India – A Survival Guide

After spending nearly two months feeling our way around various parts of India, big and small, we have done some reflection on some of the tips and tricks we picked up along the way and summarized them into a handful of “survival tips”. Should you find yourself on your own journey through this magical land keep these in mind and hopefully they will ensure your journey is as unforgettable as ours.

…..For your budget; Negotiate your price FIRST. To save yourself the trouble of either paying way through the roof for a ride or having to face an uncomfortable negotiation after the fact, always agree on a price for a bus, taxi, rickshaw, etc. BEFORE taking the ride. If you are going to get ripped off for something in India, it will be a ride. This is especially true if you are taking any sort of transport away from a train or bus station, where the touts are literally waiting for you as you are stepping off. Before your feet even touch the platform you will hear nothing but “you need ride, you need taxi, you need rickshaw”.  They have absolutely picked up on that fact that if you arriving by bus or train you are likely in need of somewhere to stay or go, and more than likely have your bags so need a ride and they are ready to quote you extremely high prices to take you even a short distance. Before you arrive in a place, try and get an idea for how much it should cost to get around, ask some locals on the train, ask other travelers, etc and then you will have a benchmark of what you actually should be paying. If you really have no idea how much it should cost to get from point A to point B, ask how many KM’s it is an then you can judge from there based on other rides you have taken.

Our very first Rickshaw ride

…..For your hygiene:  Toilet paper…always have it on you! It is not very common to find toilet paper supplied in many establishments, some  hotels may provide a tiny bit, but even those are few and far between. So unless you want to find yourself in an “oh crap, now what…” situation, always keep a roll stashed in your purse or daypack. For those of you wondering “what do Indian people use??”, they have a process that involves their left hand and a hose. This is why you will also always find that the bathroom floors are wet.

…..For your stomach: Try and eat at places that are busy, and even better busy with local people. Indian food in India is AMAZING. So delicious and so flavourful that it would be a shame for you to avoid trying to eat it, but let’s face it those of us landing in India from the western world don’t always have stomachs that can handle how some of the food is prepared right away.  Because of this it seems as though some people’s tendency is to avoid Indian places and head for places that serve “continental food” – translation, gross pizza and bland pasta. People…. Continental food is NOT their speciality in India…..INDIAN FOOD IS.  So what we found worked for us was to fight the urge to go to some of the more quiet looking places to eat and go to the local busy spots. This theory works for 2 reasons; 1) if Indian locals are eating there then the food is probably authentic and really good, 2) if it is really busy then they are turning over food often and what you get will be fresh, hence limiting your chances of getting the dreaded Delhi Belly. I make no guarantees, but after 7 weeks in India neither Jonny nor I had any really stomach issues to report.

Delicious Alu Gobi.... one of our favs

…..For your itinerary:  Find yourself a good local travel agent to help you out. This tip is more so for those who find themselves in India with limited time but hopes of seeing lots. If you are in India for a long time, half of the fun is trying to fumble your way around this massive, complex country and its equally complex system of transportation. But if you only have a limited time to get around India and her many amazing landscapes, travel can be complex and figuring out how to get from one place to the next can be overwhelming and time-consuming, especially since the train tickets can book up so far in advance. What worked for us what using a combination of both, in some areas of India we did all our own research and booked our own transport, but for some of the longer journey’s or those were we had a fixed date we often used a travel agent, our man Shafi at Destination !ndia, who saved us much hassle and helped ensure we got where we wanted, or needed to be. Good local travel agents know this countries transportation system inside and out, so they can tell you about routes you may have not even thought about, but they can also get you access to train tickets  called “tourists tickets” that are not available at the station. These are tickets that are reserved for foreign travelers on various trains in various classes, but must be booked through an agent. Yes, it may add a little bit to the price of the ticket since they will take a commission, but we are talking a handful of dollars to save you a heck of a lot of hassle if your time is limited.

