Thursday 20th January
Last night I skyped with Mum and Dad for my birthday. Didn't find anyone to hang out with so drank some whiskey while watching football and Terminator in my room.
This morning arranged to maybe go on a houseboat in Kerala with some Aussies I met here. At 2pm, I got the miniature, old-fashioned steam train down the mountain from Ooty. Lucky to have a window seat for views of the tea plantations and alpine forests. Waited at Mettupalayam station for a couple of hours then onto train to Coimbatore. Friendly local guy insisted I shared his home-made (mother-made) chapatis and chutney - delicious. Also befriended two Russian girls and an Israeli guy, who are always playing backgammon - I had seen them playing at the Guest House in Ooty, during the day and in the cold evening. We had a 4 hour wait at Coimbatore, so went to a bar, where the others played their backgammon. A bit worried when Thalia downed her rum in one swig - if we carried on like that we won't make it onto the train. Went into other bars but all men, and not really comfortable for the girls. Ended up in a canteen-type place for another drink before heading back to the station. I left the others for my midnight train to Ernakulam, Kerala.
Friday 21st January
Arrived in Ernakulam at 4:30am, which was always going to be a bit annoying. The hotels around the station were full or expensive, so I waited until 7am, then sent Aussie Ben a text to see where they were in Kochin. I walked to the bus stop and got the local bus, 20 minutes, to Kochin. Watched the fishermen collect their catch from the Chinese fishing nets, then met the Aussies and we had breakfast. Then they collected their stuff from their Guest House and we got the bus back to Ernakulam to get the train to Alleppy.
At Alleppey, five of us and our bags in one tuk-tuk, went to the HouseBoat Jetty. Bartered a bit with the guy running the first boat we saw. Had a wander along the river but the other boats were bigger than we needed, so we agreed to take the first boat we had seen, at 11:30 tomorrow morning. The same guy then took us to a reasonable hostel. We dumped our bags and went into town. Had fantastic meal, sharing prawns and chicken curry and paneer masala and veg spring rolls and lime juice.
Had a walk around town, which has a couple of canals running through it, it is a gateway to the Kerala Backwater, which is where the houseboats go. We stocked up on booze and fruit and, via the long way, got a tuk-tuk back to the hostel.
Saturday 22nd.
We got a tuk-tuk to where the Houseboat leaves from. This was a different jetty to where we chose the boat yesterday, and we would have had more choice had we been there yesterday. I guess the tuk-tuk driver from the train station took us to his mates boat rather than where most of them are docked. Oh well. We started to get annoyed until the boat left, 20 minutes late. 4 young Aussies, (Ben, Kathryn, Amy and Camile), Me and 3 staff set off into the backwaters, the main part being a large lake, with lots of similar boats doing the same thing. They soon gave us an excellent lunch, chapati, chicken curry, curd, veggies. We spent the afternoon lolling around, reading and chatting. At 5pm we docked for the evening, this allows the local fishermen to work undisturbed, not that we saw any. The others had a swim but I didnt fancy it....
Dinner was even better than lunch. The chef cooked fish and veggies, and the Tiger Prawns that we had bought earlier. They were pretty good, although quite small by the time we had peeled them. We drank some beer and listened to tunes into the evening. Around 10pm, the staff gestured for us to go to bed, as their beds were in the lounge room bit of the boat we were in. Good job we didnt really want to party.
Sunday 23rd January
They gave us breakfast and then we made the short trip back to the jetty. So we hadnt really gone far, we were back earlier than promised and they never took us to the village as promised. So overall it wasnt the best thing ever but we had a nice enough time and got to see the famous Backwaters. It was good for me to have people to share the trip with as I would not have done it by myself.
I said goodbye to the others and got another jam-packed local bus 2 hours to Kollam. I want to see a few sea-side towns in the next couple of days. In Kollam I wandered round in the heat for about 45 minutes, stubbornly looking for a cheap place, after an expensive time on the Houseboat. After a few disappointments, a guy on a market stall saw me and handed me a business card for a place down the road which I eventually found and was 'ideal'. The owner said "its just a room, shared bathroom" "thats fine", I said. And it is!
