Fort Kochi

Once again, we were surprised when we got to Fort Cochin (or Fort Kochi ... the constantly changing names were starting to confuse me).

India hadn't ceased shocking and exasperating us. I could no longer count the number of times one of us had muttered "TII" or "This is India" under our breaths.

Fort Kochi shocked us for a different reason though.

Here, there was such an enormous crush of different cultures, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish ....

One of the iconic images of Fort Kochi is the Chinese fishing nets.
In the setting sun, they looked beautiful. However, pictures do not capture the incredibly strong smell of rotting fish that accompanied them.

Not far from the nets are the large churches that were put up by the Portuguese.

Even the old buildings in the areas (many of which are still in use as residences or businesses) captured a flavour of somewhere not India.
We began wandering over to "Jew Town". Here was the home of the Malabar Jews, one of the oldest Jewish populations in the world.
And being in India, of course we managed to find a spice market.
The smell was again intense.

On the move again

It was time to head off.

We were staying in Kerala, but heading further up towards Fort Cochin (or Fort Kochi .... whatever it's called these days ....)

Trains would be moving us to our location again.
After buying our tickets, there was just enough time for us to hop over to have a look at the beach.

It was the first time I had ever seen the Arabian Sea (let alone the Indian Ocean).
Being the cheap travellers that we are, we had bought the cheapest available tickets.
It was a short trip to our next stop, but not the most comfortable.

Again, I'll mark it down as one of those experiences.

Allepey

I didn't really want to leave the houseboat.

I could have stayed on it for days.

Sadly, all things come to an end and we found ourselves back in Allepey.

You see some strange sites in India. The bizarre and strange is completely normal here. An elephant meandering down the road? Doesn't even turn a head.....
We were fortunate enough to have been there in the midst of a festival. I'm not exactly sure what festival it was, but that didn't stop us from joining in.
There was lots of music and lots of people dressed us as animals.... the bull even tried to gore me.
We followed the procession down the main road of Allepey until we got bored.

Wandering around the rest of the town, we found more things to look at, more things to eat, more things to try.
In under 24 hours, we had gone from extreme serenity back to the vibrant heart of Indian life. This country really is one of extremes in every conceivable way.

Calming Waters

With the waters of the backwaters gently passing us by, we all fell into a sort of stupor.

Stretching out and relaxing on the boat was one of the most peaceful things I have ever done.

And very luckily for us, our cooks Sabu and Joseph ensured that we were well supplied with food, tea and coffee.

As the sun began to set, we were treated to an entirely different type of beauty.

For me, I rarely notice a sunset or sunrise when I am at home, yet I am usually captivated by them when I go travelling. Either the sunsets at home don't have the same magnificence or I should pay more attention.

That night, we were again well provided for with food.

Our cooks prepared a delicious Keralan style dinner for us complete with the enormous prawns that we had purchased from the man in the canoe.

Kerala is not the most well known place in India, but it must be one of the most serene and beautiful. I only wonder how long it will be before the secret of this place is revealed to a wider audience.

Cruising the Backwaters of Kerala

It was more beautiful than I expected.

The backwaters of Kerala are becoming more famous and rightly so. Slowly cruising down these old canals will be something I remember for a long time.

This region is covered in rice paddies. The people in the area still grow rice for their livelihood. Over the years, hundreds of miles of canals have been constructed to act as a highway for the transportation of both goods and people.

The rice is now mainly transported by more modern methods. This has left the "kettuvallums" without their traditional employment.


So instead of transporting rice, most of them have now been converted into beautiful houseboats to cruise tourists around in.

And what a nice way to cruise they are!

The backwaters of Kerala feel a world away from the rest of India. They are so serene and peaceful. It doesn't seem possible that this place could be in the same country as all of the intensity and the crowds we had been experiencing.

At the helm was our navigator and driver Mohel. He and the rest of the crew made sure that we were well looked after.
We were hardly alone on the backwaters as well. It is becoming increasingly popular and more and more of the boats are now being constructed for the specific purpose of taking the tourists around the beautiful canals.

It was a nice relaxing change for all of us.

Rather than needing to race around seeking out different sites and sounds, we became more than content to allow the flow of the canals to bring everything to us.

Along the way, a fisherman sold us the biggest prawns I have ever seen in my life.

These are not crayfish or lobsters, they really are just enormous prawns!

The waters and everything that occurs on them seems to just create a sense of calm.
Laying back into the comfort of the lounges on our boat, we looked out into the distance more than happy to rest away the hours in this near perfect backdrop.

Indian Rail Journey

Spending time in Chennai with Manu was great. But, all good things must come to an end and so we moved onto the next phase of our trip. Kerala!

Now, Kerala isn't a place that has captured my imagination since I was child like the Middle East .... I can't even claim to have known much about it even recently. However, Sudi was insistent that we go. He had labelled this as his "number one" location that he wanted to visit in all of India.

Lian and I were happy to oblige and Prath seemed to be happy with whatever happened.

There was first the matter of getting from Chennai to Kerala.

This would involve a 12 hour overnight trip by train.

Unfortunately, we had been a bit late in booking tickets and we found ourselves with economy class tickets.

The conditions were a bit more Spartan than we had originally been hoping for. Sudi and I had been watching movies that involved long train journeys through India (usually luxurious first class) and this was not what we had been hoping for originally.

We all made do though and decided to count this as one of those "experiences" that may not be completely pleasant, but which you usually look back on fondly.

Plus I'm sure it would toughen us up for some of the travelling ahead.

