Trivendrum was our last destination from which we were flying home, and while there was a temple and palace to see in the town, we’d picked a homestay on the outskirts and were really just here to repack our case and prepare for an early flight home so we had an added bonus.
We took the train and arrived at a very busy Trivendrum station, incredibly busy, with lots of women everywhere, and while we were waiting for a tuk-tuk, the girl in front of us told us that the next day was a festival, the Attukala Pongala, which attracted women from all over Kerala, with over 3 million expected! We went into town for our last dinner in India and a final bottle of Sula wine, only to find it was another dry day because of the Pongala! Afterwards the tuk tuk driver took us to see the preparations for the festival. Women were starting to line the streets with hearths made from the bricks and kindling, topped with a clay pot to be used to cook rice pudding …
There were crowds approaching the temple …
Once we reached the temple there were lots of women, some queuing to enter the temple and and other sleeping on the ground …
The temple was spectacular with all the lights …
There were shrines to the goddess on every junction and lights and music blaring from racks of speakers
All this meant that the next day we couldn’t sightsee in the city as roads would be closed and it would be gridlocked with people, so instead we spent a lazy day, but at lunchtime we came across a small group of women locally waiting for their pots to be blessed.
Earlier, the priest had lit the hearth in the temple, then the fire was transferred to all the women’s hearths where they cooked their rice. Now they were waiting for the priests to bring holy water and sprinkle it on the puddings which sanctifies the offering to the goddess. Finally the priest arrived, firecrackers went off, and the pots were blessed.
The ladies then packed up and took their pots home, to take some as an offering at their own temples or take home to share with family and friends and we were given some rice too.
A very Indian finale to our safari, as all that is left now is the journey home.
We stayed just a little north of Varkala … another lovely spot … with another lovely view …
Varkala has been a popular spot on the backpacker trail for 20 years, but is still relatively unspoilt as small hotels, cafes and shops selling clothes and souvenirs vie for space along the cliff, looking down on a huge sandy beach.
while at the other end the tourists strip off, worship the sun and swim.
We had our own little beach almost on our doorstep as well as a coastal path running for 6km from Varkala to Edava with great views …
Otherwise, the main attractions were the fishermen – watching them pulling in their catch and maybe giving a hand …
… and watching the sunset.
We spent two fabulous evenings at the restaurant just along the beach called Palm Tree Heritage, where a handful of candlelit tables are laid out on the sand and you eat to the sound of the waves breaking on the beach … perfect.
Well the Maharajahs of Cochin certainly knew how to choose a spot for their summer palace and River Retreat now occupies the same place, still catching the breeze from the River Nila and enjoying the same view …
We came here so we could visit the Pooram at Pariyanampetta temple, dedicated to Bhagavathi or the Mother Goddess. Historically, a number of lower or sub castes were only allowed to enter the temple and worship on this one day. When we arrived the courtyard around the temple was already surrounded by Kaala Vela or bull effigies which are sent from the neighbouring small temples …
… and also Kuthira Vela or horse effigies.
We were told that elephants would come down these steps (120, we climbed them!), and here is the view of the temple.
Then we saw our first elephant arrive …
… and get dressed up in a gold plated caparison.
After a few minutes, he was joined by his mates as we watched from our vantage point beside the bulls.
Next, a chap in a dhotti and red scarf carrying a large knife walks round the temple several times …
… then the Kuthira Vela or horse effigies are carried round and and presented to the temple …
Followed by the bull effigies (and we had to move as our bull had to join in!).
We managed to head to the roof next as 5 more elephants arrived down the flight of steps …
The bull effigies have moving parts and they wave and nod their heads, their ears twirl and they blink. And if that’s not enough, when the lights came on they looked like a cross between a pinball machines with a huge score and fairground rides on a Saturday night as the lights flashed and chased …
Then 7 more elephants arrived! By now the place is heaving with bodies, there are 19 elephants, hardly a spare spot to stand, and the music from the drums and horns is deafening …and having been standing for 3 hours with little personal space and hardly a breathe of wind to relieve the heat … we decided to make our way home … and finally we spotted a tiger … three in fact, pulling the goddess Durga’s chariot!
The Pooram was everything we hoped it would be and are so pleased we went … even though we ended up stranded at River Retreat and stayed an extra couple of days as Kerala came to a standstill with a 48hr general strike and no transport. The roads were almost deserted … and the tuk-tuks tucked up in garages …
We have a little bungalow at Palmgrove Lake Resort, with a view of the backwaters … but the difference between here and Cherthala is striking.
Rush hour here is at midday and 5pm which is when the kettu vallam barges go out and return each day … mostly passed our bungalow!
Surprisingly no more than a few minutes go by before you see someone walking or waiting …
doing washing or in a boat …
running a cafe or even reading the paper … and despite the apparent isolation, they are all linked by the ferry.
We also got the little canoe ferry across the backwater where we are staying, which is used by the locals to cross the water so we could go for a walk where we passed a toddy shop selling hooch … although we didn’t try any!
Another day we took a 2 hour trip on a shakira, a small motor launch, which can go down the narrowest waterways.
We also picked up very fancy umbrellas with a sun reflective coating that double as parasols at the very famous Popy shop.
One evening, we went to the Avocado Garden for dinner, where we were shown into a lovely garden with tables and some low level seating with cushions. The fish in banana leaf was delicious as were the veg curries and they even played Bruce Springsteen on request!
We watched from Dreams bar as it got darker and the sun set.
Off to the train station next … for the Pariyanampetta Pooram!!
