top of the lighthouse.
It is so nice to just chill out. One morning on our walk we saw the fishermen on the beach bringing in a huge net from the shore. It took about 30 men to pull it in as well as the men who were out in the water also guiding it. We stopped intrigued to see what the catch would be along with a growing crowd of others all waiting in anticipation. It took about 20 minutes to finally haul it in, and when it landed on the beach we all looked in disappointment at the near empty net! I felt so sorry for all those men and all that work, for what ended up being just a few small fish and one big puffa fish no one could eat! I did not complain about the price of my prawns again.
Varkala was a 40 minute train journey from Kovalem or Trivandrum where the station is, and what a journey!! It was a free for all! Everyone pushed their way onto the train and what with all our luggage in the heat of the day, it was not easy! We literally fought our way onto the train and stood near the door with about 15 men all around us, rubbing into us, everyone dripping in sweat, but to be fair some of them were very helpful and were trying to help out with our luggage, and when we needed get off the train, as this was not always clear when the signs were only written in local language, which is sometimes the case. People are generally much more friendly and helpful in this part of India than the North. To finally arrive at the hotel was bliss, and after bartering with the taxi driver and the hotel manager, we settled into our room and got ready to go exploring. Varkala is a pretty resort set up on the cliff top above the beach which is accessible by steps that run down. Along the top is just shops, hotels, restaurants, yoga and massage centres, and tour operators galore! I booked straight in for a hot stone massage as my legs were aching from all the walking we had been doing and enjoyed 2 hours of pure relaxation. As I was leaving, a storm had picked up outside, thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. I was not looking forward to the walk along the edge of the cliff in the dark in the storm, but Nicola was waiting and I was already over an hour later than expected, so torch in hand I slowly set off. It was absolutely pitch black, occasionally lit by brief flashes of lightning, but I carefully walked along watching every step and made it back in one piece! The rain eased as I got back and Nicola was already enjoying a beer on the veranda, we headed out for dinner to watch the lightning show across the night sky from the top of the cliff, we both decided straight away we love this place and will chill here for 3 nights too. Beach time!!!
After 3 days of total laziness and relaxation, we decided it was time to tear ourselves away and headed to Allepey to find a houseboat and explore the famous backwaters of Kerala. On the 2 hour train journey we met a guy that recommended somewhere to stay, which was one of the hotels mentioned in the lonely planet called Gowri, which we were going to check out anyway. We agreed to join him and his friends, Mykel, who was Australian, Dawn, from England and Jody from Canada and 2 Japanese girls to check it out. The place looked fine and we got a great price so we got settled and went to talk to the guy at the hotel about a houseboat as we wanted to do a cruise in the morning. The other three were also interested so we decided to share a boat and split the price which would save us all a bit of money and make for a fun time. We hung out together in the afternoon and did some shopping for snacks and drinks for the next evening and got to know each other a bit better, and in the evening we listened to Mykel play some music with another guy on the drum, whilst we had dinner, and then I retired for the night.
We had been looking forward to our houseboat experience for so long, I have wanted to do it for years and we were not disappointed! We arrived at the boat at around 12pm. There were 3 to choose from, so we agreed on one and got onboard. Nicola and I were in one room and the other three shared the other. The rooms were pretty and both had ensuite bathrooms, although we barely spent any time in there as we did not want to miss a thing. The scenery was beautiful, so peaceful, as we slowly meandered along the backwaters with nothing around but the wildlife for company, and a few houses scattered around here and there along the way, so few, you could barely call them villages.
I have been reading a spiritual book over the past few days called The Power of Now, and discussing it with the other guys here, who have also read it, and sharing each others stories and insights, has been a very rewarding experience for me. Mykel has spent a month here in an Ashram, near Chennai, of which he described some of the spiritual experiences he encountered there with us. It was truly fascinating and we were hanging on to every word! We spent hours discussing life issues, feelings and emotions, spirituality, and the changes within us which were taking place in this magical place which is India! I realised then that we were all making a journey of our own to try and achieve a better understanding of the life around us and of ourselves. Learning to be at one with everyone and everything around us to achieve inner peace and a fulfilling and happier life. I was already finding this as we floated along waving and smiling at people passing by in other boats, complete strangers that we shared a brief moment with, feeling a calmness and happiness descend upon me that I rarely have felt before, and finally for the first time in a long time, just letting go and living in that moment, trying to soak it all up, and empty my mind of all other thoughts. It was a great place to be!
We moored up at about 5.30pm as after 6pm the fishermen have lines and nets out and boats are not permitted to be moving around on the waters during this time. another boat moored up next to us and one of the staff there was sitting catching fish for dinner. I asked if I could join him and he gave me my own fishing rod, which consisted of a stick with some fishing line tied to it and a hook which he baited for me. I threw it out and we just sat there side by side with just the sound of the water lapping occasionally against the boat, not really able to communicate much, but not needing any words, totally comfortable in each others presence, and we waited….and waited…I then felt a tug, but was not really sure what to do, so I pulled the line in and there was nothing there! Disappointed I threw it in again, and waited…and waited…this went on for a while as darkness descended upon us and the mosquitos were now in full force. I was not giving up now though, I wanted so much to catch a fish for the fisherman who was so welcoming to me. In the end he put the fish he had caught on the end of my line and threw it in, so I could shout to the others on our boat to see and make them think I had caught it, he was so funny and thought this was hilarious! They were all full of praise and were snapping photos of us, which I think made him so happy that he could do this for me. I did feel a fake though and confessed up later! Sadly I took my leave so he could concentrate on his own fishing and went back to join the others for dinner, which was a feast of chicken curry, vegetables and rice. After dinner we had a few drinks whilst relaxing on deck, watching the fireflies lighting up the night sky all around us, and enjoyed the rest of the evening in deep conversation.
The next day after a hearty breakfast, we headed back to the hotel and went our separate ways. Mykel and Jody are heading to Goa when we are there so our paths may cross again...
We accompanied Dawn to the train station so we could book our onward tickets to Wayanard National Park for tomorrow, where we hope to spot some wildlife. We sorted these out as well as our tickets to Hampi and Goa and headed to the beach after a bite to eat. We arrived about 3pm and after about 20 minutes a storm came in. As the black clouds were gathering I went for a quick ride along the beach to the amusement of the locals and the terror of some schoolgirls I nearly ploughed into, and then we grabbed a rickshaw just in time as the rain came pelting down!!
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