I walked 2kms to the beach, where it is too dangerous to swim. Listened to my podcast for a bit then walked down a country lane parallel with the beach. Got a bit annoyed at people looking at me, (I haven't seen any other white people here) but I know I shouldnt let it bother me. Then a group of about 8 guys dropped back and waited for me, then started talking to me. I dont mean to be grumpy but they get quite excitable and often don't make much sense, but they did like football and I managed to get last nights results out of them. I left them and walked back along the beach, read my book in the shade, got some late lunch, went to the jetty and read some more and came back. Well, Kollam is not the most memorable place but I am not in a hurry at this stage so its all good.
Monday 24th January
For shorter train trips, you don't make a reservation, its just a free-for-all, which in India often means a big scrum to get onto the train and then no room to breathe once you are on the train. I bought my ticket to Varkala this morning and the train was already on the platform so I ran/waddled with my bag and could see the train slowly moving away and that the carriage was already packed, so I jumped onto one that looked a bit quieter, quieter because it was the sleeper carriage, where my ticket is not valid. But i just plead ignorance and the conductor was fine as long as i was stood in the corridor.
At Varkala, could only find expensive hotel near the station, but figured that would work out as cheap as getting tuk-tuks to and from a cheaper place near the beach. Without high expectations, I walked through the small, busy town, down the palm-tree-lined country road for maybe 45 minutes and to the beach, which has high cliffs above it. The surf is quite rough with not many swimmers. I took the steps up to the cliff where there are many restaurants and hotels all setup for (better off) tourists. The beach and surrounds are beautiful and it was all very nice but very commercial and I have done all my beach dwelling for India so I just went for a long enjoyable scenic walk along the cliffs and the beach and then headed back to the hotel mid-afternoon. Watched football and Dracula comedy.
Last night I skyped with Mum and Dad for my birthday. Didn't find anyone to hang out with so drank some whiskey while watching football and Terminator in my room.
This morning arranged to maybe go on a houseboat in Kerala with some Aussies I met here. At 2pm, I got the miniature, old-fashioned steam train down the mountain from Ooty. Lucky to have a window seat for views of the tea plantations and alpine forests. Waited at Mettupalayam station for a couple of hours then onto train to Coimbatore. Friendly local guy insisted I shared his home-made (mother-made) chapatis and chutney - delicious. Also befriended two Russian girls and an Israeli guy, who are always playing backgammon - I had seen them playing at the Guest House in Ooty, during the day and in the cold evening. We had a 4 hour wait at Coimbatore, so went to a bar, where the others played their backgammon. A bit worried when Thalia downed her rum in one swig - if we carried on like that we won't make it onto the train. Went into other bars but all men, and not really comfortable for the girls. Ended up in a canteen-type place for another drink before heading back to the station. I left the others for my midnight train to Ernakulam, Kerala.
Friday 21st January
Arrived in Ernakulam at 4:30am, which was always going to be a bit annoying. The hotels around the station were full or expensive, so I waited until 7am, then sent Aussie Ben a text to see where they were in Kochin. I walked to the bus stop and got the local bus, 20 minutes, to Kochin. Watched the fishermen collect their catch from the Chinese fishing nets, then met the Aussies and we had breakfast. Then they collected their stuff from their Guest House and we got the bus back to Ernakulam to get the train to Alleppy.
At Alleppey, five of us and our bags in one tuk-tuk, went to the HouseBoat Jetty. Bartered a bit with the guy running the first boat we saw. Had a wander along the river but the other boats were bigger than we needed, so we agreed to take the first boat we had seen, at 11:30 tomorrow morning. The same guy then took us to a reasonable hostel. We dumped our bags and went into town. Had fantastic meal, sharing prawns and chicken curry and paneer masala and veg spring rolls and lime juice.
