The Honeymoon Destination
Much has happened and I've only just found a moment to post something. The last post was eaten by a network failure.
I am now in Munnar, the tea plantations. It is a wonderful respite from the heat of Kochi where we stayed for a few days getting the car ready, running errands and then hitting the road. We stayed on Cherai Beach. The water was as warm as the air. Here we are in a comfortable hotel with a few of the mountains. And the guy who works here is soooo nice.
Munnar is absolutely beautiful. It's the honeymoon capitol and many newlyweds walking hand in hand or cuddling by the waterfalls. I was here last year and it's only become more beautiful. The bumpy roads are quite a challenge to drive on. I got in the car to drive and lasted 2 minutes. These jeeps transport people on the mountain roads. They are packed to the brim with the driver hanging out the window and an old man pasted onto the back door like a sqashed bug. I can see them picking up just one more person, "where's the glue?" and slapping him to the outside of the door. Later in the night, we were driving back to the hotel when the jeep in front started sparking and came to a halt. Luckily , we were at a safe distance. I thought it was a flat but a few feet away lay the tire. It had come completely off and thank god the jeep had come to a safe stop.
This evening we had dinner in a small local restaurant. Yummy pooris and some spicey chickpea masala and mutter paneer, the cheese so fresh! And the masala tea is spicey and hits the spot. I'm fighting a pretty bad head cold today. So we will go on our trekking adventure tomorrow because I WILL be well.
I left Auroville before sunrise to catch Javed's bus from Cochin. I had FINALLY convinced him to come meet me. It took 20 minutes to get to town and now I had a 2 hour wait for the bus. I watched the street come slowly alive. At first it was just me and my sleepy, sneezing taxi cab driver, a blinking neon sign and a few rickshaws. As the sun rose, the sky turned pink and the sounds of the street started to grow. Before long , the long protracted horn of the city buses shattered the pink-ed sky. More and more rickshaws arrived. A man thudded the side of the cab ordering the driver to back up away from the incoming bus. Was it the one from Cochin? I got out to check. No. Back inside the stuffy, humid taxi I waited. When the bus finally arrived, I stood on the sidewalk with a few other men. Would he be on the bus? Would I recognize him?
He was cold from the airconditioned ride but the taxi quickly warmed him up. He looked the same except for a new pair of glasses, which he promptly lost a few days later. Actually, I was half way responsible for that. We waited at the Ashram guest house because it is the best deal in town-ocean views for less than $10. We had fresh curd with papaya and tea while we waited for a room. It was easy and all my anxiety melted away as I opened up the door to the terrace and took in the ocean breeze and listened to the rythmic slap of the waves.
It was here that we went to visit the Ashram (see Meditation in the Dark) and the ashram paper factory. A fascinating factory of making beautiful papers from recycled materials.
The train ride from Pondi to Cochin was quite an adventure. In short, it's three berths and we were in the middle. At aroudn 10 pm there was a communal move towards setting up our beds. It wasn't so bad and the rush of the train was hypnotizing. But the flashing flourescent light was too much. Normally, I just put up and adjust but not this time. I convinced Javed to get the neatly dressed train ticket collector to come over. With his smoothed back hair and blazer I wasn't sure if he was the fix-it kinda guy. But Javed's attempts (and mine) left the light off until the train hit another bump. I think the lady below could have slept through it. Anyways, with that solved, I fell asleep. At 2 am I woke and felt the pain in my legs and hips. I needed to stretch and there was only so much room. I woke up a few more times and by 6 AM the train was chattering away. And every few minutes a man walked through "coffeecoffeecoffee" chaiiiichaiiichaiii." Not relaxing. Javed slept like a baby.
So the best meals so far are the local places. I have not been sick and am being annoyingly careful. The fancy restaurants are certainly not the choice for good tasting food. The thali plate in Kochi was delicious. Mixed rice with veggies, cauliflower and green beans, spicey dahl, a biting lemon pickle and halvah with cardamon.
I had ordered a lassi with no ice and one with ice. This became a full adventure. The drink guy took me to the order guy who with the help of another gentleman we worked out that I would have one lassi with ice and one lime soda (skip the ice issue.) This took a few go arounds. And then the order guy told the drink guy... in english "one lassi ice, one lime soda no ice." I thought I had said the same thing. I think it's funny when someone translates my english to english. Mind you, I'm not using any fancy sentences. I resort to a sort of simplified, get to the point. ASL-ish grammar. Anyways it's these sorts of miscommunications that make it an adventure. I listen to Javed and am picking up some good tips.
So, I bid farewell from the hilly mountains of Kerala. Tea plants blanketing the hills in deep green dotted with the fragile pink and yellow of the flowers.
Due to the connection and time, I'm not editing my blogs super closely so please forgive any mistakes. I simply want to get them posted before the connection fails.
I do love hearing from you.
View from the hotel in Pondicherry. The best deal in India! Ocean views for under $10. And the best yogurt and papaya breakfast for only $.50.
