South India

Carin's brother Lee, our other travel advisor, who spent 6 weeks in India, was encouraging us to start in the south and work our way north. His last bits of advice before we parted ways in Thailand were, (1) don’t wear open toed shoes because of the cow...(2) don’t brush your teeth with the water, you will be sick for weeks (3) the south can get really hot so it's a good place to start and finished with how much he loved the people and food and wished he was going back with us. So off we went to Kerala, in the southern part of India. There are a few things you immediately notice upon arrival, how beautiful the women are in their colorful saris, how little English they speak and how blazing hot it is. Fort Cochin, an extremely cute little sea port town, would be our base for the next week as we explored the backwaters of Alleppy, and the spice gardens & tea plantations of Munnar. Four hundred years ago in this area the spice trade drew Portuguese, Dutch and Arab sailors, the Chinese with their gigantic fishing nets, still used today and Jewish refugees who fled after the destruction of the second temple. Can you imagine Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Jews all living together in peace. Today the population is mostly Indian Christians and Hindus
We boarded the local bus for the hour and a half trip to Alleppey where most of the backwater house boat trips begin. After arriving safely, which was a miracle in itself, we began the search for our vessel. With the aid of Ashuk and his never ending inventory of house boats we found the perfect match. Mind you these boats come with a captain, first mate and a chef. That’s a three to two ratio and we departed feeling very attended to. The day was beautiful. We stopped along the way and bought some incredible prawns which would be cooked for dinner and enjoyed watching life along the river. After docking that evening the captain informed us that his home and village were just a short distance down along the bank and invited us to meet his family. We walked along the river edge until we arrived at his very small, cement house. We were ushered in by his absolutely adorable four and two year old daughters. We met his lovely and very young wife through an arranged marriage and his mom who we think lived nearby and not with them. He proudly showed us the two bedrooms, the little kitchen and the yard filled with chickens. We also saw their small rice field behind the house. We wondered what happened during the monsoons with the house so close to the river’s edge and he laughed and with many hand gestures shared that the whole place fills with water when the rains come. Next thing we knew, we were in the sitting room, given the only two chairs in the house and were served steaming cups of sweet tea and a plate of yummy fried rice munchies. The girls entertained us with their toys, a little plastic truck and a snowman light. Actual conversation was limited as they all spoke Malayalam (the official language of Kerala) although the captain could speak a little English. Seeing their pictures on the camera was a highlight for the girls, especially the younger one who was a little bit shy at first. As we walked back to the house boat mom and Grandma were having a great time giving the girls their evening bath in the river. Typical of the people we are meeting all over Asia, their nest’s may be small, possessions very few, but their hearts are open.
Rumor had it that we would be able to beat the heat by heading up to the tea plantations in the hills of Munnar. Hiring a driver seemed like the way to go after our bus experience so off we went for a five hour, 140 km (84 miles) adventure. How can it possibly take 5 hours to go 84 miles? That’s India! It wasn’t quite as cool as we had hoped but it sure was beautiful seeing tea being grown all along the hills and ridges, It reminded us a little of the rice terraces in Indonesia and Vietnam and the wine country in New Zealand. Our driver/guide took us to a spice garden where we saw over forty varieties of plants, flowers. herbs and spices. Our favorite part of the day was during a hike on one of the private tea plantations to see a waterfall. The ladies called “pluckers” who harvest the tea were just finishing their morning work and were about to break for lunch. Again the camera was a great ice breaker. Between asking if we could take their picture, finding out who wanted their picture taken and showing them the pictures of themselves, we spent a half hour laughing it up with some very friendly, hard working women. There is no doubt that the best part of traveling is the opportunity to spend time with local people.
Last stop Goa, the smallest state in India, but a much loved beach destinations by Indians and foreigners alike. We stayed in a hut with an outdoor bathroom, cold water shower and resident bat, which came home each evening around nine. Carin knew we had left our routines behind when four days in Mike first realized the room didn’t have a TV. The beach was especially great on Sunday when most of people don’t work and entire families come out to stroll along the beach and enjoy the water. Of course as always we were able to locate a few good restaurants along the way.

It is with great sadness that we remember our dear friend Bob Matthews. Before leaving on our journey we had dinner with Bob and Cindy and can’t forget how excited and encouraging they both were. We sat around drinking Bob’s famous Margaritas and laughed as Bob told stories about his wild backpacking days. We will miss so many things about Bob but most of all his love for his family, sense of adventure and incredible kindness.