Riding the India Rails

…..For your sanity:  Follow your gut and trust people! To find your way around this marvelously strange land you will absolutely need to really on the kindness of strangers. It may be for a ride, a room, or even just some simple directions but it would be impossible to do it without some locals helping you out along the way. So try and avoid the urge to think that everyone is out to get you or scam you that comes from listening to too many exaggerated horror stories or reading too much into the lonely planet warnings section and talk to some locals.  Use your gut to help guide you on this and it should help you pick out the harmless and helpful strangers from the inevitable touts you will meet along the way.

Happy Travels!

OOO_Talia and Jonny

Reflections on India

As our amazing time here in India comes to an end I find myself thinking back to how I felt as we boarded our plane in Australia, Delhi bound, and how differently I feel now. From the time we started planning this trip, India was squarely fixed as a “must-go”, there was no way we could complete this trip without a journey through this incredibly foreign place that would be a complete 180 from everything we know and have seen. But I think at the time of planning the trip, even leading right up to getting off our flight in Delhi what was going through me was excitement, but it was nervous, anxious excitement….and frankly a bit of fear. Before coming here I think my feelings were more that I was going to enjoy the challenge and appreciate India, but not necessarily Love it. Sitting here now after 7 weeks, I could not have been more wrong. I absolutely LOVE India…..and the love 

affair surprisingly came on very fast. 

My guard started to come down quickly even from the moment we started in Delhi, yes it was loud, dirty and chaotic, but it was surprisingly tolerable, and even fun beyond my expectations. But I think my love affair, and Jonny’s too, truly started when we visited our first stop in Rajasthan, which happened to be Jaisalmer, this is when all my Indian preconceptions were really blown away and we saw some of the amazing things that India really has too offer.  From that point on each new place we visited had something new to offer us and blew us away in different ways. There is some much more to India then horns and crowds of people, although there is plenty of that too, there are amazing landscapes, hundreds of years of culture and amazing varieties of culture, fun wildlife and unbelievable experiences to be had.  But what I think captured my heart most of all about india and truly made this experience was the people. The people here are so incredible, even with so much poverty, so much hardship, endless hours of work and very few of the western comforts that we all get to take for granted, as whole they are a loving, friendly and welcoming bunch, with a hilarious but very innocent fascination with white people.

I would recommend a trip to India to anyone who has a sense of adventure and a desire to experience something totally new. If you come expecting the comforts of home then you will be seriously disappointed, but then hey…what is the point of leaving home. Yes it can be loud, chaotic, and dirty, but mostly it is fascinating, welcoming, delicious, altering, exciting and at some points even relaxing (ok this is only in some parts).

After 7 weeks in India it feels like we only got to snack on the sampler platter. We bit off a bit of the south, some of the north and bits and pieces from the middle, but there is still so much more we would love to visit.  A return trip to India to explore some of the many, many places we did not get to (Mumbai, Goa, Hampi, Tamil Nadu, Leh, Amritsar….. the list is long) has already been added to the quickly expanding “future vacations list” that this trip has sprouted. At this point we have vacations already planned until we are 40. India……….. we will be back. 

OOO_Talia 

The Travelers' Abyss

When you are travelling like we are – On a budget – sometimes you end up having to take a round-about and longgggggggggggg route to get where you are going. Sometimes it can even result in a few days of what we have termed “the traveller’s abyss”. This is when you find yourself in the midst of days of travel without ever sleeping in a bed, never quite being anywhere, but all over the place – essentially in transit for days on end.  For our last few days in India we were entering into the “traveler’s abyss” as we made our way to our next destination – BALI, INDONESIA!

It started with a 4:00 am wake up to catch a shared jeep from Darjeeling down to Siliguri so we could catch an overnight train to Delhi. Eleven people were cramped into this jeep where the trunk was converted into sideways facing seats. Jonny and I shared an Indian seat for 2 (meaning it should have been for 1) allowing us only 1 butt cheek each on the seat. Any attempt to sleep in the jeep was rendered useless as we were thrown around like ragdolls on the terrible streets heading downhill from Darjeeling. It is almost as if it’s meant to be some sort of driving video game on these streets. Dodge left. Dog. Dodge right. Pothole. Dodge left. Kids. STOP. Oncoming cars. Back-up the hill and squeeze past.

