Days 37, 38, 39 - Andrew

We had a 10.30pm overnight train to Chennai (aka Madras), so we spent the day at Ashtamudi Villas relaxing. David and I played chess on our nice new board with carved wooden pieces that we bought in Delhi. Megan conquered her fear of falling coconuts and lay in a hammock. I blitzed Trip Advisor with reviews of all the places we'd stayed and eaten at. We took a rickshaw to the station to leave our luggage, found they only accept locked suitcases, took all our packs on another rickshaw to the Wok & Grill, where we were greeted like long lost friends ("and don't forget to write about us on Trip Advisor"). We picked up supplies for breakfast at the next-door supermarket and returned to the railway station. The train arrived on time - like Mussolini, the Communist state government in Kerala seems much better at keeping to timetables than they are in the north - and got varying degrees of sleep as the train headed east to Chennai.

We arrived at 11am, found our hotel after some searching in the back streets and headed out for the shopping malls. The general idea was souvenirs for friends and family but instead - sorry everyone - we discovered a sports shoe store with Nikes for NZ$35. No Laxon (or Johnston) could go past that. The staff seemed a bit stunned as we bought shoes for everyone, plus a few extras. For our last night we went to the Raintree restaurant at the Taj Connemara Hotel, one of the old-style Raj buildings in Chennai. It was a stunning meal, sort of South Indian degustation. David and I had the thali, which is usually rice with a few accompanying bowls of curry. This one had noodles, bread and six different dipping sauces, plus starters, soup and dessert. As for the cocktails, Heather declared her mojito was the best she'd ever tasted, which is really saying something. There was a ritual round-the-table poll of what we enjoyed most about India and what we were looking forward to most about being back home.

The results were

Joanna: The beach at Goa/my room.

Megan: The art and taking photos/seeing my friends again.

Heather: Sharing India with my children/sharing a bed with Andrew (good to hear).

Andrew: Goa, with a highly commended to Kerala and the Himalayas/playing tennis again (Heather seemed slightly offended by this).

David: Travelling in general and having new experiences every day/drinking water straight from the tap.

I'm finishing this off on the plane as we fly back from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur, where we will hopefully we get wifi to post it. Thanks to everyone who stuck with us - especially our most prolific correspondents, Anne and Kaila - we're looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Pictures: Heather at Ashtamudi Villas, Megan and Joanna with jasmine garlands at the Raintree restaurant, family pack shot (you can work out who's who).

Day 36 - Joanna

This morning we had to get up at about 7 because we were being picked up to go on a boat trip to Munroe Island at 7:30. Of course Megan and I were running late because she forgot to set the alarm the night before and as a result we both overslept. Somehow we all made it into the autos on time and headed off to our boat. I can't say how long it took to get there but it was quite a way. At one point we crossed the river on a barge before continuing on land again. We stopped outside a house and met our guide, who showed us the canoe we were going in. One of the auto drivers came with us as he had better English than the boat "driver". I say "driver" because it wasn't so much driving as pushing the canoe forward using a long bamboo stick. They showed us trees and plants along the way and told us the names, but mostly it was quiet as we absorbed the peaceful atmosphere. It was remarkable, we couldn't hear any traffic at all. The canals we travelled along were quite small, and they wound through the villages, so we got a glimpse of what it would be like to live there. It was quite funny though, now and then we would pass under bridges or through tunnels and they were quite short so we would all have to kneel down in the boat and crouch so that we didn't hit our heads. We stopped briefly to have some chai and look at some plants in the gardens. Fun fact: pineapples DO NOT actually grow on trees, contrary to popular belief. They actually grow out of a kind of bush like thing on the ground. We also were shown a brand new canoe that had just been made and our guides explained the process a bit. We hopped back in our canoe and soon after the ride was finished. We thanked the man who took us and got back in the autos. On the way back to our accomodation the drivers took us to see the elephant that lived in a temple in town. It was funny seeing a huge elephant in the middle of civilisation, so that was fun. After that we went back to the villas and wasted the afternoon away. The day drifted, and I think that Megan and I in particular are pretty ready to go home. Two more days....

