More of the same beautiful state, yet different!

Kumarakom, near the bird sanctuary

The rainy season is here and so it was time to see more of Kerala. I have a feeling I will keep going back there atleast for one long weekend every year. It offers more than a lot of places in the form of things to see of both nature and people. The last few trips out there I planned myself and bugged a friend of mine for help. This long weekend trip was to be quite simple so I thought I would trust a travel agent to do it. I can’t remember how and where I got the name of these people, but boy, they managed to screw up the vacation, which is quite hard to do when it is Kerala!!

What I wanted to do this time was quite simple: Kumarakom is connected to Allappey, or is a part of it, and this area is known to have several wonderful species of birds and also a bird sanctuary. The tourism book I read said one can take early morning boat rides into the bird sanctuary, early enough to hear the chirps and feel the clear morning air. That day we would stay on a boat house and cruise through the backwaters of Kumarakom. Then Munnar for some scenic beauty and greenery, relax at the tree house and back to Hyderabad on day four.

The only stretch we went down in Kumarakom

That was the plan, this is what went down: The drive from Cochin airport to Kumarakom was 2.5hrs. We stayed on the crappiest house boat ever, whose windows were so small my neck and back eventually hurt from straining to crouch down and out to look outside and at birds and take pictures. Though I had said in emails that the most important thing was the ride in the boat sanctuary, every body starting with the travel agent seemed on a mission not to let me go in a country boat into the sanctuary. They tried lying and said it didn’t open until 9am, then (because I’m nerdy) when I showed them the India tourism book that says otherwise, they said they would figure it out.

You can’t win against a conspiracy when you don’t know their language and they pretend not to know English. So the morning came and went, rain came and went, they said nothing about a boat. They did take us down a small water way for a short distance where we saw a glimpse of what we had come to see: gorgeous cranes and other birds with lotus flowers and other water plants around them. By then, our breakfast was served and the fact they couldn’t get bread, butter and jam right pissed me off so bad, I was ready to jump out of the boat and cry. Yes, I get emotional when my vacations are bad. It’s more the time and effort that have gone to shit than money. Worse because I know how fantastic a house boat experience can be so I know this is as bad as it can get.

That's the best shot of an eagle I got!

So bad boat, bad food, no bird sanctuary and no back water cruise later, it was time to get off the boat. If you read the Kerala Houseboat blog, I wrote about asking for a certain kind of boat with a sitting deck. Well, I’m not sure how stupid and gullible I am, but I bought the story from this guy “Biju” from Kairali Holidays, the name of the travel agency, that I can’t have a deck cause the boat’s height won’t accommodate the waters ways. What the??? We never went any where but a large mass of water cause the guys were too lazy to show us anything. At which point the deck would have been nice to stare far at the views, but that didn’t happen either. Really, it was a total waste of a house boat, money and a vacation day.

So, we are in the car and off to Munnar with our “multilingual” driver from Kairali Holidays; I forgot to ask if one of his languages was English, I guess! The drive from Kumarakom to Munnar is at least 4.5hrs. We started at 9:30am, so we had to break for lunch which took at least an hour and stopped to see some sights on the way to Munnar including some waterfalls. With heavy rains coming down, everything was clean, glistening and the waterfalls robust with fresh water.

Tree house, quite literally so

Again in Munnar, I had to fight and beg to stay at the tree house that I had made reservations before hand. I could not understand what the deal was, and why the well spoken man wouldn’t explain it if it really was a big deal and something was wrong, like maybe the thing was going to fall down if it kept raining, or maybe there were leaches all over it, maybe a hidden ghost of the rain… I don’t know, but I wasn’t seeing the point of not wanting me to stay where I wanted to. So long as it’s an argument in English, I can win, so I did.

The tree house itself is a short steep drive into the mountains about three floors up, build between the trunk and a large branch of a strong old tree. Getting up there in the rain was a little scary on small metal stairs, but adrenaline is part of the thrill. There it over looked beautiful mountains covered with tea plantations, landscaped with rocks between them, waterfalls flowing through, clouds passing by below, the lights of the small town on the hill across were foggy, as if it were all designed to make it picture perfect. It couldn’t have been any more romantic with no power and no one around where we were.

