Day 80 (Nov 6) - off to Pushkar
It's been 3 weeks since my last post, and as you may have guessed, much has happened.
I'll keep this short(ish)
After a week in Bangalore (which was the most expensive week of my trip, with food/auto-rickshaws etc. being pretty expensive), and an awesome party at the house I was staying in, I headed for Kochi (Cochin) in Kerala. It was an overnight bus (14hrs I think), but wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Before hitting Kochi the bus came to Calicut in on the Arabian sea in northern Kerala (about 5am). From here I was expecting to pass through a few other towns on the way down south to Kochi, but there were no towns as such, just constant built up areas, the whole way from Calicut to Kochi. No way to tell where one town ends, and another begins. Just 100 or more kms of shops, factories, homes etc. I guess it's a sign of the population.
On arrival in Kochi (19th October), I popped into an internet cafe near the ferry station on Fort Kochi (an island off the mainland reached by ferry). Airconditioning! After 15 mins I left the cafe, to find my glasses completely fogged. Oh dear. Humidity. Not something I'm too fond of.
Checked into a hotel, run by two Aussie brothers from Melbourne (of Indian heritage, but have lived in Australia for 10 years, and are now Australian citizens). They work in finance for banks in Melbourne for 9 months of the year, and work at this hotel in Kochi for 3 months. What a life!
Kochi was dissapointing however. Not what I expected from my first visit to the state (Kerala) known as "God's own country". Really, really touristy (inflated prices, touts everywhere etc.). And not much to see. This made me re-evaluate my Kerala visit, plus with time constraints (needing to be in Pushkar by the 8th of November) I planned to leave Kerala to head to towards Rajasthan. First stop, Mysore, then Tamil Nadu to catch Jen before she left the country.
On my train trip on the 8th of October from Pune to Bangalore I met a group of guys returning from a 4 day end of Ramadan holiday in Pune. They lived in towns nearby to Mysore, and said when I come that way I must contact them. Not having an Indian SIM card I kept in contact for the few weeks by SMS only. On my way to Mysore I informed Khalid (one of the guys who said I should come and visit him) that I was on my way. He said once I got off the bus I should phone him from a public phone. I did this, and he said come to Kirgavalu, his town.
On my way on the bus (1 hr) I met two locals who were perplexed to see a foreigner on their bus. I even signed an "autograph" for a school girl on the bus!
I messaged Khalid when I was 20 mins away from the stop, and when I got off, there was a 5 person welcoming committee on motorbikes, including Khalid and Zia who I'd also met on the train. They took me to Khalid's house, which was a mansion! Especially considering this was a small town. It was easily the largest house in the whole town!
I met Khalid's father, uncle, aunt, and his two children. His wife was unwell, and was staying in Mysore, so I didn't have a chance to meet her.
I stayed here for 2 nights, (I think it's the best accommodation I've had in India! Clean, big, bright!) All meals were included kindly cooked by his Aunty. Unfortunately only Khalid spoke English, the rest of the household speaking only Urdu, so communication was an issue. I would have loved to have had chats with the other members.
I spent 2 days just chilling, swimming in the lake, getting my haircut (to the amusement of about a dozen local kids!). Apparently I'm the only tourist to have ever visited the town (there's nothing of historical interest, so is well off the tourist map). It was a lovely experience though, even though I drew a lot of attention, it wasn't like in the touristy places where people are trying to sell you things. It was more curiosity, and people wanting to know about me. I was more than willing to chat to everyone (at the chai shops etc.). I even bought myself a lungi.
After two days I headed to Mysore, and caught up with Suhel (whome I'd also met on the train from Pune) , Shujath, Said and 2 other of Suhel's friends for a boys day in Mysore. First stop was the bird sanctuary. I was smuggled in under the guise of being Kashmiri, so I could pay the Indian price (many places in India charge 5 to 20 times more for foreigners). The guys loved the challenge!
Next was the Srirangapatna museum, then Mysore palace (it's lit up at night spectacularly). Then to the Mysore Exhibition which was on at the time. Exhibition is a fair, with rides, games, fairy floss and all that you'd expect at a fair anywhere in the world. It was a fantastic display of colour, and of families out for a good time. It had the largest concentration of females of anywhere else I've seen in India, which was a refreshing change.
The next day (Monday) I was on my own again, as the boys had to work, so I made a plan to go to Chamundi Hill, and to the Palace (a daytime visit inside the buildings). Boarding the local bus to Chamundi Hill, I asked some other passengers if it was the correct bus, to confirm, and struck up a converstation with these two lads from Bangalore (Deepak and Somjit). They were also tourists in Mysore for the day, so we hooked up and saw Chamundi hill, the Mysore Zoo and the Palace all together.
From Mysore I caught a train to Chennai, then a bus to Mamamallapuram to meet Jen, and catch up on everything.
We discussed what we'd done/seen blah blah blah. And about what an arsehole I'd been over the previous month (the whole no contact thing.). Surprisingly Jen was understanding(?) and forgiving(!?!?!). We decided to call it all off.
Despite all this we spent 3 days in Mamallapuram gorging on seafood (bought at the local market, and cooked at a restaurant. The cheapest way for a seafood feast!)
Then two nights in Chennai (clubbing and watching the final F1 race at a F1 bar nearby our hotel!). Go Lewis!
Now I'm in Hyderabad, leaving on 26hr train trip to Jaipur in Rajasthan at 2am on Friday morning (tonight) then a bus to Ajmer then another to Pushkar! Can't wait!
Ok, that was way too long. I really promise to blog more often, and keep them shorter.