Day 35 - Heather

We had a very lazy start to our day, reading and relaxing in hammocks. We decided to head into Kollam to do some exploring in the afternoon. Our host very kindly offered to drop us off at the beach. Our first stop was the local fish market, where the day's catch was being sold as the boats returned - there was a variety of fish being sold of varying sizes - we saw a couple of large swordfish. Then it had been suggested by our host that we head down the beach to the local lighthouse. The walk there was pretty grim.  On the beach were were a large number of woven huts/tents where the fishers and their families lived and surrounding these were large piles of stinking rubbish - it was as though the community had decided to dump all their rubbish where these people lived. 

The lighthouse was painted with traditional red and white stripes and was beautifully maintained. Andrew and David climbed to the top and both returned saying that it was very steep and scary. By this time it was very hot and the kids were reluctant to walk any further so we all squashed into an auto rickshaw and headed to the local beach - let's just say it was covered in rubbish and despite there being people there it felt very desolate.  By the time we had walked for about 3 km around Kollam trying to locate a functioning ATM we were all in agreement that Kollam town was grotty.  The redeeming feature of our visit to town was having a yummy dinner at a great restaurant we found (on Tripadvisor - some recommendations are accurate!!)

We were very glad to get back to our beautiful, peaceful lakeside bungalows.

Day 34 - Andrew

Catching the 10.30am boat to Kollam was a little more challenging than we expected. None of the rickshaw drivers seemed to understand "boat" or "Kollam" and the one who did took us to be wrong boat jetty. Fortunately the boatman there knew where we needed to go and led us there himself. The boat was full of other Western - or possibly Russian - tourists. Once we started moving we were allowed to go up onto the top deck, which had a much better view. We headed out from the town centre along a fairly narrow canal and then turned right onto a much wider canal, as if we were joining the motorway. A sign said Kollam 82km, with an arrow, just like a road sign. After that it was hard to understand the logic of where we were going or whether we were on the main drag or not. Sometimes we veered off down narrow canals where two boats could pass comfortably on the calm green waters but you wouldn't want a third. Sometimes the canals opened into large blue-grey lakes. Since we weren't doing the navigation, so we could just sit back and enjoy the view. At the beginning there were dozens of large house boats, some built like miniature cruise ships but in the style of a modernised Chinese junk. We also passed a lot of beautifully painted, well-kept but modest houses, which - as regular followers of this blog will know - is not a common sight in India. Was prawn farming more lucrative than we thought? Could they be weekend baches for rich people from the city? Or, most likely, had they been done up to hire out to strange rich Westerners, who liked living in country cottages when they could afford a mansion?

The boat stopped for lunch at a small restaurant, which served thalis and not much else. Being good cheapskate Kiwis, we had brought our own lunch, including a pineapple which Heather attempted to cut using my 30-year-old pocket knife with a loose blade. We decided to finish the pineapple on the boat. We beat the Russians to the chairs in the shade and enjoyed the afternoon ride. Towards the end we passed some kind of mining operation which seemed to be discharging its pollutants straight back into the canal and a series of villages which also seemed to use the canal as a rubbish dump. As the kids have pointed out in previous posts, you get a lot of this. And despite reading the excellent "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" (great non-fiction book about life in a Mumbai airport slum, thanks Andrew Stone) I'm still none the wiser. Excel to say that a lot of other villages didn't do this, so it's not inevitable.

We came out onto Lake Ashtamudi, which looks like it has islands everywhere. As far as I can see, it's actually all mainland but the lake is like a series of fingers which creates the illusion. The boat dropped us off at Ashtamudi Villas, which is at the water's edge. It has a beautiful green garden, full of palm trees and string hammocks, with brick bungalows behind. Feeling very tired after our day on the boat, we showered, ate and went to bed.

Pictures, from top (no one else believes in captions but I do); Our boat in Alleppy, Megan at the front, typical canal view, boats at our lunch stop, sunset and church on Lake Ashtamudi.

