Backpacking travel thru Kerala Sojourn 10 Dec to 16 Dec 2007

As some writer had said the more you write the more profilic your thoughts get.So ive decided to get down to writing the most memorable incidents in my life oir "LIfe changing incidents" as i call them. Who knows may be it will help me read up in my old age to know ive done so much in life and that it was defineltly not a life whiled away.

This is the story of my first ever solo backpacking trip deep down south of India, in gods own country Kerala in Dec 07. Its almost 2 years back but the memory of that trip still lingers on and the caling to write about it is strong. This will need a lot of research to get my facts right as memory starts to fade, but cant avoid. So here goes..

This story starts from Trissur railway station and ends and Trissur.

1. Trissur to Trivandrum (10 - 11 Dec 07): I took the 6344 Down Amritha Express from Trissur(11:50 pm) to Trivandrum (6:05 am) on 11 Dec 07. The weather was perfect. My legs and body were sore after an ardous trip to Sabarimala but the o0timism to go on this trip, my first ever backpacking trip was just unbelivable.Slept thru the journey , was quite peaceful and relaxed. Got up to a fine morning at Trivandrum Central railway station.Time was 6:05 in the morning of 11 Dec 07, the crisp air of the morning hit my face as i picked my backpack and headed for the Thambanoor bus stand. the bus stand is 5 min walk from the railway station.Searched around for a direct bus to Kanyakumari, which apparently had already left, could not afford to wait till afternoon so took a local bus to Nagercoil (located in the southern part of in Tamilnadu, 19 km away from Kanyakumari), thats most of the journey done.Quick breakfast in Nagercoild bus stand and looked for another state bu for Kanyakumari. They were dime a dozen. Reached Kanyakumari quickly and found myself on the lone road there. The smell of the sea and the beginning of the jouurney signalled  a lot of positive energy.

2. Kanyakumari 11-13 Dec 07:  Kanyakumari is  the confluence of the three sea's ,Bay of Bengal , Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean The challenge was to find a good but reasonable place to stay. I thought using my malayalam will get me lots of good places to stay.But infact worked quite the opposite. Apparently lots of misguided malayalee youth had taken up rooms in Kanyakumari just to commit suicide !!! and they believed i was one of them. Six attempts later, I had to get a shady looking "agent" who told me to drop my malayalam and use my chaste hindi to get a decent room , which i did in my second attempt with him.Strange, had to abandon my Mallu identity to get a room. But you got to be practical right!!It was an average room , but what the hell, it worked for me.Had lunch at a local restaurant, relaxed for a while and was out on trhe street for a stroll. Kanyakumari is just 2 to 3 short roads. The view of the sea was tremendous.2 roads of small shops. Bought a cap, the sun was beating down.The sunset from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial was brilaint. It was soothing and calming.Got back to the hotel after a long walk, and ordered dinner at the hotel, watched a boring Thai war movie and that put me to bed earlier than planned.

After a quick breakfast by 10 am decided to move to the Vivekananda rock and Thituvallur statue both built on small islands in the sea probably about 20 mtrs away from the kanyakumari coastline.There are boats available at the jetty which ferry you to the 2 islands at a nominal cost of 20 INR.These boats run up and down and keep circling till evening.The view of the 133 feet Thiruvallur statue and the calming view of vivekanda rock from the jetty was quite overrpowering.check out the view. The fact that some one built these 2 fabulous structuctures in the middle of the ocean is quite mesmerising.The 5 min boat ride takes you to the Vivekanda rock.This is the place where Vivekanda is supposed to have swam and medidated and attained samadhi on the rock.The Rock has two halls; one belonging to Swami Vivekananda and the other belonging to a Holy Foot. The Holy Foot is a foot shaped carving found on the rock and is believed to be a foot print of Goddess Kumari who stood on this rock on one leg and performed the meditation. Landing on the rock gives one a soothing feeling. There is a feeling of calm everywhere. There is a meditation room in the Vivekananda Memorial , with light music where you can meditate. I did the same for abot 15 min and it was quite soothing. I admire Vivekananda for swimming up to the rock and meditating there. It takes guts, especially considering that the waters there are quite dangerous.The view of Thiruvalluer statue from the Vivekananda rock is great. The ferry drops you at Vivekanda rock , moves on to Thiruvallur rock and then winds its back to Kanyakumari shores. Took the boat to Thiruvallur rock. The statue in huge and its commendable the way they have been been able to put this structure together. You can walk arount the structure to gain an insight into the construction . You can even climb up to the top of the base layer and enjoy the beauty of kanyakumari and vivekananda rock from here. Its wonderous to think that yo are standing at the bottom of India and looking up towards the entire country. I got a fabulous pic of Vivekananda rock from Thiruvallur rock.Got back to Rameshwaram by boat, spent the rest of the day lazing around town. Nothing much to see , but its just the atmosphere being at the tip of India. Got out for a long walk in the evening. The roads that lead out of the city are nice and clean, the walk by the sea was enjoyable. Watched the sunset from Mahatma Gandhi memorial, it was mesmerising.

