MissTtravels

Eventually emerged from my bed.

Laetitia from the tour was in Singapore for the day so we teamed up to explore. Found some great places to eat. Checked out a few of the old haunts. Arab St. Orchard Rd. Generally a fun day.

A really fun day appreciating the cool vibe of Kochi.

Three of us went shopping, first in the touristy district around the Jewish Quarter. Nothing purchased, but went to a great cafe.

We then went (by tuk-tuk – now a preferred mode of travel) to the colonial part of Kochi near the Parade Ground.

Really lovely shops. I bought a painting and a couple of other bits.

The other girls bought things in Anokhi, a shop I had experienced before.

We had lunch in a beautiful garden cafe, behind a colonial building called David Hall. Great food and drinks, live music, peaceful vibe. Sat there for hours.

Back to the hotel in the late afternoon. Left about 5.30 to travel the airport. Long drive. One of the others was flying to Singapore with me, but she was heading straight for Melbourne.

It was Monday morning when I got here. Straight to bed after being on a plane all night.

A day for goodbyes. The first of us left from the river guesthouse this morning.

We left the guesthouse at 9, by boat. We sat in beautiful cane chairs and motored down the canal for an hour to reach Aleppy.

We transferred back to our van, and drove back into Kochi via the coast road. Kerala is very big on celebrating Christmas, so there were lots of decorations along the way.

Arriving in Kochi, we renewed our acquaintance with the Fort Abad Hotel.

Spent the afternoon shopping with a girl who was leaving, and then sent her off to the airport.

The remaining six went out to dinner at a fun restaurant called the Seagull. This was our farewell from our lovely tour leader Gareema.

Two more will be gone before we get up in the morning, and now all that remains is to kill time before we fly out tomorrow.

Blissful day.

We left Chrissie‘s early, after another of their divine breakfasts.

We drove over winding mountain roads through various villages, with the usual stop for chai.

The scenery included rubber and pineapple plantations. Very spectacular. Eventually came in sight of the Kerala Backwaters, all wetlands and islands.

We arrived at Alleppy And boarded our beautiful houseboat. We floated around all afternoon, enjoying a lunch cooked by the crew. It was a really delightful lazy way to travel. In the shade on the upper deck, with gorgeous scenery all along the way.

We eventually arrived at our guesthouse. Also really lovely. Canal on one side and rice paddies on the other.

After settling in, we went for a walk along the bund wall on which this village is built, and watched the people who live here washing clothes, bathing, fishing, etc, in the water. They farm ducks here, as well as the usual cows and goats. And grow vegetables and herbs. Also saw lots of water birds. The sunset was lovely.

We were brought back to the house in a canoe powered by a man with a pole. Very peaceful.

A great spot.

A relaxing day with no travelling.

We got up really early and at 7am went for two-hour guided hike in the national park. Green and beautiful.

Big downside: leeches! We had to wear leech socks over our own socks. Disgusting.

Lots got on us, but no one was bitten. Tiny compared to ours, but still disgusting.

We saw some monkeys and a giant squirrel. Lots of birds too.

The park has a huge electric fence around it, which is meant to stop the elephants and tigers from attacking the local villagers. We did not see any large animals, but there were definitely signs that they are around.

Back to the hotel for some free time.

In the afternoon I had an Ayurvedic massage. So nice. Really enjoyed it, but needed a nana nap after it.

In the evening we did a cooking class with the hotel kitchen staff. Made lots of yummy Indian dishes.

Then we sat down and ate it all!

An early start and a long drive. We left Madurai and travelled through agricultural areas, stopping in a place called Theni for tea.

The road eventually wound its way back up into the hills, the Western Ghat, as we are now back in Kerala. Really beautiful.

We spent some time in a spice garden, learning about how cardamom, pepper, vanilla, turmeric and other things grow. A lovely place to be in, fresh and green after the madness of Madurai.

We then continued on to the twin villages of Thekkady/Kumily in the Periyar National Park. Our hotel is called Chrissie’s and it absolutely delightful, in a beautiful jungle setting.

In the evening we were taken to see a demonstration of the Kerala martial art form kalaripayattu. Really impressive. This martial art and its rigorous training methods have been around since the 12th century. It was banned by the British, but is undergoing a resurgence.

Incredibly athletic. Lots of weapons, and some really impressive tricks with fire.

Martial arts are not really my thing, but this was stunning.

Dinner at Grandma’s Cafe, and home to bed.

Another big day of travel. We left Pondicherry early, with a new van and driver. We were seven hours on the road, passing through wetlands, rice paddies, sugar cane and coconut palms.

We stopped for tea/food/toilet breaks a couple of times on the way. We reached Madurai about 3.30.

We went to a small museum celebrating the life of Mahatma Gandhi. It was in Madurai that he made some significant steps in his efforts to break down the caste system.

We checked into our hotel, and then set off walking to the Sri Meenakshi Amman temple, one of the largest temples in India. Although under renovation, it was still amazing.

Built between the 12th and 18th centuries, it is where people come to worship Meenakshi. She is a mother goddess, and people pray to her for marriage and babies. Also success in business.

The temple is enormous, covering many acres in the centre of the city. Non-Hindus are not allowed into the inner sanctum, but there was still plenty to see. Towers, a massive pool, the hall of 1000 pillars (actually 984), all built out of granite or heavily painted in the Tamil Naidu way.