It was a long day’s drive to Cherthala, with the only real excitement being our desire to see a cashew nut tree .. and our driver’s determination to oblige, and show us the fruit, so here it is in the tree, with the little cashew nut in a case underneath, and the yellow cashew apple above …
Here is our driver, and a auto-rickshaw man who stopped to help, throwing stones up into the tree to dislodge the fruit and here is the fruit with nut case attached.
The fruit was not very ripe and rather bitter … but it explains why cashews are so expensive when you only get one nut per fruit growing spread out on the tree.
Nothing to do but turn up for meals, watch the water and the birdlife, take the odd boat trip and walk for a bit of light exercise. Late one afternoon we were punted in a small canoe and saw the sun set behind the coconut palms …
On the way back, as the light faded, the sky was filled with streamers of pink cloud, the sound of the muezzin was carried across the water from two directions towards us as the boat glided silently through the water, with only the sound of waterfowl and the creak of Chinese fishing nets lowering and rising in search of prawns.
We then headed back to Kerala, slightly further south, to Kumily, and stayed at Green View, with a green view and Nilgiri langur monkeys.
And having seen a Hindu ceremony, it was time for a Keralan Catholic one
Kumily is on the edge of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, where we spent a great day with the rangers. There were 12 tourists, an armed guard, and 6 other rangers, and we started on hiking through the park then continued by bamboo raft.
Another hike, lunch, a rest, then back again, and so far the only new wildlife we had seen was a kingfisher. Slightly despondent, we return by raft, then the final hike and … finally we see an elephant … who stays for a while … then ambles off!
After all this activity, time for some downtime, so on to Backwater Farm at Cherthala, where we will end our road trip … we’re on our own from here on!
Next we headed east over the Western Ghats into Tamil Nadu and the views were stunning
Our destination was Madurai, famed for the Meenakshi Temple, dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi (considered a form of Parvati) with a sanctum for her consort, Sundareshwarar (or Shiva).
We visited during the day, and saw the gopurams or temple towers that stand at each gate and are covered with brilliantly painted sculptures of gods and here are Parvati and Shiva sitting on Nandi bull.
We returned later to the temple to watch the daily ceremony, where the statue of Sundareshwarer is taken from his shrine, amidst music from drums and a kind of oboe, to just outside Meenakshi’s shrine where it is cleansed in wafts of incense, then taken inside, so just as any other married couple, they can spend the night together!
We arrived at Olive Brook, a homestay with 4 cottages, beautiful gardens with poinsettias growing outside.
We were taken on an afternoon walk down the road through cardamom and tea plantations and later, after a cookery demonstration for veg and coconut curry, we had a wonderful home cooked meal, where the dishes just seemed to keep coming!
Onwards to Echo Point, where a large group of noisy Indians obliged with the shouts over the water to get an echoed shout back. But this is India, and despite the beauty of the landscape it is marred by the continual rubbish, a pile that was being burnt as we were there.
And finally to Top Station, which was a little disappointing as we were in the cloud, and although we walked down to the viewpoint, it wasn’t until we walked back, the cloud lifted slightly …
We drove to Coimbatore railway station and said farewell to our driver.
We boarded our train to Kochi … comfy reserved seats for 4 hr journey, £3 each … British Rail please take note!
Our first day was spent following the walking trail of things to see in Fort Kochi, including the church where Vasco da Gama was buried (although he was later dug up and taken to Portugal, so maybe not so interesting), but it did have fabric fans called punkahs, that still work to keep the congregation cool, operated by punkah wallahs.
We also saw the Chinese fishing nets, supposedly brought by traders from the court of the Kublai Khan, and which feature in more ads for Kerala than anything else, although usually at sunset.
The Queen Mary II was here for a day, and all day we saw Cunard crocodiles of cruisers making whistlestop visits to the sights … this was India in a day! The ship did look huge and sparkly as,it left port in the evening.
Very few places are licensed in Kochi, and less serve wine, but Friday night we really fancied a bottle with dinner so booked a table at the swanky Malabar House Hotel.
We were shown to the candelit courtyard, where three men were playing Indian music. We ordered our food, and remained very calm when the waiter told us they couldn’t serve alcohol as the first day of the month is a dry day in Kerala … only in India! Nonetheless the food and the ambience couldn’t be faulted. Other lovely spots for dinner were the Fort House and Killian House hotels and we also had a good meal at Casa Linda. Must also mention the Kashi cafe where we went for lunch, which proved so lovely, we popped in each day.
Went to a theatre to see dance and kathakali, a form of ritualised theatre unique to Kerala. Arrived early so we could see the actors put on their make up. The Kathakali relies on eye movements and hand gestures to explain the story, and the costumes are hugely elaborate.
The last couple of days were slow days. We went to the Jewish part of town and saw the synagogue, which was very interesting but no photos, as was the Mantancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese for the local raja, then added to by the Dutch, with exotic murals of scenes from the Ramayana. We took a couple of ferries, one to Vypeen Island, just for a walk and a different view of the fishing nets and another to modern Ernaculam to wander round the shops, including a department store with serious customer service.
We had an amazing drive up to Ooty, the queen of hillstations, via 36 hairpin bends, with no place to stop, so unfortunately no pics. We spent a little while recovering in the lovely botanic gardens.
We then caught the toy train that connects it with Coonoor, an hour away. Our tickets were 5 rupees each, about 6p, and amazingly, if Chris had filled out a form, he could have had 30% off for being over 60!
The fourth homestay was Sun Valley tea plantation with a wonderful view. The trees are planted between the tea to stop soil erosion, and the ladies are out picking by hand all day.
Next stop, the train to Fort Kochi.
Off Travelling Together 