I am now in Munnar, the tea plantations. It is a wonderful respite from the heat of Kochi where we stayed for a few days getting the car ready, running errands and then hitting the road. We stayed on Cherai Beach. The water was as warm as the air. Here we are in a comfortable hotel with a few of the mountains. And the guy who works here is soooo nice.
Munnar is absolutely beautiful. It's the honeymoon capitol and many newlyweds walking hand in hand or cuddling by the waterfalls. I was here last year and it's only become more beautiful. The bumpy roads are quite a challenge to drive on. I got in the car to drive and lasted 2 minutes. These jeeps transport people on the mountain roads. They are packed to the brim with the driver hanging out the window and an old man pasted onto the back door like a sqashed bug. I can see them picking up just one more person, "where's the glue?" and slapping him to the outside of the door. Later in the night, we were driving back to the hotel when the jeep in front started sparking and came to a halt. Luckily , we were at a safe distance. I thought it was a flat but a few feet away lay the tire. It had come completely off and thank god the jeep had come to a safe stop.
This evening we had dinner in a small local restaurant. Yummy pooris and some spicey chickpea masala and mutter paneer, the cheese so fresh! And the masala tea is spicey and hits the spot. I'm fighting a pretty bad head cold today. So we will go on our trekking adventure tomorrow because I WILL be well.
I left Auroville before sunrise to catch Javed's bus from Cochin. I had FINALLY convinced him to come meet me. It took 20 minutes to get to town and now I had a 2 hour wait for the bus. I watched the street come slowly alive. At first it was just me and my sleepy, sneezing taxi cab driver, a blinking neon sign and a few rickshaws. As the sun rose, the sky turned pink and the sounds of the street started to grow. Before long , the long protracted horn of the city buses shattered the pink-ed sky. More and more rickshaws arrived. A man thudded the side of the cab ordering the driver to back up away from the incoming bus. Was it the one from Cochin? I got out to check. No. Back inside the stuffy, humid taxi I waited. When the bus finally arrived, I stood on the sidewalk with a few other men. Would he be on the bus? Would I recognize him?
He was cold from the airconditioned ride but the taxi quickly warmed him up. He looked the same except for a new pair of glasses, which he promptly lost a few days later. Actually, I was half way responsible for that. We waited at the Ashram guest house because it is the best deal in town-ocean views for less than $10. We had fresh curd with papaya and tea while we waited for a room. It was easy and all my anxiety melted away as I opened up the door to the terrace and took in the ocean breeze and listened to the rythmic slap of the waves.
It was here that we went to visit the Ashram (see Meditation in the Dark) and the ashram paper factory. A fascinating factory of making beautiful papers from recycled materials.
The train ride from Pondi to Cochin was quite an adventure. In short, it's three berths and we were in the middle. At aroudn 10 pm there was a communal move towards setting up our beds. It wasn't so bad and the rush of the train was hypnotizing. But the flashing flourescent light was too much. Normally, I just put up and adjust but not this time. I convinced Javed to get the neatly dressed train ticket collector to come over. With his smoothed back hair and blazer I wasn't sure if he was the fix-it kinda guy. But Javed's attempts (and mine) left the light off until the train hit another bump. I think the lady below could have slept through it. Anyways, with that solved, I fell asleep. At 2 am I woke and felt the pain in my legs and hips. I needed to stretch and there was only so much room. I woke up a few more times and by 6 AM the train was chattering away. And every few minutes a man walked through "coffeecoffeecoffee" chaiiiichaiiichaiii." Not relaxing. Javed slept like a baby.
So the best meals so far are the local places. I have not been sick and am being annoyingly careful. The fancy restaurants are certainly not the choice for good tasting food. The thali plate in Kochi was delicious. Mixed rice with veggies, cauliflower and green beans, spicey dahl, a biting lemon pickle and halvah with cardamon.
I had ordered a lassi with no ice and one with ice. This became a full adventure. The drink guy took me to the order guy who with the help of another gentleman we worked out that I would have one lassi with ice and one lime soda (skip the ice issue.) This took a few go arounds. And then the order guy told the drink guy... in english "one lassi ice, one lime soda no ice." I thought I had said the same thing. I think it's funny when someone translates my english to english. Mind you, I'm not using any fancy sentences. I resort to a sort of simplified, get to the point. ASL-ish grammar. Anyways it's these sorts of miscommunications that make it an adventure. I listen to Javed and am picking up some good tips.
So, I bid farewell from the hilly mountains of Kerala. Tea plants blanketing the hills in deep green dotted with the fragile pink and yellow of the flowers.
Due to the connection and time, I'm not editing my blogs super closely so please forgive any mistakes. I simply want to get them posted before the connection fails.
I do love hearing from you.
View from the hotel in Pondicherry. The best deal in India! Ocean views for under $10. And the best yogurt and papaya breakfast for only $.50.
posted by Jen at 5:38 AM
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