Before leaving Fort Kochi we did quite a bit of research into domestic flights so we could end our southern Indian odyssey at a point where we could fly up to Rajasthan in the north. Swimming pools were still being either elusive or only attached to the most expensive hotels, so we also wanted to be able to have a swim in the Arabian Sea before heading to a highland area to escape the heat and high humidity.

Sudi, Beena’s husband, recommended the coast in northern Kerala and then to go up to Wayanad in the Western Ghats by bus.  From here we would be able to continue to Mysore by bus.  I had assumed we could fly north from Mysore, but although it has an airport it is not in use by general aviation but another four hours would get us to Bangalore from which we could fly north to Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Our first Indian train trip was a seven hour one following the coast north to Kannur in the north of Kerala state.   We were lucky enough to get air conditioned seats at such short notice, in the same carriage but just not altogether. About an hour or so into the journey we were able to shuffle around and locals offered to change seats so we could sit together. The girls get plenty of attention, not always welcomed by them so they want to stick quite close to us!

Kannur is an area that is looked on as being the best and cleanest in India as far as beaches and water goes.  Unfortunately that also means a price to match, and we found it very difficult to find somewhere close or on the beach for less than 4000 rupees ($72), quite expensive in what should be a cheap country!  On arrival at Kannur we took a taxi to where we thought we had a confirmed booking only to find an old Indian man sitting on the front porch who spoke no English and who waved us away!  There was another guesthouse a little further on that we then went to and the lady called us by name! By coincidence it was another guesthouse I had emailed an enquiry to but hadn’t had a chance to email a reply back to their pricey offer due to a storm and power outage at Beena’s the night before we left.

Being the only option (our taxi had driven away by this stage and it was in a bit of a remote area) we negotiated as best we could and rather than the large airy upstairs room for 5000 rupees  (around $90) she first offered we settled on the smaller downstairs room for 3500 rupees per night (around $62), for a double bed with extra single mattress on the floor.  So this was how we ended up at the Blue Mermaid for three nights.

There was one other guest – well two actually; Catherine (an English woman), and her son Rex, 16 months old.   Catherine and her husband and Rex had been living in India for the past 14 months, mostly Southern India in Tamil Nadu, doing NGO work setting up schools.  Her husband was back in the UK briefly with work commitments and due back in a few days and this was a bit of a holiday for them before heading back to Tamil Nadu to pack up and head home to the UK permanently.

 

Still considered low season with very few tourists about, I think Cathy and Rex were happy to have some other people to talk to too, as they came straight over and chatted for a while, and we (the adults) continued chatting over dinner that night. Phoebe and Immi enjoyed having a little playmate to show their limited toys to and play in the sand with.

 

The beach was surprisingly clean and the views up and down the beach were actually quite nice, the water though, was not as clear or enticing as we had been led to believe it would be.  This is obviously as good as it gets in India!

So instructing the girls to avoid putting their heads under, we had a few DIPS in the Arabian Sea over the few days we were there.  I went in fully clothed, as is the custom and to ward off any unwelcome stares from the few men wandering up and down the beach.  It also comes in handy as a prewash for my clothes that need washing – the seawater gets off most the dirt, then I finish off with laundry powder and the ever present bucket in Indian bathrooms, before hanging out to dry!

 

Being a remote area and a long way from any cafés, the food was included in the tariff. It was pretty simple fare, compared to where we had just come from, and served at a plastic table and chair setting under a tarp as they were in the process of building a new dining room.   Internet was not included, which meant paying per hour and using the owner’s computer in her room, not the best solution when we were also still trying to research and book our onward accommodation.

The first full day was spent doing some schoolwork, playing with Rex and a walk and play on the beach, and then looking after Rex for an hour or so while Cathy had a sleep as she had not been feeling, nor sleeping well.

The second day was almost identical (for the girls anyway), and after lunch Dave and I took a trip into the city with a friend of the Blue Mermaid to sort out a sim card for our phone and get a USB/dongle for Internet connection for our laptop, whilst Cathy watched over the girls while they played with Rex and went to the beach.  We also stocked up on a bit of alternate food and snacks. 

Beer, though, is surprisingly hard to come by, especially compared to Asia.  Some reports have Kerala as having one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption (but this is usually spirits and from toddy tapping, the alcoholic beverage derived from coconut trees) whereas to average tourists it almost seemed impossible to come by.  In the real touristy places only the top restaurants seemed to serve alcohol and on the streets around Fort Kochi and now here in Kannur the only places to buy alcohol was in the Government controlled liquor shops – dark, seedy looking places usually up alleyways with men lined up waiting and many more drunken ones inside.

The middle class really frown upon alcohol consumption and it is as though it is quite a clandestine activity so when we asked the guy who took us into Kannur if we could stop by to get some beer he really looked quite surprised and replied that; no he wouldn’t stop there, as it would take a long time to be served, plus it wouldn’t look good for him to be seen there.

Cathy also told us of an instance where she once had stopped by a hotel with her husband and they were seen having a beer and subsequently people decided against enrolling their children into the school!

Goa, though, further up the coast and very much on the tourist trail is a complete contrast by all accounts, with alcohol and western food galore, thanks to the impact of tourism.  So most of the time it is good to avoid the touristy centres for a more authentic experience but this also meant three sweltering days at the beach with nothing more than water to wet the whistle!

