India - Alleppy (18)

News Snippets - 8-10-2013
The Indian Government has decided that tourism is vitally important to the country and has therefore passed a motion that citizens from over 40 countries would be able to obtain a visa on arrival. Travellers over 60, from all countries would also be eligible for a Visa on Arrival. This news from the "Times of India"

The State Bank of India (SBI) has made history by announcing it's first woman chairperson in it's 206 year history!! Arundhati Bhattacharya is the first woman to head an Indian Fortune 500 company and the sole female CEO among the Fortune 500 companies. Certainly history is being made here and this will perhaps open more doors for higher positions for women in India??

On the subject of women, Betty Karan, wife of the late Ravi Karunakaran, opened a huge museum in memory of her husband. The coir business was started 100 years ago and is still going today with approx. 800 employees. A long history of coir making in Alleppey! Ravi died in 2003 and the museum opened in 2006. It's an incredible collection of art works, curios, porcelain, ivory, glass, carvings, antiques and more. Betty started collecting items at the tender age of 13 and it appears that she is still on this mission at 75. A world traveller, with recent travels to South America and Antarctica,  this must be one incredible lady with connections all over the globe. There is the most beautiful, porcelain globe from China amongst the  3800 pieces in over 10,000 sq ft of vast space. This museum was specially built and Betty has her own private entrance to it all. Beautiful pieces do need to be constantly admired, would you not think?

A large mural adorns one wall - this has the names of 194 countries and took 8 months of work y 3 artists from Kerala. Made with only natural colours such as lime, yellow ochre, red ochre, black lamp soot, blue from some leaf (can't remember!) this was all done with a Arrow Grass Brush. Some of the finely carved chests come from Burma and there are exquisite pieces from all around the world. It's a total treasure chest spread over numerous rooms and 2 floors.

As one enters, a large 1948 Buick is on show, looking in mint condition. There is just so much to see that it is difficult to take it all in. A personal guide takes one around and no photos are allowed. The words of Sree Narayanu, One Caste, One Religion, One God for all humanity have not taken root sadly. There is a manuscript written on palm leaves although I have no clue what is written on this - imagine writing on palm leaves?

The wealth that surrounds this family stem from coir. Coconut palms, then the husks of the coconuts = coir fibre which is spun into Coir Matting. Products are then manufactured from this. This industry has allowed Betty and her late husband, Ravi to travel the world seeking artistic treasures. It seems that Betty has not yet satisfied her desire for travel and there will most probably be some new additions to these incredible collections.

The entrance fee was IR 500.00 so not a cheap outing but really worth seeing.

We walked back in the heat, watched the booms come down for the train which hurtles past at great speed. There were people walking on the track in the distance - how stupid can one be? The guard at the crossing was frantically waving them to get off the track. Once the train had passed, they came sauntering along as if this was a lovely, pedestrian walkway! Takes all sorts!

A swim cooled us down - I love being able to splash right into a warm pool. Despite the warmth of the water it is still cooling and refreshing.

James massage went off better than mine - I doubt he will sport massive bruises. Lucky man!

The hotel phone lines are down so no Wi-Fi - we hope its restored soon.

On that note, beer time.....

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com

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India - Alleppy - (17)

Alleppey seems to encourage "blob" days - it's so laid back!

 I am also finding the humidity rather draining if walking during the day. Bring on some rain, please! So a taste of some Ayurvedic Massage should bring some more relaxation to the day? The centre at Panoramic Sea Resort does women one day and then men on alternate days so James could not experience this at the same time. I chose the Head, Neck and Shoulder massage. Firstly, my clothes had to come off (top only) and then I was seated on a step type seat. The lady poured oil on my head and pulled my hair up and down. Not very relaxing at all - in fact, rather painful! The brief head massage that my hairdresser gives me, is more relaxing! Anyway, next came the shoulders with more oil. Then onto the bed for the back massage. As I am not an expert on massage methods, I found the back massage painful rather than soothing. The lady also pinches the flesh - OK I know that I am overweight and there are many folds hanging, just waiting to be pinched, but still.....! It was with great relief that this all came to an end after 30 minutes. To put the cherry on the top, her cell phone rang 3 times during my allotted 30 minutes!  I did feel relaxed but not so relaxed as to require sleep. Looking like Sputnik with this oily hair sticking up on all sides was rather hysterical - thankfully, the camera was hidden so there is no record of this horrid sight.

