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Night journey
The bus reached Kottayam at 03:30 when the conductor woke us up from deep sleep. Hoping to get refreshed we ordered tea from the tea stall, but it tasted bland.. damn!
It was raining a little and formed small puddles all over the bus terminal. There was nobody in a position to tell us about the bus.. aargh! Finally found one bus driver sitting in his idly parked bus:
Me: Excuse me, Do you know when the next bus for Thekkady leaves?
Driver: Makes a clueless face. I realize that speaking complete English sentences is not required
Me: Sir, Thekkady bus. When? (with gestures)
Driver: Rattles something in incomprehensible Malayalam, speaks to a passenger. I think he is consulting
Me: No Malayalam. Please English
Driver: 5 o clock
Me: Thanks. Thekkady reach when?
Driver: 8 o clock
Me: Bus start Kottayam?
Driver: No, Kochi going.
Ok I quit. Next person
Me: Sir, Thekkady bus when? (Yatin, my office mate instructed me to address everyone by ‘sir’)
Person: Bus go, 4 o’ clock, go fast. And points to a bus for Kumbli. lafda.
Me: Kumbli no, Thekkady bus where?
Person: Kumbli, Thekkady neighbour. Indicates with gestures that these are adjoining towns.
Damnit Priyank! you have not done any homework. I curse myself.
From the beach to the forest
Grrr.. There was no driver, and it was dark inside that bus! But, after a while, that bus did leave for Kumbli, the bus terminal 4 km away from Thekkady. It started getting cold and windy in the morning as the bus breezed through the hilly roads passing through dense forest. We rented a room near the Thekkady forest entrance.
Breakfast, aka tiffin
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| Dosa and Ayurvedic water | |
Piping hot dosas, steaming idlis, spicy sambar and coconut chutney. Foods such as these formed a part of our daily breakfast, which is referred here as ‘tiffin’. Note that tiffin is not available after 10 or 11 am, after which the lunchtime begins. A cup of hot coffee or tea in the typical large white china clay cups is a must after this. You’ll also find ‘red’ ayurvedic water being served in the mornings.
In the afternoon we ventured inside the forest to Periyar lake formed due to the dam on river Periyar. KTDC (Kerala Tourism Development Corporation) arranges a 90 minutes boat excursion inside the lake, which offers a breathtaking view of the entire region. During non-monsoon season, they say, it is possible to spot wild animals too. We were not very lucky in that respect.
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| Periyar Lake | |
Sorry state of affairs
KTDC and Forest department arrange the boat ride inside the Periyar lake. These boats are ill maintained and one can see oil slick at different parts on the lake. Also the roof is ineffective as it leaks from unexpected points, so be careful with the camera. There are neither any dustbins nor any rescue floats on the boat Finally, the boat is filled beyond capacity, which clearly means that if there are no legal tickets, there is still a way in.
The educated village
In the evening, we went to the Kumbli market for light food but ended up having a heavy lunch. The town is just a tiny mesh of roads around the main bus stand. There is a lot of Tamil influence as the border is only 5 km away from here.
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| Market | |
Kerala is really an educated state. There was some communist political leader speaking at the bus stand and a decent crowd gathered to hear him. His speech made no sense to us due to our inability to understand Malayalam. However, we did distinctly hear words like ‘US’, ‘crude oil’ and stuff. Incredible it may sound, these politicians were talking about world topics and people were listening! Imagine such a thing happening in Maharashtra!!
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| Politics! | |
The village has narrow roads dotted with a number of cottages and residences that proclaim ‘home stay’. These places offer good rooms (at high prices, aimed at the foreign tourist) for long durations. There are a number of shops selling spices and other overpriced stuff (again aimed at the foreign tourist) It started getting colder after sunset. Rains accompanied with cold winds made it quite exciting to go out for a stroll at night.
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| Souvenir shops | |
All three of us being (smart, talented, etc..) Engineers, that night we had lenghty discussion over some topic and tried to model some equations to solve the problem we were facing. After lot of mental masturbation, the issue was settled!
Tourist destination Kerala
At every moment you will note how tourism has influenced the state. It appears that people are convinced of the equation between tourism and prosperity. At all the places, the common man is extremely helpful and polite. At times people will talk amongst themselves before giving you directions. Even the government staff (Bus, KTDC etc) was courteous enough with information to help us plan. Yes, the language problem exists, but broken english will surely work. Infact, the townspeople take pride in conversing in Hindi too! The people are genuinely warm and hospitable. No wonder it is one of India’s most famous destinations.
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The pictures are so exotic to me: love them!
I thought Ayurvedic water was something you found in posh spas
Dialogues with local bus drivers, no matter where, are almost a great moment of sign language and trying to get the info without losing patience.
Thanks Zhu! Ayurvedic water was served to us in a cheap little shack, so I guess its everywhere!
Sorry to intrude!
Just stumbled upon here on a search.
Where are you in this world?! Ayurvedic herbal boiled water is the normal water at least 60% of people of Kerala drinks regularly,at home and in shacks and in almost all hotels. It can be boiled with a number of herbs. Sometimes, only Tulasi (Ocimum Sanctum) leaf and sometime made by boiling a readymade mix of herbs which you get everywhere in Kerala. The red colour comes either from a herb ( a tree bark) called locally, Pathimukham (Botanical Name: Caesalpinia sapans) or from Raktha Chandanam (Red Sandalwood: Botanical Name: Pterocarpus santalinus or Red Sander) as both will be in the herbal water mix. Dear friends, no one in Kerala will mix some colour in the water they give you to drink.
So no need to go to five star Spa in search of Ayurvedic water!!
Hello Dr. Latheef, thanks for the explaining the story of Ayurvedic water. As I said, I have no opinion – positive or negative – about it, but it is very interesting for sure.
well, this is someplc i have been to!!!
same thoughts on the boats!!….i think they were dangerous though we went for a ride neverthless!
and the town people are very courteous!!
Ah nice nice! Finally a place we both have been too… lol. Although last year I went to Kolkata too.
it’s very interesting that you make reference to “tiffin”. I dintnknow any different before, but now I think it could be a very south indian usage for light eats? I once told my friend some of us like ‘tiffin’ for morning and she burst out laughing. she thought i had confused the box for the food… well, looks like somebody did!
sorry, the ayurveda tea doesnt look inspiring at all! hopefully, the dosa made up. Is kumbli the same as Kumili, the town right outside the periyar reserve?
hehehe, I guess that happens!
I think it is very south Indian usage for sure. The Ayurvedic water didn’t taste much different. I wonder if they just added some color… lol.
Yeah its the same towm, Kumili. I think I was going by the pronunciation.
Earlier this month, I attended a wedding in Kannur and the food was veg and delicious! And yea, had the colored herbal water that was served with it.