After 3 hours we had finally finished the 90km journey to Siliguri, just the beginning our route through the abyss. Next we had to take a bicycle rickshaw with all of our bags about 10km over to the train station. WORST RIDE EVER.  For future reference, 2 people, 2 big bags and 2 day bags do not fit in a bicycle rickshaw.  After a 4hr wait in the “upper class” waiting room at the NJP train station, something reminiscent of a waiting room at a back alley doctor’s office in Mexico, yet still better than killing time on the platform,  we finally got onto the Radjani express. We had a 3AC berth, which was much like the 2AC style we had been used to but with beds stacked 3 high. Our man Shafi at Destination !ndia hooked us up with these tickets, a very comfortable ride where they served 4 meals.

Cards to entertain ourselves on the 22hr ride

Sunset view from the train

Twenty two hours later we arrived in Delhi around 10am, and since our flight to Bali was at 11pm we didn’t have a hotel or anything booked for the day. Luckily the nice people at Destination !ndia let us leave our bags at their office for the day while we wandered around Delhi, taking in some of the sights one last time. We picked up our bags at 5pm as the agency was closing and took our last Indian rickshaw ride to the airport to wait for our flight. It was a 5 hour wait before boarding…….so is the life in the travelers abyss.

An overnight flight to Kuala Lampur was followed by an 8 hour wait in the KL airport. If we had to kill time in an airport however KL would be at the top of our list. Its clean and modern, but wasn’t too busy, plus they have these amazing little movie stations (free of course) that are surrounded by chairs and love seats, one of which I used for a 3 hour nap to make up for my lack of sleep on the overnight flight. 

KL airport free movie lounge

Samsung internet hotspot

KL airport

We finally left KL around 3pm for a short hop over to Bali where we met our driver and new friend Wayan who drove took us the 1 hour drive to Ubud where we finally arrived at Sardu guesthouse, our finally destination.

Somehow I woke up on a Friday morning and now it is Sunday night - 52 hours have passed, we haven’t been in a bed, we’ve used every mode of transportation and have made our way through 4 cities in 3 countries. This is what we have termed the travelers abyss.

All of it – totally worth it though! We are already totally in LOVE with Bali even though it’s only been 3 hours and the guesthouse we are staying at is GREAT!! Clean, comfortable and run by a totally sweet and welcoming family. They happen to be good friends with my Aunt and Uncle who make the trip to Bali annually for business.

The 3 days of travelling has now caught up with us and we are off to get some zzz’s before getting to know the town of Ubud, Bali tomorrow!

OOO_Talia and Jonny

Darjeeling Round Two

After our trek through the Singalila ridge we had planned to head to the tiny state of Sikkim just north of West Bengal. By the time we made the 4 hour trip back to Darjeeling after our trek we were both hit with a major case of travelers’ fatigue. After much debate we decided before going to sleep that we were going to stay in Darjeeling instead of travelling up to Sikkim for 4 days. The thought of 2 more travel days through the rough roads of the Himalayas was too much for us, besides since we only had one day in Darjeeling before heading on our trek there was still lots to see.

The day after our trek we slept in a bit and then had to transfer hotels from Andy’s Guesthouse, lonely planet’s top rated accommodation in Darjeeling,  back to Hotel Tranquility where we had stayed before, who had a room for us for the next 4 nights. Personally I much prefer hotel tranquility and it’s 100 rupees cheaper anyway. We settled in and then headed to Glengary’s, a café, bakery, sports bar and fine dining restaurant all rolled into 1 place over 3 floors, to grab some breakfast. Since they had eggs, real coffee in a sea of tea and toast with peanut butter this became our morning routine for the rest of our stay.  For the rest of the day we took it easy and caught up on things like laundry, emails, calls, etc. and saved the sight-seeing for other days.

The next day after our usual breakfast at Glengary’s we headed out in search of the Tibetan Refugee self-help center which was supposed to be a short walk outside of the city centre.  After over an hour walk, covering a good 6km we finally caught sight of it on top of a hill….. more hills just what we needed after our trek, but we made the climb and it was worth the trip. 

