Southern India

In the last post, we ended our time in the northern half of India. We then flew from Jaisalmer to Thiruvananthapuram (try and say that 3 times fast😕) It’s in the state of Kerala and is the southern most airport in India. As soon as we got out of the flight we felt the difference. It is hot, humid and tropical in Kerala. We had gotten used to dry, desert heat. Another difference we noticed was where Rajasthan has been 88% Hindu, Kerala was a mixture of Hindu 55%, Muslim 27% and Christian 18%. This was in part due to the ancient spice trading that took place in the south. We drove to Varkala to stay a few nights on the beach. We enjoyed swimming in the Arabian Sea. Then we hopped on a train to head up the coast to Kochi to see some friends from our tour and to celebrate Jim’s birthday.

We would be flying out of Kochi in 10 days so we left to explore some of the lush tea and spice plantations of India. First we drove to Munnar which is known for growing tea, with over 50 tea estates, as well as spices. It’s higher in elevation at around 5,200 ft. so that makes it cooler but still humid and shady which is perfect conditions for cardamon, as well as pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. One of the biggest joys was visiting Srishti, an organization which trains and employees young people in the Munnar area who are differently abled. They dye and make beautiful clothing, hand made paper and baked goods all locally sourced with natural ingredients.

We dropped down out of the highlands and continued on to Periyar National Park in hopes of seeing a tiger. No luck, but instead we saw monkeys, elephants, water buffalo, deer and many beautiful birds. We also attended a traditional martial arts performance in Thekkady and Jim volunteered to be part of the show.

We started our time in the South with some ideas but no firm plans. That’s pretty much how we travel. Our friends from Italy had recommended a homestay in Munnar which lead us to our next homestay in Thekkady. There we mentioned our idea to our host and he gave us the name of his friend in Alleppey, who had a homestay. He also recommended we take the local boat taxi to get there, which we loved!

Alleppey is a series of small communities and rice paddys all connected by canals, lagoons and backwaters. It has been called “the Venice of the East”. Other than the water taxis there are many houseboats, canoes and kayaks using the waterways. We took a walk along the canal through some of the villages to get a sense of the community.

It was hard to leave Alleppey. We loved just sitting and watching all the activity on the canals from our homestay. I also ate one of my favorite Indian dishes there. Amazing fish and sauce wrapped in banana leaves. So good!

But after a few days we headed back to Kochi to explore the big port city before saying goodbye to India.

As we feel often when we are leaving a country, there is so much more to see! We only scratched the surface and we are already hoping for a return someday. Some words from Jim:

What struck me throughout India is the kindness and helpfulness of all those we encountered. Perhaps the best example was when we realized that we were going to overstay our 30 day visa and requested some help from our innkeeper during my birthday visit to Kochi. He jumped right in and started the extension application. It turned out to be a much more arduous task than all of us expected. He contacted us at least 3 times, while we continued our trip, for more information. By the time we returned 7 days later everything was completed and we only needed to pay for it, but the government website rejected all payment options including those attempted using the innkeepers personal account! He assured us that it was no problem, but we would need to go to the immigration office at the airport, which was only an hour and a half away. He arranged for a driver who would support us every step of the way. Finally, with the problem solved, we were free to leave the country and the hotels were not fined for harboring illegal aliens, not kidding about that! Lesson learned, double check your itinerary before applying for your e-visa.😂

As always we love and miss you all. Blessings of peace

Jim and Michelle