That is all
I'll keep this short(ish)
After a week in Bangalore (which was the most expensive week of my trip, with food/auto-rickshaws etc. being pretty expensive), and an awesome party at the house I was staying in, I headed for Kochi (Cochin) in Kerala. It was an overnight bus (14hrs I think), but wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Before hitting Kochi the bus came to Calicut in on the Arabian sea in northern Kerala (about 5am). From here I was expecting to pass through a few other towns on the way down south to Kochi, but there were no towns as such, just constant built up areas, the whole way from Calicut to Kochi. No way to tell where one town ends, and another begins. Just 100 or more kms of shops, factories, homes etc. I guess it's a sign of the population.
On arrival in Kochi (19th October), I popped into an internet cafe near the ferry station on Fort Kochi (an island off the mainland reached by ferry). Airconditioning! After 15 mins I left the cafe, to find my glasses completely fogged. Oh dear. Humidity. Not something I'm too fond of.
Checked into a hotel, run by two Aussie brothers from Melbourne (of Indian heritage, but have lived in Australia for 10 years, and are now Australian citizens). They work in finance for banks in Melbourne for 9 months of the year, and work at this hotel in Kochi for 3 months. What a life!
Kochi was dissapointing however. Not what I expected from my first visit to the state (Kerala) known as "God's own country". Really, really touristy (inflated prices, touts everywhere etc.). And not much to see. This made me re-evaluate my Kerala visit, plus with time constraints (needing to be in Pushkar by the 8th of November) I planned to leave Kerala to head to towards Rajasthan. First stop, Mysore, then Tamil Nadu to catch Jen before she left the country.
On my train trip on the 8th of October from Pune to Bangalore I met a group of guys returning from a 4 day end of Ramadan holiday in Pune. They lived in towns nearby to Mysore, and said when I come that way I must contact them. Not having an Indian SIM card I kept in contact for the few weeks by SMS only. On my way to Mysore I informed Khalid (one of the guys who said I should come and visit him) that I was on my way. He said once I got off the bus I should phone him from a public phone. I did this, and he said come to Kirgavalu, his town.
On my way on the bus (1 hr) I met two locals who were perplexed to see a foreigner on their bus. I even signed an "autograph" for a school girl on the bus!
I messaged Khalid when I was 20 mins away from the stop, and when I got off, there was a 5 person welcoming committee on motorbikes, including Khalid and Zia who I'd also met on the train. They took me to Khalid's house, which was a mansion! Especially considering this was a small town. It was easily the largest house in the whole town!
I met Khalid's father, uncle, aunt, and his two children. His wife was unwell, and was staying in Mysore, so I didn't have a chance to meet her.
I stayed here for 2 nights, (I think it's the best accommodation I've had in India! Clean, big, bright!) All meals were included kindly cooked by his Aunty. Unfortunately only Khalid spoke English, the rest of the household speaking only Urdu, so communication was an issue. I would have loved to have had chats with the other members.
I spent 2 days just chilling, swimming in the lake, getting my haircut (to the amusement of about a dozen local kids!). Apparently I'm the only tourist to have ever visited the town (there's nothing of historical interest, so is well off the tourist map). It was a lovely experience though, even though I drew a lot of attention, it wasn't like in the touristy places where people are trying to sell you things. It was more curiosity, and people wanting to know about me. I was more than willing to chat to everyone (at the chai shops etc.). I even bought myself a lungi.
After two days I headed to Mysore, and caught up with Suhel (whome I'd also met on the train from Pune) , Shujath, Said and 2 other of Suhel's friends for a boys day in Mysore. First stop was the bird sanctuary. I was smuggled in under the guise of being Kashmiri, so I could pay the Indian price (many places in India charge 5 to 20 times more for foreigners). The guys loved the challenge!
Next was the Srirangapatna museum, then Mysore palace (it's lit up at night spectacularly). Then to the Mysore Exhibition which was on at the time. Exhibition is a fair, with rides, games, fairy floss and all that you'd expect at a fair anywhere in the world. It was a fantastic display of colour, and of families out for a good time. It had the largest concentration of females of anywhere else I've seen in India, which was a refreshing change.
The next day (Monday) I was on my own again, as the boys had to work, so I made a plan to go to Chamundi Hill, and to the Palace (a daytime visit inside the buildings). Boarding the local bus to Chamundi Hill, I asked some other passengers if it was the correct bus, to confirm, and struck up a converstation with these two lads from Bangalore (Deepak and Somjit). They were also tourists in Mysore for the day, so we hooked up and saw Chamundi hill, the Mysore Zoo and the Palace all together.
From Mysore I caught a train to Chennai, then a bus to Mamamallapuram to meet Jen, and catch up on everything.
We discussed what we'd done/seen blah blah blah. And about what an arsehole I'd been over the previous month (the whole no contact thing.). Surprisingly Jen was understanding(?) and forgiving(!?!?!). We decided to call it all off.
Despite all this we spent 3 days in Mamallapuram gorging on seafood (bought at the local market, and cooked at a restaurant. The cheapest way for a seafood feast!)
Then two nights in Chennai (clubbing and watching the final F1 race at a F1 bar nearby our hotel!). Go Lewis!
Now I'm in Hyderabad, leaving on 26hr train trip to Jaipur in Rajasthan at 2am on Friday morning (tonight) then a bus to Ajmer then another to Pushkar! Can't wait!
Ok, that was way too long. I really promise to blog more often, and keep them shorter.
That is all
posted by rumble at
Thursday, November 06, 2008
0 Comments