The center was setup in 1959 when thousands of refugees followed the Dali lama to flee Chinese occupied Tibet. The centre houses the elderly, orphans and many others who still are not able to return to their homeland. The refugees at the centre make handicrafts such as textiles, paintings, leather work, wood carvings, etc, which they sell in a showroom on site. They are extremely friendly and you can just wander around the center watching them work, which we did for a few hours. Before leaving we made a few purchases in the showroom since the proceeds go directly back to the refugees.  

Tibetan Refugee at work

View through the window

Painting hand made cards

two generations working the textiles

Amazing elderly man who was knitting

When we finished at the center we walked down the hill to the main road determined to get a ride back into town instead of walking back another hour in these hilly roads.  After a few minutes of standing on the side of the road hoping some sort of taxi would arrive (there are very few in Darjeeling and no auto rickshaws because of the crazy hills) a really nice elderly man and his friend who were driving stopped and offered a ride back into town.  After asking him how much he would want he said “don’t be ridiculous, you come in as my guest”. We happily jumped in and he chatted us up in broken English all the way back giving us some great tips on what to see. 

Once we finally got back to the city we grabbed a late lunch of momos and then headed to the hotel to relax. After late afternoon nap we headed down to a local spot called Joey’s pub to catch up some other travelers we had met for a drink. Joey’s is owned and run by this amazing local man who still plays in a Beatles tribute band. Unfortunately he didn’t have any gigs planned while we are in town.  After a beer for me and a few whiskeys’ for Jonny we called it a night.

The next morning we followed the same routine – breakfast at Glengary’s and then strolled around town before heading to the train station hoping to get tickets for the afternoon Toy train Joy ride. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, affectionately known as the toy train, opened in 1881 and it one of the only stream engine trains left in the world.  After a quick chat with the station manager we were able to get our hands on two tickets for the 2 hour ride from Darjeeling to Ghum – just 14km. Yes, you read that right, other than a 30min stop in Ghum, it takes 2 hours to go 14km. The tracks themselves are only 2ft wide and the train chugs along through town blowing its piercing whistle pretty much the whole way. The toy train was actually named a Unesco Heritage site in 1999. The ride itself offers some amazing views from the hills of Darjeeling.

Waiting in the toy train station

Riding the 36 seater train

The steam engine car

Rain and clouds rolling in as we leave Ghum station

You used to be able to take the train on an 8 hour journey from Darjeeling to Siliguria, a total of 90km, but that part of the track is currently closed due to a landslide. I overheard someone working at the station say the landslide was 3 years ago……. Guess they are in no hurry to re-open.  After the train ride the rain arrived so we went back to the hotel to relax a bit and then headed out for another dinner of veggie momos  (dumpling like treat from Nepal)…..really cannot get enough of those things!

The next day was our last in Darjeeling so we decided to take it easy, visit some of our favorite restaurants, picked up some new books and did some packing before hitting the hay early before our 4am wake-up call to get down to the train station for our 22 hour ride back to Delhi….. let the 3 days of transit begin!!

OOO_Talia and Jonny

Our Quest for the Himalayas

❶

Good Morning Darjeeling! Just a hop, skip and a jump from where last we left, Bangalore … well kinda.

Hop │ 6AM flight to Kolkata (3AM wakeup call)

Skip │ 5HR layover at a brutal airport, too far from the city centre to see anything

Jump │ A 4HR, 80km (how ridiculous is that), windy, mountain road, 1 flat tire and 1 car sick girlfriend

AND WE’RE THERE! Finally

To kick it off in Darjeeling we opted for another 3AM wakeup call to get to Tiger Hill for sunrise. Tiger Hill is known for its epic view of one of the major Himalayan mountain chains, it is our attempt to get a glimpse of these sought after warlocks – Everest, Kangchenjunga among other massive Himalayan peaks.

At 3:30am we found another pair of random travelers and split the cost of a shared taxi to our destination. Tiger Hill is a massive tourist trap to catch a sight of the Himalayas, but has a beauty sunrise, and generally is just a complete gong show.