From the walk over the dam

The caretaker at the tree house was a nice man, and though he could not speak English, all we needed to communicate was coffee, tea, water and food, and he showed up on time for each to take our order. The order for dinner was placed over the phone with a restaurant close by and he went and got it for us. The prices were fine, and the food was quite good so no complaints there. He was unaware or uninformed that our price included the breakfast, but that is neither here not there at that point, and in continuation with the bad service theme of Kairali Holidays, we decided to go ahead and pay it instead of worrying him in such a remote area. Again, it was bread and jam without butter, same as the boathouse, and I started wondering if maybe that’s how they ate in Kerala; I can’t bring myself to believe that though. It’s hard to get as upset about the same thing twice though.

It pretty much rained cats and dogs the whole time we were there. I was telling my travel buddies that Kerala was known for its leeches in the monsoons, so expect to get one or two not to be scary but also to inform them the proper way to get rid of the leeches. You don’t smack them off of you, don’t force them off because they will leave something behind that causes a rash and irritation for about three months later. You carry salt and put the salt directly on them so they voluntarily let go. Well, that was a lesson in case of leeches; none so far though.

Munnar is mostly the hills and the drive through them. A visit to the spice garden is good and the spices are pure and fresh so I usually buy them when I go to such places. There are a couple of places that offer elephant rides but I don’t find riding an elephant that is being probed by a sharp object too appealing or safe, so I passed on that. We drove to the Mattupetty dam which is quite nice to walk around, then we drove down to Gundala Lake. That was quite a pretty sight and it would have been great to go in a peddling boat but they weren’t operational because of the heavy rains. Understandably so, I guess. But the drive let me float into my utopian dreams of a perfect place with perfect trees and weather and clouds to add to what could have been a perfect place for love to bloom had I found some one to share it with. No, no tears please. That wasn’t for empathy or sympathy. It was truly just a very romantic setting. And that’s what dreams are for.

Tea estates of Munnar

Back to reality, then. It is actually quite cold during the rains in Munnar. So be prepared to carry a couple of sweaters and a few extra pairs of socks. There is nothing more miserable than being wet and cold at the same time! Not much is available that is very nice for winter clothing there so don’t wait to go buy it. If you are stuck in the forest like I was, it is even cooler with nothing to do but enjoy nature, maybe a drink will help keep you warm and some chips to pass time. All that shopping can be done in Munnar itself

The drive back from Munnar to Cochin airport is about 120km and took us three hours flat. That is my Kerala trip this year. A few lessons learnt, new corners discovered, still love the state, but do stay away from Kairali Holidays. It wasn’t cheap, I paid a month ahead of the vacation with no argument to their quote, spoke to the guy a few times to let him know I had been to Kerala several times so please don’t disappoint me, called after the house boat to tell him how and why it sucked, wrote a formal email to him asking him to please explain why his services turned out to be piss poor, then decided to go ahead and do what the blog is supposed to do, which is inform people.

They also seem to run under these three banners, though I am not sure. It appears at the bottom of every email they send out. Hope I am not wrong, but check it out: www.kairaliholidays.com,  www.dreamkeralatourism.com,  www.keralatourisms.com

Please don’t let all this deter you from the subject, which is Kerala. It is still a “God’s Country”, and I will go back for more.

Size Matters!

A marina and port, some big money yachts near a beach restraurant

Trip taken January 2008

It’s not hard to figure out why Singapore is such a popular destination for Indians: it’s a 3.5hr plane ride and you can get direct flights from most mid-sized cities even; it’s not an expensive flight compared to places like Cambodia or Vietnam; one can feel good about seeing an entire country over a long weekend; the shopping can go from bargains to filthy stupid; it’s the closest thing to western society within reach. We go on vacations to places that are different from our every day life. Hence, if we see poverty and mayhem daily, Disney Land sounds great fun. On the other hand, looking at organized traffic for an hour each way in Chicago, wild life and Cambodia sound so much more exotic. None the less, Singapore has a character of its own worth exploring.