The trip seemed to take an age. Sudi and Prath managed a grand total of zero hours sleep between the two of them. I on the other hand was lucky enough to snatch about 4 hours, something that would come in handy.

We whiled away the time playing cards and playing with some of our new-found friends on the train.
Surprisingly, the train turned out to be comfortable compared to what we faced on arrival.

We found ourselves at a train station in Ernakulum at about 2am in the morning. We were tired, cranky and the person who was meant to pick us up was nowhere to be seen.... eventually we found the guy and managed to slowly make our way to our desired destination.

Hindu Ruins

After a few days in Chennai, enjoying the hospitality of Manu's family (and the cooking of his mother), Manu took us out of Chennai for a look at one of the main attractions of the state of Tamil Nadu. He was taking us to the ruins of the temples at Mahabalipuram.

However, before we got there, we had another stop to make....

At a CROCODILE FARM!!!

Oh goodie.

It was a definite learning experience .... though I have to admit a guilty enjoyment seeing the crocodiles being fed.

The real point of the trip was the ruins though.

We headed to the town which is famous for rock carvings which continue to this day.

Apparently, the ruins are a famous early example of Dravidian architecture.

Walking through the ruins (which were amazing), I couldn't help but think back to when I went to Ankhor Wat over 5 years ago. The climate, the setting and the ruins .... it almost felt like being in the same place.
Sudi was impressed by it all, but less impressed when he discovered my not so secret desire to "go everywhere".

After walking around the ruins on the hill, we made our way towards the famous "Shore Temple". This is the only temple of seven known that remains uncovered by the ocean.

I was now experiencing definite feelings of being back in Cambodia again.

Luckily for Sudi and Prath, Manu managed to wrangle to the cheap local admission tickets for them. Sadly, Lian and I were not so fortunate.

Crazy times in Chennai

"And you guys are all invited to my wedding...."
This was the statement that Sunny had made to us months back. It could be rephrased as "Come to India".
India.... I really hadn't been planning on travelling again for a while. Particularly after my last large trip that saw me gallavanting across the Middle East.

But then again, how often does a person get to go to an Indian wedding that's actually in India?

The opportunity was too good to pass up.

And additionally, the trip would also allow me to see my friends Sudi, Manu, Prath and Lian, possibly for the last time in a long while.

So, I found myself in Chennai on the first leg of the trip. Sunny's wedding would come later.

Chennai.... what a crazy city. Intense, confusing and packed.

Staying with Manu's family was definitely a treat as was having him take us around his hometown. He acted as tour guide and showed us everything in Chennai from the famously long beach to his favourite biriyani restaurants (I love mutton.....)

But the hustle of the place definitely got to us all. For me, the pollution in the air was difficult to cope with and my lungs decided they were not a fan at all.

However, it was also something that I am very glad I experienced.

Tropical Christmas

There's something about the festive season in Singapore that just doesn't feel right.

I think it's the singing of songs about snow whilst you're sweating from the heat and humidity.
Hearing about a "White Christmas" and listening to someone singing "Let it snow" really doesn't do much to provide relief from the heat either....

Mefloquine my dreams....

I've been taking Mefloquine for a few weeks now. It also goes by the name of "Larium". This anti-malaria drug seems to have a reputation that preceeds it.

My dreams and behaviour have been erratic to say the least.

Night time and sleep has brought about intense and bizarre dreams.

And during the day.... I've felt as though I have been behaving strangely. My brain feels inhibited. It's almost like there's a cloud hanging over my mind preventing me from thinking as clearly as I should. Over the last few days, slight nausea has also set in.

God I hope this awful feeling passes....

Wicked through and through!

I was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago for work. I decided to change my flights afterwards and stay the weekend.

So, after all the work was done, I shifted myself out of the luxuriously comfortable digs I had been provided at the Stamford and moved myself to the less luxurious but still comfortable hostel I had been able to find online.

Growing up in Melbourne had been fun as a child. However, since adulthood, I had only been back to Melbourne once. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to see Melbourne properly as an independent adult.

I was very impressed.

Unlike Sydney, Melbourne is far easier to move around in. The combination of trains, buses and trams makes commuting a relatively easy issue. Heading to St Kilda beach from the middle of the city was an easy matter of jumping on a tram, unlike the train + walk or bus (that will likely end up in a traffic jam) option in Sydney.

The life in the city in Melbourne was also a surprise. Compared to Sydney, were many parts of the city die on the weekends, the city in Melbourne was bustling. There were cafes everywhere, people wandering around the shops and generally just using this as a place for socialising. I particularly liked the small arcades that seemed to branch out from all of the streets.

Another reason for staying the weekend in Melbourne was that I wanted to see "Wicked"!

This hit broadway musical was in Melbourne and I heard great things. I didn't want to pay the full price, so instead I lined up for the lottery and managed to score myself some $30 tickets!

The show was fantastic. I still have the songs floating around in my head. The cast even included Anthony Callea, Robert Mills and Bert Newton!

I finished off my trip visiting old friends and just enjoying the sites of Melbourne.

I wonder if I made the right choice moving to Sydney....

Everyone is so adult

It seems like only yesterday that Angus and I were fighting in the halls of our old boarding school and stealing Nutella from the sickbay by the jar....

Things are now certainly getting adult.

I made my way down towards Canberra for a big party.

One to celebrate his engagement.

Angus and Kirsty.

My old housemates were now FINALLY engaged.

I generally avoid going back to Canberra. But this was a different situation.

The parents were beaming and for once I didn't feel too bad being back in Canberra.
However, it is definitely a terrifying reminder of the continued passage of time....