Just as the warning cautioned us (thanks for rubbing it in our faces Lonely Planet and the departures episode of Darjeeling), the fog won and hid all but one peak…… Kangchenjunga. The beautiful sunrise made up for it along with all the loss of potential sleep hours. Like we have said for the last 4.5 months…..we’ll sleep in a year.

Watching the sun breakthrough the morning clouds

Snowy peaks coming through the clouds

Being blinded by the morning sunlight

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I guess you could sum up our quest for the Himalayas with one word…. FOG. With our limited time allotted for Darjeeling and this part of Northern India, the final leg of our India experience, we had to be strategic about our experience with the Himalayas, which look-outs to venture to, which trails to take, etc. All weighed up against where the least tourists (both Indian and Foreign) would be.

Since it is high-season for this area (as it is a million degrees everywhere in India except here where it is a welcome 15 degrees or so), we had some tough decisions to make. We started with the tourist trap on Tiger Hill, a known tourist-mad spot but worth if you get clear skies. We Didn’t! But the sunrise was epic and worth the wakeup call. That said… we didn’t really feast our eyes on all the Himalayas had to offer so we still had some work to do.

Next priority - Trekking. The best way to get a glimpse is by heading north and walking right below them along the Nepal/India border. So that is what we did, we found a travel company and got ourselves sorted for 3 nights and 4 days of mountain trekking along the Singalila Ridge to actually get to see these bad boys. The Singalila Ridge is a 3 (or more if you like) day trek through Nepalese and West Bengal mountain villages, tea plantations, farms, monasteries, etc. It’s here where we will have the ultimate view (so we thought), as along the way the views are meant to be epic.

Entering the first monastary 

Great views from the Gumpa (monastery)

Prayer wheels

Monk at work at the monastary

Prayer flags about a village

Jonny in India and Talia in Nepal

Day 1: Maneybhanjang to Tonglu ~14KM – beautiful trekking countryside, monasteries, tea huts, etc…..but FOG and so no mountain views.

Day 2: Tonglu to Kalpokhri lake ~15km – Quaint villages, many cows, more beautiful countryside…….but FOG and so no mountain views.

Day 3: Kalpokhri lake to Sandakphu (the summit of our trek) - ~ 7KM More quaint villages, a severe uphill hike…….but FOG and so no epic mountain views

We might have been missed some epic mountain views and had fog instead, but one thing that we weren’t missing out on was amazing Nepalese mountain village hospitality.  Unlike our trek in Peru where we camped each night, along this trek we stayed in tiny trekking villages, usually with just 2-4 huts run by a handful of families – these towns literally had like 20 people living in them.

You need to imagine these people and places. These families lived in tiny wooden huts way up in the mountains, no such thing as isolation in these places and it was getting down to about 5 degrees at night…..in the SUMMER. They have no heat; they have to keep warm by a handful of seats over hot coals even when it is the dead of winter (seats which they gave to us each night). They have no stove (or any appliances for that matter), only a fire to cook all their meals over. The next villages were hours away hiking and the nearest “town” where they might get supplies would be at least a day’s walk. They have electricity for a maximum of 2-3 hours a day MAYBE, run off a little generator and they have probably never had the joy of a HOT shower ever in their lives. But even with all this the moment we would walk into the village they were offering us hot tea, they cooked us endless hot meals, they offered us Roxy each night (a homemade liquor that tastes kind like sake) and they always offered us all the extra blankets they had. We could not have been more blown away by how these families lived, or how much hospitality they offered us. Even if we never get to see a snowy mountain peak poke through the clouds, meeting these people and spending time with them was amazing.

Tumling Village  

Adorable village boy

Typical kitchen in these homes

Jonny keeping warm by the coals

Enjoying some home made Roxy

Needless to say however after 3 days trekking in my mind I changed the lyrics to Garth Brooks’ famous song to “The thunder fog rolls” (SING IT CS). Have you ever walked through a glass of milk (or at least feel like you are)? We have….. for 3 days straight. Regardless, the fog did seem to provide a really interesting haze and vibe along the walk, through the villages and monasteries.…… and after a few long days and a 6hr walk up a massively disturbing steep hill (it was certainly no Dead Woman’s Pass – see Inca Trail blog), we arrived at the ridge.. LITTERED IN FOG…

When will it end… please… just let this fog frig off.

