Road to Munnar

I’m starting to get more used to taking the state buses alone. Still not fully comfortable with everyone staring at me but at least I know that at rest stops they won’t leave without the white girl :-P

The road to Munnar from Madurai is something to be experienced. I’m a mountain girl. Seeing the mountains again brought back memories of past treks and hikes. Yet this was one of the most unnerving roads I’ve been on. Something out of Top Gear. The climb is incredibly steep, and the bus – overcrowded with people packed and standing – takes hairpin turns on the road barely wide enough for one truck. Everyone suddenly went very quiet as the bus began its ascent. You know something is not right when even the locals show signs of fear :P. The best is when you pass oncoming trucks and buses, rolling a couple of inches from the deep precipice below. Adrenaline rush guaranteed. 

Munnar itself is not so special except for the communist flags everywhere and three religions coexisting actively side by side, seemingly peacefully, though these are characteristics of Kerala in general. The surrounding area is a fairytale though. Endless mountains to hike on the Kerala Tamil Nadu border, green rolling tea plantations as far as the eye can see.

 

I think I had too high expectations of the place. I wanted to go roam the hills and get lost in nature. But I ended up doing the touristy things with a few other travellers, which left me incredibly fed up and impatient to leave and move on. I chose Munnar because it was recommended as an alternative to Ooty which is even more touristic. But even in Munnar you get treated as a wallet on legs by the locals – I wasn’t used to that anymore, I like interacting with people on a more meaningful level. And at the restaurants you get served food with forks – that was incredibly strange and disappointing to me by that point haha! The first time that happened, I refused to use it and was the only stubborn foreigner digging into the rice with my hand, but eventually I re-westernized for a time.

After Munnar, we headed to Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary for some elephant spotting and spending a night in a treehouse in the jungle. Sounds like fun, right? But again, expectations versus reality story happened. As soon as we arrived, we were rushed on a “jungle trek” in the middle of the unbearably hot day in the dried up forest and plains. Of course there won’t be much chance of seeing any animals; in that heat most of them are probably sleeping or hiding in the shade somewhere. Our guide could only say the names of some animals in English, and the evening’s menu, which was his answer to most of our questions :P. On the hills we got to see some deer, some bison – which from that distance could have been anything – some birds, and lots of elephant shit. Fresh piles, old piles, fossilized piles – the elephant’s soul. We even spotted a rare Jeep mating ritual on the road below – highlight of the trek :-P. I almost snapped from heat exhaustion and frustration, but ended up laughing when the guide showed me photos of the famed giant grizzled squirrel in that area on his phone, because we didn’t get to see any. And seeing my state, he even offered to carry my bag back.

Upon our return, we were informed that we might not be able to spend the night in a treehouse, so we waited to find out if the people who had booked it would call. In the meantime, there weren’t any other facilities there and no phone reception, so we just watched the monkeys get close and try to steal food. 

Eventually we got the treehouse and set off. When we reached the spot, our guide (another one) kept pressuring me to take a bath in the river near the treehouse. Yeah, right. Then he fell asleep for a long nap and we had no idea what to do, so we just sat there and ate some snacks. Eventually it got dark and another guide came. While they were having fun bathing and fishing, we were just sitting there wondering what the plan was. It would have been better to know from the start what to expect. I took some photos of the moon rise, and we then ate some parota with curry by candlelight. Not the best quality food but I was starving, and it was nice to eat with my fingers again. 

 

Because it was dark, I started feeling sleepy pretty early. But before retiring to our treehouse, we witnessed some suspicious activity going on on the other side of the river (which was the border with Tamil Nadu). Some people were trying to get a huge tractor through the water and forest and made an incredible noise for about an hour. Forget about seeing any animals that night. We climbed up into the treehouse and our guide told us to leave candles on and hang the bags so that the mice don’t burrow any holes. And if we had to pee in the night, do it on the treehouse balcony. Lol. No wonder the place smelled like shit and urine. It was pretty bad but I was so exhausted that I fell asleep easily enough. No animals in the night. 

The following morning they made us chai and gave us biscuits but we were in a hurry to get back to catch our respective buses. It wasn’t my favourite episode on this trip but it makes for some fun stories. And sleeping in the trees in the jungle is still pretty awesome :) 

Photos: Munnar & Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

10 Days in Pondicherry

I didn't intend to stay that long. Honest.

But I don't regret it one iota :)

So. How was life in loveable Pondy? Fantastic. Eventually I started feeling like a local and like a host myself. I saw through a few batches of couchsurfers and became a "second in command" of sorts. My host and now good friend Shyam is quite active as a host and, dare I say it, famous in Pondy :P. Now, when you've got an in with the alpha male, doors open for you; you get to ride on the motorcycle while the others take the rickshaw, get in to places otherwise not accessible to you, not be treated as a tourist, get invited to a wedding reception, eat with the family, and much more. I'm so incredibly thankful for all those wonderful experiences.

Pondicherry itself is a former French colony, with a super laid-back atmosphere. The French quarter has French street names as well as bakeries and restaurants where you can get croissants and other French goodies :). Although I actually didn't eat any French pastries while I was there, I did have ratatouille on one occasion. I much preferred the home-made dosais and other aspects of Tamil cuisine, yummm.