The poilce head quarters building

The wonder of Singapore lies in the details. So here are some interesting facts that should drive you to witness the charm of this tiny nation. Singapore is an island; actually, it is 61 or so islands. One can drive from one end of this country to another in 45 minutes. It is roughly 26 miles by 15 miles from end to end. It has a population of 4.5 million people, making it the second most densely populated country after Monaco. Even so, it is the world’s fourth leading financial centre. It ranks as the best quality of life in Asia and 11^th in the world. It houses one of the top five busiest ports in the world. Bottom line, it is the 4^th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita terms, and has the ninth largest foreign reserves. Best of all, violent crime is so low in Singapore, mostly because of the aggressive and strict laws: homicides in 2007 were seven, of which all seven were solved. Close enough to Utopia for me!

So it was that I in Singapore with family. We stayed on a yacht at the One Degree 15 on Sentosa Island, an extravagant place by itself. I can’t complain about the yacht either! So part of the first day went by with me gawking at yachts and their opulence. Then it was time to gawk some more so we went down to Orchard Street, the main strip for shopping. As it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it houses top stores: Versace, Armani, Zegna, Prada… the whole bit. It also has some mind blowing accessory stores with pink diamond necklaces from $200,000 USD to Piaget watches for $550,000 USD. Yes, all the zeros belong there. Yes, they were on me, and then safely off me. No, I didn’t take any home although there was an undeniable chemistry. I am not an indulgent personality! Ya right, that was the real reason! I am a saint!!

"Songs of the Sea" laser show on the beach at night

Singaporeans are polite by nature, but given that 42% are foreigners, that may not be the case all the time. However, people seem to learn the ways of a conservative, well dressed, educated society pretty fast and so even the main roads are cleaner than big cities in the US. It has plenty high rises every where and more being built, so parking is in buildings to not waste land. It is really cute to see so many people so nicely dressed and in heels walking up and down the street. And they always seem to be doing plenty of walking. 

There are a few things to do in Singapore. The Merlion Park, with famed mascot of Singapore with the head of a lion and body of a fish is a popular visiting spot. Although there is not much else to do but walk around the park for a while, it is a popular family destination. The night laser show, called “Songs of the Sea” is pure innocent fun entertainment with lights and song and dance and pyro effects for children. It’s a pleasant way to spend the evening but not too exciting, I’d say, interesting, if you haven’t seen a show like that before. There is also the night safari at the zoo, which is very well done and one can see nocturnal animals close up. Again, this is more fun for the young kids.

China Town area

As far as adult night life goes, I did not go to clubs or bars as I went with family. But from what I looked up, nothing crazy or exciting (depending on how you see it!) like Bangkok. That may be the dividing point for tourism between the two. Also, Singapore is quite a young country and has re-vamped itself into a modern society and so lacks the cultural historical monuments of Bangkok. But then it is much safer and family friendly. So I guess it just depends on what kind of a vacation you are looking for!

I did go looking for some local places and found a couple of neat corners. The China Town, like any good China Town, holds some great bargains and neat items. Maybe because most of the population is Chinese, there is more variety and better things, as in more usable practical stuff, than many other China Towns I have seen. The food is also quite cheap and good. There is a store named Mustafa that is like a super store for bargains that sells everything from Rolex watches to vegetables. Sure enough, on a Sunday, it is fun walking through that human zoo-maze!

The last day was the best day yet. My uncle arranged for the yacht to be taken out to a remote island, where we dropped anchor and took the speed boat to the sandy beaches, and had ourselves a small picnic. That was one for the books, I say. And there are people that get to do this all the time, eh? What a life! To be able to walk around a clean tiny island with no one in sight, to have no rules on when to come and go, and to ride back from that and see the city line of Singapore. It was a memorable experience.

That's us, from our yacht to the remote island for a picnic!

All this being said, there is not too much I can do in Singapore past three days or so. But having seen it, I can honestly say it is a place worth considering living in. The Buddhist calmness in people, the strength of a democracy to make the right choices to be a clean and safe society, the perseverance of the government to make this a successful and strong nation – all that and more are some valid points to make this a place worth praise. Here, they made size matter, every inch of it!