That’s when it hit us…. One major miss. To get what you want from Mother Nature, you need to party and dance. Case in point – when Native people want rain they do a rain dance…..logic would seem then that we need to DANCE.

So… On night 3 in Sandakphu open goes the Sikkim Fireball Brandy. Open goes whatever the guides and local family were drinking – looked like lethal whiskey/moonshine, so it was ok in my books… And out comes the Nepalese folk/trekking songs. It started off innocent enough, guides singing us some traditional songs and teach us some dances, before you know it a full on dance party had begun. You know what goes great with Nepalese folk songs and drunken trekkers?  

KITCHEN JAM SESSIONS & EPIC LAVA DANCE PARTIES

Sorry Josh/Tash/Arianne/Milosh/Lisa/Main/Wesleigh/Curruso/Racists glasses….

It just happened, before we knew, it pots and pans were being used as instruments and trekkers and locals alike were dancing on chairs… ….But I think it will bring our future sessions a new layer of intrigue, a new sound perhaps.

Throughout the evening one of more senior guides along with the man of the particular hut that we were staying in that night, would break into a very genuine and heartfelt speech about how they all viewed us as guests, not tourists.  With very kind words he expressed how grateful they were that we choose to travel around this part of India as it helped them keep their families going and kept their kids in school. It was actually a very reassuring thing to hear because often along our travels we have wondered if those involved in the tourist industry enjoy being there or if it is simply their only way to make money.

Nepalese dance party getting started

Breaking out the pans for the kitchen band

Jonny with some of our new friends

Just before heading off to bed one of the guides also left us with some parting Buddhist words (I think some of the booze may have made him more confident to speak in English).

“… If your heart is clean than the world is clean. Even if your body is clean if your heart is not than it doesn’t matter. It doesn't matter that my face is Nepali and yours Aryan, we are all the same. If we are cut we all bleed, and our blood is all red”

They were pretty profound words for goodnight, especially given the wild dance party that had just wound down, but they were touching none the less and left us going to bed in positive spirits – these are the kind of moments that really make our trip.

And what do you know … 4am of day 4 was the clearest AM yet with a view of the famous mountain chain…… Not to mention a pretty epic sunrise.

Sunrise from Sandakphu

Snowy peaks of the Himalayas in the morning

This Indiana Jones-like chase for the Himalayas has reminded me of one thing. Ready for it? To have your mind blown? When you can’t find what you’re looking for…

STOP LOOKING! Let fate bring it to you……..and when in doubt…. LAVA!!!!

OOO_Jonny and Tals

Relaxing in Cochin with a quick stop in Bangalore

After escaping the heat for a few days in the hill top town of Munnar we were ready to get back to the coast to soak up some sun back in the town of Cochin (also called Fort Cochin, Cochi or Kochin). We had a little break from the traveller life planned for ourselves in Cochin; we used my large collection of hotel points to book ourselves a 3night stay at the Meridian.  The timing of our stint at the Meridien could not have been better, after a few weeks in the south sweating more every day that if we had run a marathon the consist AC and 3 tiered swimming pool were a welcome change. But before we could get to Cochi we needed to make the 5 hour local bus ride down the unstable mountain roads from Munnar.  The roads were so rough that I was barely able to keep the contents of my stomach down, and unfortunately the lady sitting in front of us was not.

After getting off the bus we quickly found a rickshaw to take us to the lap of luxury that awaiting. After a quick negotiation we got stuck on a price of 200 rupees. It was a bit more that I wanted to pay based on what I had heard it should cost but we were hot and tired and my insides were still turning from our 5 hour ride through the hills so we agreed to the price and he assured us he knew where the hotel was, because we had no idea. After about 20 minutes of driving our driver leans back to us and says “address please?” This was news to us since at the very beginning we told him we didn't know where it was and he told us he knew. Admittedly a little frustrated I tell him we don’t have it and he already told us he knew where he was going. He drives around for another 10mins or so before finally pulling over to ask some other drivers. 