There isn't much to see per se in Pondy, but it's great to be there to experience the lifestyle. A few fun things happened while I was there. One of the most exciting was getting to drive a rickshaw! While coming back to Shyam's place one evening, myself and three other French girls bargained with the driver but he wouldn't budge. He did however jokingly offer to let us drive. We didn't let it pass, even as a joke :P The driver had a good laugh but he indulged us, and I'm proud to be able to say that I drove one of the quintessential modes of transportation around here.

Other fun shenanigans included an enthralling African dance course (not the best when it's 35 degrees though), a super cool Tamil film without subtitles (Nanban - and the best is that we understood the story for the most part), riding motorcycles in triplets (2 bikes, 2 guys, 4 girls, all that was missing was the Beach Boys), and last but not least, Auroville.

I had initially intended to stay at Auroville for about a week, and Pondy only a couple of days a starting base. Unfortunately, it was high season and the guest houses were full and reserved in advance. They only had openings later in February. I actually had no clue how Auroville "worked" so it took me some time to just figure out the accommodation business. Had I been informed in advance, I would have joined a farm through WWOOF and volunteered there for a couple of weeks. Because most communities there had a minimum of 2-4 weeks stay. I was so close to joining Sadhana Forest, on a few recommendations. I didn't feel ready to spend a month there though (minimum stay), but I was torn between going to visit other places and doing something spontaneous and different. 

Before I started travelling, I told myself I have to remember to do some "homework" along the way as well. I'm trying to keep in mind that I'm not travelling only for fun, I also want to actively partake in different lifestyles and learn new skills (in the sustainable living domain mostly) that could eventually help me to carve out the life I want for myself.

I did get to go to Auroville a few times with Shyam though, and even got to see a music festival there. When you're there, you don't feel like you're in India; it's another world. Very interesting people and communities. I told myself that if I come back, then I'll commit to a longer stay, and maybe even raise my children there :P. It really feels like the best possible place to have an enriching upbringing.

Photos: Pondicherry & Auroville

Learning the Ropes

It took me a while to start feeling more comfortable with the way things work around here. Three weeks ago I would have been completely unable to hop on a local bus alone - the only foreigner :-P - and head to unknown towns whose names I can only remember for 30 seconds, without a guide, without a map, only relying on the people to help me get to where I need to be.

And I still have a lot to learn and get used to. Every province is like its own country; different customs, different languages.

So inevitably, I have been getting ripped off during this initial part. The most embarassing was probably in Mahabalipuram when I booked a room for 2 nights with Liz. After calling a few guest houses, we found one where we were quoted 600 (~$12) rupees per night, which seemed incredibly cheap for our standards. So we get there and the room is clean and everything, a bit small, but the bed is huge and has a mosquito net. I paid 1200 rupees for myself, and then Liz goes to pay her part... The owner seemed a little confused at first, but eventually accepted both of our payments without a peep. Had I had my wits about me, I would have realised that the room was 600/night for both of us, not per person XD We only realised the day that we left that the price was likely for the room, but still it was so cheap that it wasn't even worth getting frustrated over.

Now I am much more picky about accommodation prices though. I know the rates a bit better and I try as much as possible to pay by local standards, even if it's dirt cheap in any case, because I realised that all these minuscule purchases add up if you intend to travel long-term! In Munnar I was quoted 350 rupees for a room, which is about the normal backpacker price for accommodation, but when I got there they asked for 550. And I bickered with them for a while but eventually ended up agreeing to pay the higher price when I put things into perspective: this was a room for two people that I was paying alone, it was even cleaner and more luxurious than the one in Mahab, and even had hot water for showers (which is super uncommon)!

To give further perspective about value, consider the following:
40 rupees...
= 1 roll of toilet paper (in touristy areas)
= 1 hour in an internet café
= 20 bananas
= 2 L of water
= ~3 hour ride on a state bus
...and still under $1 :-)
The tp is a rip off in my opinion though, better get used to the bucket method :P

So anyways, back to Mahab. Despite that minor, er, accommodation failure, we had a great time there. Such a chilled out place, which is so very welcoming after a city like Chennai (not at all the right place to get introduced to the country!). Beach, lots of restaurants, lots of shops...lots of tourists. We bought a few handicrafts and practised our bargaining skills with the shop owners who were mostly from Kashmir (as were the crafts). In fact, we couldn't help but notice that Kashmiri men are, well, incredibly gorgeous, heeeee. Those dark penetrating eyes... Oh my. /end girly swooning.

One thing we also discovered in Mahab is that making friends and being a loyal customer is definitely advantageous! For our shopping needs we frequented a convenience store a bit off the main tourist road, and bought bananas and snacks from them every day, mostly because we liked the shop owners very much. But we were so touched when they made a discount for toilet paper for us on the third day, knowing fully that it's not a very cheap item!

Eventually I was really reluctant to part with Liz in Mahab; after just a few days it felt like we were family. But she made it back to Chennai on her own and I set off to Pondicherry, where the unexpected greeted me...

Photos: Chennai & Mahabalipuram