Did not take my camera, as someone said , we tend to miss the best thingsin life visually because we are taking the best photos, its ironic!! The next morning at 6 am  i was back at the beach to view the sunrise. There was a deluge of people on the beach with lots of expectations.

The weather gods were playing truant, the sky was cloudy and the whole thing was a damp squid. Did not let that bother me, paid up the hotel and reached the bus stop at 8 to catch a direct state bus to Trivandrum  Thampanoor railway station. Its about 87 Km and takes 1 hour 30 min by road, my bus was a regular one took 2 hrs. was sitting on the last seat with my leg rested on the bar next to the door. The bus went over a pot hole and i went about 1 feet up in the air and my leg came banging down on this rod. Had a bad swelling a noticable limp. But nothing would stop me from completing my journey. reached Trivandrum 10:30. Quick breakfast later searched for a bus to Kovalam beach which is about 10 to 12 Km from Trivandrum bus junction. A local bus would do.,It was crowded , but enjoyed the malayalee experience of being squashed in a locaal bus. The bus dropped me about 1 km away from the beach on a highway from where i took an auto to the beach. The first view of the beach was kind of disappointing. There ar emany more fabulous beached in India, but i guess the aura around Kovalam has spread the world and i too was here as part of the large diaspora.

3 Kovalam Beach 13-14 Dec 07:The first job was to get to a decent low cost hotel room. Hotel rooms were dime a dozen and i was in no mood to spend hugely. I fixed my budget at 500 INR per day and lo and behold as soon i mention that rooms start surfacing. I got a decent clean room with a bed large enough for 4 to sleep all fort 500 INR per day.Plonked my backpack at the hotel and had a great walk by the beach. Just sitting by the beach and listening to the waves was quite soothing.Kovalam has got 2 seperate beaches, one the main beach (the first photo) and the second one next to Leele (just round the hill), the secondf photo. Fixed up for an Auirvedic massage for evening in my paying guest acco and went by about 3 to explore the place. The was was quite refreshing and it was great to be out there exploring my state on my own. While on my walk i met this guy an Indian origin person based in UK travelling the world on his own, dont quite recollect his name i think Hitesh Chauhan. Cool guy.

We chatted for a while on his plan took photos and left. The masseg in the evening was great. But with due regards to keralites, i find a "UP" bhaiyya massage or a Thai massage more relaxing. But the guty was good and he worked hard on my damaged leg and i had some solace. Hitesh and me caught up for dinner. Racism was evident in the shacks. They were rude at a particular restaurant and we had to leave to another more hospitable one. The next morning, 14 Dec 07,  i was up and about at 6 and went off to the Leela side of the beach. Leela hotesl has a fabulous resort therewith a beach in front, very calm and composed. I loved the aura of the beach. Check it out...Followed the previous evenings massage with another one this morning. It was quite soothing and my leg felt much better.

Packed up and moved to the nearest bus stop up the hill to catch a bus to Trivandrum bus depot. Direct busses are available from Kovalam to Thampanoor bus depot.Another one of those crowded busses, at 5 INR you are at Trivandrum bus depot. Quick breakfast and im in search of a bus to Varkala beach resort. Aparently i will have to change 2 buses as very few direct busses go to Varkala.I got a Kollam passenger bus, got down at Kallambalam junction. Turned left, took another bus to Varkala beach.Got down at varkala bus stop near the Sivagiri Mutt (founded by Sree Narayana guru).Walked up about 20 min to reach the beach.

4. Varkala Beach 14-15 Dec 07 : It was late morning of 14 Dec, the smell , the sound of the sea were wonderful and i was eager to hit the beach at the earliest.

The first big job, to find a place to stay. Asked the local auto drivers and specified a budget of 500 INR.Found a place just overlooking the beach, a small neat place with a cute room. Varkala also consits of 2 beaches, one called Odayam (also known as Black Beach-first pic) and the other below the Varkala cliff(2nd cliff), The cliff is the reacl hub of action at varkala. But for me , i needed anquiet place from where i can venture to the action packed locations but have the capability to get back to my peace when i need to.Dumped my luggage and trecked up the beach to the cliff and up the cliff to the shacks. It was a different Kerala altogether totally customised to the foreign tourists. It seemed like a different world outside of the cliff. Hung out for a soup, malayalee parota and chicken , just loved the flavour and headed back to my room for a nap.Went for a long walk, treked up the cliff again, walked down the road from the cliff and realised that the roa winds down from the cliff right to where i was staying and busses do go right up to the cliff. So for all readers, you can take a bus from Kallambalam junction directly to Varkala cliff for a nominal fare of about 5 INR.Had 2 cups of hot tea