One morning the local coconut men came by and we watched as they scaled the tall, skinny coconut trees by a very interesting contraption to de-nut the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later that afternoon with the use of some paints, courtesy of Cathy, we had an impromtu art lesson doing a colourwheel and then girls and I had some fun getting a bit messy.

After securing some accommodation up in the highlands we bid Cathy and Rex good-bye and got a deluxe plus size auto rickshaw to take us to the bus terminal.

 

Even though some of these bus rides are quite long, most people travel with very minimal luggage – and then we come along – one big bag each plus day packs with nowhere really for them to go.  The underneath is not used for luggage as our long distance buses are, so we struggle up the narrow steps and stack them at the back of the bus out of the way.  This also means we have to sit at the back of the bus to watch the bags.

On the very bumpy, rough roads this also means the most uncomfortable ride. Dave sat on the back seat squished in between 4 other men, while the girls and I sat two rows forward, until such time that Immi felt sick from the winding and bumps that she needed to lie down, so I then had to stand up in the aisle along with several others so she could curl up on the seat.  Oh the joys of bus travel in India.

Wayanad district stands on the southern tip of the Deccan plateau and its chief glory is the majestic rugged terrain of the Western Ghats, the mountain range that runs parallel to the west coast of India.  Lofty ridges interspersed with dense forest, tangled jungles and deep valleys.

 

 

 

Winding up the mountain range we came into thicker and thicker vegetation with tea plantations into the hillsides and once on top of the plateau and in the forest reserve groves of rubber trees and teak plantations lined the roads.  Agriculture is the main stay of the economy with many cash crops such as coffee, tea, cocoa, pepper, vanilla and of course rice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed the next five nights at Varnam Homestay, a property of 8 acres where they grew an amazing array of food, spices and medicinal plants.  Beena (obviously a common name in India) and her husband Varghese welcomed us very warmly and really looked after us and the girls well.  The delicious food was included in the daily tariff of 2500 Rupees ($45). It also included endless chai and coffee with bikkies! It was such good value, we ate well our appetite spurred by the the fresh cool air.

 

 

 

They used so much of their own produce in the cooking they really were quite self-sufficient, and Beena was only too happy to show us around and point out all the different plants and explain their use, and open up the fruit to show us inside.

 

 

 

 

The lesson of one day for the girls therefore, was to follow Beena around and note down (with Dad’s help) and to take photos of the trees, fruits, vegetables and plants and then they had to come up with the different categories based on their uses – which was; ‘Food’, ‘To Market’ or ‘Medicinal’,which was then transferred to a bar graph.  A learning day for us all!

We watched the daily cutting and ‘bleeding’ of the rubber trees, the collection of the sap and how they mix it with water and formic acid before allowing it to set, and then watched them squeeze out  the rubber/latex mats(with Dave taking a turn at the wheel) ready to take and sell at the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also had rice paddies and a small man-made lake stocked with fish that we had a go unsuccessfully to catch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also staying at Varnam while we wee there, were two bothers Australians Ed and Nev.  Both in their mid-late 60’s they had both just come from hiking in Kashmir, where they we lucky enough to see four snow-leopards.  So they were keen to see if their luck would continue and be able to add a wild tiger and elephant sighting too.  Wayanad and neighbouring state Karnataka still have tiger, bison, sambhar, spotted deer, boar and leopards but with the clearing of forests it has made it increasingly difficult to spot the diverse animal life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the second day we shared a jeep with driver to explore around Wayanad and through the reserve and tiger and elephant spotting.  We also made some stops at a temple, the stream Papanasini where it is believed that a ritual dip washes one away of all worldly sins and a trek up to Kanthapara waterfall.  It wasn’t until we were on our way back, ten minutes from the homestay that we came upon our first elephant in the wild – a mother and baby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late the next afternoon we all ventured out again by jeep eagerly peering through the forest reserve as we went along hoping for a glimpse of more elephants or a tiger but whilst we saw plenty of spotted deer, bison, a couple of wild boar and some peacocks there were no wild cats to be seen, much to Phoebe’s disappointment.

 

 

We introduced the girls to badminton in the front forecourt, which proved a popular pastime with all the guests. There was also an Indian family staying as it was Indian school holidays and Phoebe and Immi befriended their eldest girl, also seven and they played a bit of chasey-chasey, board games and badminton together.

What Phoebe and Imogen really enjoyed at this homestay the most though, were the 19 bunny rabbits they had housed in the yard.  From warily feeding them through the cage on the first day, by the last day they were carrying them about and setting up play areas on the front verandah for them.  There was no playing on ipods here – it was all about the bunnies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our stay in Wayanad at the homestay was a really nice reprieve and exactly what we needed – it was educational for us all and a good mix of great food and conversation and some good playtimes for the girls. We were ready to crank it up a notch and head to the second-biggest city in Karnataka – Mysore.

note: it was taking so long to try to post to the blog in India, so although we have some ready to go, photo uploading has been holding it up due to internet speed. we hope to have the remaining posts up over the next couple of weeks.  as always, we welcome any comments or even messages of hello – sometimes I think the girls feel very far from home!