originally i began writing this post a few days ago back when i was still in kerala but ive been in bangalore for three days now and alot has happened since.
but back in kerela, before hopping on our houseboat in kochi, our days began with 4-hour road trips across southern kerala. we drove from munnar to thekkady in the morning and if it weren't enough, munnar sent us off with even more breathtaking views of its tea covered hills and countryside. the fluffy clouds hovering right above munnar's peaks placed a huge accent everything. it was sad to leave
we said our goodbyes to our cab driver, sumesh, who had been with us for the past 5 days. we flew the next morning to the big city of bangalore and just like that kerala slowly became just another beautiful memory.
but off we were and finally arrived in thekkady. we stayed at the spice grove hotel where the lobby staff greeted us with some fresh lemonade and then proceeded to place something like clay on our foreheads. the hotel staff upgraded us to a family room, which we didnt need but didnt mind at all. an hour later and we were on the road again headed to the thekaddy tiger reserve where hopped on a river boat hoping to spot a tiger, preferably chowing down on some nice tender deer or monkey or human, or whatever; the entrance to the park was riddled with monkeys so yeah, why not monkeys.
after some drama trying to get our tickets, we finally got on the boat and went around the refuge. a little under 2 hours later and my report includes a flock of weird looking deer, a pair of horny miniature komodo dragon looking lizards, some colorful birds but sadly no tigers.
we grabbed early dinner then walked around the uneven streets of thekkady. it was a busy night, the shops were mostly full of locals going about their normal business. we walked for about an hour, got lectured on the difference between pashmina and cashmere and then we heard thunder; the rain began shortly after. luckily we were close to our our next stop, the rangerwood hotel where we had scheduled massages earlier in the day.
the next day we drove to kochi and caught an overnight houseboat that i still cant believe was just for us. we spent the night cruising down the narrow alappuzha straits and backwaters of southern kochi. we saw young children diving into the murky waters, ladies washing and beating their clothes on the stone walls and the countless other houseboats that trailed behind. we passed the time lounging and re-telling stories of earlier travels. the experience was heightened by the sheer beauty of the landscape around us; it was simply surreal. the morning after we took to the sights and explored fort kochi and saw the medieval looking chinese nets that hung next to the river, the jewish quarter and synagogue, walked around hill palace, got close to deer and a huge t-rex, then headed back to the hotel.
the experience? memorable
i began to write the experience on this entry but it got a bit long so i made it into its own.
the next day we drove to kochi and caught an overnight houseboat that i still cant believe was just for us. we spent the night cruising down the narrow alappuzha straits and backwaters of southern kochi. we saw young children diving into the murky waters, ladies washing and beating their clothes on the stone walls and the countless other houseboats that trailed behind. we passed the time lounging and re-telling stories of earlier travels. the experience was heightened by the sheer beauty of the landscape around us; it was simply surreal. the morning after we took to the sights and explored fort kochi and saw the medieval looking chinese nets that hung next to the river, the jewish quarter and synagogue, walked around hill palace, got close to deer and a huge t-rex, then headed back to the hotel.
we said our goodbyes to our cab driver, sumesh, who had been with us for the past 5 days. we flew the next morning to the big city of bangalore and just like that kerala slowly became just another beautiful memory.
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