Kerala - final days

My last few days will be spent at a beach resort near Alleppey.  I am at a beach called Marari at a decent resort with not much to do other than try to stay cool and read and swim.  It is very hot here and I went for a hour walk this morning and came back drenched.  The pool is lovely, but the water temperature has to be about 30 degrees C - just slightly cooler than the air temps.  Have been swimming lots, but I now miss the days when I first arrived at Bangalore and the swimming pool was about 17 degrees! I am reluctant to swim in the ocean as I was told that it is not a very good idea as the local fisher men use the beach for cleaning fish and their own personal outhouse.  On the upside, I am getting a really nice tan and am totally relaxed.  It is going to be difficult to come back to work mode in one week!

The house boat was nice, but very over priced.  It was called deluxe, but maybe by India standards it was.  The lake did not look clean enough to swim in, but the breeze off the water was great and to top it off had another great lightniing show. Couldn't stay outside and watch all of it as the mosquitos came out and tried to eat me alive!  It was the worst I had seen them since I got to India.   Thank goodness I have been religiouly taking my malaria pills.  Got some good picutres though and thought I might be able to load them up here on this hotel lap top, but to no avail.  You will just have to wait until I get back to Vancouver!

Kerala, middle of trip

Well, I have left the Tea plantations - saddly.  I really loved being in the hills and the orderliness of the tea plantations.
Have gone through the rubber tree plantations and the many other spices that are grown in the hills,  Have come down a lot in altitude and into much warmer temperatures.  Am currently sitting by a large lake - Vembanad and will be travelling on in tomorrow via house boat.  I will have to see if I go insane or not just sitting on a boat for 24 hours.  Still have books to read, and I hope if the water looks clean enough, I will get to jump in the lake to go for a swim....

BTW did not get to see any tigers, but not too disapointed as I did see some when I first arrived in India.  Did see some great views of the valleys and even better -  got to see a spectaculare lightning show last night.  It lit up the whole sky and seemed to go on for ever!

Still unable to post any pictures, so can't show you how beautiful it has been, but will do so as soon as I can!

Kerala vacation - first few days

A quick update on my first few days of my vacation.  I flew Thursday morning to Kochin, which I think is the biggest city in the state.  I was met by my driver and a representative from the company who arranged my tour.  Was taken to my hotel and settled in and then went for a quick walk around the area before I was to be taken around sight seeing.  I was in heaven right away as I was able to just walk out of my hotel and wander around.  There were even side walks!

My driver then took me to some touristy areas over in Fort Kocin.  walked around the shops and then the beaches and watched some of the fishermen and then I went to a traditional dance...  It was interesting, but not something I normally would have gone to.

The next morning after breakfast was a drive to Munnar.  Being Easter Friday there was very little traffic on the roads and what normally takes about 5 or 6 hours, took just over 3.  It was a great drive as we left the city and started climbing the hills.  We got up into the tea plantations and I just loved it!  The tea plantations are just beautfiul, green organized farms that I wish I could show you pictures of.  Once I am able to post some pictures, you will see how amazing it is.  Munnar is not very big, and my hotel was about 10K out of town up in the hills overlooking a very large valley.  To top it all off, I was provided a very impressive lightning show last night!  Managed a little run and walked a ton and just enjoyed being in the clean air.

This morning we left the tea plantations and are now in Periyar.  Actually that is the name of the lake and animal reserve and I already forget the name of the town.  I am in a very nice hotel, but am in town and don't have a spectacular view this time.  Will be going for a hike in the nature reserve tomorrow and will let you know if I see any tigers!

On Vacation

Today was my last day at work, and as is tradition for the the last day for the Canadian trainers, the gang gave me an Indian outfit as a going away gift.  My responsibility was to buy them all ice cream and pizza this afternoon.  I must admit I am a little sad to say good bye and will miss working with them on a daily basis.

But the good news is that now I have 12 days of vacation to spend looking around India before coming home.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do and where to go for my India vacation. India is so big and 12 days is not really a lot of time. It is like coming to Canada and trying to see as much of the country as you can in 12 days. Hard to do without flying a lot and not really seeing anything in depth. So in the end I decided to concentrate on one area. The state is called Kerala and it is south of Bangalore. Kerala has become quite a tourist destination because of its natural beauty. Lots of beaches, rivers, hill stations and farmland. I wanted to stay away from big cities and was not that interested in seeing temples or even the Taj Mahal.  I am getting a little flak about not going to see the Taj Mahal, but really, I think I can live my life without seeing it. It is good to hear that there is a lot of the Indian population that has never been.  Oddly enough it is not as hot in this area as it would be if I went North towards Delhi, but it is still going to be plenty warm enough.

 

I am looking forward to my holiday, but am also really looking forward to coming home.

It almost rained today!

