Kerala: Beaches, Socialism, & Toddy

In a last minute decision I decided to join my roommate and his Malaysian friends on a weekend trip to Kerala. It was an interesting experience from the get go. Because it was a last minute decision I didn't have a confirmed seat on the train... I was wait listed. Which really all that means is that I can get on the train, I just don't necessarily have a place to sit/sleep ;-> On a 12 hr overnight train that could be a problem. We hoped that people would no show and I could get a bed as we were in the sleeper class (lowest class with the option of laying down to sleep). As it turned out, Kerala is a popular weekend destination - it was packed, and so were we. My roommate Eric and I ended up head to feet for the ride. It was as bad as I thought it was going to be however. The night cooled down considerably and the cool air allowed for a few hours of sleep. Arriving tired but energized to start the weekend, we got an auto to take us to the beach front ASAP from the Varkala trian station. On arrival we snapped a few quick shots of the majestic cliffs with the beach below, and then set off to find rooms. As it happened, there were a group of Oklahoma girls that also ended going on the same trip as us... they reserved their rooms in advance... we were of the mindset to find something when we got there. Considering how our sponteneity had rewarded me so far, I was preparing myself for the worst, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised with a decent room and a reasonable price. Since we only had the afternoon and evening in Varkala, we headed to the beach for the afternoon and had a great time swimming and splashing around in the waves. The beach was ok, but it was a very windy day which made it to feel like you were getting sand blasted instead of tan. After a day of fun in the sun, we had a delicious dinner of fresh sea food that night... things were looking up in Varkala! The only interesting thing of note that night was that the power went out... we later learned it was planned outage that happens every night as part of Kerala's effort to conserve electricity usage - a product of it being a socialist state.
 Apparently it is a Socialist state in the sense that the state takes care of all the people - education, health care, etc. Kerala is also a much cleaner state than the rest of Tamil Nadu.

The next morning we got up and headed for Aleepy to see the Backwater's of Kerala which are a major attraction in south India. Again the first order of business was finding rooms. This time, we told the rickshaw driver that we wanted cheap places... he obliged. He turned down an alley going about a block or two down it off the main road... we were a little hesitant/skeptical/scared and understandingly so. However, the rooms weren't too bad and the prices were cheap... we stayed ;-> After a quick lunch we negotiated a boat tour and off we went.  Having been to the florida swamps, I was expecting this experience to be somewhat similar. I hardly saw any wild life. There were a few birds here and there, and I did get to see several King Fishers, but that was about it. The Backwaters are getting fairly polluted from the boom in motorized tours and boats used for transport; and i'm ashamed to say we didn't make the effort to find a motorless tour that afternoon. The scenery was still quite beautiful though, a network of canals that sit higher than the expansive irrigated rice fields below. Lined with palm, mango, and flowering trees and with many locals going about their daily business it was still quite an experience. Later in the day we convinced our boat captain to lead us to the local watering hole to try the official alcohol of Kerala - Toddy, a fermented beverage made from the sap of palm trees. I'll just say I was there and I and I tried it, but warm fermented palm sap isn't the tastiest beverage I've ever had! As we headed back to town we got to see the sunset over the Keralal Backwaters.

Sunday, we headed to Cochin (Kochi). An island fort with a long history of many cultures co-existing. I believe the oldest church in India is located here. There is also a historical synagogue there as well as a mosque. Because we had been travelling all weekend and it was quite hot that afternoon, our sight seeing enthusian was starting to wayne... especially considering we still had to ride the night train back. A welcome break, for lunch we decided to buy fresh fish from the local fish mongers by the Chinese fishing nets that lined the shore on part of the island. Quite tasty and feeling a little better after getting out of the sun fo a while, the group headed out to do some shopping and then have an afternoon of a desert recommended to us by other students - Death by Chocalate cake. It was quite good and the shake I had along with it was the best shake I've had so far! We stuck around for yet another sunset over water... which we've discovered are beautiful and frustrating all at the same time. They start out looking like as they descend to the horizon that they'll be magnificent, but then there is so much humidity in the air that the clouds that inevitably line the horizon quickly obscure the best part of the sunset.

A quick dinner back on the mainland and a bumpy autorickshaw ride to the train station, and we were headed back to Vellore. To my surprise, my wait list # had come up and I had a confirmed seat... but as fate would have it the conductor wouldn't switch our seats around so that we could all stay together - my roomate and I shared again. I wasn't looking forward to the morning... we got back around seven and my new rotation in Karigiri (Leprosy Hospital) started at 8 a.m. Needless to say I wasn't on time. Luckily though, the other students (OK girls) that were starting at Karigiri the next morning were also with us on the night train going home ;->

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