No pictures, as no cameras are allowed.

It was this temple that Gandhi was refused entry to, because his Untouchable friends were not allowed to enter. He never entered until his 4th visit, when everyone was allowed.

Will attach a website when I have internet.

Later in the evening we went to another cooperative shop to look at rugs, and other Indian goods. Really beautiful fabrics. Much damage done. A package of fine Indian cotton fabrics is on its way to Toukley….There were some truly spectacular rugs, but I resisted.

A good day, despite the long journey. didn’t have dinner, as lunch was not sitting well.

A bit of a temple day, really.

We left Mahabalipurum and set off for Pondicherry, once a French enclave in India.

On the way we visited a really unusual place. It is called Auroville. It is a community set up in 1968 by a French woman (known as The Mother) to embody the teachings of a guru Sri Aurobindo. Aurobindo was an Indian rebel nationalist and yogi.

People from all over the world come to live and work there, in a kind of commune. It seems very exclusive, and you have to pass all kinds of spiritual tests to even enter the temple. Quite strange.

They did, however, have a really great banyan tree, or trees.

We arrived in Pondicherry and ate lunch in a very cool French bakery. Lovely food.

Later in the afternoon, we visited the Aurobindo ashram and observed the meditation.

We then visited a giant temple to Ganesha, elephant god and son of Shiva. Temples in Tamil Naidu are very brightly painted.

We went into the temple to view the 1000-year-old statue, and to watch people going about their devotions. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the temple.

We are learning bits and pieces about Hinduism and other religions in India as we go along, but it is all quite confusing with all the different gods and so many names for the same thing.

We wandered around the old French part of the town, which has a very European feel.

As we approached the sea front, we realised they were having a blessing ceremony for some new fire engines. Bizarre.

Pondicherry has a long promenade along the ocean front. You can see why it was so badly damaged in the 2004 tsunami.

We had dinner in a really nice place facing the ocean. European style food for a change.

A bit of catching up to do…

Yesterday we had a fun day in and around Mysore.

First we visited a beautiful World Heritage temple called Kesheva. Really amazing. Dating from 1268, it has 3 separate temple spaces, one each for the main Hindu gods. Incredible carvings everywhere. It is made of soapstone.

It was incomplete when it was taken over by a Moghul ruler and is no longer an active temple. Hindu people who were there still appear to venerate it, however.

Our next stop was a private home in Mysore, where the people cooked us a biryani lunch. Most delicious, with all the little accompaniments and an excellent dessert of gulag jamun.

Then we went to see how incense sticks are made. It was really interesting and of course smelt great.

The people also talked to us about the scents and essential oils that are used in Indian products like incense and perfume. Everything g smelt beautiful.

Later in the afternoon, we did a quick tour of the famous Devaraja Market. A riot of sights and sounds.

I also spent a bit of time in the silk shops. Mysore is famous for its fine saris. Purchases were made.

A quick dinner, and then we were off for our BIG adventure AN OVERNIGHT TRAIN to Chennai.

Absolutely horrible. Tiny cabins shared with seven other people (strangers). Rock hard bunks. Stinky toilets. Lots of stopping and starting. Minimal sleep.

I suppose it is part of the total India experience, but I really could have lived without it. At least I got a lower bunk, so I did not have climb up.

We arrived in Chennai at 7am. We were picked up by a new driver. Our destination was the village of Mahabalipurum, on the Bay of Bengal. We had breakfast on the way.

The village is small, and the hotel is lovely. The whole place exists around a 7th century temple complex, also World Heritage listed.

I did some more fabric shopping, and managed to pick up a couple of nice pieces of Madras cotton.

In the afternoon we had a guided tour of the temple complex, which was quite a walk. The temples are cut into caves, or carved out of solid rock. Really impressive.

My favourite was the elephant….

The last temple is called the Shore Temple.

We had dinner in a really nice seafood place by the beach.

We began our day with breakfast at the beautiful open air restaurant of the Windsong resort. A huge herd of cattle came running through the resort as we ate.

We set off in the van and travelled toward Mysore in Karnataka. On the way we stopped at the Charmundi temple, which was really interesting. The temple is dedicated to a goddess who defeated a demon.

We did not go in, as there was a long queue, and you only get a seconds to see the deity if you do go in. We just observed the things that were happening outside. We did go into a temple to Vishnu which was nearby.

Back in the van, we arrived in Mysore and had lunch at our hotel. More FT vibes. I ordered a Kashmiri naan, thinking it would be like it is in Australia. Big mistake. Looked like an advanced form of fruit pizza. Hilarious.

Later in the afternoon we were taken to visit the Mysore Palace, the second most visited site in India. First being the Taj.

Stunning.

The Maharajas of Mysore were extremely wealthy and had seven palaces in the city. This was their main one, built 1896-1912 after the old one burnt down.

I found it a little overwhelming, to be honest. Very crowded, and you have go barefoot, which I find difficult on hard surfaces for long periods. So glad we saw it though. Some of the most beautiful spaces I have ever been in. A level of ornamentation that is almost unbelievable.

Home to the hotel, then dinner at a rooftop place two doors down. Lovely group of women. Nothing seems to be off limits conversation-wise.