One sleeper bus, a sleeper train and 26 gruelling hours. That journey beckoned as we left the amazing treasure city of Hampi! We took a local bus to the pick up point in a city called Hospet, we had dinner in the only restaurant we could find without straying too far, it was a classy place and expected it to be expensive however it was the cheapest place I think we've eaten! It was hard work ordering (also quite awkward as every time we wanted something, four rude members of staff came over at the same time!) and we couldn't have half the menu, so it had to be vegetable pizzas, we managed to kill a couple of hours and had several cups of tea (the chai tea here is extremely sweet but good!). Nothing seems to run smooth or on time in India, so the sleeper bus was late but departed quickly to Mangalore. Just like the previous sleeper bus, it was racing through the busy streets, swerving, heavy on the brakes, and stopping every ten minutes for a while then speeding off again, despite the curtains inside flapping everywhere, due to all the windows being open, we managed to get some sleep! As always we get dumped off with our bags in a new city with no idea where to go! We took a tuk tuk to the train station and the driver ripped us off (top travel tip; always try and have correct change, otherwise the bartering option is out of the equation!) we had to wait around for five hours (the worst part of travelling is all the waiting around) so we walked out of the Station and found a small locals restaurant and had dosa (like naan bread but made from rice flour) with mild curry, again it was hard work ordering but it was cheap and the curry seemed to be bottomless as the old man kept coming over and topping us up (with no extra cost). Refreshed and re-energised we headed back to the station raring to do nothing for a few hours! It seemed like the longest train in the world eased to the platform, slowing grinding to a halt, the carriages went on as far as the eye could see, we found our beds easily enough and settled in (some of the carriages were mega busy but we reserved beds)! The ten hour journey commenced, it was classed as a sleeper train however it was daytime. We headed further into the south of India and our views were of lush green banana plantations, small villages with children playing cricket, rivers and lakes, most of the journey was spent gazing out the pale blue barred windows, Kerala is known as 'Gods own country', it was easy to see how this nickname came about.
There was a family of six next to us they were friendly enough and asked us all the usual questions (you feel like a broken record during the what feels like an interrogation but with added smiles!) telling strangers where we're from, what we're doing, names, profession, shoe size and length of travel etc. all topped off with a self taken photograph with the whole group (it was fun at first but sometimes you just want to get on with your day). Other than being nudged every few minutes to be shown a random picture on Instagram, (like a crab holding a knife!) the journey ran pretty smoothly! It's funny, on the trains, people come passed every few minutes selling everything from curries to keyrings! We arrived at the main station in Kochi, but as densely packed with people as it was, we easily found our host Bashan, who came to pick us up. We jumped into the shiny maroon Honda SUV, instantly we felt at ease with the well travelled Indian and after we pulled into the American style apartment complex and was shown around his spacey luxurious apartment we knew our stay here would be a comfortable one (we couldn't believe the place, the built up suburb didn't feel like India)! We arrived late on a Friday night so the next two days were ours which we didn't expect but we're grateful for, as the journey took it out of us a little.
Spare time Fort Kochi
No battlements, siege towers or canons as the name suggests however it was well worth a visit! There was a feel of tranquillity around the small markets and the Chinese fishing nets made for interesting pictures as well as adding tradition and character to place, also the cover from the trees and the ocean breeze provided a cool retreat from the busy and polluted city centre. It's a popular little town as we saw quite a few fellow tourists. All was going well until we accepted to go a cheap tuk tuk tour (we knew there'd be a catch but we jumped in anyway) we drove around for a little bit and he took us to see the beach and a couple of small churches, then he asked us a favour, he gets coupons for petrol if he takes tourists to certain shops and places, we agreed thinking we were going to see some places worth visiting along the way. So, a homeless shelter, a spice shop and two ridiculously expensive Indian heritage shops later (we were jumping out the tuk tuk, and pretty much walking in and then straight out of the shops, much to the annoyance of the staff). After the drivers protests and persistence to keep us on board he dropped us back where we started! Having wasted a good 45 minutes we had a look in a travel office to see what else we could do however all the boat cruises and backwater tours were expensive and had already left for the day so, after a sit by the sea we headed back, it was a place we went a couple of times as we enjoyed the little side streets and the general calm atmosphere.
The complex GoodEarth Elements had a gym and swimming pool, so we spent a couple of afternoons indulging in the facilities as we feel there will be none like it anywhere else on our travels! We also visited the local temple named Thrikkakara, a fairly large place of worship, however after the wonders of Hampi, as charming as it was, it failed to compare! There was a nearby international shopping mall called Lulu, we popped there a couple of times mainly for the huge supermarket inside, but it was like any other shopping mall, expensive shops, fast food restaurants and lots of people!