Imagine my shock and horror to find huge bruises on both sides of my body after a few hours. Painful to sleep on and is this really supposed to do me some good? I have my doubts. One wonders if everybody is properly trained in this method of massage? So rather a disappointing experience after the huge hype that seems to surround Ayurvedic Massage in India. Luckily, James has not been put off by my experience so it will be interesting to hear his tale tomorrow.

All I can say is "Imagen" in Pinelands with my friend, Celia will be on my list of  to-do's when I return to South Africa. Her touch is soothing and relaxing and always gets rid of my tense muscles!

In the afternoon, we took a wander up into Alleppey. School was out for the day and many children passed us on their way home. Most walking, some on bicycles, a few in Tuk-Tuks. So friendly, they all wave and say "Hi"  The boys are somewhat braver and asked for a photo. These children are very well dressed in very smart uniforms - they truly look a credit to their school, their parents and their country. Eventually, I suppose they will all turn into honking drivers but for now, they are  somewhat quieter! Walking along the road is always a noisy affair as everybody hoots when passing - perhaps this is taken as a warning signal in case they do knock you over?

By now rather hot and sweaty again, the cooler air on the beach was welcome. However, the beach is full of litter after the busy Sunday. Some has been swept into piles but not picked up. Quite a marked change from the first day we saw the beach. The after school/work crowd were having some fun in the water, despite the dangerous rip. Maybe the locals know the safer spots as foreigners are told not to swim at Alleppey Beach.

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com

India - Goa to Kochi and Alleppy (15)



Averina Beach, Goa - stunning resort!

Sadly, our last day at Averina Beach, Goa. The rain, which has been very co-operative so far, is now saying "don't go"! The hotel is very busy now with 2 conferences and an Indian wedding on Saturday. It seems that this becomes a very noisy affair so just as well we are leaving although I would have loved to witness an Indian wedding in India.

The drive to the airport is so slow, with many speed breakers in the road, plenty of twists and turns and the inevitable two wheelers (scooters)
We arrived early so could check out seat numbers. Our cases were over-weight so the check-in chap suggested that we put some extra things into our hand luggage. Quite a performance this was in the airport but we managed to shuffle things around so that they accepted our bags without forfeit of IR2500.

It is rather crazy that Jet Airlines expect international travellers to only have 15 kgs of luggage. Lesson - check the fine print BEFORE buying the ticket!

Goa airport is a very busy spot. Located on 2 floors with not much to do, watching the planes takes on a life of it's own. No photography is allowed of the exterior areas so we could not video this live action! I did spot quite a number of Indians taking photos with their cell phones though. Admittedly, the notice is rather small - I had not noticed it but James is always aware of these things as he goes thru so much security whilst travelling in West Africa.

What was totally fascinating was watching the planes landing and taking off as a road crosses the runway!! The boom goes down and the traffic has to come to  halt while the planes land or take-off. Once the plane is out of the way, the boom is opened again and the two wheelers go zooming along. It's the funniest sight to watch and certainly made the time pass quickly while waiting for our flight.

The first flight was 50 minutes - by the time they have reached their altitude, it is time to start descending again. This plane started descended ages before landing - not pleasant. The 2nd flight to Kochi was only 40 mins! Luckily, the plane did not go too high so the flight was good.

The driver was waiting for us with a tiny car. One of the bags had to go on the roof - luckily, it was not raining! The drive to Panoramic Sea Resort is 90 km and it takes 2 very long hours! The traffic is crazy, the drivers are far more rash than even in Mumbai and we saw 2 accidents along the way. First accidents in 2 weeks. Kochi at night looks very modern with large, new looking buildings. Many have streamers of light hanging down in various colours so it looks like early Christmas. We passed loads of beautiful furniture shops, new car showrooms, enormous electronic shops with washing machines etc, gyms, clothing stores, brightly lit and clean looking restaurants and supermarkets. Unfortunately, we came to the end of this eventually and entered into an area more like the India we have come to know - tiny, roadside shops and not much else.