and "payam pori", baked bananas, it was absolute bliss and watched the sun down down the sea.Sat there till it was late evening. Changed and treked up to the cliff for a quiet evening alone. Treking up the cliff inthe night was a pain, should have carried a mini torch. The atmosphere in the shacks onthe cliff was electric. I took this pic of the beach just below the cliff from the cliff, it looks beautiful. Had a couple of beers and quiet dinner overlooking the dark sea. The silent lights of fishing boats retuirning back from fishing was a sight to see. Treked down another safe route that many more like me were taking and reached safey back. The next morning 15 Dec, was up at 6 and decided to trek again, this time the opp direction. It was a nice long walk. The small hotel where i stayed was playing beautiful hymns from Bhagwat Gita. The entire effect was soothing. I asked the owner to see me the CD, and he actually gifted me a CD asking me to live by the gita and to spread the word of Gita around. I moved the contents of the CD to my mobile and stil;l listen to it when im feeling low. It never fails to up my mood.Walked up to the bus stop and took the next bus to Kallambalam junction from where i got a bus to Kollam, my next destination. Did not have too many positive vibes about Kollam but it was my kick off point for the backwater ride from Kollam to Alleppey.This is a 3 hour bus ride, not the best of comforts in a local bus, but what the hell it gets you there cheap and as fast as the Kerala drivers can drive, and that is very very fast.Got down at the Kollam town bus depot. Kollam seemed like a busy commercial town like any others and i hated it the moment i landed there. I would recomed a miss to this place in case anyone wishing to stay.

5. Kollam city 15-16 Dec 07 : It was the morning of 15 Dec, after moving around for almost 30 min i sighted a place close to the jetty from where i could get a boat easily the next day for a day ride in the backwaters to Alleppey.The room was just average, so paying 1500 INR did really pinch me, but did not have the vigor to search for anything else.Reached Kollam at about 11 am and was finding it hard to spend time. Went and booked my place in the boat ride for the 10 am trip from Kollam to Alleppey. For 300 INR it was a steal.A quick lunch and a short nap later, believe it or not went for a malayalam movie in one of the neighbourhood cinemas. It was called "Chocolate", a film starring a local hero called Prithviraj. I like the guy though, he has tough looks. quite unlike the standard malayalayee heroes.The movie got over by evening, changed into my shorts and headed for Kollam beach which is about 5 Km from Kollam town. I loved the brisk walk and once again i was welcomed by the sight of the sea and the beach. I loved it and was wondering why i dint stay at the beach. Aparently the beach is quite dangerous due to dangerous undercurrents. So was almost untouched by external civilaisation. Its a long beach as long as the eye could reach. I saw the locals doing yoga and working out on the beach, very peaceful indeed, probably the only saving grace for Kollam.Sat there at the beach , listening to the roar of the waves and watched the sunset. It was a lovely sight indeed to be on an almost virgin beach and watch the sun go down on me.The evening went uneventful with peaceful dinner in the room.got up in the morning to a short walk, was up and went to the jetty to catch the 10 am boat to Alleppey.

6. Kollam to Alleppey by boat 16 Dec 07 :As usual i was in my non-malayalee self, taking pains to explain that i was a student travelling from Delhi wanting to visit Kerala. And not to mention too much , i got great treatment.The lessons from Kanyakumari stayed on.The boat was nothing too great it is a KSRTC (Kerala State government) boat, witch has got seating on the roof and in the basement.I decided to take up the vantage view on the top of the boat. I was verty upbeat about this boat ride.It was supposed to start at 10 am from Kollam and reach Alleppey at 6.30 pm. Apparently there is a boat starting every day at the same time from Kollam and Alleppey, meet half way and reach the Opp side at 6.30 respectively. So you can choose to go either way.The ride started smoothly, the move out of Kollam was fabulous. It is mind blowing to do this trip. I recommed this as one of the things to do before you die.Took some fabulous pictures along the way.Some lovely sights i saw was the traditional fishing boats which move around these waters, the chinese fishing nets in use probably at the only place in India.There was also the sight of luxury boats which have got up to 3 bedrooms,

with a private cook and steward, luxurious sit out area, where you can have lots of prioivate time for yourself. But not for the liberated like me who likes to be in a free environment with the ability to choose what i want at any time. But its a great option for a quiet family time, highly recommended, for the die hard family and romantic types.Another marvellous sight was this island in the middle of the backwaters, with winds sweeping the coconut treesand a lone house in the midst of the island. True bliss to live on such an island with your own speedboat to move around, is it not!!This picture shows the congruence of 3 rivulets. Somewhere at this point the boat stopped for a traditional Kerala lunch on a banana leaf with traditional fare. I just loved the meal. it was a fabulous sight to see a coconut tree reach out into one of the lanes, as if to say take me with you or may be "Im the guardian of this place". The boat got to Alleppey dot 6.30 pm.

7. Alleppey to Trissur 16 Dec 07 : By now i wanted to get back home as soon as possible. Here is where my respect for the backpackers rose hundred fold. To think that many of them spend up to six months circumnavigating the globe is a wonderous thing. Just 6 days into my trip and i was at my wits end. I wnted to get back to Trissur , where my dad awaited me with dinner. Took a bus from Alleppey to Ernakulam a distance of about 63 Km. It took me about 1 1/2 hrs if my memory is right. Ernakulam to Chalakudy another local bus and from there took a taxi to home in Irinjalakuda in Trissur Dist. Reached home at bout 1030 in the night and was happy to have a warm dinner and a proper bed at home ... finally

End of one journey and looking at the road for the next calling......

Signing off

Regards

Pradeep Eledath

Delhi, Vasant Kunj, 2031 IST