KOCHI, KERALA, INDIA: the land of palms

KOCHI, KERALA - INDIA

Sitting at dinner alone sipping a Cosmo with a random selection of String Quartets and Trios playing on the hotel soundsystem whilst waiting for another sublime Indian meal to arrive, I can finally reflect on the day. Wow! I didn't expect it to be this fulfilling but it was exactly what I expected and thought of India. The last few days had been a bit of a warm up but today was what I was waiting for.

Talk about a magnificent day. I had booked a tour online because I really wanted to see the Kerala Backwaters and I totally lucked out. I'd read on tripadvisor and other sites that the Backwaters had been destroyed by commercialism, too many tourists, houseboats hitting one another. 

I was picked up by a lovely private car from the Trident and taken to the pick up spot of the boat. The area was sprawled with palm trees and small islands. Jumped onto the boat where a man gently manoeuvred me down the river. I didn't really see any houseboats. We passed a few houses that littered the river bed. A few interesting smells of rubbish, cooking, spices, plants and animals grazing put me right into what I expected India to be all about.

We passed people who were catching fish. 2 people were in the water, moving around slowly which I soon gathered that the water was quite shallow. There was one man on a boat pulling a string with bits of white ribbon tied intermittently along the longer rope. Peter, the tour guide explained to me that as the rope is put into the water, the white ribbon flickers against the sun and it scares the fish. The fish then bury themselves in the mud and the men in the water catch them with their bare hands. How smart! The rope stretched for 300m or so and both men had a hold of it, forming a semi circle almost. Peter said for these men to work about 4 hours, they would make about 8000-1000 rupees ($140-$180US). Not bad for a days work here in Kerala. 

We climbed up onto dry land, walked along the waterfront and approached a house which had cashew nut trees and piles of coconut shells on the floor. And i mean PILES of it :)

Peter explained that there is a juicy fruit attached to the cashew nut which has an oil that can set on fire. The nut needs to be roasted to help crack it, and the juicy fruit can be eaten when ripe.

cashew nuts anyone?

We then moved into a smaller boat where the water was clear and we moved slowly down the canals. We moved up to a junction and as we turned, I realized this was truly special. The water was very shallow, to the point where you could see the mud beneath - most likely about 50cm deep. This was where the peace, calmness, serenity that I was searching for lay. Birds tweeted, crickets cricketed. There were weeds floating thickly through the waterways but they were going yellow meaning the saltwater was killing them. Peter explained that around June during the rainy season, they will start growing again.

happiness :)

We moved along the canals and saw crab nests, kingfisher nests, quite a few cormorand birds and literally nestled ourselves amidst the thousands of palm trees, pushing our way through greenery and getting whiplashed by leaves and growth as well as fallen palm branches.

into the wild :) 

The beauty of this trip was that there was not a single tourist around. Not another boat. I, was the only one. I was dumbfounded. Peter explained he owned 15 acres and the government monitor this area very closely so no concrete jungle is allowed to be constructed, nor were there any other tour operators allowed. He'd ran his business for the last 17 years and had the Taj Hotel group as a client for 16 years as well as having very important people come through like representatives of Obama's election campaigns, a group of 60 doctors (next month) and a few other delegates from around the world.

totally at peace.

No wonder it had kept its authenticity. We stopped by a canal bed and walked around to a man who was up in the palm trees. He was abstracting 'toddy'. Apparently this liquid was a coconut liquor, only taking 4 hours after extraction from the roots of the coconut trees to start fermenting. Its alcoholic content is only 2% and all three men agreed that it tasted better than coca-cola or Pepsi! All organic and natural. 

collecting and fine-tuning the coconuts.

The guy who was maneuvering the boat grabbed a bottle out of a tiny casket and it was filled with this white milky-looking liquid. He squeezed it and a bit of liquid overflowed and to my horror, a couple of flies came out of it too. They then offered it to me. Was i game enough? Heck. Why not! Was this a death trap? I asked for a tiny bit and sipped it. Yes, it tasted like coconut. Yes, it tasted like alcohol! Not bad at all. If i'm still alive and writing entries in the next 24 hours, you'll know I haven't been plagued with the 'Dehli-Belly'. 

This man who was extracting the toddy owned 16 palm trees. In the area we were in, he owned 4. How on earth were you to pick which one was yours in this forest of palms? Craziness! He knew exactly which ones were his.

yes, i did it! forward AND back!

We continued back down the canal and the man who was extracting the toddy got in his slither of a boat (if I stepped on it, I would have flipped completely!), overtook us and was not to be seen again. 

peace, serenity, calmness.

stepping on Kerala soils. 

We got back to the house we started at and a meal was brought out to me. All home cooked and tasted delicious. Instead of a plate, they had banana leaves and all the food, condiments and rice was placed in small pods. I got a spoon whilst Peter was eating with his hands. I couldn't bring myself to do it, there was a real technique to it and i surely was not going to master that anytime soon (just thinking about how I'm such an unco with chopsticks is enough for me to stick to a spoon). Food was delicious, flavorsome and authentic!

eating lunch with a local family.

yum yum yum! culinary experience, eating on banana leaves.

Once the meal was done, another lady showed me the technique of separating fibres from a coconut to make rope. They then manually made rope with the fibres, a spinning wheel, and i somewhat assisted and was given the rope as a souvenir of Kerala! Perfecto.

separating the coconut fibres

spinning wheel! literally! 

my bud, the Turkeyyy :)

We made our journey back on the boat to my driver of whom drove me back towards my hotel via a saree tailor, spice store and souvenirs. Indeed, i have a saree being tailored as we speak! I can't wait!!!

fitting and trying out all different colored sarees

The man from the saree shop sold rugs, carpets, sarees, shawls, jewelery and furniture as well as decorative statues/homeware. It was beautiful and i said to him 'I would buy this if I had a home of my own. I don't have my own house anymore. I don't even have my car anymore'. Bob, the shop owner said 'and boyfriend? married?'. I laughed and shook my head. 'I have nothing'.  He said 'I had a girlfriend who was from Perth, then another from France but no more. But i have a car, and i have a house. That's good'. I laughed as he walked me to the till and handed me a card.

Bob's wise business card :)

As I looked at it, i nodded, smiled and said 'YES. YES. YES. What a way to live life. This is what i'm going to do'. 

I was spent by the end of the day. Both physically and mentally - there was a lot to process. Kerala literally means 'the land of palms'. That, it truly was! I felt like I had really felt India more so than the past few days that I've entered this fascinating country. I smelt it, i felt it. I've met locals and I've added to my mantra. And with that, the smells of curries and irresistible pappadams call me to put down this entry and fall back into the wonderful world of India.

Love, peace and respect,

VANANH

And for the RIGHT NOWs:

Fav food: gooseberry jam.

Reading: nothing because I am bookless (left Blink on the Pride! BOO!)

Wishlist: another saree

Current city: Cochin

Listening to: Braveheart OST. I know, random!

Fav clothing item: my new leather clutch from Cochin.

Next destination: Mangalore, India

Missing: the gym. Never thought i'd say that but I feel SO heavy right now with all the food i've eaten.