 

Day 32- Megan

They day started after waking up on our overnight train, after a kind of restful night- on the plus side no one had to share a bed. We arrived at Ernakullem train station half an hour early :0 madness!! (Slow clap for India) then we caught a ferry to Cochin where we arrived at a cute Homestay, and were greeted by the mosquitoes immediately after arriving. After lathering ourselves in mosquito repellent we headed out to this cute little cafe called the Teapot. The cafe had an extensive range of teas and was decorated with art, china tea cabinets and our table was fake tree branches balancing a circular plate of glass. After our rooms were ready a rest and shower were in order after travelling on a night train, before going along the waterfront to look at the Chinese fishing nets, which were huge but didn't have much catch due to it being the wrong season. We each got turns pulling in the nets using a cantilever system, and to take photos- but of course nothing's free in India so we had to give a small donation, which judging from the amount of fish they caught didn't seem too unreasonable. One of the highlights from looking round Cochin was all the cool street art and European style alleyways. There are lots of arty places in India which has opened my eyes to different styles of art and has inspired me for my year ahead, hopefully I am going to paint and use my photos for my art. 

Dad found a place for us to eat dinner, which was supposedly rated number 2 on Tripadviser in Cochin. Don't always trust Tripadviser, it can be misleading. The best food we usually eat is rates 6th or 7th purely because people rate places on atmosphere and wifi, not food. In India good food is essential and comes before wifi and atmosphere, we know this due to how many times each of us has been sick. Anyway this place was packed with tourists expecting great food when the place was pretty average and the food was boring and cold.. Yuck. So we went to the art cafe for desert since no one ate much and it was great (I originally suggested this place for dinner but got turned down, parents learnt their lesson - always listen to Megan).

Day 33 - Heather

Another early morning - we were woken by the Muslim prayer call at 5.40 am.  However this morning we needed to be up at 6 am for our bike ride.  Our guide met us with the bikes at 6.30 am and we set off heading south along coastal roads towards Alleppey.  It was a really pleasant time of day to be riding and we soon got into the swing of things avoiding potholes, staying out of the way of scooters, rickshaws, buses and trucks and using our bike bells to let others know we were there.  In the early morning the many Catholic Churches enroute were having morning mass which was broadcast via loudspeakers and we passed fish auctions on the side of the road where the mornings catch was being sold.

We were soon into the backwaters area where we were surrounded by large areas of water with strips of land running through them.  We stopped at an old villa,which was built in the style of a monastery, for a breakfast of fresh fruit, muesli, puri, potato curry, toast and homemade banana jam. Feeling completely stuffed we set off again. At one point we left our bikes and hopped into a large canoe for a trip out onto one of the lake areas where the locals fished from and cultivated prawns. Our boatman took us to his house and demonstrated his Chinese fishing net and showed us his catch from that morning which consisted of 2 large crabs.  Then it was back on our bikes for the last part of the ride - by this time it was midday and very warm - we were all glad to get to the end of our journey as our bottoms were feeling a little saddle sore. We had covered 40 km so felt pleased with ourselves and felt ready to hop in the car for the rest of the journey to Alleppey.

We are staying in another very nice homestay.  Alleppey is a big noisy town which is the starting point for many of the backwater trips. After the laid back pace of Goa and Cochin it feels very chaotic. We will be glad to head off tomorrow via boat to Kollam.

Days 28,29,30&31- David

The beach we were staying at was nothing you'd find in NZ. The thousands of tourists on the long curved bay lined themselves up on the masses of wooden loungers, trying to get the best angle of the sun for tanning. As soon as the beach ended, open front restaurants began, lined up side by side with their "Coco-Huts" accomodation behind. In the water there were a few bits of rubbish here and there but it could have been a lot worse so I'm glad we're staying at this beach which is supposed to be one of the best for families like us in Goa. The beach had very nice western restaurants and not too many people came up to you and hassle you to come in their shop. I sorta got the feeling that the South is more relaxed and chill than the North. I think that 4 nights here is just what we need after 4 weeks of trains, buses, some really bad hotels, rubbish and hassle. I'm not going to describe every day because it would take to long and every day was pretty similar. So instead I'll just describe one average day in detail.

