Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
20 November - Jen's birthday! We left our Keralan cooking course early in the morning for our backwaters cruise. The boat was full of other non-Indian tourists which was quite a novelty for us, but it soon wore off. It was amazing seeing the backwater life, the villagers working away. We saw some rope being made from twisting coconut shell twine. We stopped on one of the 'islands' where our guide promptly disappeared up a tree and started throwing coconuts down, nearly hitting a herd of goats! He then descended and hacked open the coconuts so that we could drink from them - it was like drinking salty sweet water. Afterwards we returned to a smaller boat to tackle the narrower waters, where we saw kingfishers and snakes, among others. The heat was pretty unbearable so we were pleased to later arrive in Fort Cochin, at the Vasco Homestay - Vasco himself stayed here (A famous Portuguese settler - according to Jen). The house was 500 years old, very spacious and quite spooky. The staff were very friendly and attentive - they even arranged banners and flowers for the Birthday girl, and Jacob (the Indian Gordon Ramsey) had given us a marble cake.
Fort Cochin was full of tourists, and had a very relaxing laid back feel, which was an immense relief. We rested here for a few days, spending most of our time in cafes (Kashi Art cafe - an institution here) and bookshops. Being on the coast the fresh fish here had to be tried, and it was very impressive. By the shore there was an area where there were fishmongers lined up along one side of the road, and cooking shacks along there other. We had red snapper and prawns cooked spicy-stlye, the latter were the best by far. In the evening, now desperate for a beer to celebrate Jen's 21st in some style, we found a joint selling beer (illegally) where they serve it in teapots, and bribe any passing policemen!
As for the sights in Cochin, the old synagogue.....we couldn't drag ourselves far from the comforts of the cool cafes serving the best iced coffee and chocolate cake. Where else in India would they be playing Greig's Piano concerto in an eco-friendly art cafe? Another highlight was 'the teapot' which had the most delicious Samosa chaat ever tasted. Before leaving we bundled up our spices to send home, which involved having them wrapped and stitched up by a tailor, then sealed with wax.
Sad to leave Fort Cochin, we left by train for Bangalore, 14 hours in a 6 foot side berth, accompanied by the most persistently chatty man, who after two hours of talking at us and asking personal questions, asked 'am I bothering you' - to which we politely nodded! Harmless enough, but we were relieved when another family turned up to take the heat off us.
Bangalore is a great place. Its much cleaner and relatively more organised than anywhere else we had visited so far. We arrived at Arun and Yamin's house (David's cousin) and met Bella, a beautiful Red Setter. Later in the evening we had a meal out at 'the only restaurant' - Jen had London Fish & Chips, David had Sea Bass! The restaurant clientel was a mix of east and west. Bangalore is India's silicon valley, afterall. The next day, we spent a small fortune in a Kashmiri Emporium, buying rugs and bed spreads, beautifully handcrafted. We spent a larger amount having them couriered home. We changed our plans a little as Jennifer finally secumbed to a bad belly. We cancelled our remaining three train journeys and opted for airtravel (in retrospect, a highly sensible move!). Jen was very well looked after, having 15 minute doctor obs and forced to drink 5 litres of Oral Rehydration Sachets, making her cry, like a baby! Bless. Ayesha (Yasmin and Arun's daughter) arrived to celebrate her ma's birthday, with a delicious chocolate cake! We had dinner with Bubbles and Robin (David's cousin) who fed us up well and plied us with white wine - ourkind of people! We were very sad to leave Yasmin and Arun's, great people. We very much hope we can return their kindness in the UK sometime.
We arrived at Hyderabad airport, and were greeted by Feroz (another of David's cousins!). He took us back to Uncle Diler's house. We had a quick tour of Hyderabad, includin the Charminar, the Golconda Fort, and the Nizam's Jewellery - a collection of priceless diamonds, rubys, emeralds, gold, owned by the once richest man in the world. The centrepiece was the well-guarded Jacob Diamond, a mere 184 carats!!!!!!!!!!! (Ana B - eat your heart out babe!) Lunch by the Hyderabad lake was David's final meal before he too, fell victim to India's famed Delhi belly. He was promptly nursed back to health with reflexology, Einreibung (oh, and a few doses of Cipro and Flagyl). On the lake is a very large statue of the Buddha. The (sad) history of this is that when it was installed there, the vessel which was carrying it sank, along with the Buddha, and three men who later drowned. The Buddha was rescued a couple of years later by Navy Seals and now stands proudly, and is lit up at night too. We also met Damini and Uncle D's brother, Said - a retired UN employee from New York State who comes to stay with his brother every year for four months.
So now, we are in Chennai (formerly Madras) staying at the YWCA. We leave tonight for Singapore and then Bangkok shortly after. We have had the most amazing and interesting time here in India. We have seen some of the most beautiful architecture, experienced fantastic hospitality and met the friendliest most generous people ever. Yet, it is a country of vast extremes. It is certainly a challenging place, and seeing first hand the poverty and deprivation can deeply affect you. The dangers and 'annoyances' could test the patience of any saint. There were many times when the smells, sights and sounds made us wish for our home comforts. That said, we cannot wait to get to Nangyuan Island (nangyuan.com) to do some diving!
- comments