Although the driving is so very bad and they all drive as if they are totally drunk, there is a very strict "No Drunk Driving" law and drivers are breathalysed at traffic lights!!! The mind boggles - with such bad and dangerous drivers on the road, other measures should be in place regarding safety, in my humble opinion.

We eventually reached the hotel and were shown into a tiny room which was awful. We asked for a change and received another of the same size but marginally better. Supposedly partial self-catering, their is not a plate or knife and fork anywhere to be seen. The location is just opposite the beach so the beach road is busy - thankfully, traffic did stop during the night! We ordered some Kingfishers and Spring Rolls and were sitting on the porch enjoying these when a beggar came to the fence and just stood staring at us. He would not budge so James went to call Security who chased him away.

For the first time, there are Tuk-Tuk's outside the hotel so I think we will try one at some stage. Although how we will manage to stay in this room for 2 weeks, I have no clue! Only Gold Crown Resorts for us in future - this is supposedly Silver Crown??? 2 star maybe - which is not my choice of accommodation!

One thing I have to mention here is the fact that the staff are extremely pleasant, willing to assist and so friendly. In all the chaos of the luggage unpacking at the airport, James managed to lose his key for his case! "I always keep it in my laptop bag, dear, so why must you put it with your keys?" is the stock answer I always get. My keys are in a little drawstring pouch, inside my bag - safe and sound. But no, men must do their own thing so he ended up at 21.30 hrs with no keys to his suitcase!!! Just a little thing to add to the stress of the day.....

The resort made James sign before they would break open his lock this morning but it is now unlocked so he can take his pills and put on clean clothes!

Let's see what the rest of the day brings......

Breakfast OK but nowhere near as good as Averina Beach! However, it filled the hole and we then wandered off with cameras to Alleppy Beach. The beach is huge, there is litter in places but not all over and our eyes nearly popped out of our heads when we saw camels on the beach! There is just no way I am getting onto a camel but there were some takers. Camels on a beach - anything goes in India it seems and there is a surprise around every corner. We also came upon a "shoot" - a couple standing in the water with 2 guys taking photo's. He did tell me what they were doing but I still don't know what he said. I am finding the Indian accent very difficult here in Kerala which is not good. Anyway, we joined in by taking photo's of the couple, all beautifully dressed in red. Perhaps pre-wedding or after wedding? Further down there was another couple but they only had one camera man - he must be somewhat cheaper? They all seem to take pictures of their feet and then them walking away.

Unfortunately, one cannot swim at this beach as it is too dangerous with a strong undertow.

The ladies are very colourful and walk with sun umbrellas which we sorely needed. The sky is blue and it's hot. We wandered further to the fishing boats but eventually had to turn around as we were both ready to melt. Talk about lobster red faces. Back at the hotel, a cold beer whilst sitting on the cool veranda went down a treat. Even just watching the passing traffic is interesting.

The pool is sort of 3/4 full - don't ask me why and it's as warm as a bath. Anyway, we enjoyed a swim and then time for a nap in the heat of the day.

Supper time loomed so we went down the road to Dreamers Restaurant. Up very narrow stairs to the top floor with a view of the beach.

Lovely cool breeze and mosquito bites! The waiter brought us some spray - how is that for service? The food - simply delicious. I enjoyed a vegetarian dish with amazing sauce and James raved about his Chicken Masala. Some "Special Tea" to compliment the food, is served in a large mug!!! Hope to get down the stairs in one piece again. There were 2 Australian ladies and an Indian couple with a small child. Otherwise the restaurant was quiet. Excellent service from a waiter who loves his soccer and was sporting a number 11 jersey.

© Judelle Drake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradclinphotography

For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

www.bradclin.com

Please share - if you did not enjoy this post .....Shhh - but please still share!

Thanks!