Dad, Mum and I awoke to the dawn chorus of crows (not so nice) and decided it was time for running/swimming/breakfast. Dad joined me in the water to cool off while mum watched us from over her mug of ginger lemon honey tea. After a satisfying breakfast (they do really good muesli with fresh fruit and curd, which tasted like back home) the sisters arrived and ate their fill. We got into our togs and headed down towards the beach (which is a 10 metre walk) to sunbathe, swim and read. At tenish some of us went down to the book store to exchange books while Mum Megan and I bought little gifts for friends at a cute little shop, also stopping off to buy mango and papaya (which we devoured later in the day). We did nothing except those described activities until lunch, home made chicken burgers and fries for some, fresh fruit salad for others. After lunch we sunbathed, swam and read on the beach, sometimes getting a drink of it got too hot. At around 4 we retired to our rooms and lay down in the hammocks, had a snooze/read and had showers. At sevenish we had mock tails/cocktails by the beach and headed out to a very nice small European restaurant run by a really friendly British guy (they actually had a tiki on the wall which we asked about; a kiwi couple had their wedding reception there 4 years ago so they gave it to him as a gift). We all agree that Ourem 88 (this place) had the best European food we had in India. We even had desert as they did crême brûlée (my favourite) and chocolate foundant which was truly delicious. Then it was time to spread out the mosquito nets in the cute little huts and go to bed.

On day 31 we caught an overnight train to Cochin, Kerala, which actually came in on time and got there early!

Days 26&27 - Andrew

A quiet day as David was feeling sick again. (Yes, he's pretty over it too.) We dropped a planned visit to Old Goa in the afternoon, to the girls' delight. Who needs 17th century ruins when you can watch movies in the hotel all afternoon? I wandered round and took some photos. That evening we had dinner at the Black Sheep Bistro, which is like a slice of Ponsonby Rd dropped into India - superb European-style food at ridiculously cheap prices. I can feel a Trip Advisor review coming on...

This morning we took two local buses to get to Palolem Beach, our home for the next four nights. By Goan standards this beach is relatively unspoilt, which means from a Kiwi point of view it is lined with wall-to-wall accommodation and restaurants, full of European tourists who've flown out to escape the northern winter for a few weeks. After weeks on the road and often off the beaten track, it feels like Tourist City. But the beach is beautiful, the water is just cool enough to take the edge off the 30 degree heat and the food and drinks are great. Plus Joanna and I walked to the book exchange and got new books and Megan discovered cheap Magnums at the local dairy. There may not be much to say for a few days.

Here are some pictures of Panaji/Panjim.

Day 24 & 25 - Heather

This morning the air was crisp and the sky clear and we were able to see Udaipur without haze. It is a truly stunning place with the lake and its palaces around the shoreline and on the lake.  The streets are narrow and windy and it is a constant challenge to keep out of the way of the rickshaws, scooters, cows, donkeys and cars that try to make their way through the narrow streets - makes for some fairly spectacular traffic jams. 

We headed out in search of coffee this morning and were very happy to find a cafe run by Greek woman who made great coffee. Then it was time for a browse around the shops - some successful shopping was done which included one shop keeper insisting on dressing some of us!! (Photo below). 

Lunch included cake (in honour of Joanna's birthday).  In the late afternoon we made our way through the narrow alley ways to a guest house run by a lovely Indian couple called Robin and Mary. Andrew and I had booked a cooking lesson with Mary. We had a great time in Mary's kitchen learning to make mutter paneer, aloo gobi, dahl, fried rice, chappati and paratha. The kids enjoyed the views from the rooftop while we cooked then joined us for dinner. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

This morning was a very early start as our 7 am flight meant a 4.45 am wake up. We are now in Mumbai airport waiting for our flight to Goa. We are looking forward to the warmer temperatures of the South. Our flight from Udaipur was our first Indian transport that left on time and got in early!! 