I have been here for 61 days now and every day has been pretty much the same.  When I first arrived the highs were about 28 degrees with the low temperatures at night getting to around 18.  The temperatures increased after the first couple of weeks and it has been pretty much highs of around 32-35 with lows around 25 the entire time.  There have been a few overcast or hazy days and some days more breezy than others, but other than that every day has felt exactly the same.  There was one exception on Saturday night, when we were having our dinner out by the pool we felt more than a few rain drops that lasted about 5 minutes.  We all got excited because it was such an anomaly. 

Today I was working at my desk and there was rumour that it was raining outside.  I jumped up and went out to the balcony that is off the coffee area to see if it was true.  But if it was,  it was just a sprinkle and had finished by the time I got there.  I was a little disappointed because I really miss having changes in the weather!  The monsoon season apparently does not start until about mid May, so the chances of me seeing any significant rain is quite low.  I know for those of you in Vancouver wading through the puddles - you are feeling a lot of sympathy for me right now!

last weekend in Bangalore

Friday night started out with the gang at work taking me out to dinner.  We went to a place called BBQ Nation.  Of course the first thing I think about when I hear BBQ is meat, but being in India and quite a lot of the population being vegetarian, there was a lot more than just meat available at this restaurant.  There was so much food that kept coming to the table and then after that, there was the buffet... I am still not able to eat that much, so I was completely stuffed after the first round and there were many more rounds that kept coming.  It was all very good, but I wish I could have taken better advantage of all that good food.

This weekend there are local elections going on and for some odd reason, no one is able to purchase any alcohol from 5:00 pm on Friday until the end of Sunday.  So at dinner all you could get were mocktails.   All liquor stores are closed and all restaurants and hotels are strict about serving because they could be subject to heavy fines.   Although I did read in the papers today that there are some candidates that go around and offer voters 200 rupees and a bottle of beer to vote for them!

On Saturday night a few of us at the hotel organized dinner outside by the pool and some wine, gin and vodka was smuggled out in water bottles so that we could have drinks with our dinner.  Considering we are not able to vote, I don't see what the big deal was,  but some of the hotel staff really did not like the fact that we were doing this but we were allowed to none the less.   It was earth hour, so we had dinner by candlelight which helped us keep our contraband from being too obvious.

This morning I actually went for a bike round around the area.  Jimmy who has been here for five weeks has been riding every weekend.  I did not even know that the hotel had bikes available!  So when I found out that he was going I made him take me this morning.  Being Sunday and a voting day there was very little traffic and it was actually a pleasant ride.  I would never go out otherwise because the traffic is just crazy.  We went out for about an hour and it was so great to be able to go out and ride around.  The other thing I did today which has been on my list to do before I left was to take an auto-rickshaw.  I only took it from the mall - about 5K from the hotel, but now I can say I was in one.  I was able to bargain them down to 50 rupees which is about 1/4 of what they try to get from westerners for that distance, so I was pretty happy and proud of myself about that.

I also went back to Lal Bagh and Commercial Street this weekend.  Bought a few souvenirs and walked around the park, which was on my list of things to do again before I leave.

Only three more days and then I am done work and on vacation!

Driving in India

I have wanted to write a piece on Driving in India for quite some time.  It really is something you have to see to believe. Anyone who complains about the traffic in Vancouver should come here for a day.  But why write something from scratch when you can get stuff off the internet. I found this piece and made a few of my own modifications.    Enjoy…

In India, do you drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. I find most people drive down the middle of two lanes, picking neither left nor right.

If you are going to drive in India, here are few rules to note:

1. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality.

2. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the intended direction. Don't get discouraged or underestimate yourself. Except for a belief in reincarnation, the other drivers are not in any better position.

3. Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back. Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.

4. Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. Drivers use their horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts) or just to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar.

5. Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience (for those with the mental makeup of Genghis Khan). In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes. Roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver and the peg of illicit arrack he has had at the last stop; his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously. Of course, all this occurs at night, on the trunk roads.

During the daytime, trucks are more visible, except that the drivers will never show any signal. (And you must watch for the absent signals; they are a greater threat.)


Unique to Indian traffic:

Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi)

The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare.

Mopeds

The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac. It is not just for single drivers, families of up to four or five can be seen on one moped heading down the street. Mom, Dad and multiple kids stuffed into any spaces.

One Speed Bicycles

Almost always men, these guys pedal leisurely down the street on 50 year old bikes without any apparent concern to the traffic going on around them. Cars and buses pass by within inches and they act like they are the only ones on the road – and without helmets of course.

Speed Bumps

Why have traffic lights, the power is always going out any way and they would always never be working. Just put speed breakers everywhere - this is what they call them here. The speed breakers are bone jarring and between them and the pot holes, you have an idea why the traffic is always weaving in and out and constantly stop and go.

Having said all this, isn't it true that the accident rate and related deaths are less in India compared to US or other countries ?