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| Typical fishing "kayak" |
Another 4-day break in celebration of Diwali, the Festival of Lights. So off four of us flew to the southern most tip of India to beautiful tropical Kerala on the Arabian Sea. In many ways it felt like parts of Central America.
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| Chinese fishing nets that go up and down all day. |
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| Picking out our fish for dinner. |
Our first night we spent in Ft. Cochin, an old British settlement. Our hotel was a cheap but moldy smelling place. Staff was plenty friendly and it was in a great location, but you get what you pay for!
The next day we hired a driver to take us to the launching place of our houseboat in the backwaters.
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| Wooden hulled with hand-woven thatched roofs. |
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| Our captains |
The men of Kerala all wear cotton mundus, or"skirts", usually orange, but also of many other colors. During the heat of the day, they roll them up into a pair of shorts. Nope, nothing underneath!
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| Getting ready to sail with Holli, Rick and Kris |
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| Paddling to work? |
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| Morning bathing |
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| Man in mundu cutting bamboo |
For the next 24 hours we cruised along channel after channel watching this amazing life go by. Our boat was equipped with running water (probably from the lake), a real toilet (undoubtedly flushes into the lake), AC, and fully prepared delicious meals. The houseboat/backwater business is quite thriving. We were surprised to learn that there are over 2,000 of these boats that are used for tourism. So, although we lazily relaxed, we were not the only houseboat on the lake!
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| Prawns anyone? |
We stopped at this fish market to pick out our dinner. Our captain told us of an Ayurveda massage center just up the spit from the fish market. The captain said, "My father owns it." I have come to learn that everyone is "family" in India and it is a way of marketing. Anyway, Holli and I decided to check it out. What a delight. I got my first ever fruit massage! I like to try things that I have not done before so why not? In came a bowl of freshly pureed bananas, pomegranate, and watermelon. It was like a soft scrub massage and full-body mask. All naked, without a sheet or towel! After my hour massage, I was hand bathed and shampooed. (The water was pretty brown...lake water?). So $28 later I felt renewed.
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| Spice jars |
The next day we left for two days at the beach. Along the way we saw many roadside stands selling birdhouses, hammocks, and spice jars. Kerala is the land of spices,where many spices are grown and exported. There are also rice paddies, tapioca and pineapple farms.
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| Devi, a Hindu goddess, along the road. She scares away evil. You think? |
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| Kris and Rick at Indriya Resort |
The next two days we spent swimming in a luxurious pool and taking long walks on Cherai Beach at a lovely resort called Indriya. It is a brand new 5-star hotel that is trying to figure out how to cater to westerners. For instance, Kris and Rick called to order some food from the room-service menu. "Sorry room service is not available". Then we tried to eat at their seafood restaurant, "Sorry, that restaurant is not open today". Oh, well, after the smog and pollution in Delhi we were thrilled to be in blue skies and clean water.
One of my favorite sayings from this trip is when one of the workers said, "Many confusings". Fits India to a tee!
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| Joyous people everywhere |
Kerala is the home to a balance of Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. They accept each others' way of life and religion. On the night of Diwali (a Hindu celebration), it seemed like the whole town came down to the beach. It was quite a sight to see nuns in full habits tiptoeing through the waves, Muslim women in birkas swimming up to their waists, and women dressed in saris taking a dip.
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| Cool local boys |
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| Stunning young woman |
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| Stunning older woman |
A most interesting part of Kerala is that it is a socialist state in India. People are very friendly and happy. No beggars or children selling trinkets. Kerala also has the highest literacy rate in India (93%)! While people are poor by our standards, they seem to have their basic needs met and are grateful.
Next trip to Kerala...the hill countries.