Kathakali Show
Whilst we were in Fort Kochi we saw a typical Kerala theatre production advertised, it was a perfect opportunity to soak up some culture and head out for an evening. Down a little alleyway the wooden structure oozed tradition (these types of shows have been around since the 1700's), we were handed a program and walked into the small auditorium. We were a little early so we saw them applying the intricate and brightly coloured make up! The 90 minute Kathakali (meaning story play) show commenced with a demonstration, there is no talking as every emotion is shown through the body and facial expressions (some made us laugh and some made you feel uncomfortable, especially when a character looked at you with wide, angry eyes and moved his eyebrows in all sorts of directions!) as well as the four piece band adding to the drama (everything is Kathakali takes around six years to perfect, everything from the drumming to the darting eye movements). The story was about a demon troubling a village and Bisha, the second most powerful warlord being summoned to deal with the problem! Bisha being a large man with light green face paint and pink lipstick, a huge headdress and elaborate clothing. Arrogant and confident persona he pranced and danced around stamping his feet, calling out the demon and eating the meal the villagers usually prepare for the evil one, until the curtain screen was drawn and another huge headdress appeared! The red faced orange eyed beastly character with a menacing war cry was on stage and wasn't happy about Bisha doo dallying around on his territory! Then the fight broke out, the drumming speed increased becoming unbearably loud, the demon and Bisha were pushing and shoving, running around in circles the whole thing was an outlandish spectacle and as it was reaching the climax their movements became more dramatic (it was amazing how the face paint didn't run) it felt like the whole room was shaking, neither character seemed to have the upper hand until, Bisha (the good guy) pulled out a small blunt object (it looked like a little red baseball bat) and hit the demon, and then again several times, the demon was on his knees and the drumming retreated to a steady beat! The singer bellowed out eery vocals as the final blow was struck and the demon was defeated! There was no victory dance or celebration after peace was restored in the village, Bisha just walked off like an anti hero in an action film! The show was fascinating and was so different to anything we'd seen before, some parts were worthy of inducing nightmares and we left with our ears ringing, but we was glad we went!
KIRSTY SAYS : On our last day at Bachans, Sonia, the Aussie mum and helper asked me if I would accompany her to a gathering/festival for a woman named Amma. Amma, whose full name is Sri Mata Amritanandamati, which literally means ' Mother of immortal bliss ; is considered a Hindu spiritual leader who is a ' saint ' to her many followers. We thought that when we arrived we would be at the back of the shenanigans ( there must have been at least 2000 people there ), but fear not, we were ushered straight to the front where they had sat a large number of foreigners. The ceremony started ( no photography or videos allowed ) with Amma walking on to the stage, followed by what one could presume were her followers, and then sitting on a cushion for the next couple of hours. Amma then proceeded to talk about how to become mindful and all the lessons that can be learnt in life. One line she said was ' Mindless speaking triggers most of the problems in the society these days. Like when water moves beyond its limits, it can harm people, even words have limits. When we cross those limits, they can cause widespread destruction. We should celebrate our life with kind words and good action”. We actually got a token for a hug from Amma. From a young age she has become known for spontaneously embracing people and comforting them in their sorrow. Her hugs are meant to be pretty damn special! She is said to have embraced 33 million people over 30 years!! You could see how much she meant to all of the people there and it was pretty moving. After 1 hour of Amma and her fellow 12 man band performing songs we stood up ready to go and get a hug, to then realise our ticket meant we would have to wait 4 hours! So, sweaty and dissapointed we made our way home!
The Work Our host was leaving to meet his family in Indonesia shortly after we arrived so we only had four working days at his Waldorf (alternative learning for children) inspired kindergarten. Our days started early around 7am we stopped for breakfast and then worked until 12:30. Our days mainly consisted of general gardening like cutting grass, raking leaves and moving the above to create a compost for the vegetables that were planted around the school! There was also an Australian family volunteering with us (Andrew, Sonia and their two children, Eden and Ruby. We got on well with them and it was pleasant being around this refreshing and candescent family who were travelling India for a year), and Andrew was a carpenter and we all helped to build a treehouse for the children to play in, we ran out of time (with a lack of tools, only a couple of machetes, a drill, some hammers and a handsaw that'd seen better days, the job wasn't an easy one but everyone was happy with the result) to complete it, however the main structure was up and cemented in and children loved it!! We also made the local newspaper for our efforts at the school!
Bashan Our host Bashan was a kind hearted and laid back character yet he stuck to a strict routine! Up around five every morning, running and a Paleo diet to go with it, he told us that as a child he went to a military boarding school, must've been where he picked up the mentality. Bashan and his wife run an alternative learning kindergarten, the school has around 12 students (including their own two kids) with their ages from 3-6! We met some of the children and the parents (all of which seemed to be middle class and spoke English perfectly) all were eager and happy to meet us, the children were pleasant and full of energy! After our previous host Maryse, Bashan's gentle nature was a welcomed difference from where we last volunteered, we enjoyed hearing about the places he'd travelled too (he has recently moved back from America and has trekked to Everest base camp), we were gutted we didn't get to meet the rest of his family! He also got us into the habit of eaten with our hands, it's strange at first but the traditional Keralan (a lot of fish, curry and rice, banana, coconut and dosas) which served up by the maid was excellent and eating without cutlery is quite fun!
On our penultimate night we all piled in to the seven seater Honda, Bashan took us to a favourite beach of his. Chilling out and swimming in the ocean while the sunset on the seemingly endless stretch of beach, with a tree line to match was the perfect way to end our stay in Kochi!