After talking to a handful of others that didn’t know either we finally stopped at a travel agent office who lets us use his internet to look it up. Once we got the address the driver realizes it’s about 20mins back in the other direction and we head back to the rickshaw. Just as we are about to get back in he casually says that it will cost an extra 200 rupees – which we immediately tell him is not happening. An argument ensues lasting about 10mins, him dropping 25 rupees off every couple minutes and us holding our position that we will not pay extra for his mistake. After a while I grab out bags out of the rickshaw and tell him we are not going with him and are not paying him and we walk away. Apparently he doesn’t know what to do with this and follows us for a while as we talk to other drivers, each time he pulls up to them and we continue to walk away. Finally he stops and says he’ll talk us for only and extra 50 rupees ($1 CND), I was not having the best travel day so I was still angry and ready to leave this guy with nothing but Jonny was feeling guilty since now this had been about an hour and this guy made nothing so we finally agreed to jump back in.

Once we got into the lavish, luxurious, AC-filled Meridien the stress of the travel day started to melt away, and by the time they showed us to our upgraded 2 floor, 2 bath suite with a balcony that would be our home for the next 4days and 3 nights, they were totally gone.  We have absolutely loved our time traveling around India and to be totally honest we hadn’t been missing the western comforts all that much but having them again was incredibly nice. A real bed again instead of a camping mattress on a piece of wood, a toilet seat you would dare to sit one, drinkable tap water, a shower without flip-flops…… ok I kind of missed these things.

Our amazing suite

Looking down on the living room 

Jonny enjoying a real bed for the first time in ages

Since it was already late in the afternoon we decided to stay at hotel and enjoy the amenities and save the Cochin sight-seeing until the next day. The next morning we enjoyed a glorious sleep-in followed by a massive continental breakfast buffet courtesy of the Meridien before finally getting ourselves ready to brave the hot streets of the city. We walked a few feet outside of the hotel gates and flagged down a rickshaw who took us into Fort Cochin to explore for the day. We wandered around the coastline which is lined with Cantilevered Chinese fishing nets that have been there for a hundred years. These are still in use and you can actually buy a fish right at the water from any number of fishermen’s catch from the day and take it to a local restaurant where they will cook it up for you. Given my total aversion to fish this doesn't exactly float by boat and although Jonny would love that he choose not to this time. After the heat started to get to us we snuck into this really quaint little café called teapot and had some tea and samosas. 

Hundred year old fishing nets

Man showing off day's haul

Boats and nets lined up along the beach

After our break from the heat we headed over to the cultural centre to take in a Kathakali show, which is a dance/performance art that originated in Kerala in the 17th century

Def:  Kathakali is a highly stylized classical indian dance-performance noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music - Courtsey of Wikepedia

Performers starting the make-up process

Getting help for final touches

In final make up and costume

Performers during the show

When the show ended took another rickshaw back to the hotel and called it a night. We had all kinds of big plans to do some more touring around Cochin but instead each day we choose to have a leisurely breakfast, enjoy out suite and lounge by the pool……Hey you would too given the chance!

After 4 days in the Meridien we were snapped back to budget traveler reality with a 14 hour overnight bus ride to Bangalore where we had one day before catching a flight up north. With only one day in Bangalore we didn’t plan to see much, we really only had 1 goal – to see a professional cricket match. Lucky for us there was a game on the only day we were there…….. unlucky for us it was one of the biggest matches of the year, Bangalore vs. Mumbai for some sort of spot to move on, so all the tickets were sold out and apparently the only scam that does not exist in India is ticket scalping. After hanging around the stadium for a good while trying to find anyone getting rid of tickets we finally gave up and headed to a pub to watch the game on T.V instead. 

After an early dinner we called it a night since we have a 3:30am wake up call to get us to the airport for our 6am flight. Next up – Darjeeling and the Indian Himalaya’s!!

