Kerala, India

 

For our last few days in India, we headed back to Chennai, where we spent the night before going to Kerala. I wouldn’t recommend going to Chennai as it’s much like Delhi but a bit more modern. The next morning we took a plane to Kerala, further south of Goa, and then two buses to arrive in a beach town called Appelley. The people here were definitely more friendly with tourists and helpful which we greatly appreciated. We found a little guest house charging only about 6 Euros per day, but as with most of the guest houses we stayed at, we had no hot water. We also learned quickly that there was a mosque close to the guest house that had their prayer in the evening and at 5 in morning on a loud speaker. Yay! I was surprised to find so many mosques and catholic churches in the south of India. Many of the places we stayed at had pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary everywhere along with little altars, and many of the vehicles had stickers about Jesus and references to God—my personal favorite being “God’s Gift” on many of the cars, trucks and even houses!

It was more difficult to secure a scooter in Appelley and so we ended up on a bit of a wild goose chase. But through the power of the “Indian Network” where everyone knows someone selling something you need, we found a brand new scooter to rent. We were very thankful to have the freedom to go where we wanted when we wanted in India with scooters.

It’s much easier than having to constantly haggle and sometimes fight with the rickshaw drivers. With the scooter we found a quieter part of Appelley with a nice quiet beach.

The smaller areas and villages of India are nice because many of the people wave, smile and say “hello” to you as if you’re a local celebrity. The children also love to say “hi” and ask your name. It’s a very sweet part of India that I enjoyed.  Indian people are also extremely curious and will ask where you’re from and what you do for a living. On the beach, we were even asked by two couples if we would take pictures with them. Indian people will often do this with tourists for some reason. It’s funny and makes you feel like a bit of a celebrity.

In Appelley, we also took one of the backwater tours for the day. Kerala is famous for their backwaters and was even referenced as the “Venice of India” although I think this is really stretching it. Most people rent a houseboat for the night which is basically a 3-4 star hotel on water from what we could tell. The houseboats came with private bedrooms, between 1-4 bedrooms on a boat, along with air conditioning and television. You also get your own staff of two people who make your meals.

We decided, however, to do a canoe tour for the day. It was us and a French father and daughter along with the captain. The backwaters were quite beautiful, although it was a bit of a “freeway” at times with all the boats running through it. You could really see how the backwaters were the lifeline of the area from the money they obtained from the tourism industry, to the food it provided for the locals from all the fish, as well as a place for the locals to bathe each day and wash their clothes, clean the fish they would eat and anything else they needed to clean.  The children in these villages were also very friendly and many posed for us in pictures and reveled in having their pictures taken. They also asked for pens from the tourists and one asked for chocolates.

We enjoyed a typical Kerala breakfast and lunch at the house of the captain. His wife and he nervously watched us eating our food and took great care to make sure we ate enough. It seems to be a source of pride when a villager receives praise for their food from a tourist. Poor Lucas had difficulty with the spiciness of the food which caused the captain and his wife great concern. They kept saying, “not spicy, not spicy, eat, eat,” and poor Lucas. kept repeating, “yes, it’s spicy, but good.” It’s humbling and impressive to see how Indian people live as well. The captain’s home was very minimal and looked like a small house a pioneer would have had with no electricity and a wood-burning stove. The house consisted of basically a few beds and a wood table and the kitchen. They had an outhouse which was very primitive with a pit toilette of course.  The poverty in India is impressive, although if you’ve been to any Third World country the people live very similarly and make due with very little.

After a few days in Appelley, we headed back to Kochi to spend the night before leaving the next day back to Paris. It’s a good thing we left early because it took us 5 hours by rickshaw and three different buses to find our way back. Much like the trains, it’s very difficult to determine which bus is the correct one in India since many of them are unmarked or the information is written in Hindi. Despite telling people where we needed to go, we were given the wrong information on which buses to take so it took 5 hours instead of 2 and a half. In addition, on the first bus we took, the bus person who takes the money and gives the bus tickets overcharged us and pocketed the difference, we think, since the price we paid was an extreme amount for the distance and for the type of bus. Unfortunately, it’s hard to argue this if you don’t know what the actual price of the ticket is supposed to be, and you’re tired and just trying to manage all of your luggage. But we eventually made it to our hotel which ended up being the best hotel of the whole trip equipped with actual beds, hot water, air conditioning, and WiFi. We flew through Delhi and said our last goodbyes to India, going through numerous security check points and having our tickets stamped about 10 times. We made it back to Paris in one piece with all of our luggage which I consider a small miracle and am very thankful for.

To Lucas, I want to thank you for this trip and for being who you are. I'm very thankful for the funny and peaceful moments we shared on this trip and for all the wild  and wonderful memories. Thanks for not leaving me in India when I was being "challenging" and for your constant patience and sense of adventure. Your energy and enthusiasm for life amazes me every day. My life is a constant adventure with you and I know I must have done something right in a previous life to have met you. I look forward to many more adventures with you.

And so concludes our Indian adventure. India is a country of many contradictions and idiosyncracies. Returning a second time reminded me of how difficult it is to travel in this country and how it is probably one of the most challenging countries for a tourist. India hasn’t moved into the 21^st century yet, and it’s government seems to want to keep it this way so that it’s people don’t have access to too much information and advantages, thereby keeping their focus on survival and not on questioning why they live in a country completely littered by trash with substandard health and hygiene, poor education and pervasive poverty. The people of India are like anywhere else, I suppose, in that you have those who are very friendly, with a warm and generous spirit, and those who are more bitter and worn down by life. I would like to give a very idealized vision of India, but like any country, it has its good and bad points. If you want to learn about yourself and to experience something challenging and completely different, India is definitely a good place to do this as traveling here tests you in many ways and you get to learn the true meaning of patience and acceptance. Lucas and I both agree that although we are thankful for the experience and what we learned, we won’t be going back for a very, very long time.

And don't forget...