Had a walk around town, which has a couple of canals running through it, it is a gateway to the Kerala Backwater, which is where the houseboats go. We stocked up on booze and fruit and, via the long way, got a tuk-tuk back to the hostel.
Saturday 22nd.
We got a tuk-tuk to where the Houseboat leaves from. This was a different jetty to where we chose the boat yesterday, and we would have had more choice had we been there yesterday. I guess the tuk-tuk driver from the train station took us to his mates boat rather than where most of them are docked. Oh well. We started to get annoyed until the boat left, 20 minutes late. 4 young Aussies, (Ben, Kathryn, Amy and Camile), Me and 3 staff set off into the backwaters, the main part being a large lake, with lots of similar boats doing the same thing. They soon gave us an excellent lunch, chapati, chicken curry, curd, veggies. We spent the afternoon lolling around, reading and chatting. At 5pm we docked for the evening, this allows the local fishermen to work undisturbed, not that we saw any. The others had a swim but I didnt fancy it....
Dinner was even better than lunch. The chef cooked fish and veggies, and the Tiger Prawns that we had bought earlier. They were pretty good, although quite small by the time we had peeled them. We drank some beer and listened to tunes into the evening. Around 10pm, the staff gestured for us to go to bed, as their beds were in the lounge room bit of the boat we were in. Good job we didnt really want to party.
Sunday 23rd January
They gave us breakfast and then we made the short trip back to the jetty. So we hadnt really gone far, we were back earlier than promised and they never took us to the village as promised. So overall it wasnt the best thing ever but we had a nice enough time and got to see the famous Backwaters. It was good for me to have people to share the trip with as I would not have done it by myself.
I said goodbye to the others and got another jam-packed local bus 2 hours to Kollam. I want to see a few sea-side towns in the next couple of days. In Kollam I wandered round in the heat for about 45 minutes, stubbornly looking for a cheap place, after an expensive time on the Houseboat. After a few disappointments, a guy on a market stall saw me and handed me a business card for a place down the road which I eventually found and was 'ideal'. The owner said "its just a room, shared bathroom" "thats fine", I said. And it is!
I walked 2kms to the beach, where it is too dangerous to swim. Listened to my podcast for a bit then walked down a country lane parallel with the beach. Got a bit annoyed at people looking at me, (I haven't seen any other white people here) but I know I shouldnt let it bother me. Then a group of about 8 guys dropped back and waited for me, then started talking to me. I dont mean to be grumpy but they get quite excitable and often don't make much sense, but they did like football and I managed to get last nights results out of them. I left them and walked back along the beach, read my book in the shade, got some late lunch, went to the jetty and read some more and came back. Well, Kollam is not the most memorable place but I am not in a hurry at this stage so its all good.
Monday 24th January
For shorter train trips, you don't make a reservation, its just a free-for-all, which in India often means a big scrum to get onto the train and then no room to breathe once you are on the train. I bought my ticket to Varkala this morning and the train was already on the platform so I ran/waddled with my bag and could see the train slowly moving away and that the carriage was already packed, so I jumped onto one that looked a bit quieter, quieter because it was the sleeper carriage, where my ticket is not valid. But i just plead ignorance and the conductor was fine as long as i was stood in the corridor.
At Varkala, could only find expensive hotel near the station, but figured that would work out as cheap as getting tuk-tuks to and from a cheaper place near the beach. Without high expectations, I walked through the small, busy town, down the palm-tree-lined country road for maybe 45 minutes and to the beach, which has high cliffs above it. The surf is quite rough with not many swimmers. I took the steps up to the cliff where there are many restaurants and hotels all setup for (better off) tourists. The beach and surrounds are beautiful and it was all very nice but very commercial and I have done all my beach dwelling for India so I just went for a long enjoyable scenic walk along the cliffs and the beach and then headed back to the hotel mid-afternoon. Watched football and Dracula comedy.
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