OOO_Talia and Jonny

Beat'n the Heat in Munnar

Even the bronz-asaurus needs a break from the heat. This isn’t even heat… this instant sweat.. not the good, “oh man decent work out” heat (not like I know how that feels anymore). Its more like.. “why does my skin feel and resemble how most would envision Slimes’ from Ghostbusters…

Side note: Why does travelling make you think of some of the best movies of all time… Like why we have Harry and the Henderson’s waiting to be played on our computer? Food for thought.

Anyways… Travelling through some of India’s most southern cities (if you can call them that) during their hottest time of year is HOT. So we figured we would beat the heat by escaping to the hills bordering Tamil Nadu.

If you have been keeping up with our adventures in India, it should be pretty clear by now that getting around in India is no small feat. You might as well give yourself the entire day and most of the night.. Even if your only a couple hundred KMs aways.

Munnar is about 300KMs away from the nearest coastal city, Kochi.

300KMs via local bus transit requires the following:

• Bus Boarding: Body checking your way through the “line ups” (major under statement – these guys make celebrity swarms look like a few people chatting), all while dodging the feet of the people taking the shortcut through the windows
• Finding a 2 seater (3 seaters always fill up and a 3 seater is built for 2.5 Indians) after throwing your bags beside the driver.
• Finally spending the final 100KM weaving around maze-like roads reminiscent of our times in Bolivia.
• If you cant picture it, lets just say this.. Minimum 3 people wind up puking out the window (all windows are open – just imagine the spray-back).

8hrs later (pretty quick India commute) and we have made it to Munnar.After a bus ride through these hills we have never appreciated the still ground more. Even if its caked in cow shit.

The crazy ride aside, upon arrival, temperatures dropped 10 degrees with cool mountain breezes instead of suffocating humidity.. Already, the trip has been worth it.

Another side note: this trip was only for 3 days before committing another 3 days to re-bronzing at the Le Meridien Kochi. More to come on that.

Munnar is a small hill station well known for its tea harvesting. Basically, 90 years ago, TATA (one of India’s largest mega-corporations) bought the town and everything in it…. Around every mountain corner is yet another tea plantation… just hills upon hills of tea plants…. Sounds boring, but the dizzying labyrinth –like fields make for some pretty amazing views.

Amazing lush green tea fields

The hills of Munnar

Enjoying a morning hike through the tea feilds

You, hell even me (who has been positively surprised around every corner in India) never pictured it to have anything like this. This place is peaceful, breathtaking and completely lacking of touts and your standard India big city/tourist annoyances… i.e. the honking had stopped, the streets were clean and every way you turned your head, another breathtaking view.

Seconds off the bus and through the colony of rigshaw drivers, we spotted a face we thought we could trust…  A great conversation later and we had our days planned with Siva (pronounced Sheeva). In a country filled with scams and an in-your-face culture, its amazing how these honest and pure people, experiences, etc… are around every corner. Its really just a game of chance.. but when you find it, it makes up for every negative experience you have had since.

Anyways, just like that, for about 600 rupees (about $12 CAD dollars) we had transport, a local guide (Siva) and great times ahead.

I think we have mentioned this before, but its Indian tourist season. You know what’s funny about being the only white people during Indian tourist season? EVERYTHING! Im pretty sure we will the India gossip mags release “shocking” pics of Jonalia. The power couple from Canada. At leqst that’s how it feels with the millions of photos taken of us…. 

GUNEET.. please confirm if my theory around Facebook “white people” albums is true…

“One, one! One, one!”

“Foto! Foto!”

“Hold my baby”

You hear this and you know you can kiss the next hour goodbye replaced any of your plans with white person photo time.

That said, we have taken some pretty epic photos with them and it may be more fun for us than them at this point. They love us and we love them. Just one of the many reasons to travel India. There is real love for people around every corner.

Jonny posing with a group of girls

Me in a family photo

Our 3 days in Munnar were a much needed break from the madness… now a little bronzing and then up North to Darjeeling, West Bengal for some trekking and to get a glimpse of the mountain warlocks we know as the Himalayas.

OOO_Jonny and Tals