Andrew continues: Try to ignore the weirdo in the turban below. I know I am. We got into Goa that afternoon and were immediately struck by how green and lush it felt compared with the North. Also less hectic - not exactly quiet, but more laid back by Indian standards. We had an hours drive from the airport to Panaji (or Panjim - no one seems to be able to decide what this town is called). It's full of colourful old Portuguese buildings, so just walking around the streets is interesting, especially in the evening.

Day 23 - Joanna

I woke up at about 7:30 on the 3rd of January, mainly because we had some very noisy people in the room next door, but also because IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! Mum and Megan wished me happy birthday and Megan went downstairs to fetch Dad and David (and my presents) while of course I went on Facebook to see how many embarrassing photos of me people had put up. When the whole family had gathered I received my presents. I actually got a MacBook Air from Mum and Dad but they couldn't really bring that to India so they got me some other little things, like a ring that I had pointed out to mum, some turquoise earrings and a cushion cover from Jaisalmer. Megan got me pretty silver earrings and a $25 Victoria's Secret "voucher" (she wrote on a piece of scrap paper and told me that I had to keep it in order to redeem it) for when we stopped over in Kuala Lumpur on the way home. David got me a black skirt with patterns on it in the colours of the peacock (I picked it) and a cute leather bag (which I also selected). Once that was done we showered and headed out in search of a place to eat breakfast. Unfortunately Megan and I still didn't have our appetites back so we had very particular taste, but eventually we found a place that suited all of us.

We went back to the guest house briefly and then the girls headed out for a special birthday treat. Eyebrow threading. The woman was very nice, she did mums pretty quickly, and then it was my turn. I was looking pretty bushy, and as I sat down I could almost hear her thoughts. "Aaaaaah now this is a REAL challenge...." A bit of pain and a LOT of loose eyebrow hair later Megan hopped in the chair. She'd never had hers done professionally before so she was a bit stressed. "Is it going to hurt? Do I hold my eye shut now? No? Oh okay, sorry." We walked back, both me and Megan with watery eyes and swollen eyelids, but looking much tidier I thought. We picked up the boys and headed out for "lunch" which was actually cake and really good iced coffee at a cute new cafe we found. Unfortunately the power went out before Mum and Dad could get their cappuccinos and we had to leave, as we had other plans.

We got back and I quickly changed into a pair of jeans, because next up was horse riding. Mum and Megan weren't coming, they were going to find an art class instead. Dad, David and I got an auto to a guest house where we were greeted by a nice woman whose name I never caught. We were then taken by car with her to the outskirts of town, and when we hopped out we were promptly welcomed by the woman's three dogs, two black Labradors and one enormous black and white Great Dane. Dad signed a few papers and explained our riding abilities to the woman as they finished getting our horses ready. David was put at the front on the biggest (but dumbest) horse, right next to the guide, who was travelling on foot. Dad was second on a bay mare, and I was at the back on a pretty little chestnut mare. She was actually gorgeous, her only fault was that I think she was blind in her right eye, there was something VERY wrong with it. The woman told me that she put me at the back so that if I wanted to fall back a bit I could, and then trot and canter to catch up again. Then we were off, and it was really fun.

For the first hour or so we went through villages and stuff, and I felt like a celebrity. All the children would yell and wave, and go to find their friends so that they could follow us down the street. I had the liveliest horse, and she didn't like to be left behind. I tried a few times to fall back like the woman said but she got very stressed, pulling and snorting. When I would loosen my hold on her just a little bit she leapt forward like a racehorse and ended up cantering very quickly back to the others. Eventually I gave up and just walked with the others. Later on we headed into the countryside and things got a bit rough. We were going through thorny bushes, down pretty steep, rocky slopes. At this point we were really glad we didn't bring Mum and Megan. Things were pretty quiet out there so when I heard a quiet thundering noise I turned in the saddle and got a bit of a shock when I saw the woman galloping up behind us on a black gelding. Our horses got a bit skittish, they didn't like to be overtaken. She offered to take me on an alternative route for a trot and a canter but I had to politely decline. We were about three hours in and I hadn't ridden for about six months before that, so my legs were pretty sore.

She laughed when I told her this and fell in behind me, deciding to ride back with us. At this point the horse were speeding up, dads was bouncing slightly as he tried to hold it back from a trot. The woman explained to me that they knew we were almost back and they wanted their food. The horses we were riding were Mewari horses, an Indian breed, and she told me that they were hot blooded and a bit harder to handle than most breeds used for pleasure riding. "Your Dad and your brother are doing very well" she said. "These horses are not really beginner horses." By the time we returned Dad and David were very relieved to get off, Dad because his horse was almost dancing in the spot it was so excited for its dinner, and David because he had VERY sore legs. We met their friendly 3 month old filly Aisha and admired her father from afar, a huge black stallion pacing restlessly in a pen faaaar away from the mares.

By this time it was getting dark so we went back in the car, got a few recommendations for dinner from the woman as we paid, then caught an auto back to the guest house. Mum and Megan were waiting for us, and they proudly displayed their miniature paintings, then promptly told us that we smelled bad. We showered and changed for dinner, then went to a nice rooftop resteraunt called Masala and had delicious indian food while admiring the view over the lake. It got a bit stressful when Megan choked on a chicken bone but she was okay, although I think she gave the owner a heart attack when she started coughing and gagging in front of him. We finished dinner at ten, and we were all still really tired so we decided to put off cake until the next day and walked back to the guest house, getting straight into bed.

Days 21&22- Megan

 The start of 2015 was a bitterly cold. We had to catch a bus at 8:30 so we were awake before every one else in town. We arrived in jodpur at 2:30, and were bombarded by beggars and tuktuk drivers. The place basically looked like a large rubbish dump and when I say that I don't just mean you could see a lot of rubbish because that is the norm in India but there were large piles and fields of rubbish all round the outter city. Once we reached our guest house in the nicer old city we went up for lunch which after not getting lunch for nearly an hour and a half we were expecting something great... It wasn't great it was disgusting. Let's just say we won't be rating that guest house well on Trip Advisor Then it was time to go zip lining at the jodpur fort! Dad, david and I were very nervous because all of us have never been zip lining before but we didn't need to worry because our guides were great and it was a very safely run operation. The course had six zip lines with crazy views over the fort and lakes, each zipline leading us on to the next. If you haven't been ziplinging before, I would definitely recommend it, I myself am not the most outgoing adventurous person but one of my New Years resolutions was to do something that scares me (even if it is the smallest thing) everyday and I have no regrets so far :) unfortunately to end this day on a not so pleasant note me and Joanna had very upset tummies that night and I'm not going to go into detail because trust me you don't want the know but let's just say there was not much sleep that night and we are very thankful for such a caring mum who looked after us and stayed up nearly all night just checking we were alright.

The next day we caught the bus at 7:40 to Udaipur, I still was not feeling that well so spent most of the ride sleeping on mum. We arrived at 2:30 and were taken to our hotel where we ate. Then me and Joanna rested while the others went exploring round town, looking for nice places to eat and shop. (Not much else happened after that because we were so tired and regaining our strength from the following night, to prepare ourselves for Joanna's birthday the following day).

Day 20 - Andrew

One of the good things about not being able to sleep in the desert is you are up bright and early to see the dawn. We walked up the sand dunes, took photos and warmed our hands on the hot chai from the fire. After breakfast it was back on the camels and a shorter ride back to the road, where our driver took us at light speed back to Jaisalmer and our hotel. It was a great trip and I found the camel riding a lot easier than expected, probably because they were being led. Sleeping under stars on the hard desert sand was another story. The kids were fine but Heather and I reluctantly admitted we might be getting a bit old for this.

We cleaned up, enjoyed lunch on the rooftop and caught up on sleep in the afternoon, especially David  who unfortunately had the runs again. We had dinner at the First Gate restaurant, looking out at the floodlit fort and the house band doing solos on their nose flutes. After that our New Year's Eve was "a bit lame", as Megan put it in one of her more charitable moments. Everyone was tired and not exactly party fit, so we wished each other a happy 2015 and turned in early, ready for the early bus tomorrow.